Shloka 4

Ārṣṭiṣeṇa’s Siddhi and the Tīrtha-Boons; Sindhudvīpa–Devāpi Brāhmaṇya; Viśvāmitra’s Tapas Begins

Devanagari script

ततस्त्वौशनसं तीर्थमभाजगाम हलायुध: । कपालमोचन नाम यत्र मुक्तो महामुनि:,तदनन्तर हलधारी बलराम औशनसतीर्थमें आये, जिसका दूसरा नाम कपालमोचनतीर्थ भी है। महाराज! पूर्वकालमें भगवान्‌ श्रीरामने एक राक्षसको मारकर उसे दूर फेंक दिया था। उसका विशाल सिर महामुनि महोदरकी जाँघमें चिपक गया था। वे महामुनि इस तीर्थमें स्नान करनेपर उस कपालसे मुक्त हुए थे

Transliteration

tatas tv auśanasaṃ tīrtham abhājagāma halāyudhaḥ | kapālamocana nāma yatra mukto mahāmuniḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: Then Halāyudha (Balarāma) proceeded to the sacred ford known as Auśanasa, also called Kapālamocana, the place where a great sage was freed from a clinging skull.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

तुbut/indeed

औशनसम्of/relating to Uśanas (Śukra)

तीर्थम्sacred ford/pilgrimage-place

अभाजगामwent to, approached

हलायुधःhe whose weapon is a plough (Balarāma)

कपालमोचनम्Skull-release (name of a tīrtha)

नामby name; named

यत्रwhere

मुक्तःfreed, released

महामुनिःthe great sage

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Balarāma (Halāyudha)

Auśanasa-tīrtha

Kapālamocana-tīrtha

Mahāmuni (unnamed in this verse)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the purificatory power of tīrthas: burdens of impurity or affliction—symbolized by the ‘skull’—can be removed through dharmic means such as pilgrimage, bathing, and reverence for sacred places.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that Balarāma (Halāyudha) travels onward to the Auśanasa tīrtha, also known as Kapālamocana, renowned as the place where a great sage was liberated from a skull-related affliction.