Mahabharata 9.35.40 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 35, Shloka 40

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

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच तीर्थानां च फलं राजन्‌ गुणोत्पत्तिं च सर्वश: । मयोच्यमान वै पुण्यं शृणु राजेन्द्र कृत्सनश:

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca tīrthānāṃ ca phalaṃ rājan guṇotpattiṃ ca sarvaśaḥ | mayocyamānaṃ vai puṇyaṃ śṛṇu rājendra kṛtsnaśaḥ ||

Translation

وَیشَمپایَن نے کہا—اے راجَن! میں تیرتھوں کے پھل، ان کی خوبیاں، ان کا اثر اور ان کی پیدائش ہر پہلو سے پوری طرح بیان کروں گا۔ اے راجاؤں کے سردار! ان سے پیدا ہونے والے پُنّیہ (ثواب) کا یہ مکمل بیان توجہ سے سنو۔

Word by Word

• {'vaiśampāyana uvāca': 'Vaiśampāyana said', 'tīrthānām': 'of tīrthas

• sacred places/fords of pilgrimage', 'phalam': 'fruit

• spiritual benefit', 'rājan': 'O king (vocative)', 'guṇa': 'quality

• excellence', 'utpatti': 'origin

• genesis', 'sarvaśaḥ': 'in every way

• comprehensively', 'mayā ucyamānam': 'being spoken by me

• as I am about to tell', 'vai': 'indeed

• emphatic particle', 'puṇyam': 'merit

• auspicious spiritual credit', 'śṛṇu': 'listen (imperative)', 'rājendra': 'O best of kings

• king of kings', 'kṛtsnaśaḥ': 'completely

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• rājan (the King addressed)
• tīrthas (pilgrimage sites)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames pilgrimage as a dharmic practice whose value lies in understanding both the spiritual fruits (phala/puṇya) and the virtues and origins (guṇa-utpatti) of sacred places, emphasizing attentive listening and proper knowledge as part of religious merit.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana begins a didactic section addressed to a king, announcing that he will systematically explain the merits, qualities, and origins of various tīrthas—introducing a broader discourse on tīrtha-māhātmya within the Shalya Parva.