Shloka 2

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

Devanagari script

साहाय्य॑ धार्तराष्ट्स्य न च कर्तास्मि केशव । न चैव पाण्डुपुत्राणां गमिष्यामि यथागतम्‌,जनमेजयने कहा--ब्रह्मन! जब महाभारतयुद्ध आरम्भ होनेका समय निकट आ गया, उस समय युद्ध प्रारम्भ होनेसे पहले ही भगवान्‌ बलराम श्रीकृष्णकी सम्मति ले, अन्य वृष्णिवंशियोंके साथ तीर्थयात्राके लिये चले गये और जाते समय यह कह गये कि “केशव! मैंन तो धृतराष्ट्रपुत्र दुर्योधनकी सहायता करूँगा और न पाण्डवोंकी ही'

Transliteration

sāhāyyaṃ dhārtarāṣṭrasya na ca kartāsmi keśava | na caiva pāṇḍuputrāṇāṃ gamiṣyāmi yathāgatam ||

Translation

“കേശവാ! ഞാൻ ധൃതരാഷ്ട്രപുത്രന്റെ സഹായിയായി മാറുകയില്ല; അതുപോലെ ഇപ്പോഴത്തെ നിലയിൽ പാണ്ഡുപുത്രന്മാരുടെ പക്ഷത്തേക്കും പോകുകയില്ല.”

Word by Word

साहाय्यम्help, assistance

धार्तराष्ट्रस्यof the son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra (Duryodhana)

नnot

चand

कर्तास्मिI will do / I shall be a doer (i.e., I will act)

केशवO Keśava (Krishna)

नnot

चand

एवindeed, just

पाण्डुपुत्राणाम्of the sons of Pāṇḍu (the Pāṇḍavas)

गमिष्यामिI will go

यथाas, in the manner that

आगतम्come/arrived (as I came)

Speaker

जनमेजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Keśava (Śrī Kṛṣṇa)

Dhārtarāṣṭra (Kaurava side; Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son, i.e., Duryodhana by implication)

Pāṇḍuputrāḥ (the Pāṇḍavas)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights ethical agency in times of conflict: one may consciously refuse to empower either faction, choosing restraint and distance rather than becoming an instrument of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Addressing Keśava (Kṛṣṇa), the speaker declares that he will neither support the Kaurava side (Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son) nor join the Pāṇḍavas, signaling a decision to stay apart as the war nears.