Shloka 65

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

Devanagari script

गड़ोद्धेद॑ समासाद्य त्रिरात्रोपोषितो नर: । वाजपेयमवाप्रोति ब्रह्मभूतो भवेत्‌ सदा,गंगोद्धेदतीर्थमें जाकर तीन रात उपवास करनेवाला मनुष्य वाजपेययज्ञका फल पाता और सदाके लिये ब्रह्मीभूत हो जाता है

Transliteration

gaṅgoddeśaṁ samāsādya trirātroposito naraḥ | vājapeyam avāpnoti brahmabhūto bhavet sadā ||

Translation

قال غُولَستيا (Ghūlastya): «إنّ الرجل إذا بلغ البقعة المقدّسة من نهر الغانغا (Gaṅgā) وصام ثلاث ليالٍ، نال ثواب قربان فاجابِيا (Vājapeya)، وصار راسخًا في البراهمان (brahman)—مقيمًا بعد ذلك في حالٍ مطهَّرةٍ سامية الروح.»

Word by Word

गङ्गोद्धेदम्the (place called) Gaṅgoddheda

समासाद्यhaving reached/approached

त्रिरात्रोपोषितःone who has fasted for three nights

नरःa man

वाजपेयम्the Vājapeya (sacrifice/rite)

अवाप्नोतिobtains/attains

ब्रह्मभूतःbecome Brahman-like / united with Brahman

भवेत्would become / becomes

सदाalways

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

Ghūlastya

Gaṅgā

Vājapeya (sacrifice)

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?

The verse teaches that disciplined austerity at a sacred place—here, a three-night fast in the Gaṅgā’s holy region—can confer merit comparable to major Vedic rites, emphasizing inner purification and spiritual elevation over mere ritual grandeur.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the context of a tīrtha-mahātmya passage, the speaker (Ghūlastya) praises a Gaṅgā-related pilgrimage spot, declaring the spiritual reward gained by those who reach it and undertake a three-night fasting observance.