Mahabharata 9.38.283 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 38, Shloka 283

Kapālamocana-tīrtha (Auśanasa) and Balarāma’s Sarasvatī Pilgrimage

Devanagari script

सुरेणुरिति विख्याता प्रस्नुता शीघ्रगामिनी । गंगाद्वारमें यज्ञ करते समय दक्षप्रजापतिने जब सरस्वतीका स्मरण किया था

Transliteration

sureṇur iti vikhyātā prasnutā śīghragāminī |

Translation

Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: Ang Sarasvatī na mabilis umagos, na bumubukal sa malakas na agos, ay nakilala roon sa pangalang Sureṇu. Gayundin, nang si Dakṣa Prajāpati ay naghahandog sa Gaṅgādvāra at inalaala si Sarasvatī, ang mabilis-umagos na ilog ay dumaloy din doon at sumikat sa pangalang Sureṇu. O pinuno ng mga hari! Sa gayon din, inanyayahan ni Maharsi Vasiṣṭha sa Kurukṣetra ang Sarasvatī na may banal na tubig; at siya’y naging tanyag sa pangalang Oghavatī.

Word by Word

• सुरेणुः: Sureṇu (name)
• सुरेणुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुरेणु
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• इति: thus; as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• विख्याता: well-known; renowned
• विख्याता: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-ख्यात (क्त)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• प्रस्नुता: flowing forth; streaming
• प्रस्नुता: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र-स्नु (क्त)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• शीघ्रगामिनी: swift-going; fast-flowing
• शीघ्रगामिनी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शीघ्र-गामिन्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Sarasvatī (river/goddess)
• Sureṇu (epithet of Sarasvatī)
• Oghavatī (epithet of Sarasvatī)
• Dakṣa Prajāpati
• Vasiṣṭha
• Gaṅgādvāra
• Kurukṣetra

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Sacred remembrance and ritual invocation (smaraṇa/āvāhana) are portrayed as efficacious: the same divine river Sarasvatī is experienced with different epithets and manifestations according to the rite, place, and the invoking sage—affirming the Mahābhārata’s emphasis on tīrtha, tradition, and dharmic continuity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana describes Sarasvatī’s presence and names in different contexts: at Gaṅgādvāra, when Dakṣa Prajāpati remembered her during a sacrifice, she was known as Sureṇu; likewise, in Kurukṣetra, when Vasiṣṭha invoked her, she became famed as Oghavatī.