Shloka 29
सरस्वतीतीर्थानुक्रमः — बलरामस्य तीर्थयात्रा
Sarasvatī Tīrtha Itinerary — Balarāma’s Pilgrimage
भ्रातृभ्यां पशुलुब्धाभ्यामुत्सृष्टः स महातपा: । उदपाने तदा राजन् निर्जले पांसुसंवृते
bhrātṛbhyāṃ paśulubdhābhyām utsṛṣṭaḥ sa mahātapāḥ | udapāne tadā rājan nirjale pāṃsu-saṃvṛte ||
வைசம்பாயனர் கூறினார்—அரசே, கால்நடைகளின் பேராசையில் மூழ்கிய அவன் இரு சகோதரர்களும், அந்த மகாதபஸ்வியை அப்போது நீரற்ற, தூசியால் அடைந்த கிணற்றிலேயே கைவிட்டனர்.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how greed (lobha), especially for material gain like cattle, can override dharma and familial responsibility, leading to cruelty toward even a virtuous ascetic; it implicitly warns that adharma begins when desire eclipses duty and compassion.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Trita, a great ascetic, is betrayed by his two brothers who, motivated by greed for cattle, abandon him inside a waterless well filled and covered with dust.