Shloka 8

Saptasārasvata-tīrtha-prasaṅgaḥ | The Saptasārasvata Pilgrimage Account and the Maṅkaṇaka Narrative

Devanagari script

तत्र स्नात्वा च दत्त्वा च वसु विप्राय माधव:

Transliteration

tatra snātvā ca dattvā ca vasu viprāya mādhavaḥ | gandharvāṇāṃ tatas tīrtham āgacchad rohiṇīsutaḥ ||

Translation

There, after bathing and then giving wealth in charity to a Brahmin, Mādhava (Balarāma) proceeded onward to the sacred ford associated with the Gandharvas. Thus Rohiṇī’s son continued his pilgrimage, honoring purity and generosity before moving to the next holy place.

Word by Word

• {'tatra': 'there, in that place', 'snātvā': 'having bathed (ritually purified himself)', 'ca ... ca': 'and ... and (both actions emphasized)', 'dattvā': 'having given (in donation)', 'vasu': 'wealth, valuables', 'viprāya': 'to a Brahmin', 'mādhavaḥ': 'Mādhava

• here an epithet of Balarāma (also used for Kṛṣṇa in other contexts)', 'gandharvāṇām': 'of the Gandharvas', 'tīrtham': 'ford

• sacred pilgrimage place', 'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter', 'āgacchat': 'went/arrived', 'rohiṇīsutaḥ': 'son of Rohiṇī (Balarāma)'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Balarāma
• Rohiṇī
• a Brahmin (vipra)
• Gandharvas
• Gandharva-tīrtha

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds dharmic conduct during pilgrimage: purification through bathing (śauca) and the ethical duty of giving (dāna) to worthy recipients, showing that sacred travel is completed by moral action, not mere movement between places.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates Balarāma’s continued tīrtha-yātrā: he bathes at a sacred spot, donates wealth to a Brahmin, and then proceeds to the tīrtha connected with the Gandharvas (Gandharva-tīrtha).