Shloka 43
Trita in the Well (Udapāna-kathā) — Balarāma’s Tīrtha Observances
जनमेजय उवाच कथं तु भगवन् सोमो यक्ष्मणा समगृहा[त । कथं च तीर्थप्रवरे तरमिं श्षन्द्रोी न्यमज्जत,जनमेजयने पूछा--भगवन्! चन्द्रमा कैसे राजयक्ष्मासे ग्रस्त हो गये और उस उत्तम तीर्थमें किस प्रकार उन्होंने स्नान किया?
janamejaya uvāca | kathaṁ tu bhagavan somo yakṣmaṇā samagṛhītaḥ | kathaṁ ca tīrthapravare tatra candro nyamajjat |
ชนเมชัยตรัสถามว่า “ข้าแต่ท่านผู้เจริญ โสมะ (พระจันทร์) ถูกโรคราชยักษมาจับกุมได้อย่างไร และ ณ ทีรถะอันประเสริฐนั้น พระจันทร์ได้ลงอาบน้ำศักดิ์สิทธิ์อย่างไร”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic inquiry: even exalted beings may suffer affliction, and relief is sought through prescribed sacred means—especially tīrtha-bathing and ritual purification—highlighting humility, accountability, and the restorative power attributed to holy places.
King Janamejaya asks the sage to explain two linked points: (1) how Soma/Candra became afflicted by rājayakṣmā, and (2) how he performed immersion at a foremost tīrtha there—setting up the ensuing account of the Moon’s ailment and its remedy through pilgrimage and bathing.