Mahabharata 9.40.40 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 40, Shloka 40
Baka Dālbhya at Avakīrṇa-tīrtha: Rāṣṭra-kṣaya and Release through Prasāda (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 40)
राजन्! बलरामजीने उस श्रेष्ठ तीर्थमें उत्तम ब्राह्मणोंकी पूजा करके उन्हें दूध देनेवाली गौएँ
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca | rājan! balarāmaḥ tasmin śreṣṭhe tīrthe uttamabrāhmaṇān pūjayitvā tebhyo dugdhadāḥ gāvaḥ vāhanāni śayyāḥ vastrāṇi alaṅkārāṃś ca bhojyapeyānāṃ ca sundarān padārthān prasannatayā adāt | tataḥ sa bākasya āśramasya nikaṭaṃ jagāma, yatra dalbhaputro bākaḥ tīvraṃ tapaś cacāra ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśaṃpāyana: “O Hari, si Balarāma, matapos parangalan at sambahin ang mahuhusay na brāhmaṇa sa dakilang tīrtha na iyon, ay masayang nagkaloob sa kanila ng mga bakang nagbibigay-gatas, mga sasakyan, mga higaan, mga kasuotan, mga palamuti, at maririkit na pagkain at inumin. Pagkaraan, nagtungo siya malapit sa ashram ni Baka, kung saan si Baka, anak ni Dalbha, ay nagsagawa ng mahigpit na pag-aayuno at pagninilay (tapas).”
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Pilgrimage is framed as ethical practice: honoring worthy persons and giving with a joyful mind. The merit of tīrtha is completed by pūjā (reverence) and dāna (supporting the learned and ascetic), not by mere physical visitation.
Vaiśaṃpāyana narrates that Balarāma, during his tīrtha-journey, worships eminent brāhmaṇas and donates valuable goods (cows, conveyances, beds, clothing, ornaments, provisions). He then proceeds to the vicinity of Baka’s hermitage, a place sanctified by Baka’s severe austerities.
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