Shloka 67

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

Devanagari script

ततश्च बाहुदां गच्छेद्‌ ब्रह्मचारी समाहित: । तत्रोष्य रजनीमेकां स्वर्गलोके महीयते

Transliteration

tataś ca bāhudāṁ gacched brahmacārī samāhitaḥ | tatroṣya rajanīm ekāṁ svargaloke mahīyate, devasatrasya yajñasya phalaṁ prāpnoti kaurava ||

Translation

Then, disciplined in brahmacarya and steady in mind, one should go to the tīrtha of Bāhudā. Having stayed there for a single night (as an observance, with fasting), one is honored in the heavenly world. O Kaurava, one also attains the merit that comes from the Devasatra sacrifice.

Word by Word

• {'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter', 'ca': 'and', 'bāhudām': 'to Bāhudā (name of a sacred place/river/tīrtha

• accusative singular)', 'gacchet': 'should go (optative of √gam)', 'brahmacārī': 'a celibate student/one observing brahmacarya

• one practicing continence', 'samāhitaḥ': 'collected, composed, concentrated (mentally steady)', 'tatra': 'there', 'uṣya (oṣya)': 'having stayed, having dwelt (gerund/absolutive sense from √vas)', 'rajanīm': 'night', 'ekām': 'one (single)', 'svargaloke': 'in the world of heaven', 'mahīyate': 'is honored, is esteemed, is glorified', 'devasatrasya': 'of the Devasatra (a prolonged sacrificial session performed for/with the gods)', 'yajñasya': 'of the sacrifice', 'phalam': 'fruit, result, merit', 'prāpnoti': 'attains, obtains', 'kaurava': 'O descendant of Kuru (address to a Kaurava prince)'}

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bāhudā (tīrtha)
• Svargaloka (heavenly world)
• Devasatra-yajña
• Kaurava (addressee)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that inner discipline—brahmacarya and mental composure—gives spiritual power to outward religious acts. A brief, sincere observance at a tīrtha can yield merit comparable to major sacrifices, emphasizing ethical self-restraint over mere ritual magnitude.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker continues a tīrtha-māhātmya sequence, instructing the listener to go to the Bāhudā sacred place, keep brahmacarya, stay one night with observance (including fasting), and thereby gain heavenly honor and the fruit of the Devasatra sacrifice.