Shloka 98

मातङ्ग–शक्रसंवादः

Mataṅga–Śakra Dialogue on Tapas, Status, and Moral Qualities

Devanagari script

मेरो: समुद्रस्य च सर्वयत्नै: संख्योपलानामुदकस्य वापि | शक्यं वक्तुं नेह गड़ाजलानां गुणाख्यानं परिमातुं तथैव

Transliteration

meroḥ samudrasya ca sarvayatnaiḥ saṅkhyopalānām udakasya vāpi | śakyaṃ vaktuṃ neha gaṅgājalānāṃ guṇākhyānaṃ parimātuṃ tathaiva ||

Translation

Vị Siddha nói: Dẫu có dốc hết mọi nỗ lực, người ta có thể kể được số sỏi đá trên núi Meru, thậm chí đếm được từng giọt nước của đại dương; nhưng ở đây, việc thuật lại và đo đếm các công đức của nước sông Gaṅgā thì tuyệt nhiên không thể.

Word by Word

• {'meroḥ (meruḥ)': 'of Mount Meru

• the cosmic mountain', 'samudrasya': 'of the ocean', 'sarvayatnaiḥ': 'with all efforts

• by every possible means', 'saṅkhyā': 'number

• counting', 'upalānām': 'of stones/pebbles', 'udakasya': 'of water', 'vā api': 'or even', 'śakyam': 'possible

• feasible', 'vaktum': 'to say

• to state', 'iha': 'here

• in this matter', 'gaṅgā-jalānām': 'of the waters of the Gaṅgā', 'guṇa-ākhyānam': 'narration/description of qualities (virtues)', 'parimātum': 'to measure

• to quantify', 'tatha eva': 'just so

Speaker

सिद्ध उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Siddha
• Meru
• Samudra (Ocean)
• Gaṅgā

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that certain sacred virtues—here, the purifying and meritorious qualities of the Gaṅgā—are immeasurable and cannot be fully captured by human speech or calculation, encouraging humility and reverence toward dharmic sources of purity.

What is happening in the narrative?

A Siddha is extolling the greatness of the Gaṅgā by using hyperbolic comparison: even seemingly impossible counts (Meru’s stones, the ocean’s drops) could be attempted, but the Gaṅgā’s virtues remain beyond complete description.