Shloka 51

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

Devanagari script

गत्वा वीरप्रमोक्ष॑ं च सर्वपापै: प्रमुच्यते । कृत्तिकामघयोश्रैव तीर्थमासाद्य भारत

Transliteration

ghulastya uvāca | gatvā vīrapramokṣaṃ ca sarvapāpaiḥ pramucyate | kṛttikāmaghayoś caiva tīrtham āsādya bhārata, ekakālaṃ nirāhāro lokān āvasate śubhān |

Translation

Ghūlastya said: “By going to the sacred ford called Vīrapramokṣa, a person is released from all sins. O Bhārata, having reached the tīrtha associated with Kṛttikā and Maghā, and then observing a single-meal fast, one who stays there for a night attains auspicious worlds.”

Word by Word

• गत्वा: having gone
• गत्वा: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), कर्तरि, —, —, —

• वीरप्रमोक्षम्: to Vīrapramokṣa (a tīrtha/place)
• वीरप्रमोक्षम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीरप्रमोक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• सर्वपापैः: from all sins (lit. by/with all sins)
• सर्वपापैः: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्वपाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• प्रमुच्यते: is released/freed
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-मुच् (धातु)
• Form: Present, Indicative, Passive, Third, Singular

• कृत्तिकामघयोः: of (the) Kṛttikā and Maghā (tīrthas/asterisms)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृत्तिका + मघा (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Dual

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• तीर्थम्: a sacred ford/place (tīrtha)
• तीर्थम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• आसाद्य: having reached/approached
• आसाद्य: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-√सद् (धातु)
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), कर्तरि, —, —, —

• भारत: O Bhārata
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• एककालम्: for one time/once (for a single period)
• एककालम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एककाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• निराहारः: fasting/without food
• निराहारः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निराहार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• लोकान्: worlds/realms
• लोकान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• अवसते: dwells/abides (attains residence)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव-√वस् (धातु)
• Form: Present, Indicative, Ātmanepada, Third, Singular

• शुभान्: auspicious/fortunate
• शुभान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Ghulastya
• Bhārata (Yudhiṣṭhira as addressee)
• Vīrapramokṣa-tīrtha
• Kṛttikā (nakṣatra)
• Maghā (nakṣatra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that disciplined pilgrimage—approaching sacred places with restraint (such as fasting and staying with reverence)—is presented as a dharmic means of purification from sin and of gaining auspicious spiritual results.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Vana Parva’s pilgrimage discourse (tīrtha-māhātmya), the speaker Ghulastya instructs Bhārata (Yudhiṣṭhira) about specific tīrthas—Vīrapramokṣa and the tīrtha linked with the nakṣatras Kṛttikā and Maghā—describing the merits obtained by visiting them and observing a brief fast and stay.