gomatīm—at the Gomatī Rivergaṇḍakīm—the Gaṇḍakī Riversnātvā—bathingvipāśām—at the Vipāśā Riverśoṇe—in the Śoṇa Riverāplutaḥ—having immersed Himselfgayām—to Gayāgatvā—goingpitṝn—His forefathersiṣṭvā—worshipinggaṅgā—of the Gangessāgara—and the oceansaṅgame—at the confluenceupaspṛśya—touching water (bathing)mahā - indra - adrau—at the Mahendra Mountainrāmam—Lord Paraśurāmadṛṣṭvā—seeingabhivādya—honoringca—andsapta - godāvarīm—(going) to the convergence of the seven Godāvarīsveṇām—the Veṇā Riverpampām—the Pampā Riverbhīmarathīm—and the Bhīmarathī Rivertataḥ—thenskandam—Lord Skanda (Kārttikeya)dṛṣṭvā—seeingyayau—wentrāmaḥ—Lord Balarāmaśrī - śailam—to Śrī-śailagiri - śa—of Lord Śivaālayam—the residencedraviḍeṣu—in the southern provincesmahā—mostpuṇyam—piousdṛṣṭvā—seeingadrim—the hillveṅkaṭam—known as Veṅkaṭa (the abode of Lord Bālajī)prabhuḥ—the Supreme Lordkāma - koṣṇīm—to Kāmakoṣṇīpurīm kāñcīm—to Kāñcīpuramkāverīm—to the Kāverīca—andsarit—of riversvarām—the greatestśrī - raṅga - ākhyam—known as Śrī-raṅgamahā - puṇyam—most pious placeyatra—wheresannihitaḥ—manifestedhariḥ—Lord Kṛṣṇa (in the form of Raṅganātha)ṛṣabha - adrim—the Ṛṣabha Mountainhareḥ—of Lord Viṣṇukṣetram—the placedakṣiṇām mathurām—the southern Mathurā (Madurai, the abode of Goddess Mīnākṣī)tathā—alsosāmudram—on the oceansetum—to the bridge (Setubandha)agamat—He wentmahā—the greatestpātaka—sinsnāśanam—which destroys .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
gomatīṁ gaṇḍakīṁ snātvā
gomatīm
at the Gomatī River
gaṇḍakīm
the Gaṇḍakī River
snātvā
bathing
vipāśāṁ śoṇa āplutaḥ
vipāśām
at the Vipāśā River
śoṇe
in the Śoṇa River
āplutaḥ
having immersed Himself
gayāṁ gatvā pitṝn iṣṭvā
gayām
to Gayā
gatvā
going
pitṝn
His forefathers
iṣṭvā
worshiping
gaṅgā-sāgara-saṅgame
gaṅgā
of the Ganges
sāgara
and the ocean
saṅgame
at the confluence
upaspṛśya mahendrādrau
upaspṛśya
touching water (bathing)
mahā - indra - adrau
at the Mahendra Mountain
rāmam
Lord Paraśurāma
dṛṣṭvā
seeing
rāmaṁ dṛṣṭvābhivādya ca
abhivādya
honoring
ca
and
sapta-godāvarīṁ veṇāṁ
sapta - godāvarīm
(going) to the convergence of the seven Godāvarīs
veṇām
the Veṇā River
pampāṁ bhīmarathīṁ tataḥ
pampām
the Pampā River
bhīmarathīm
and the Bhīmarathī River
tataḥ
then
skandaṁ dṛṣṭvā yayau rāmaḥ
skandam
Lord Skanda (Kārttikeya)
dṛṣṭvā
seeing
yayau
went
rāmaḥ
Lord Balarāma
śrī-śailaṁ giriśālayam
śrī - śailam
to Śrī-śaila
giri - śa
of Lord Śiva
ālayam
the residence
draviḍeṣu mahā-puṇyaṁ
draviḍeṣu
in the southern provinces
mahā
most
puṇyam
pious
dṛṣṭvādriṁ veṅkaṭaṁ prabhuḥ
dṛṣṭvā
seeing
adrim
the hill
veṅkaṭam
known as Veṅkaṭa (the abode of Lord Bālajī)
prabhuḥ
the Supreme Lord
kāma-koṣṇīṁ purīṁ kāñcīṁ
kāma - koṣṇīm
to Kāmakoṣṇī
purīm kāñcīm
to Kāñcīpuram
kāverīm
to the Kāverī
kāverīṁ ca sarid-varām
ca
and
sarit
of rivers
varām
the greatest
śrī-rangākhyaṁ mahā-puṇyaṁ
śrī - raṅga - ākhyam
known as Śrī-raṅga
mahā - puṇyam
most pious place
yatra
where
yatra sannihito hariḥ
sannihitaḥ
manifested
hariḥ
Lord Kṛṣṇa (in the form of Raṅganātha)
ṛṣabhādriṁ hareḥ kṣetraṁ
ṛṣabha - adrim
the Ṛṣabha Mountain
hareḥ
of Lord Viṣṇu
kṣetram
the place
dakṣiṇāṁ mathurāṁ tathā
dakṣiṇām mathurām
the southern Mathurā (Madurai, the abode of Goddess Mīnākṣī)
tathā
also
sāmudraṁ setum agamat
sāmudram
on the ocean
setum
to the bridge (Setubandha)
agamat
He went
mahā-pātaka-nāśanam
mahā
the greatest
pātaka
sins
nāśanam
which destroys .
Important Words
sannihitaḥ hariḥ—Hari is directly manifested
Compound: sam + ni + √dhā, 'placed near, permanently established' + Hari. The verse uses this phrase precisely for Śrī-raṅgam — among all tīrthas listed, this is the one where Hari Himself is recognized as ever-present. For Gauḍīyas the line authorizes Śrī-raṅgam as a Hari-kṣetra of the highest order.
veṅkaṭam—Veṅkaṭa Hill
The abode of Bālajī (Veṅkaṭeśvara) at Tirumala. Vaiṣṇava tradition reads veṅkaṭam as 'that which burns away sin' (veṁ kaṭati). Balarāma touches Veṅkaṭa in the same line that names Śrī-raṅgam — the verse strings together the two greatest South Indian Viṣṇu-kṣetras.
gayām—to Gayā
The tīrtha where Viṣṇu's footprint is worshipped and where śrāddha-rites for one's ancestors yield maximum benefit. Gauḍīyas know Gayā as the very place where the young Viśvambhara (Mahāprabhu) met Īśvara Purī and received the gopāla-mantra, beginning His revealed mission.
pitṝn iṣṭvā—worshiping His forefathers
Compound clause: pitṝn (forefathers) + iṣṭvā (having worshiped). Balarāma performs pitṛ-yajña at Gayā — the Lord who is Himself the destination of all worship enacts pitṛ-pūjā, modeling that even an Avatāra honors the lineage He has appeared into.
draviḍeṣu—in the southern provinces
Locative plural of Draviḍa. The verse explicitly names southern India as the field of pilgrimage. Gauḍīyas note Mahāprabhu's later south-India yātrā as a deliberate retracing of Balarāma's footprints — Saṅkarṣaṇa first, then Caitanya.
mahā-pātaka-nāśanam—which destroys the greatest sins
Compound: mahā (great) + pātaka (sin) + nāśana (destroyer). Epithet of Setubandha. The Bhāgavatam classifies Setu as a tīrtha that destroys even mahā-pātaka — the five great sins; only Rāma-kṣetras carry that exact power, because they hold Rāma's footprint.
Lord Balarāma bathed in the Gomatī, Gaṇḍakī and Vipāśā rivers, and also immersed Himself in the Śoṇa. He went to Gayā, where He worshiped His forefathers, and to the mouth of the Ganges, where He performed purifying ablutions. At Mount Mahendra He saw Lord Paraśurāma and offered Him prayers, and then He bathed in the seven branches of the Godāvarī River, and also in the rivers Veṇā, Pampā and Bhīmarathī. Then Lord Balarāma met Lord Skanda and visited Śrī-śaila, the abode of Lord Giriśa. In the southern provinces known as Draviḍa-deśa the Supreme Lord saw the sacred Veṅkaṭa Hill, as well as the cities of Kāmakoṣṇī and Kāñcī, the exalted Kāverī River and the most holy Śrī-raṅga, where Lord Kṛṣṇa has manifested Himself. From there He went to Ṛṣabha Mountain, where Lord Kṛṣṇa also lives, and to the southern Mathurā. Then He came to Setubandha, where the most grievous sins are destroyed.
Purport
Usually one goes to Gayā to worship deceased forefathers. But as Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains, although Lord Balarāma’s father and grandfather were still alive, it was on His father’s order that He carefully worshiped His forefathers at Gayā. Drawing insight from the Vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī, the ācārya further explains that although Lord Balarāma was in the immediate proximity of Jagannātha Purī, He did not go there, since He wanted to avoid the embarrassment of having to worship Himself among the forms of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Balabhadra and Subhadrā.
— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
Lord Balarāma bathed in the Gomatī, Gaṇḍakī and Vipāśā rivers, and also immersed Himself in the Śoṇa. He went to Gayā, where He worshiped His forefathers, and to the mouth of the Ganges, where He performed purifying ablutions. At Mount Mahendra He saw Lord Paraśurāma and offered Him prayers, and then He bathed in the seven branches of the Godāvarī River, and also in the rivers Veṇā, Pampā and Bhīmarathī. Then Lord Balarāma met Lord Skanda and visited Śrī-śaila, the abode of Lord Giriśa. In the southern provinces known as Draviḍa-deśa the Supreme Lord saw the sacred Veṅkaṭa Hill, as well as the cities of Kāmakoṣṇī and Kāṣcī, the exalted Kāverī River and the most holy Śrī-raṅga, where Lord Kṛṣṇa has manifested Himself. From there He went to Ṛṣabha Mountain, where Lord Kṛṣṇa also lives, and to the southern Mathurā. Then He came to Setubandha, where the most grievous sins are destroyed.
Commentary
Going to each of the rivers such as the Gomati, Gandaki and Vipasa, he bathed in each one. At Gaya he worshipped the forefathers; that is, as his grandfather and father were still living, he worshipped those who came before that, on the order of Vasudeva.
Bathing (upasprsya) at Ganga Sagara, after that he should have gone to Puri, but did not go, since it would be embarrassing for him to have to worship Krsna Subhadra and himself there. This is the opinion of Vaisnava Tosani. At Mahendra he offered prayers to Parasurama (rama).
Jīva Gosvāmī
Gauḍīya
Commentary
Since his father and grandfather were still living, he offered sacrifice to his ancestors at Gāyā on the order of Vasudeva. He bathed (upaspṛśya) at Gaṅgā-sāgara. Though it was easy to go from there to Puri, he did not go since it was not necessary to worship Jagannātha since Jagannātha was non-different from Kṛṣṇa who had now appeared in complete form with all the avatāras. Or there was no particular goal in going there, since he was directly present and the deity there was non-different from him. He would also be embarrassed to worship himself. He then saw Paraśurāma. He had bhakti for Paraśurāma. After that he went to Sapta-godavārī and other places and bathed there. Another version has sapta-godavaram. Venā and Bhīmarathī are rivers and Pampā is a lake.
He saw the mountain of Veṅkaṭa most pure (mahā-puṇyam) because it was the abode of Trimalla-nātha (Balaji) and an important place of the Śrī-vaiṣṇavas. He went to Kāma-koṣṭi and other places (verb should be supplied), since he was capable of all things (prabhuḥ). In all those places he performed the pilgrimage duties completely. He went to Śrī-raṅgam where the Lord who destroys all suffering and attracts all (hariḥ) resides eternally (sannihitaḥ). Therefore the place was most pure (mahā-puṇyam). The word ca means “then.” He went to Samudra-setu which destroys great sins just by going there. One can atone for killing a brāhmaṇa there.
This block reads like a recited mālā — Gomatī, Gaṇḍakī, Vipāśā, Śoṇa, Gayā, Gaṅgā-sāgara, Mahendra, the seven Godāvarīs, Veṇā, Pampā, Bhīmarathī, Śrī-śaila, Veṅkaṭa, Kāñcī, Kāverī, Śrī-raṅga, Ṛṣabhādri, Madurai, Setubandha — bead after bead of holy place strung on Balarāma's walking feet. The pilgrimage is itself a kīrtana of geography, every tīrtha sanctified again by the Lord retracing it.
Stories
Balarāma meets Paraśurāma at Mahendra
Mahendra Mountain is the residence to which Paraśurāma retired after his twenty-one campaigns against the corrupted kṣatriya order (Bhāgavatam 9.15–16). Balarāma's visit there is one āveśa-līlā meeting another: the brāhmaṇa-protecting elder son of Yadu, holding plow and club, before the kṣatriya-chastising son of Jamadagni, holding axe.
The two share an ancestral mood — both arrived to clear the earth of adharmic rulers — yet Paraśurāma is famously the one who, in Caitanya-caritāmṛta and the older Purāṇas, will later become a witness and devotee of the Yadu line. The encounter is a kind of intra-Viṣṇu courtesy.
Śrī-raṅgam, where Hari is permanently present
Śrī-raṅga, on an island in the Kāverī, is the place where Lord Raṅganātha reclines on Ananta — sannihito hariḥ, as the verse says, 'Hari is manifested here.' The Gauḍīya tradition honors Śrī-raṅgam through Mahāprabhu's four-month stay with Veṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa during His South Indian tour, where He converted the entire Śrī-Vaiṣṇava family to gopī-bhāva.
By the time the Bhāgavatam is recited at Naimiṣa, Hari is already 'sannihita' at Śrī-raṅgam. Balarāma's pilgrimage is therefore not just to a tīrtha but to His own younger brother's reclining form — Saṅkarṣaṇa visiting Viṣṇu.