Shloka 8

Saptasārasvata-tīrtha-prasaṅgaḥ | The Saptasārasvata Pilgrimage Account and the Maṅkaṇaka Narrative

Devanagari script

तत्र स्नात्वा च दत्त्वा च वसु विप्राय माधव:

Transliteration

tatra snātvā ca dattvā ca vasu viprāya mādhavaḥ | gandharvāṇāṃ tatas tīrtham āgacchad rohiṇīsutaḥ ||

Translation

Là, après s’être baigné puis avoir donné des richesses en aumône à un brahmane, Mādhava (Balarāma) poursuivit sa route vers le gué sacré (tīrtha) associé aux Gandharva. Ainsi le fils de Rohiṇī continua son pèlerinage, honorant la pureté et la générosité avant de gagner le sanctuaire suivant.

Word by Word

• {'tatra': 'there, in that place', 'snātvā': 'having bathed (ritually purified himself)', 'ca ... ca': 'and ... and (both actions emphasized)', 'dattvā': 'having given (in donation)', 'vasu': 'wealth, valuables', 'viprāya': 'to a Brahmin', 'mādhavaḥ': 'Mādhava

• here an epithet of Balarāma (also used for Kṛṣṇa in other contexts)', 'gandharvāṇām': 'of the Gandharvas', 'tīrtham': 'ford

• sacred pilgrimage place', 'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter', 'āgacchat': 'went/arrived', 'rohiṇīsutaḥ': 'son of Rohiṇī (Balarāma)'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Balarāma
• Rohiṇī
• a Brahmin (vipra)
• Gandharvas
• Gandharva-tīrtha

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds dharmic conduct during pilgrimage: purification through bathing (śauca) and the ethical duty of giving (dāna) to worthy recipients, showing that sacred travel is completed by moral action, not mere movement between places.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates Balarāma’s continued tīrtha-yātrā: he bathes at a sacred spot, donates wealth to a Brahmin, and then proceeds to the tīrtha connected with the Gandharvas (Gandharva-tīrtha).