Shloka 31

कुमाराभिषेकप्रश्नः — Inquiry into Kumāra (Skanda) Investiture at Sarasvatī

Devanagari script

अरुणायां महाराज ब्रद्मावध्यापहा हि सा । नरश्रेष्ठ! महर्षियोंका यह मत जानकर सरिताओंमें श्रेष्ठ सरस्वती अपनी ही स्वरूपभूता अरुणाको ले आयी। महाराज! उस अरुणामें स्नान करके वे राक्षस अपना शरीर छोड़कर स्वर्गलोकमें चले गये; क्योंकि वह ब्रह्महत्याका निवारण करनेवाली है || २९-३० $ ।।

Transliteration

aruṇāyāṃ mahārāja brahmāvadhyāpahā hi sā | naraśreṣṭha mahārṣīṇāṃ etan mataṃ jñātvā saritāṃ śreṣṭhā sarasvatī svāṃ svarūpabhūtām aruṇāṃ ānayat | mahārāja tasyām aruṇāyāṃ snātvā te rākṣasāḥ śarīraṃ tyaktvā svargalokaṃ jagmuḥ, yasmāt sā brahmahatyā-nivāriṇī || etam artham abhijñāya devarājaḥ śatakratuḥ ||

Translation

毗舍波耶那说：“大王啊，阿鲁那（Aruṇā）确是能除‘梵杀罪’（brahmahatyā，杀害婆罗门之罪）之垢者。人中最胜者啊，既知诸大圣仙对此之定见，萨拉斯瓦蒂——诸河之最胜——便令阿鲁那显现；阿鲁那本即出自她自身之精髓。大王啊，诸罗刹在阿鲁那中沐浴之后，便舍其身而升天，因为她有消弭梵杀罪之力。” 明了此事之后，天帝释多迦罗图（Śatakratu，因陀罗）……

Word by Word

• {'aruṇāyām': 'in/at the river Aruṇā (locative singular)', 'mahārāja': 'O great king (vocative)', 'brahmahatyā': 'the sin of killing a brāhmaṇa

• ‘brahma-slaughter’', 'apahā / apahāriṇī': 'removing, taking away, dispelling', 'naraśreṣṭha': 'O best of men', 'mahārṣi': 'great seer, eminent ṛṣi', 'mata': 'view, settled opinion, doctrine', 'saritām śreṣṭhā': 'best among rivers', 'sarasvatī': 'the river-goddess Sarasvatī', 'svarūpabhūtā': 'constituting one’s own essence

• of the same essential nature', 'ānayat': 'brought, led, produced', 'snātvā': 'having bathed', 'rākṣasāḥ': 'rākṣasas (a class of powerful beings, often hostile/demonic)', 'śarīraṃ tyaktvā': 'having abandoned the body', 'svargaloka': 'the heavenly world', 'nivāriṇī': 'one who wards off, averts, removes', 'etam artham abhijñāya': 'having understood this matter/meaning', 'devarāja': 'king of the gods', 'śatakratu': '‘performer of a hundred sacrifices’, epithet of Indra'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Aruṇā (river)
• Sarasvatī (river-goddess)
• Mahārṣis (great seers)
• Rākṣasas
• Svarga (heaven)
• Indra (Śatakratu, Devarāja)
• Brahmahatyā (sin/taint)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage emphasizes the ethical idea that grave moral taints (like brahmahatyā) require purification and expiation, and that sacred tīrthas—understood as embodiments of divine power—are portrayed as capable of restoring moral and spiritual purity, enabling even deeply fallen beings to attain a higher state.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana explains that the river Aruṇā, brought forth by Sarasvatī after the seers’ counsel, has the power to remove the sin of brahmahatyā. Certain rākṣasas bathe in Aruṇā, abandon their bodies, and reach heaven. The verse then transitions to Indra (Śatakratu) reacting upon learning this.