Trita in the Well (Udapāna-kathā) — Balarāma’s Tīrtha Observances
किमिदं भवतो रूपमीदृशं न प्रकाशते । कारणं ब्रूहि नः सर्व येनेद॑ ते महद् भयम्
kim idaṃ bhavato rūpam īdṛśaṃ na prakāśate | kāraṇaṃ brūhi naḥ sarva yenedaṃ te mahad bhayam ||
നിന്റെ രൂപം ഇങ്ങനെ ആയത് എന്തുകൊണ്ട്? നിന്റെ തേജസ് എന്തുകൊണ്ട് തെളിഞ്ഞു കാണുന്നില്ല? നിനക്കു ഈ മഹാഭയം ഏതു കാരണത്താൽ ഉണ്ടായതെന്ന് മുഴുവനായി ഞങ്ങളോട് പറയുക.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
The verse highlights a dharmic mode of response to crisis: instead of acting on confusion or panic, one seeks clarity through respectful questioning and asks for the underlying cause (kāraṇa) of fear, so that action may be guided by understanding rather than impulse.
Vaiśampāyana, as the narrator, reports someone addressing another person whose appearance is unclear or altered and who is experiencing intense fear. The speaker asks why the form is not clearly manifest and requests a complete explanation of the cause behind that fear.