Shloka 76
Trita in the Well (Udapāna-kathā) — Balarāma’s Tīrtha Observances
मासार्ध च क्षयं सोमो नित्यमेव गमिष्यति । मासार्ध तु सदा वृद्धि सत्यमेतद् वचो मम,'सोम आधे मासतक प्रतिदिन क्षीण होंगे और आधे मासतक निरन्तर बढ़ते रहेंगे। मेरी यह बात अवश्य सत्य होगी
māsārdhaṃ ca kṣayaṃ somo nityam eva gamiṣyati | māsārdhaṃ tu sadā vṛddhiḥ satyam etad vaco mama ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “For half the month the Moon will steadily wane day by day, and for the other half it will continually wax. This statement of mine shall indeed prove true.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse affirms ṛta—cosmic order—by pointing to the Moon’s fixed cycle of waning and waxing, and it underscores the ethical weight of truthful speech: a declared statement is presented as certain and reliable.
Vaiśampāyana, as narrator, makes a firm pronouncement about the Moon’s fortnightly waning and waxing, using the predictable celestial rhythm as an assurance that his words are true.