Shloka 31

युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya

Devanagari script

कपिलावटरटं ततो गच्छेत्‌ तीर्थसेवी नराधिप । उपोष्य रजनीं तत्र गोसहस्रफलं लभेत्‌,नरेश्वर! उसके बाद तीर्थसेवी मनुष्य कपिलावट-तीर्थमें जाय। वहाँ रातभर उपवास करनेसे उसे सहस्र गोदानका फल मिलता है

Transliteration

kapilāvaṭaraṭaṃ tato gacchet tīrthasevī narādhipa | upoṣya rajanīṃ tatra gosahasraphalaṃ labhet, nareśvara ||

Translation

ثمّ، أيها الملك، ينبغي للحاجّ المواظب على ارتياد المعابر المقدّسة (تيرثا) أن يمضي إلى الموضع المقدّس المسمّى كَبِيلَاڤَطَة (Kapilāvaṭa). فإذا صام هناك طوال الليل، يا سيّد الناس، نال ثوابًا يعادل ثواب التصدّق بألف بقرة.

Word by Word

कपिलावटम्Kapilāvaṭa (tīrtha/place-name) (as destination)

ततःthen, thereafter

गच्छेत्should go

तीर्थसेवीa pilgrim; one who frequents sacred fords

नराधिपO king (lord of men)

उपोष्यhaving fasted

रजनीम्the night

तत्रthere

गोसहस्रफलम्the merit/reward equal to (the gift of) a thousand cows

लभेत्would obtain; should obtain

नरेश्वरO lord of men (king)

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

Kapilāvaṭa (tīrtha)

narādhipa/nareśvara (the king addressed)

gosahasra (a thousand cows, as a meritorious gift)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Disciplined observance at a sacred place—here, fasting through the night at Kapilāvaṭa—is presented as a powerful dharmic act whose merit can equal major acts of charity (such as gifting a thousand cows), emphasizing self-restraint and devotion as paths to puṇya.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker instructs a king about the next step in a pilgrimage itinerary: the pilgrim should go to the Kapilāvaṭa tīrtha and keep a night-long fast there, which is said to confer the merit of a thousand cow-gifts.