Shloka 47

सरस्वतीतीर्थानुक्रमः — बलरामस्य तीर्थयात्रा

Sarasvatī Tīrtha Itinerary — Balarāma’s Pilgrimage

Devanagari script

तत्र चोर्मिमती राजन्नुत्पपात सरस्वती

Transliteration

tatra cormimatī rājann utpapāta sarasvatī

Translation

在那里，王啊，萨拉斯瓦蒂河波涛翻涌，忽然猛涨，骤然腾起。

Word by Word

तत्रthere

चand

ऊर्मिमतीwave-filled, having waves

राजन्O king

उत्पपातleapt up, sprang forth

सरस्वतीSarasvatī (the river)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sarasvatī

King (rājan)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how the natural world in the Mahābhārata is not merely background but can act as a meaningful sign—sacred rivers and their movements often signal heightened moral and narrative tension, reminding the listener that dharma and adharma reverberate through the cosmos.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana tells the king that at that location the Sarasvatī, described as full of waves, suddenly surged upward—an evocative moment that can function as a portent or dramatic intensification within the Shalya Parva’s unfolding events.