Shalya Parva Adhyaya 48 Shloka 1 - Mahabharata | Spanish | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 1

Indratīrtha–Ādityatīrtha: Balarāma’s Ritual Bathing, Dāna, and Sacred-Historical Recollections

Devanagari script

ऑपनआक्रा बछ। अं अष्टचत्वारिशो&् ध्याय: बदरपाचनतीर्थकी महिमाके प्रसंगमें श्रुतावती और अरुन्धतीके तपकी कथा वैशम्पायन उवाच ततस्तीर्थवरं रामो ययौ बदरपाचनम्‌ | तपस्विसिद्धचरितं यत्र कन्या धृतव्रता

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | tataḥ tīrthavaraṃ rāmo yayau badarapācanaṃ | tapasvi-siddha-caritaṃ yatra kanyā dhṛta-vratā |

Translation

Dijo Vaiśampāyana: Entonces Rāma (Balarāma) fue al excelente vado sagrado llamado Badarapācana, frecuentado por ascetas y seres consumados. Allí habitaba en tiempos antiguos una doncella de votos firmes—Śrutāvatī, la hija brahmacāriṇī de Bharadvāja—cuya hermosura se decía sin igual en toda la tierra.

Word by Word

वैशम्पायनःVaishampayana

उवाचsaid

ततःthen; thereafter

तीर्थवरम्the excellent sacred ford (best tīrtha)

रामःRama (Balarama)

ययौwent

बदरपाचनम्to Badarapācana (name of a tīrtha)

तपस्वि-सिद्ध-चरितम्frequented/inhabited by ascetics and siddhas

यत्रwhere

कन्याa maiden

धृतव्रताone who has undertaken/held a vow

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Rāma (Balarāma)

Badarapācana-tīrtha

tapasvins (ascetics)

siddhas (perfected beings)

Śrutāvatī

Bharadvāja

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse elevates dharma through tīrtha and tapas: true excellence is associated with places and persons marked by vows (vrata), celibate discipline (brahmacarya), and the company of siddhas—suggesting that moral authority arises from restraint and spiritual attainment rather than worldly force.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana continues the account of Balarāma’s pilgrimage: he arrives at the sacred place Badarapācana, described as a resort of ascetics and siddhas, and the scene introduces (or prepares to introduce) the story connected with the vowed maiden Śrutāvatī, daughter of the sage Bharadvāja.