Shloka 87

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

Devanagari script

ततो गच्छेत राजेन्द्र धेनुकं लोकविश्रुतम्‌ । एकरात्रोषितो राजन्‌ प्रयच्छेत्‌ तिलधेनुकाम्‌

Transliteration

tato gacchet rājendra dhenukaṃ lokaviśrutam | ekarātroṣito rājan prayacchet tiladhenukām ||

Translation

ثم، يا خيرَ الملوك، فليتوجّه إلى الموضع المقدّس المشهور المسمّى «دِهينُكَ» (Dhenuka). فإذا أقام هناك ليلةً واحدة، أيها الملك، فليقدّم العطية المعروفة بـ«بقرة السِّمسم» (tiladhenukā).

Word by Word

ततःthen; thereafter

गच्छेत्should go

राजेन्द्रO king of kings

धेनुकम्to Dhenuka (a place/holy spot named Dhenuka)

लोकविश्रुतम्world-renowned

एकरात्रोषितःhaving stayed for one night

राजन्O king

प्रयच्छेत्should give; should bestow

तिलधेनुकाम्a 'sesame-cow' (a cow made/represented with sesame; a sesame donation in the form of a cow)

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

घ

घुलस्त्य (speaker)

र

राजेन्द्र/राजन् (the king addressed)

ध

धेनुक (Dhenuka tīrtha)

त

तिलधेनुका (tiladhenukā dāna)

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?

Pilgrimage is not merely travel but a disciplined vow: one should observe a prescribed stay and complete it with dāna. The tiladhenukā gift exemplifies ethical redistribution—concluding sacred observance with generosity that sustains dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Ghūlastya instructs the king on the next step in a tīrtha itinerary: go to the renowned Dhenuka sacred place, stay one night, and then perform the specific donation called tiladhenukā.