Shloka 3

Devanagari script

एवमुक्त्वा तदा रामो यात: क्षत्रनिबर्हण: । तस्य चागमन भूयो ब्रह्मन्‌ शंसितुमरहसि,विप्रवर! उन दिनों ऐसी बात कहकर जब क्षत्रियसंहारक बलरामजी चले गये, तब उनका पुनः आगमन कैसे हुआ, यह बतानेकी कृपा करें

Transliteration

evam uktvā tadā rāmo yātaḥ kṣatra-nibarhaṇaḥ | tasya cāgamanaṃ bhūyo brahman śaṃsitum arhasi, vipra-vara ||

Translation

Janamejaya said: “Having spoken thus, Balarāma—renowned as the chastiser of the Kṣatriyas—departed. O Brahman, best of the twice-born, you ought to recount to me how he later came again.”

Word by Word

एवम्thus

उक्त्वाhaving said

तदाthen

रामःRama (Balarama)

यातःwent

क्षत्र-निबर्हणःdestroyer of Kshatriyas

तस्यof him

चand

आगमनम्coming, arrival

भूयःagain, once more

ब्रह्मन्O Brahmin

शंसितुम्to tell, to relate

अर्हसिyou are able/fit (please)

विप्र-वरO best of Brahmins

Speaker

जनमेजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Janamejaya

Balarāma (Rāma)

Brahman (addressed sage/narrator)

Kṣatriyas

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the dharmic method of learning: a respectful seeker requests an authoritative narrator to clarify a narrative gap. It underscores reliance on qualified testimony (śruti/smṛti-style transmission) and the ethical posture of inquiry—humility, precision, and continuity of account.

What is happening in the narrative?

Janamejaya, hearing that Balarāma departed after making a statement, asks the sage to explain how Balarāma later returned. The verse functions as a transition, prompting the narrator to continue the storyline and supply the missing sequence of events.