Shloka 36
Adhyaya 6 — Balarama’s Dilemma, Drunken Wanderings in Revata’s Grove, and the Slaying of the Suta
अथ येयं समारब्धा तीर्थयात्रा मयाधुना ।
एतामेव प्रयास्यामि प्रतिलोमां सरस्वतीम् ॥
atha yeyāṃ samārabdhā tīrthayātrā mayādhunā / etām eva prayāsyāmi pratilomāṃ sarasvatīm //
Ngayon, ang paglalakbay-dambana sa mga banal na tawiran (tīrtha) na aking sinimulan—ang mismong landasing ito ang aking susundan, paakyat sa kahabaan ng Sarasvatī, salungat sa karaniwang agos.
FAQs
The verse expresses saṅkalpa (firm resolve): spiritual practice is advanced by deliberate commitment, even when it requires moving ‘against the current’ of ease, habit, or convention. Pilgrimage is framed not as tourism but as a disciplined undertaking (samārabdhā) that must be completed with intent.
This verse aligns most closely with ‘Vaṃśānucarita’/narrative conduct and tīrtha-māhātmya material rather than the core five (sarga, pratisarga, vaṃśa, manvantara, vaṃśānucarita). It is ancillary dharma-geography: describing sacred places and the mode of approaching them.
‘Pratiloma’ (reverse/upstream) can be read symbolically: the seeker turns inward and ascends toward the source (yoni) of purity and knowledge. The Sarasvatī, as both river and goddess of speech/gnosis, suggests a movement from outer ritual travel toward subtler attainment—returning to the origin of wisdom.