Shloka 3

गोप्रदान-माहात्म्ये गोलोक-प्रश्नः

Gopradāna-Māhātmya: Inquiry into Goloka

Devanagari script

मध्यदेशे महान ग्रामो ब्राह्म॒णानां बभूव ह | गंगायमुनयोर्मध्ये यामुनस्य गिरेरध:

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | madhyadeśe mahān grāmo brāhmaṇānāṃ babhūva ha | gaṅgāyamunayor madhye yāmunasya girer adhaḥ |

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: Ở miền Madhyadeśa thuở ấy có một khu tụ cư lớn của các Bà-la-môn. Nơi ấy nằm giữa sông Gaṅgā và sông Yamunā, dưới chân dãy núi Yāmuna. Đoạn văn mở ra bằng việc giới thiệu một làng Bà-la-môn nổi danh—một bối cảnh lý tưởng của học vấn và đời sống kỷ luật—để chuẩn bị cho một câu chuyện giáo huấn về dharma, đặt nền trên uy quyền của địa thế linh thiêng và hạnh kiểm của bậc học giả.

Word by Word

• मध्यदेशे: in the Middle Country (Madhyadeśa)
• मध्यदेशे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्यदेश
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• महान्: great
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ग्रामः: village
• ग्रामः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्राम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ब्राह्मणानाम्: of Brahmins
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• बभूव: was / came to be
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular

• ह: indeed (emphatic particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ह

• गङ्गा-यमुनयोः: of the Ganges and Yamunā
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा + यमुना
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Dual

• मध्ये: in the middle / between
• मध्ये: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्य
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• यामुनस्य: of (the) Yamuna-related / Yamuna (mountain/region)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यामुन
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• गिरेः: of the mountain
• Type: Noun
• Root: गिरि
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• अधः: below / beneath
• अधः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अधस्

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Madhyadeśa
• Gaṅgā (river)
• Yamunā (river)
• Yāmuna-giri (mountain/region associated with Yamunā)
• Brāhmaṇas
• Grāma (Brahmin village/settlement)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse establishes a dharmic setting: a Brahmin settlement in the revered Madhyadeśa between the Gaṅgā and Yamunā. By grounding the story in sacred geography and a community of learned Brahmins, the text signals that the forthcoming instruction is to be understood as authoritative and aligned with orthodox dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma begins a new illustrative account by describing the location of a famous Brahmin village situated between the Gaṅgā and Yamunā, below the Yāmuna mountain. This functions as scene-setting before introducing the people and events through which the moral teaching will be conveyed.