Shloka 16
Lomaśa’s Arrival and Report on Arjuna’s Divine Astras (लोमशागमनम्—अर्जुनदिव्यास्त्रलाभवृत्तान्तः)
राजन्! उधर ही सदा तपस्वीजनोंसे भरे हुए पुण्यतम तीर्थ--केतुमाला, मेध्या और गंगाद्वार (हरिद्वार) हैं। भूपाल! द्विजोंसे सेवित सुप्रसिद्ध सैन्धवारण्य भी उधर ही है ।। पितामहसर: पुण्यं पुष्करं नाम नामतः । वैखानसानां सिद्धानामृषीणामाश्रम: प्रिय:,ब्रह्माजीका पुण्यदायक सरोवर पुष्कर भी पश्चिम दिशामें ही है, जो वानप्रस्थों, सिद्धों और महर्षियोंका प्रिय आश्रम है
rājan! udhar hi sadā tapasvijanaiḥ bhare huye puṇyatama tīrtha—ketumālā, medhyā ca gaṅgādvāra (haridvāra) santi. bhūpāla! dvijaiḥ sevitaṃ suprasiddhaṃ saindhavāraṇyam api udhar eva. pitāmahasaraḥ puṇyaṃ puṣkaraṃ nāma nāmataḥ. vaikhānasānāṃ siddhānām ṛṣīṇām āśramaḥ priyaḥ.
Dhaumya said: “O king, in that western region lie ever-holy pilgrimage places, constantly frequented by ascetics—Ketumālā, Medhyā, and Gaṅgādvāra (Haridvāra). O protector of the earth, there too is the renowned Saindhava forest, revered and served by Brahmins. There is also the sacred lake called Puṣkara, famed by name—dear as a hermitage to Vaikhānasa forest-dwellers, perfected beings, and great seers.”
धौम्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames tīrtha-yātrā as a dharmic discipline: a king is guided toward places sanctified by ascetics and sages, implying that political power should be tempered by reverence, self-restraint, and the pursuit of merit (puṇya) through contact with holy communities and sacred sites.
Dhaumya is directing the king toward western sacred sites—Ketumālā, Medhyā, Gaṅgādvāra (Haridvāra), the Saindhava forest, and Puṣkara—describing them as renowned tīrthas inhabited by Brahmins, Vaikhānasa forest-dwellers, siddhas, and ṛṣis, thereby mapping a route of pilgrimage and spiritual counsel.