Shloka 5
सरस्वतीतीर्थानुक्रमः — बलरामस्य तीर्थयात्रा
Sarasvatī Tīrtha Itinerary — Balarāma’s Pilgrimage
जनमेजय उवाच उदपानं कथं ब्रह्मन् कथं च सुमहातपा: । पतित: कि च संत्यक्तो भ्रातृभ्यां द्विजसत्तम,एतदाचक्ष्व मे ब्रह्मन् श्रोतव्यं यदि मन्यसे । जनमेजयने पूछा--ब्रह्मन! उदपान तीर्थ कैसे हुआ? वे महातपस्वी त्रितमुनि उसमें कैसे गिर पड़े और द्विजश्रेष्ठ उनके दोनों भाइयोंने उन्हें क्यों वहीं छोड़ दिया था? क्या कारण था, जिससे वे दोनों भाई उन्हें कुएँमें ही त्यागकर घर चले गये थे? वहाँ रहकर उन्होंने यज्ञ और सोमपान कैसे किया? ब्रह्मन! यदि यह प्रसंग मेरे सुननेयोग्य समझें तो अवश्य मुझे बतावें
janamejaya uvāca | udapānaṁ kathaṁ brahman kathaṁ ca sumahātapāḥ | patitaḥ kiṁ ca saṁtyakto bhrātṛbhyāṁ dvijasattama, etad ācakṣva me brahman śrotavyaṁ yadi manyase |
Janamejaya said: “O Brahmin, how did that well become a sacred ford (tīrtha)? And how did the great ascetic fall into it? O best of twice-born, why was he abandoned there by his two brothers—what was the reason that they left him in the well and went home? And while staying there, how did he perform sacrifice and drink Soma? O Brahmin, if you deem this episode fit to be heard, please tell it to me.”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical inquiry: how a place becomes sacred through extraordinary conduct, and how dharma can be upheld even under betrayal and abandonment. It highlights the value of seeking causes (hetu) behind actions and the power of tapas and yajña to transform adversity into sanctity.
King Janamejaya asks the Brahmin narrator to explain an episode: how a well became a tīrtha, how a great ascetic fell into it, why his two brothers abandoned him there, and how—despite being trapped—he managed to perform sacrifice and partake of Soma.