Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 26
मातङ्ग–शक्रसंवादः
Mataṅga–Śakra Dialogue on Tapas, Status, and Moral Qualities
सिद्ध उवाच ते देशास्ते जनपदास्ते5<श्रमास्ते च पर्वता: । येषां भागीरथी गड्ा मध्येनैति सरिद्वरा
siddha uvāca | te deśās te janapadās te āśramās te ca parvatāḥ | yeṣāṃ bhāgīrathī gaṅgā madhyenaiti saridvarā ||
悉达说道：“婆罗门啊，凡是那诸国土、诸邦邑、诸林苑道场与诸山岳——其间有婆伽罗提恒河（Bhāgīrathī Gaṅgā），诸河之最胜者，穿流而过——皆为功德最上、福泽最盛。”
सिद्ध उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that proximity to the sacred Gaṅgā—Bhāgīrathī, praised as the foremost of rivers—confers exceptional religious merit upon the surrounding land, communities, and ascetic centers, highlighting the Mahābhārata’s ethic of tīrtha (pilgrimage) and sanctified geography as supports for dharma.
A Siddha addresses a Brahmin and extols the sanctity of regions, settlements, hermitages, and mountains through which the Gaṅgā flows, as part of the Gaṅgā-māhātmya (praise of the Gaṅgā) within the dāna-dharma discussions of the Anuśāsana Parva.