Shloka 78
Trita in the Well (Udapāna-kathā) — Balarāma’s Tīrtha Observances
सरस्वतीं ततः सोम: स जगामर्षिशासनात् | प्रभासं प्रथमं तीर्थ सरस्वत्या जगाम ह,ऋषि (दक्ष प्रजापति)-के इस आदेशसे सोम सरस्वतीके प्रथम तीर्थ प्रभासक्षेत्रमें गये
sarasvatīṃ tataḥ somaḥ sa jagām ṛṣiśāsanāt | prabhāsaṃ prathamaṃ tīrthaṃ sarasvatyā jagāma ha ||
Vaiśampāyana sagte: Daraufhin begab sich Soma, dem Gebot der ṛṣis folgend, zur Sarasvatī. Ja, er zog nach Prabhāsa—dem vornehmsten Tīrtha der Sarasvatī—um den vorgeschriebenen Weg der Wallfahrt und Läuterung zu vollziehen.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharmic discipline: even a powerful deity like Soma acts under the guidance of ṛṣis, showing that moral-spiritual authority and prescribed rites (tīrtha-yātrā, purification) should be respected and followed.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Soma, following the seers’ injunction (linked in the received tradition to Dakṣa Prajāpati’s directive), sets out to the Sarasvatī and first reaches Prabhāsa, described as the foremost tīrtha of the Sarasvatī.