Shloka 85
Trita in the Well (Udapāna-kathā) — Balarāma’s Tīrtha Observances
अमावास्यां महाराज नित्यश: शशलक्षण: । स्नात्वा ह्॒ाप्यायते श्रीमान् प्रभासे तीर्थ उत्तमे
amāvāsyāṃ mahārāja nityaśaḥ śaśalakṣaṇaḥ | snātvā hy āpyāyate śrīmān prabhāse tīrtha uttame ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O great king, on every new-moon day the illustrious one marked with the hare-sign (the Moon) bathes at Prabhāsa, that most excellent sacred ford, and thereby becomes replenished and restored to fullness.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents tīrtha as a source of renewal: even the Moon, diminished at amāvāsyā, is said to regain fullness through ritual bathing at Prabhāsa—an image linking sacred practice with restoration and cosmic regularity.
Vaiśampāyana explains to the king a traditional account about Prabhāsa: on each new-moon day the Moon (identified by the hare-mark) bathes there and becomes replenished, highlighting the tīrtha’s exceptional sanctity.