Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 19

Trita in the Well (Udapāna-kathā) — Balarāma’s Tīrtha Observances

Devanagari script

प्रतिस्रोत: सरस्वत्या गच्छध्वं शीघ्रगामिन:

Transliteration

pratisrotaḥ sarasvatyā gacchadhvaṃ śīghragāminaḥ

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “Go swiftly, moving against the current of the Sarasvatī.”

Word by Word

• प्रतिस्रोतः: upstream; against the current
• प्रतिस्रोतः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रतिस्रोतस्
• Form: Avyaya (directional adverb)

• सरस्वत्याः: of (the river) Sarasvatī
• सरस्वत्याः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Singular

• गच्छध्वम्: go (you all)!
• गच्छध्वम्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम्
• Form: Imperative (Loṭ), 2nd person, Plural, Ātmanepada

• शीघ्रगामिनः: O swift-goers; O those who move quickly
• शीघ्रगामिनः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शीघ्रगामिन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Sarasvatī (river)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line highlights determined action: one may need to proceed “against the current” when dharma or necessity requires it, especially under urgent circumstances.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports an instruction being issued to a group to move quickly upstream along the Sarasvatī, indicating haste and purposeful movement within the unfolding war-time events.