Shloka 6
सरस्वतीतीर्थानुक्रमः — बलरामस्य तीर्थयात्रा
Sarasvatī Tīrtha Itinerary — Balarāma’s Pilgrimage
कूपे कथं च हित्वैनं भ्रातरौ जग्मतुर्गृहान् । कथं च याजयामास पपौ सोम॑ च वै कथम्
kūpe kathaṃ ca hitvainam bhrātarau jagmatur gṛhān | kathaṃ ca yājayāmāsa papau somaṃ ca vai katham ||
Janamejaya bertanya: “Bagaimana kedua saudara itu meninggalkannya di dalam sumur lalu pulang ke rumah? Dan bagaimana kemudian ia dapat memimpin upacara kurban bagi orang lain, dan bagaimana pula ia meminum Soma?”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds ethical scrutiny of wrongdoing (abandoning someone in a well) alongside the later social-religious status of the same person (officiating sacrifices, drinking Soma). It invites reflection on how actions, consequences, and rehabilitation or reversal of fortune unfold within dharma and karma.
Janamejaya presses the narrator for details: he asks how two brothers left a man in a well and went home, and then how that man later attained the role of a ritual officiant who could conduct sacrifices for others and partake of Soma—markers of recognized ritual standing.