Shloka 73

Description of the Rules for Charitable Gifts and Related Rites

Gaṅgā-māhātmya

Devanagari script

इति श्रीबृहन्नारदीयपुराणोत्तरभागे मोहिनीवसुसंवादे गङ्गामाहात्म्ये दानादिविधिवर्णनं नामैकचत्वारिंशत्तमोऽध्यायः ॥ ४१ ॥

Transliteration

iti śrībṛhannāradīyapurāṇottarabhāge mohinīvasusaṃvāde gaṅgāmāhātmye dānādividhivarṇanaṃ nāmaikacatvāriṃśattamo'dhyāyaḥ || 41 ||

Translation

یوں شری برہن نارَدیہ پران کے اُتّر بھاگ میں، موہنی–وسو سنواد کے ضمن میں گنگا ماہاتمیہ کے اندر ‘دان آدی کی ودھی کا ورنن’ نامی اکتالیسواں ادھیائے اختتام کو پہنچا ॥۴۱॥

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/quotative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), quotation/closure particle (इति-प्रयोग)

• śrī: revered, auspicious
• śrī: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Indeclinable honorific used as prefix (अव्ययीभाववत् उपसर्गवत् प्रयोगः)

• bṛhat-nāradīya-purāṇa-uttara-bhāge: in the latter part of the Bṛhannāradīya Purāṇa
• bṛhat-nāradīya-purāṇa-uttara-bhāge: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bṛhat (प्रातिपदिक) + nāradīya (प्रातिपदिक) + purāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + uttara (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन); समासः: बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (ग्रन्थ-भागनिर्देशः)

• mohinī-vasu-saṃvāde: in the dialogue of Mohinī and Vasu
• mohinī-vasu-saṃvāde: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mohinī (प्रातिपदिक) + vasu (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃvāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; समासः: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (मोहिन्याः वसोः संवादः)

• gaṅgā-māhātmye: in the section on the greatness of the Gaṅgā
• gaṅgā-māhātmye: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṅgā (प्रातिपदिक) + māhātmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; समासः: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (गङ्गायाः माहात्म्यम्)

• dāna-ādi-vidhi-varṇanam: the description of rules for gifts and the like
• dāna-ādi-vidhi-varṇanam: Karta (कर्ता/heading-subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāna (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + vidhi (प्रातिपदिक) + varṇana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; समासः: तत्पुरुष (दानादीनां विधीनां वर्णनम्)

• nāma: named
• nāma: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/label marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāma (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (अव्यय), nomenclative particle (नाम-प्रयोगः)

• eka-catvāriṃśattamaḥ: forty-first
• eka-catvāriṃśattamaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक) + catvāriṃśat (संख्याप्रातिपदिक) + tama (प्रत्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; क्रमवाचक-विशेषण (ordinal)

• adhyāyaḥ: chapter
• adhyāyaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adhyāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

Speaker

Sūta / Purāṇic narrator (colophon/adhyāya-ending formula; not a spoken verse in the dialogue)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: bhakti

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Mohinī
• Vasu
• Bṛhan-Nāradīya Purāṇa

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in Narada Purana?

This is a chapter-colophon marking the completion of Adhyāya 41, framing the teaching as part of Gaṅgā-māhātmya and emphasizing that dāna (charitable giving) is treated as a dharma-practice connected to tīrtha merit.

How does this verse explain the path of devotion (Bhakti)?

Indirectly: by locating charity and ritual rules within Gaṅgā’s sacred greatness, it supports bhakti-oriented living where offerings and gifts are performed with reverence for holy places and divine sanctity rather than mere social duty.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

Ritual procedure (vidhi) is foregrounded—practical dharma-śāstric organization of acts like dāna and related rites, aligning with the applied discipline of kalpa-style ritual method even though no specific Vedāṅga (e.g., vyākaraṇa or jyotiṣa) is explicitly cited in this colophon.