The Glory of the River Jambavati

Verse 1 (skanda.7.231.1)

ईश्वर उवाच। ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि यत्र जांबवती नदी। पुरा जांबवतीनाम विष्णोर्या महिषीप्रिया

īśvara uvāca| tato gacchenmahādevi yatra jāṁbavatī nadī| purā jāṁbavatīnāma viṣṇoryā mahiṣīpriyā

Ishvara said: Then, O great Goddess, one should go to where the river Jambavati flows — she who in former times was renowned by the name Jambavati, the beloved chief queen of Vishnu.

Verse 2 (skanda.7.231.2)

अपृच्छदर्जुनं साध्वी वद वार्तां कुरू द्वह। तस्यास्तद्वचनं श्रुत्वा अर्जुनो निश्वसन्मुहुः

apṛcchadarjunaṁ sādhvī vada vārtāṁ kurū dvaha| tasyāstadvacanaṁ śrutvā arjuno niśvasanmuhuḥ

The virtuous lady asked Arjuna: 'Tell me the news, O scion of the Kurus.' Having heard her words, Arjuna, sighing again and again,

Verse 3 (skanda.7.231.3)

वाष्पगद्गदया वाचा इदं वचनमब्रवीत्। परित्यक्ता वयं भद्रे यादवैः सुमहात्मभिः

vāṣpagadgadayā vācā idaṁ vacanamabravīt| parityaktā vayaṁ bhadre yādavaiḥ sumahātmabhiḥ

spoke this word in a voice choked with tears: 'We have been forsaken, O gentle lady, by the great-souled Yadavas —'

Verse 4 (skanda.7.231.4)

बलदेवस्य वीरस्य सात्यकेश्च महात्मनः। अन्येषां यदुवीराणां पापकर्मातिनिर्घृणः

baladevasya vīrasya sātyakeśca mahātmanaḥ| anyeṣāṁ yaduvīrāṇāṁ pāpakarmātinirghṛṇaḥ

'— by the hero Baladeva, by the great-souled Satyaki, and by the other Yadu heroes; utterly without mercy, through sinful deed...'

Verse 5 (skanda.7.231.5)

जिजीविषुरिह प्राप्तो वासुदेवनिराकृतः। सा श्रुत्वा भर्तृनिधनमर्जुनाच्च महासती

jijīviṣuriha prāpto vāsudevanirākṛtaḥ| sā śrutvā bhartṛnidhanamarjunācca mahāsatī

'...desiring still to live, I have come here, cast off by Vasudeva.' She, the great chaste lady, having thus learned from Arjuna of her husband's death,

Verse 6 (skanda.7.231.6)

गंगातीरे समुत्पाद्य पावकं पावकप्रभा। समुत्सृज्य महाकायं नदीभूत्वा विनिर्ययौ

gaṁgātīre samutpādya pāvakaṁ pāvakaprabhā| samutsṛjya mahākāyaṁ nadībhūtvā viniryayau

—she of fiery radiance kindled a fire on the bank of the Ganga, and, giving up her great body, went forth having become a river.

Verse 7 (skanda.7.231.7)

सा गृहीत्वा सती भर्तुर्भस्म सर्वं चितेस्तथा। प्रविष्टा सागरं देवि तदा जांबवती शुभा

sā gṛhītvā satī bharturbhasma sarvaṁ citestathā| praviṣṭā sāgaraṁ devi tadā jāṁbavatī śubhā

That chaste woman, having taken up all the ashes of her husband's pyre, entered the ocean; and then, O goddess, she became the auspicious river Jambavati.

Verse 8 (skanda.7.231.8)

या नारी तत्र देवेशि भक्त्या स्नानं समाचरेत्। तदन्वयेपि काचित्स्त्री न वैधव्यमवाप्नुयात्

yā nārī tatra deveśi bhaktyā snānaṁ samācaret| tadanvayepi kācitstrī na vaidhavyamavāpnuyāt

Whatever woman, O goddess of the gods, bathes there with devotion, no woman in her lineage shall ever attain widowhood.

Verse 9 (skanda.7.231.9)

तस्मात्सर्वप्रयत्नेन तत्र स्नानं समाचरेत्। नरो वा यदि वा नारी प्राप्नोति परमां गतिम्

tasmātsarvaprayatnena tatra snānaṁ samācaret| naro vā yadi vā nārī prāpnoti paramāṁ gatim

Therefore one should bathe there with every effort; whether man or woman, one attains thereby the supreme goal.