Shloka 41
Saptasārasvata-tīrtha-prasaṅgaḥ | The Saptasārasvata Pilgrimage Account and the Maṅkaṇaka Narrative
जनमेजयने पूछा--यजुर्वेदके ज्ञाताओंमें श्रेष्ठ विप्रवर! मैं आपके मुँहसे यह सुनना चाहता हूँ कि सरस्वती नदी किस कारणसे पीछे लौटकर पूर्वाभिमुख बहने लगी? क्या कारण था कि वहाँ यदुनन्दन बलरामजीको भी आश्चर्य हुआ? सरिताओंमें श्रेष्ठ सरस्वती किस कारणसे और किस प्रकार पूर्वदिशाकी ओर लौटी थीं? ।।
Vaiśampāyana uvāca | pūrvaṁ kṛtayuge rājan naimiṣeyās tapasvinaḥ | vartamāne suvipule satre dvādaśavārṣike ||
Janamejaya asked: “O foremost brahmin, best among the knowers of the Yajurveda, I wish to hear from your own lips: for what reason did the Sarasvatī turn back and flow facing east? What cause made even Yadunandana, Lord Balarāma, marvel there? Why and how did Sarasvatī, best of rivers, return toward the eastern quarter?” Vaiśampāyana said: “In the ancient Kṛta age, O King, the ascetics of Naimiṣa, while engaged in a vast sacrificial session that lasted twelve years…”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the authority of ancient ascetic practice and long-form Vedic sacrifice (satra) as the setting in which sacred events are explained, implying that extraordinary occurrences in sacred geography are tied to disciplined ritual and tapas.
Vaiśampāyana begins his reply by shifting the scene to the Kṛta Yuga, describing the Naimiṣa sages conducting a grand twelve-year satra—this becomes the narrative backdrop for explaining why the Sarasvatī later turned back and flowed eastward (a point raised just before this verse).