Mahabharata 9.37.66 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 37, Shloka 66

Saptasārasvata-tīrtha-prasaṅgaḥ | The Saptasārasvata Pilgrimage Account and the Maṅkaṇaka Narrative

Devanagari script

अहिंस्र्थर्मपरमैर्नुभिरत्यर्थसेवितम्‌ । सप्तसारस्वतं तीर्थमभाजगाम हलायुध:

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | ahiṃsā-dharma-paramair nṛbhir atyartha-sevitam | sapta-sārasvataṃ tīrtham abhājagāma halāyudhaḥ ||

Translation

ਵੈਸ਼ੰਪਾਯਨ ਨੇ ਆਖਿਆ—ਅਹਿੰਸਾ-ਧਰਮ ਵਿੱਚ ਰਤ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਬਹੁਤ ਸੇਵਿਆ ਜਾਣ ਵਾਲੇ ‘ਸਪਤਸਾਰਸਵਤ’ ਤੀਰਥ ਤੇ ਹਲਾਯੁਧ ਬਲਰਾਮ ਆਏ।

Word by Word

• अहिंसाधर्मपरमैः: by those whose highest aim is non-violent dharma
• अहिंसाधर्मपरमैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अहिंसाधर्मपरम
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• नृभिः: by men
• नृभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृ
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• अत्यर्थसेवितम्: much frequented / greatly resorted to
• अत्यर्थसेवितम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अत्यर्थसेवित
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• सप्तसारस्वतम्: the (tirtha) called Saptasārasvata
• सप्तसारस्वतम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्तसारस्वत
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• तीर्थम्: pilgrimage-ford, sacred place
• तीर्थम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अभाजगाम: went to / reached
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3, Singular, Parasmaipada

• हलायुधः: Halāyudha (Balarāma), he whose weapon is a plough
• हलायुधः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: हलायुध
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Halāyudha (Balarāma/Baladeva)
• Sapta-Sārasvata tīrtha
• Sarasvatī (river, implied by the tīrtha name)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse elevates ahiṃsā as a defining mark of righteous conduct: the tīrtha is praised precisely because it is ‘greatly frequented’ by people devoted to non-violence, implying that sacred space is validated by ethical practice, not merely geography.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator states that Balarāma (Halāyudha) arrives at the pilgrimage site Sapta-Sārasvata. This functions as a transition into a tīrtha-setting associated with peace, restraint, and religious observance, contrasting with the martial events of the Shalya Parva.