Shloka 90
The Episode of Vena: Purification, the ‘Vāsudevābhidhā’ Hymn, and the Dharma of Charity
Times, Tīrthas, Worthy Recipients
पापानां भीतिदा नित्यं भीमरथ्या प्रपठ्यते । देविका कृष्णगंगा च अन्याः सरिद्वरोत्तमाः
pāpānāṃ bhītidā nityaṃ bhīmarathyā prapaṭhyate | devikā kṛṣṇagaṃgā ca anyāḥ saridvarottamāḥ
بھیمرتھی کو ہمیشہ اس طرح پڑھا جاتا ہے کہ وہ گناہوں میں دائماً خوف پیدا کرتی ہے۔ اسی طرح دیوِکا، کرشن گنگا اور دیگر بہترین ندیاں مقدس دھاراؤں میں برتر ہیں۔
Unspecified (narrative voice within a tīrtha/rivers eulogy section; commonly framed in Padma Purāṇa dialogues such as Pulastya speaking to Bhīṣma, but not provable from this single verse alone).
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: vira
Type: river
Sandhi Resolution Notes: सरिद्वरोत्तमाः = सरित् + वर-उत्तमाः (व्यञ्जन-सन्धि: त् + व → द्व् लेखनप्रथा); कृष्णगंगा = कृष्णा + गङ्गा (आ + ग → आग्, दीर्घ-सन्धि/समास).
FAQs
It classifies certain named rivers—Bhīmarathī, Devikā, and Kṛṣṇagaṅgā—among the foremost sacred streams, reflecting the Purāṇic mapping of holiness onto specific river systems.
By describing Bhīmarathī as one that “terrifies sins,” the verse implies that association with such sacred rivers (through praise, remembrance, or pilgrimage) is believed to weaken or remove sinful tendencies and their effects.
The imagery encourages moral restraint: when one reveres sacred places and practices, wrongdoing is treated as something to be feared and abandoned, reinforcing dharmic conduct.