Shloka 52
युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya
अग्निष्टोमातिरात्राभ्यां फलमाप्नोति मानव: | तत्र संध्यां समासाद्य विद्यातीर्थमनुत्तमम्
agniṣṭomātirātrābhyāṁ phalam āpnoti mānavaḥ | tatra sandhyāṁ samāsādya vidyātīrtham anuttamam ||
Ghūlastya said: “By performing the Agniṣṭoma and Atirātra sacrifices a person attains their due reward. Yet, having reached the sacred time of twilight there, one comes upon an unsurpassed ‘ford of knowledge’—a holy means of crossing over through learning and inner discipline.”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ritual action (like major Soma-sacrifices) yields merit, but the verse elevates the ‘vidyātīrtha’—the transformative crossing achieved through knowledge and disciplined awareness, especially at sacred liminal moments such as sandhyā.
Ghūlastya is describing the fruits of renowned Vedic sacrifices and then points to a superior spiritual opportunity: upon reaching the twilight observance (sandhyā), one encounters an unsurpassed sacred ‘ford’ of knowledge, implying a shift from external rite to inner realization.