Shloka 46
धर्मद्वारबहुत्वविमर्शः — Reflection on the Many ‘Doors’ of Dharma (Śānti-parva 342)
अन्न, वेद, जल और अमृतको पृश्रनि कहते हैं। ये सदा मेरे गर्भमें रहते हैं; इसलिये मेरा नाम (पृश्निगर्भ” है ।। ऋषय: प्राहुरेवं मां त्रितं कृपनिपातितम् । पृश्चिगर्भ त्रितं पाहीत्येकतद्धितपातितम्,जब त्रितमुनि अपने भाइयोंद्वारा कुएँमें गिरा दिये गये, उस समय ऋषियोंने मुझसे इस प्रकार प्रार्थना की--'पृश्चिगर्भ! आप एकत और द्वितके गिराये हुए त्रितको डूबनेसे बचाइये।” उस समय मेरे पृश्चिगर्भ नामका बारंबार कीर्तन करनेसे ब्रह्माजीके आदि पुत्र ऋषिप्रवर त्रित उस कुएँसे बाहर हो गये
annam, vedaḥ, jalam amṛtaṃ ca pṛśnayaḥ ucyante. te sadā mama garbhe tiṣṭhanti; tasmān mama nāma “pṛśnigarbha” iti. ṛṣayaḥ prāhur evaṃ māṃ tritaṃ kṛpaṇipātitam— “pṛśnigarbha, tritaṃ pāhi; ekata-dvitābhyāṃ nipātitam” iti. yadā tritamuniḥ svabhrātṛbhyāṃ kūpe nipātitaḥ, tadā ṛṣibhir mayi evaṃ prārthitam— “pṛśnigarbha! ekata-dvitābhyāṃ nipātitaṃ tritaṃ nimajjanāt trāyasva.” tadā mama “pṛśnigarbha” nāmnaḥ punar-punaḥ kīrtanena brahmaṇa ādi-putraḥ ṛṣipravaraḥ tritaḥ sa kūpāt bahiḥ samutthitaḥ.
“Food, the Veda, water, and nectar are called the ‘Pṛśnis’. They always abide within my womb; therefore my name is ‘Pṛśnigarbha’ (He in whose womb the Pṛśnis dwell). The sages once addressed me about Trita, who had been cruelly cast down: ‘O Pṛśnigarbha, save Trita—thrown into the well by Ekata and Dvita!’ When the sage Trita was hurled into a well by his own brothers, the seers prayed to me in this way: ‘O Pṛśnigarbha, rescue Trita, cast down by Ekata and Dvita, from drowning.’ Then, through the repeated invocation of my name “Pṛśnigarbha,” the eminent sage Trita—Brahmā’s primeval son—rose out of that well.”
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage emphasizes the salvific power of sacred invocation: sincere, repeated calling upon a protective divine epithet (“Pṛśnigarbha”) becomes an instrument of deliverance for one in distress, reinforcing faith in dharmic refuge and compassionate intervention.
Trita, betrayed by his brothers Ekata and Dvita, is thrown into a well. The sages appeal to the being called “Pṛśnigarbha” to save him. Through repeated utterance of that name, Trita is enabled to rise out of the well and escape drowning.