Shloka 10
Sārasvata–Dadhīca Upākhyāna at Sarasvatī Tīrtha
Balarāma’s Pilgrimage Context
स दृष्ट्वा भिक्षुरूपेण प्राप्तं॑ तत्र महामुनिम्
sa dṛṣṭvā bhikṣurūpeṇa prāptaṁ tatra mahāmunim
Seeing there the great sage who had arrived in the guise of a mendicant, he took note of the ascetic’s disguised presence—an encounter that hints at the moral weight of appearances, intention, and the testing of conduct amid crisis.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds how dharma may be tested through appearances: a revered figure may come in humble disguise, prompting discernment, restraint, and ethical response rather than judgment based on outward form.
A character (referred to simply as ‘he’) notices that a great sage has arrived at that place, but the sage is presented as coming in the guise of a mendicant, setting up an encounter where identity and intention matter.