Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 31
The Greatness of the Gaṅgā
Gaṅgāmāhātmya
वेत्रवती ताम्रपर्णी सरयूश्च द्विजोत्तम । एवमादिषु तीर्थेषु गङ्गा मुख्यतमा स्मृता ॥ ३१ ॥
vetravatī tāmraparṇī sarayūśca dvijottama | evamādiṣu tīrtheṣu gaṅgā mukhyatamā smṛtā || 31 ||
“婆多罗伐底、檀摩罗帕尔尼，以及娑罗由亦然，噢最胜二生者；在这些及其他诸圣地（tīrtha）之中，恒河被忆念为最为第一。”
Narada (in discourse to a dvijottama interlocutor within the tīrtha-prādhānya context)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhakti
FAQs
It ranks sacred rivers and declares the Gaṅgā as foremost among tīrthas, emphasizing her unique capacity to confer purity (pavitrīkaraṇa) and religious merit (puṇya) through contact such as स्नान (ritual bathing).
By establishing the Gaṅgā’s pre-eminence as a holy tīrtha, the verse supports devotional practice expressed through tīrtha-sevā—reverent pilgrimage, bathing, and remembrance—acts commonly aligned with Viṣṇu-bhakti and purificatory devotion in Purāṇic dharma.
Ritual application (kalpa-oriented practice) is implied: tīrtha-snānā and pilgrimage observances are treated as dharma-sādhana, guiding when and where to perform purificatory rites even though no specific Vedāṅga (like Vyākaraṇa or Jyotiṣa) is explicitly discussed in this verse.