Shloka 683
युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya
पितृदेवार्चनपरो वाजपेयमवाप्नुयात् । वहाँसे क्षीरवती नामक पुण्यतीर्थमें जाय
pitṛdevārcanaparo vājapeyam avāpnuyāt | tatraiva kṣīravatī-nāmakaṁ puṇyatīrthaṁ gacchet, yat atyanta-puṇyātmabhiḥ puruṣaiḥ paripūrṇam | tatra snātvā devatā-pitṝṇāṁ pūjane lagnaḥ puruṣo vājapeya-yajñasya phalaṁ prāpnoti |
Ghūlastya said: “One who is devoted to the worship of the Fathers and the gods attains the merit of the Vājapeya sacrifice. From there one should go to the holy ford called Kṣīravatī, a supremely sacred place frequented by men of great purity. Bathing there and applying oneself to honoring the gods and the ancestors, a person gains the fruit of performing the Vājapeya rite.”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Pilgrimage and sacred bathing, when joined with sincere worship of both gods and ancestors, can yield merit comparable to an eminent Vedic sacrifice; inner devotion and proper reverence are emphasized as the means of gaining great spiritual fruit.
The speaker, Ghūlastya, recommends a specific pilgrimage destination—Kṣīravatī tīrtha—and states the benefit of bathing there and performing worship: the pilgrim attains the reward traditionally associated with the Vājapeya sacrifice.