Shloka 1
Vṛddha-kanyā-carita and Balarāma’s Kurukṣetra Inquiry (वृद्धकन्या-चरितम् / कुरुक्षेत्रफल-प्रश्नः)
ऑपन-आक्रात बछ। 2 एकपज्चाशत्तमो< ध्याय: सारस्वततीर्थकी महिमाके प्रसंगमें दधीच ऋषि और सारस्वत मुनिके चरित्रका वर्णन वैशम्पायन उवाच यत्रेजिवानुड॒पती राजसूयेन भारत । तस्मिंस्तीर्थे महानासीत् संग्रामस्तारकामय:
Vaiśampāyana uvāca | yatra ijivān uḍupati rājasūyena bhārata | tasmiṃs tīrthe mahān āsīt saṅgrāmas tārakāmayaḥ ||
毗湿摩波耶那说：“噢，婆罗多啊，这里正是苏摩圣渡（Soma-tīrtha），群星之主——月神——曾在此举行罗阇苏耶大祭（Rājasūya）。就在这神圣的渡口，往昔爆发过宏大的‘塔罗迦摩耶之战’（Tārakāmaya），警示世人：即便是崇高的存在，一旦被欲望与争竞驱使，也会把圣地化作战场。”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sacred places and lofty rites do not automatically prevent conflict; when desire and rivalry arise, even the divine can fall into war. The verse frames a moral contrast between holiness (tīrtha, yajña) and the human-like tendency toward strife.
Vaiśampāyana identifies a particular pilgrimage site—Soma-tīrtha—by recalling that the Moon performed a Rājasūya there, and that the great Tārakāmaya war also occurred at that same place, setting context for the chapter’s tīrtha-related narration.