Shloka 62
Trita in the Well (Udapāna-kathā) — Balarāma’s Tīrtha Observances
ससर्ज रोषात् सोमाय स चोडुपतिमाविशत् । पृथ्वीनाथ! यह सुनकर भगवान् दक्ष कुपित हो उठे। उन्होंने चन्द्रमाके लिये रोषपूर्वक राजयक्ष्माकी सृष्टि की। वह चन्द्रमाके भीतर प्रविष्ट हो गया ।।
sasarja roṣāt somāya sa coḍupatim āviśat | pṛthvīnātha! yaḥ śrutvā bhagavān dakṣaḥ kupito 'bhavat | tena candramase roṣapūrvakaṁ rājayakṣmā sṛṣṭaḥ | sa candramasaḥ antar āviśat || 61 || sa yakṣmaṇābhibhūtātmā kṣīyata ahar-ahaḥ śaśī || 62 ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana sprach: In Zorn entließ Dakṣa für Soma das Leiden namens Rājayakṣmā; und diese Krankheit drang in den Herrn der Sterne, den Mond, ein. Von diesem zehrenden Übel überwältigt, nahm Śaśī (der Mond) Tag für Tag ab.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Anger and moral transgression can generate far-reaching consequences: even a luminous figure like the Moon is shown as vulnerable to decline when burdened by curse-born retribution. The passage cautions against pride and offense, and highlights the inevitability of karmic/ethical accountability within cosmic order.
Dakṣa, enraged, creates the wasting disease called Rājayakṣmā for Soma (the Moon). The disease enters the Moon, and as a result the Moon is overpowered and diminishes day by day—an etiological explanation for the Moon’s waning.