Shloka 1
Indratīrtha–Ādityatīrtha: Balarāma’s Ritual Bathing, Dāna, and Sacred-Historical Recollections
ऑपनआक्रा बछ। अं अष्टचत्वारिशो&् ध्याय: बदरपाचनतीर्थकी महिमाके प्रसंगमें श्रुतावती और अरुन्धतीके तपकी कथा वैशम्पायन उवाच ततस्तीर्थवरं रामो ययौ बदरपाचनम् | तपस्विसिद्धचरितं यत्र कन्या धृतव्रता,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--राजन्! पहले कहा गया है कि वहाँसे बलरामजी बदरपाचन नामक श्रेष्ठ तीर्थमें गये, जहाँ तपस्वी और सिद्ध पुरुष विचरण करते हैं तथा जहाँ पूर्वकालमें उत्तम व्रत धारण करनेवाली भरद्वाजकी ब्रह्मचारिणी पुत्री कुमारी कन्या श्रुतावती, जिसके रूप और सौन्दर्यकी भूमण्डलमें कहीं तुलना नहीं थी, निवास करती थी
vaiśampāyana uvāca | tataḥ tīrthavaraṃ rāmo yayau badarapācanaṃ | tapasvi-siddha-caritaṃ yatra kanyā dhṛta-vratā |
Vaiśampāyana said: Then Rāma (Balarāma) went to the excellent sacred ford called Badarapācana, a place frequented by ascetics and perfected beings. There dwelt a maiden of firm vows—Śrutāvatī, the brahmacāriṇī daughter of Bharadvāja—renowned in former times, whose beauty was said to be unmatched upon the earth. The narrative frames the tīrtha as a moral landscape: holiness is marked not by power or conquest, but by restraint, vows, and the presence of realized practitioners.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse elevates dharma through tīrtha and tapas: true excellence is associated with places and persons marked by vows (vrata), celibate discipline (brahmacarya), and the company of siddhas—suggesting that moral authority arises from restraint and spiritual attainment rather than worldly force.
Vaiśampāyana continues the account of Balarāma’s pilgrimage: he arrives at the sacred place Badarapācana, described as a resort of ascetics and siddhas, and the scene introduces (or prepares to introduce) the story connected with the vowed maiden Śrutāvatī, daughter of the sage Bharadvāja.