Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ऑपन-आक्रात बछ। 2 एकपज्चाशत्तमो< ध्याय: सारस्वततीर्थकी महिमाके प्रसंगमें दधीच ऋषि और सारस्वत मुनिके चरित्रका वर्णन वैशम्पायन उवाच यत्रेजिवानुड॒पती राजसूयेन भारत । तस्मिंस्तीर्थे महानासीत्‌ संग्रामस्तारकामय:,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--भरतनन्दन! वही सोम-तीर्थ है, जहाँ नक्षत्रोंके स्वामी चन्द्रमाने राजसूययज्ञ किया था। उसी तीर्थमें महान्‌ तारकामय संग्राम हुआ था

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca | yatra ijivān uḍupati rājasūyena bhārata | tasmiṃs tīrthe mahān āsīt saṅgrāmas tārakāmayaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: O Bhārata, this is that Soma-tīrtha where the Moon—lord of the constellations—performed the Rājasūya sacrifice. At that very sacred ford there once took place the great Tārakāmaya war, a reminder that even exalted beings, when driven by desire and rivalry, can turn holy ground into a field of conflict.

Word by Word

वैशम्पायनःVaishampayana

उवाचsaid

यत्रwhere

इजिवान्having sacrificed; who performed a sacrifice

उडुपतिःlord of the stars (the Moon)

राजसूयेनby/with the Rājasūya sacrifice

भारतO Bhārata

तस्मिन्in that

तीर्थेat the sacred ford/pilgrimage place

महान्great

आसीत्was

संग्रामःbattle

तारकामयःthe Tārakāmaya (battle concerning Tārakā)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Bhārata (Janamejaya)

Soma-tīrtha

Candra (the Moon, uḍupati)

Rājasūya-yajña

Tīrtha

Tārakāmaya-saṅgrāma

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Sacred places and lofty rites do not automatically prevent conflict; when desire and rivalry arise, even the divine can fall into war. The verse frames a moral contrast between holiness (tīrtha, yajña) and the human-like tendency toward strife.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana identifies a particular pilgrimage site—Soma-tīrtha—by recalling that the Moon performed a Rājasūya there, and that the great Tārakāmaya war also occurred at that same place, setting context for the chapter’s tīrtha-related narration.