Shloka 64

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

Devanagari script

।। क्षीयमाणे तत: सोमे ओषध्यो न प्रजज्ञिरे

Transliteration

kṣīyamāṇe tataḥ some oṣadhyo na prajajñire

Translation

വൈശമ്പായനൻ പറഞ്ഞു—പിന്നീട് സോമൻ (ചന്ദ്രൻ) ക്ഷീണിച്ചുകൊണ്ടിരിക്കുമ്പോൾ ഔഷധികൾ ഉദിച്ചില്ല.

Word by Word

• क्षीयमाणे: when (it was) waning/being diminished
• क्षीयमाणे: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्षी (धातु)
• Form: शानच् (वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि/भावे), Masculine, Locative, Singular

• ततः: then/thereupon
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात्)

• सोमे: in the Soma (Moon)
• सोमे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोम
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• ओषध्यः: plants/herbs
• ओषध्यः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ओषधि
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• प्रजज्ञिरे: were born/arose
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्शभूत/परफेक्ट), आत्मनेपद, Third, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Soma
• oṣadhi (medicinal herbs)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse links cosmic diminution with worldly deprivation: when the sustaining source (Soma as a symbol of vitality and nourishment) wanes, life-supporting resources like medicinal plants fail to arise—implying that disorder or depletion at the root level leads to widespread suffering.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes a condition of decline: as Soma decreases, herbs do not grow. It functions as a sign of deteriorating balance in the world, setting a somber tone consistent with the broader atmosphere of loss and exhaustion in the Shalya Parva.