Shloka 23

Kapālamocana-tīrtha (Auśanasa) and Balarāma’s Sarasvatī Pilgrimage

Devanagari script

भरतनन्दन! यज्ञपरायण उद्दालक ऋषिके यज्ञमें भी सरस्वतीका आवाहन किया गया। वे शीघ्रगामिनी सरस्वती हिमालयसे निकलकर उस यज्ञमें आयी थीं ।।

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca |

bharatanandana! yajñaparāyaṇa uddālaka ṛṣike yajñe’pi sarasvatyā āvāhanaṃ kṛtam | sā śīghragāminī sarasvatī himālayāt niṣkramya taṃ yajñam upāgamat ||

samete sarvataḥ sphīte munīnāṃ maṇḍale tadā | uttare kosalābhāge puṇye rājan mahātmanā ||

pūrvakāle yajñam ācaratā mahātmanā uddālakena sarasvatī devī dhyātā | tadā munikāryasiddhyarthaṃ saritāṃ śreṣṭhā sarasvatī tasmin deśe samāgatā ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana disse: “Ó descendente de Bharata! O sábio Uddālaka—firme no sacrifício—invocou Sarasvatī mesmo no interior do rito. Sarasvatī, de curso veloz, brotando do Himālaya, veio àquele sacrifício. Então, na região santa e próspera de Kosala do Norte, o círculo dos sábios reunira-se de todas as direções. Ali, enquanto realizava o sacrifício, o magnânimo Uddālaka contemplou a deusa Sarasvatī; e, para levar a termo o intento do sábio, Sarasvatī—primeira entre os rios—chegou àquela terra.”

Word by Word

• समेते: having come together (two)
• समेते: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-इ (धातु) → समेता (कृदन्त)
• Form: feminine, nominative, dual

• सर्वतः: from all sides / everywhere
• सर्वतः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सर्वतः

• स्फीते: in the prosperous (two)
• स्फीते: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्फीत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: feminine, locative, dual

• मुनीनाम्: of the sages
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: masculine, genitive, plural

• मण्डले: in the circle/assembly
• मण्डले: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मण्डल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: neuter, locative, singular

• तदा: then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा

• उत्तरे: in the northern
• उत्तरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: neuter, locative, singular

• कोसलाभागे: in the Kosala region/part
• कोसलाभागे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कोसल-भाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: masculine, locative, singular

• पुण्ये: in the holy
• पुण्ये: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: neuter, locative, singular

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: masculine, vocative, singular

• महात्मना: by the great-souled one
• महात्मना: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: masculine, instrumental, singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Bharatanandana (addressee)
• Uddālaka Ṛṣi
• Sarasvatī (goddess/river)
• Himālaya
• Uttara Kosala
• Munis (assembly of sages)
• Yajña (sacrifice)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage highlights that sincere, dharma-aligned ritual effort (yajña) joined with focused remembrance/invocation (āvāhana, dhyāna) draws supportive divine forces; sacred power is portrayed as responsive to disciplined intention and communal sanctity.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Northern Kosala, many sages gather while Uddālaka performs a sacrifice. He invokes and meditates on Sarasvatī, and the swift river-goddess, said to arise from the Himālaya, comes to the sacrificial arena to accomplish the sage’s purpose.