Shloka 6
Śalya-parva Adhyāya 34: Balarāma’s Withdrawal, Sarasvatī Pilgrimage Logistics, and Prabhāsa as Soma’s Renewal Tīrtha
चत्वारिंशदहान्यद्य द्वे च मे निःसृतस्य वै । पुष्येण सम्प्रयातो5स्मि श्रवणे पुनरागत:
catvāriṁśad ahāny adya dve ca me niḥsṛtasya vai | puṣyeṇa samprayāto 'smi śravaṇe punar āgataḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “Today it has been forty days—and two more—since I departed. I set out under the lunar mansion Puṣya, and I have returned again under Śravaṇa.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined reckoning of time and the cultural weight given to auspicious markers (nakṣatras) in framing human action—especially in war narratives—suggesting that events are remembered not only by what happened but also by when and under what signs they occurred.
Sañjaya reports the duration of his absence and marks his departure and return by the nakṣatras Puṣya and Śravaṇa, indicating he has come back after a defined interval and is resuming his role as a reporter to the Kuru court.