Shloka 67
Trita in the Well (Udapāna-kathā) — Balarāma’s Tīrtha Observances
किमिदं भवतो रूपमीदृशं न प्रकाशते । कारणं ब्रूहि नः सर्व येनेद॑ ते महद् भयम्
kim idaṃ bhavato rūpam īdṛśaṃ na prakāśate | kāraṇaṃ brūhi naḥ sarva yenedaṃ te mahad bhayam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Why is your appearance, in this strange condition, not becoming clear to us? Tell us the full reason—by what cause has this great fear arisen in you?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic mode of response to crisis: instead of acting on confusion or panic, one seeks clarity through respectful questioning and asks for the underlying cause (kāraṇa) of fear, so that action may be guided by understanding rather than impulse.
Vaiśampāyana, as the narrator, reports someone addressing another person whose appearance is unclear or altered and who is experiencing intense fear. The speaker asks why the form is not clearly manifest and requests a complete explanation of the cause behind that fear.