Shloka 38
Trita in the Well (Udapāna-kathā) — Balarāma’s Tīrtha Observances
इस प्रकार उदार वृत्तिवाले अनुपम प्रभावशाली महात्मा बलरामने सरस्वतीके श्रेष्ठ तीर्थोमें बहुत धन दान किया और क्रमशः यात्रा करते हुए वे कुरक्षेत्रमें आये ।। जनमेजय उवाच सारस्वतानां तीर्थानां गुणोत्पत्तिं वदस्व मे । फलं च द्विपदां श्रेष्ठ कर्मनिर्वत्तिमेव च,जनमेजय बोले--ब्रह्मवेत्ताओंमें श्रेष्ठ और मनुष्योंमें उत्तम ब्राह्मगदेव! अब आप मुझे सरस्वती-तटवर्ती तीर्थोंके गुण, प्रभाव और उत्पत्तिकी कथा सुनाइये। भगवन्! क्रमश: उन तीर्थोके सेवनका फल और जिस कर्मसे वहाँ सिद्धि प्राप्त होती है, उसका अनुष्ठान भी बताइये, मेरे मनमें यह सब सुननेके लिये बड़ी उत्कण्ठा हो रही है
janamejaya uvāca | sārasvatānāṁ tīrthānāṁ guṇotpattiṁ vadasva me | phalaṁ ca dvipadāṁ śreṣṭha karmānirvattim eva ca ||
Vaiśampāyana said: In this way Balarāma—the great-souled one, of incomparable might and generous conduct—gave away much wealth at the finest tīrthas of the Sarasvatī, and then, journeying in due order, came to Kurukṣetra. Janamejaya said: “Tell me of the sacred fords along the Sarasvatī—how their virtues arise and how they originated. And, O best among men, explain also the fruits gained from visiting them in due order, and the specific rites and disciplines by which spiritual success is attained there.”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames tīrtha-yātrā as disciplined dharma: sacred places have specific virtues and origin-stories, and their benefits (phala) are linked to proper conduct and prescribed rites (karma-nirvatti), not mere travel.
King Janamejaya, eager to understand the Sarasvatī’s pilgrimage network, asks the narrator to explain the qualities, origins, sequential fruits of visiting those tīrthas, and the practices that lead to spiritual attainment there.