अर्जुन उवाच
समुद्रे हिमवत्पार्श्वे नद्याम् अस्यां च दुर्मते ॥
रात्राव् अहनि संधौ च कस्य कॢप्तः परिग्रहः ॥
वयं च शक्तिसंपन्ना अकाले त्वाम् अधृष्णुमः ॥
अशक्ता हि क्षणे क्रूरे युष्मान् अर्चन्ति मानवाः ॥
पुरा हिमवतश् चैषा हेमशृङ्गाद् विनिःसृता ॥
गङ्गा गत्वा समुद्राम्भः सप्तधा प्रतिपद्यते ॥
इयं भूत्वा चैकवप्रा शुचिर् आकाशगा पुनः ॥
देवेषु गङ्गा गन्धर्व प्राप्नोत्य् अलकनन्दताम् ॥
arjuna uvāca
samudre himavatpārśve nadyām asyāṃ ca durmate ||
rātrāv ahani saṃdhau ca kasya kḷptaḥ parigrahaḥ ||
vayaṃ ca śaktisaṃpannā akāle tvām adhṛṣṇumaḥ ||
aśaktā hi kṣaṇe krūre yuṣmān arcanti mānavāḥ ||
purā himavataś caiṣā hemaśṛṅgād viniḥsṛtā ||
gaṅgā gatvā samudrāmbhaḥ saptadhā pratipadyate ||
iyaṃ bhūtvā caikavaprā śucir ākāśagā punaḥ ||
deveṣu gaṅgā gandharva prāpnoty alakanandatām ||
Arjuna said: "In the ocean, on the slope of Himavat, and in this river, O evil-minded one -- at night, by day, or at twilight -- to whom is possession assigned? And we, endowed with strength, do not attack you out of season; only powerless men yield to you at the fierce hour. Long ago this Ganga, flowing forth from the golden peak of Himavat, upon reaching the ocean's waters, divides into seven streams; and in heaven, having become a single pure stream, sky-going, among the gods, O gandharva, she attains the name Alakananda."
de745c8b1a0d · published Jul 12, 2026, 5:19:51 PM UTC
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Here Arjuna rejects the claim to what belongs to all. His words are telling: the sacred river belongs to no one -- neither by night nor by day is it assigned to a gandharva; a common good cannot be seized. It is also telling that he does not yield out of fear: "only the powerless yield to you" -- the righteous does not surrender to the unrighteous what is holy. Here is a bold confession of truth in the face of a threat. Thus the text shows that the world's holy places lie open to all; and Arjuna, extolling the greatness of the Ganga, defends the freedom to touch her.