Shloka 653
Trita in the Well (Udapāna-kathā) — Balarāma’s Tīrtha Observances
कृशाश्चासन् प्रजा: सर्वा: क्षीयमाणे निशाकरे । ओषधियोंके क्षीण होनेसे समस्त प्राणियोंका भी क्षय होने लगा। इस प्रकार चन्द्रमाके क्षयके साथ-साथ सारी प्रजा अत्यन्त दुर्बल हो गयी
kṛśāś cāsan prajāḥ sarvāḥ kṣīyamāṇe niśākare | oṣadhīnāṃ kṣīṇa-bhāvena samastānāṃ prāṇināṃ kṣayo 'py abhavat | evaṃ candramasaḥ kṣayena saha sarvā prajā 'tyanta-durbalā babhūva |
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは言った。月が衰えると、民はことごとく痩せ細り、力を失った。薬草が衰退すると、生きとし生けるものもまた消耗し始めた。かくして月の減衰と歩調を合わせ、天下の民は甚だしく衰弱した――支えとなる秩序が弱まれば、苦しみは万人に及ぶという姿である。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights interdependence: when a sustaining cosmic factor (the moon, linked with nourishment and herbs) declines, life that depends on it also declines. Ethically, it underscores that disorder in the larger system—natural or moral—spreads suffering widely, not selectively.
The narrator describes a grim condition: as the moon wanes, medicinal herbs lose potency and the populace grows emaciated. It functions as a portent-like depiction of widespread depletion and distress surrounding the events of the war.