Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 26
ततस्तदीरिणं जात॑ समुद्रस्थावसर्पत: । तस्माद् देशान्नदीं चैव प्रोवाचासौ द्विजोत्तम:
tatas tadīriṇaṃ jātaṃ samudrasthāvasarpataḥ | tasmād deśān nadīṃ caiva provācāsau dvijottamaḥ |
Pagkaraan, nang umurong ang dagat mula sa dating higaan nito, ang lupain ay naging tigang na buhanginan. Nang makita ang lupaing iyon at ang ilog na dumadaloy roon, kinausap ni Utathya, ang pinakadakila sa mga dwija, ang ilog Sarasvatī: “O Sarasvatī na mahiyain, maglaho sa paningin at tumungo sa lupain ng disyerto. O mapalad, kapag iniwan mo ang pook na ito, ang bayang ito’y magiging marumi sa ritwal.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links sacred ecology with dharma: a river is not merely water but a carrier of sanctity. When the divine river withdraws (becomes ‘invisible’/subterranean), the land is perceived to lose ritual purity, warning that moral and ritual order depends on honoring and preserving sacred sources.
The sea recedes, leaving a sandy wasteland. In that context, the sage Utathya addresses the Sarasvatī, urging her to become unseen and move into the desert region; he notes that if she abandons the area, the country will become impure.