Shloka 3

Trita in the Well (Udapāna-kathā) — Balarāma’s Tīrtha Observances

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

ジャナメージャヤは言った。「そう言い残して、刹帝利を懲らしめる者として名高いバララーマは旅立った。婆羅門よ、二度生まれの中の最勝者よ、その後いかにして再び来たのか、語っていただきたい。」

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम्

• उक्त्वा: having said
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), active, रामः

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा

• रामः: Rama (Balarama)
• रामः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: राम
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• यातः: went
• Type: Verb
• Root: या
• Form: क्त (past passive participle used actively), masculine, nominative, singular

• क्षत्र-निबर्हणः: destroyer of Kshatriyas
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षत्रनिबर्हण
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• तस्य: of him
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: masculine/neuter, genitive, singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• आगमनम्: coming, arrival
• आगमनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आगमन
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

• भूयः: again, once more
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भूयस्/भूयः

• ब्रह्मन्: O Brahmin
• ब्रह्मन्: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन्
• Form: masculine, vocative, singular

• शंसितुम्: to tell, to relate
• Type: Verb
• Root: शंस्
• Form: तुमुन् (infinitive), active

• अर्हसि: you are able/fit (please)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्ह्
• Form: present indicative, 2nd, singular, parasmaipada

• विप्र-वर: O best of Brahmins
• विप्र-वर: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्रवर
• Form: masculine, vocative, singular

Speaker

जनमेजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Janamejaya
• Balarāma (Rāma)
• Brahman (addressed sage/narrator)
• Kṣatriyas

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.