Shloka 26
युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya
ततो गच्छेत धर्मज्ञ नमस्कृत्य महागिरिम्,धर्मज्ञ! वहाँसे महापर्वत हिमालयको नमस्कार करके गंगाद्वार (हरिद्वार)-की यात्रा करे, जो स्वर्गद्वारके समान है; इसमें संशय नहीं है। वहाँ एकाग्रचित्त हो कोटितीर्थमें स्नान करे
tato gacchet dharmajña namaskṛtya mahāgirim | dharmajña! vahāṁse mahāparvata himālayako namaskāra karke gaṅgādvāra (haridvāra)-kī yātrā kare, jo svargadvārake samāna hai; isameṁ saṁśaya nahīṁ hai | vahāṁ ekāgracitta ho koṭitīrthameṁ snāna kare |
ثمّ، يا عارفَ الدَّرما، بعد أن تنحني إجلالًا للجبل العظيم—الهيمالايا—فامضِ إلى غَنْغادْفارا (هاريدوار)، بوّابةٍ تُشبَّه بمدخل السماء نفسها؛ ولا ريب في ذلك. وهناك، بقلبٍ مجموعٍ غير مشتّت، فليغتسل المرء في كوطيتيرثا (Koṭitīrtha).
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is practiced through reverence and disciplined action: honoring sacred places (Himālaya, Gaṅgādvāra) and performing purificatory rites with ekāgratā (one-pointed attention). The verse links outer pilgrimage with inner mental focus, implying that merit depends not only on travel but on mindful, respectful conduct.
The speaker gives a step-by-step instruction for a tīrtha-yātrā: first bow to the great mountain Himālaya, then travel to Gaṅgādvāra (Haridwar), praised as heaven’s gateway, and finally bathe at the sacred Koṭitīrtha with concentrated mind.