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 //
Nay, cuộc hành hương đến các bến thiêng (tīrtha) mà ta đang thực hiện—chính lộ trình này ta sẽ theo, đi ngược dòng dọc theo sông Sarasvatī, trái với dòng chảy thường lệ.
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.