Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 33
Trita in the Well (Udapāna-kathā) — Balarāma’s Tīrtha Observances
विपण्यापणपण्यानां नानाजनशतैर्व॑त: । नानाद्रुमलतोपेतो नानारत्नविभूषित:
vipaṇyāpaṇapaṇyānāṃ nānā-janāśatair vṛtaḥ | nānā-druma-latopeto nānā-ratna-vibhūṣitaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Along the road there moved, as it were, a continuous market of wares for sale—crowded with hundreds of people of many kinds. That bazaar-like procession appeared adorned with diverse trees and creepers, and embellished with many sorts of jewels, displaying the splendor and bustle that accompany royal movement even amid the grim setting of war.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how worldly commerce and display persist even in a war context, implicitly contrasting external splendor and material bustle with the underlying impermanence and moral gravity of the conflict.
Vaiśampāyana describes a road-side scene accompanying a large movement—like a traveling bazaar—packed with many people and goods, visually embellished with greenery and jewels, emphasizing the scale and opulence of the procession.
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