Shloka 8

Saptasārasvata-tīrtha-prasaṅgaḥ | The Saptasārasvata Pilgrimage Account and the Maṅkaṇaka Narrative

Devanagari script

तत्र स्नात्वा च दत्त्वा च वसु विप्राय माधव:,गन्धर्वाणां ततस्तीर्थमागच्छद्‌ रोहिणीसुत: । बलरामजीने वहाँ स्नान करके ब्राह्मणोंको धन दान किया और दिव्य गीत एवं दिव्य वाद्योंकी ध्वनि सुनकर देवताओं, गन्धर्वों तथा राक्षसोंकी बहुत-सी मूर्तियोंका दर्शन किया। तत्पश्चात्‌ रोहिणीनन्दन बलराम गन्धर्वतीर्थमें गये

Transliteration

tatra snātvā ca dattvā ca vasu viprāya mādhavaḥ | gandharvāṇāṃ tatas tīrtham āgacchad rohiṇīsutaḥ ||

Translation

Dort badete Mādhava (Balarāma) und gab dann einem Brahmanen Reichtum als Gabe; darauf zog er weiter zu dem heiligen Furtplatz (tīrtha), der mit den Gandharvas verbunden war. So setzte Rohiṇīs Sohn seine Pilgerfahrt fort, indem er Reinheit und Freigebigkeit ehrte, bevor er zum nächsten Heiligtum aufbrach.

Word by Word

• {'tatra': 'there, in that place', 'snātvā': 'having bathed (ritually purified himself)', 'ca ... ca': 'and ... and (both actions emphasized)', 'dattvā': 'having given (in donation)', 'vasu': 'wealth, valuables', 'viprāya': 'to a Brahmin', 'mādhavaḥ': 'Mādhava

• here an epithet of Balarāma (also used for Kṛṣṇa in other contexts)', 'gandharvāṇām': 'of the Gandharvas', 'tīrtham': 'ford

• sacred pilgrimage place', 'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter', 'āgacchat': 'went/arrived', 'rohiṇīsutaḥ': 'son of Rohiṇī (Balarāma)'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Balarāma
• Rohiṇī
• a Brahmin (vipra)
• Gandharvas
• Gandharva-tīrtha

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds dharmic conduct during pilgrimage: purification through bathing (śauca) and the ethical duty of giving (dāna) to worthy recipients, showing that sacred travel is completed by moral action, not mere movement between places.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates Balarāma’s continued tīrtha-yātrā: he bathes at a sacred spot, donates wealth to a Brahmin, and then proceeds to the tīrtha connected with the Gandharvas (Gandharva-tīrtha).