Shloka 39

Trita in the Well (Udapāna-kathā) — Balarāma’s Tīrtha Observances

Devanagari script

यथाक्रमेण भगवंस्तीर्थानामनुपूर्वश: । ब्रह्मन ब्रह्मविदां श्रेष्ठ परं कौतूहलं हि मे

Transliteration

yathākrameṇa bhagavaṁs tīrthānām anupūrvaśaḥ | brahman brahmavidāṁ śreṣṭha paraṁ kautūhalaṁ hi me || janamejaya uvāca ||

Translation

جنمیجَے نے کہا— اے بھگون! تیرتھوں کا بیان ترتیب اور تسلسل کے ساتھ کیجیے۔ اے برہمن، برہمن کے جاننے والوں میں افضل— میرا اشتیاق نہایت گہرا ہے۔

Word by Word

• यथा: as, in the manner of
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• अक्रमेण: not in order, irregularly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अ-क्रम (क्रम)

• भगवन्: O Blessed one / O Lord
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगवत्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• तीर्थानाम्: of the sacred fords/pilgrimage places
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• अनुपूर्वशः: in due sequence, successively
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अनुपूर्वशः

• ब्रह्मन्: O Brahman (sage)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• ब्रह्मविदाम्: of the knowers of Brahman
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मविद्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• श्रेष्ठ: O best, O foremost
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रेष्ठ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• परम्: supreme, great
• परम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• कौतूहलम्: curiosity, eagerness
• कौतूहलम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कौतूहल
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• हि: indeed, for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• मे: of me / my
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Singular

Speaker

जनमेजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Janamejaya
• a Brahman sage (addressed as bhagavan, brahman, brahmavidāṁ śreṣṭha)
• tīrthas (sacred pilgrimage sites)
• Sarasvatī (implied by the passage’s context in this section)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a dharmic approach to sacred practice: pilgrimage and ritual are not random acts but are to be undertaken with proper order (yathākrameṇa, anupūrvaśaḥ), informed guidance, and a sincere desire to understand the origins and ethical-spiritual fruits of holy places.

What is happening in the narrative?

King Janamejaya addresses the sage-narrator with respectful titles and requests a systematic account of the tīrthas—especially those connected with the Sarasvatī—asking for their qualities, powers, origin-stories, and the practices by which one attains spiritual success there.