Shloka 45

Gautama–Śakra Saṃvāda: Karma, Loka-bheda, and the Restoration of the Elephant

Devanagari script

प्रभासं मानसं तीर्थ पुष्कराणि महत्सर: । पुण्यं च नैमिषं तीर्थ बाहुदां करतोयिनीम्‌

Transliteration

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | prabhāsaṁ mānasaṁ tīrthaṁ puṣkarāṇi mahatsaraḥ | puṇyaṁ ca naimiṣaṁ tīrthaṁ bāhudāṁ karatoyinīm ||

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra nói: “(Hãy kể cho ta về) Prabhāsa, hồ thiêng Mānasarovara, Puṣkara với đại hồ của nó, và thánh địa hành hương Naimiṣa; lại cả sông Bāhudā và Karatoyinī nữa.” Trong mạch chuyện này, câu hỏi của nhà vua hướng về những tīrtha lừng danh—những nơi chốn và dòng nước được tin là thanh lọc hạnh kiểm và ý hướng—nhấn mạnh trọng tâm đạo đức về công đức (puṇya) đạt được nhờ hành hương và tưởng niệm địa lý thiêng.

Word by Word

• प्रभासम्: Prabhāsa (a sacred place)
• प्रभासम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभास
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• मानसम्: Mānasa (lake/holy place)
• मानसम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मानस
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• तीर्थम्: a pilgrimage-ford; sacred place
• तीर्थम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• पुष्कराणि: Puṣkaras (holy lakes/places)
• पुष्कराणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुष्कर
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• महत्: great
• महत्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• सरः: lake
• सरः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• पुण्यम्: holy, meritorious
• पुण्यम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• नैमिषम्: Naimiṣa (forest/holy place)
• नैमिषम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: नैमिष
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• तीर्थम्: a sacred ford/place
• तीर्थम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• बाहुदाम्: Bāhudā (name of a river)
• बाहुदाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाहुदा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• करतोयिनीम्: Karatoyā river (lit. 'having karatoyā-water')
• करतोयिनीम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: करतोयिनी
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Prabhāsa
• Mānasa (Mānasarovara)
• Puṣkara
• Naimiṣa (Naimiṣāraṇya)
• Bāhudā (river)
• Karatoyinī (river)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds tīrthas—sacred places and waters—implying that contact with holy geography, undertaken with right intention, is a recognized means of cultivating puṇya (merit) and moral purification within the dharma framework.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra is listing and asking about eminent pilgrimage sites and rivers—Prabhāsa, Mānasarovara, Puṣkara, Naimiṣa, Bāhudā, and Karatoyinī—within a broader discussion that catalogs tīrthas and their religious significance.