Shloka 1

Devanagari script

&:...6 ८5. (9) ४८६३ ००६० > लोहितो यस्तु वर्णेन पुच्छाग्रेण तु पाण्डुरः । श्वेतः खुरविषाणाभ्यां स नीलो वृष उच्यते ।। जिसका रंग तो लाल हो पर पूँछका अग्रभाग सफेद हो एवं खुर और सींग भी सफेद हों, वह नील वृष कहा जाता है। अष्टाशीतितमो< ध्याय: धौम्यमुनिके द्वारा दक्षिण दिशावर्ती तीर्थोंका वर्णन धौम्य उवाच दक्षिणस्यां तु पुण्यानि शृणु तीर्थानि भारत । विस्तरेण यथाबुद्धि कीर्त्यमानानि तानि वै,धौम्यजी कहते हैं--भरतवंशी युधिष्ठिर! अब मैं अपनी बुद्धिके अनुसार दक्षिणदिशावर्ती पुण्यतीर्थोंका विस्तारपूर्वक वर्णन करता हूँ, सुनो--

Transliteration

dhaumya uvāca | dakṣiṇasyāṁ tu puṇyāni śṛṇu tīrthāni bhārata | vistareṇa yathābuddhi kīrtyamānāni tāni vai ||

Translation

Dhaumya said: “O Bhārata, listen now to the sacred pilgrimage-fords of the southern quarter. As far as my understanding allows, I shall recount them to you in detail.”

Word by Word

लोहितःred

यःwho

तुbut/indeed

वर्णेनby color

पुच्छाग्रेणby the tip of the tail

तुand/indeed

पाण्डुरःpale/whitish

श्वेतःwhite

खुरविषाणाभ्याम्by (its) hooves and horns

सःthat (one)/he

नीलःNīla (name)/blue

वृषःbull

उच्यतेis called

Speaker

धौम्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

Dhaumya

Bhārata (Yudhiṣṭhira)

Dakṣiṇa-diś (southern direction)

Tīrthas (pilgrimage sites)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames tīrtha-yātrā as a dharmic practice: sacred places are sources of puṇya, and a learned guide should describe them carefully and truthfully, within the limits of one’s understanding (yathābuddhi).

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhaumya begins a new section in which he will enumerate and describe the holy pilgrimage sites located in the southern direction, addressing Yudhiṣṭhira as “Bhārata.”