Shloka 12

Brāhmaṇya-प्रश्नः — The Inquiry into Attaining Brāhmaṇya

Mataṅga–Gardabhī Itihāsa

Devanagari script

करतोयां कुरड्ले च त्रिरात्रोपोषितो नर: । अश्वमेधमवाप्रोति विगाहा[ प्रयत: शुचि:

Transliteration

karatoyāyāṃ kuraṅge ca trirātropoṣito naraḥ | aśvamedham avāpnoti vigāhya prayataḥ śuciḥ ||

Translation

阿阇陀利耶说道：男子若能自持清净，在库让伽地区（Kuraṅga）的迦罗托耶河（Karatoyā）中沐浴，继而三夜斋戒，便可获得与马祭阿湿婆梅陀（Aśvamedha）等同的功德。

Word by Word

• करतोयाम्: in (the river) Karatoyā
• करतोयाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: करतोया
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• कुरड्ले: in Kuradla (a place/region)
• कुरड्ले: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरड्ल
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

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

• त्रिरात्र-उपोषितः: having fasted for three nights
• त्रिरात्र-उपोषितः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रिरात्र + उपोषित
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अश्वमेधम्: the Aśvamedha (sacrifice/its fruit)
• अश्वमेधम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्वमेध
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अवाप्नोति: attains/obtains
• Type: Verb
• Root: √आप् (अव + आप्)
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

अजड्रिय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Ajadriya
• Karatoyā river
• Kuraṅga region
• Aśvamedha (horse-sacrifice)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that sincere discipline—purity, self-restraint, sacred bathing, and a three-night fast—can confer spiritual merit comparable to an elaborate royal sacrifice like the Aśvamedha, emphasizing inner effort over external grandeur.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker named Ajadriya is listing the fruits of visiting specific sacred places (tīrthas). Here he states that bathing in the Karatoyā in the Kuraṅga region and fasting for three nights yields the Aśvamedha’s reward.