Shloka 39
Trita in the Well (Udapāna-kathā) — Balarāma’s Tīrtha Observances
यथाक्रमेण भगवंस्तीर्थानामनुपूर्वश: । ब्रह्मन ब्रह्मविदां श्रेष्ठ परं कौतूहलं हि मे
yathākrameṇa bhagavaṁs tīrthānām anupūrvaśaḥ | brahman brahmavidāṁ śreṣṭha paraṁ kautūhalaṁ hi me || janamejaya uvāca ||
Janamejaya sprach: „O Ehrwürdiger, berichte mir von den tīrthas in rechter Ordnung und Folge. O Brahmane, der Beste unter den Brahman-Kennern — mein Verlangen zu wissen ist tief. Ich sehne mich danach, eines nach dem anderen, die Verdienste, Kräfte und Ursprünge der tīrthas entlang der Sarasvatī zu hören, ebenso die Früchte ihres Besuchs in der richtigen Reihenfolge, samt den Disziplinen, durch die man dort Vollendung erlangt.“
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic approach to sacred practice: pilgrimage and ritual are not random acts but are to be undertaken with proper order (yathākrameṇa, anupūrvaśaḥ), informed guidance, and a sincere desire to understand the origins and ethical-spiritual fruits of holy places.
King Janamejaya addresses the sage-narrator with respectful titles and requests a systematic account of the tīrthas—especially those connected with the Sarasvatī—asking for their qualities, powers, origin-stories, and the practices by which one attains spiritual success there.