Shloka 36

गदायुद्ध-समारम्भः

Commencement of the Mace-Duel Proceedings

Devanagari script

सो<वतीर्याचलश्रेष्ठात्‌ प्लक्षप्रस्रनणाच्छुभात्‌

Transliteration

so’vatīryācalśreṣṭhāt plakṣaprasravaṇāc chubhāt | tīrthasevanamahat phalaṁ śrutvā prītamanāḥ punar acyuto balarāmo brāhmaṇān samīpam etad gāthāślokam agāyat ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana berkata: Turun dari gunung yang paling mulia, dari puncak bertuah bernama Plakṣa-prasravaṇa, Acyuta Balarāma—gembira di hati setelah mendengar ganjaran besar daripada menziarahi tīrtha (tempat penyeberangan suci)—mendekati para Brahmin lalu melagukan bait ini.

Word by Word

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अवतीर्य: having descended
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव-तॄ
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral for gerund)

• अचलश्रेष्ठात्: from the best of mountains
• अचलश्रेष्ठात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अचलश्रेष्ठ
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• प्लक्षप्रस्रवणात्: from (the place called) Plakṣa-prasravaṇa
• प्लक्षप्रस्रवणात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्लक्षप्रस्रवण
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• शुभात्: from the auspicious (place)
• शुभात्: Apadana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Balarāma
• Brāhmaṇas
• Plakṣa-prasravaṇa (tīrtha)
• Mountain peak (acala-śreṣṭha)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds tīrtha-sevana (pilgrimage/visiting sacred places) as a dharmic practice that yields ‘great fruit’—moral and spiritual merit—especially when joined with humility and respect toward Brahmins and sacred tradition.

What is happening in the narrative?

Balarāma descends from the auspicious Plakṣa-prasravaṇa region, becomes pleased after hearing about the benefits of pilgrimage, approaches the Brahmins, and begins to sing/recite a verse—serving as a transition into his spoken praise or teaching.