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Shloka 4

आदि पर्व — खाण्डवदाह प्रसङ्गः: पावकस्य याचनं तथा इन्द्रवर्षनिवारणोपायः

Adi Parva — Khāṇḍava episode: Agni’s request and the means to resist Indra’s rain

भारद्वाजस्य तीर्थ तु पापप्रशमनं महत्‌ | एतानि पज्च तीर्थानि ददर्श कुरुसत्तम:,उनके नाम इस प्रकार हैं--अगस्त्यतीर्थ, सौभद्र-तीर्थ, परम पावन पौलोमतीर्थ, अश्वमेध यज्ञका फल देनेवाला स्वच्छ कारन्धमतीर्थ तथा पापनाशक महान्‌ भारद्वाजतीर्थ। कुरुश्रेष्ठ अर्जुनने इन पाँचों तीर्थोका दर्शन किया

bhāradvājasya tīrthaṁ tu pāpa-praśamanaṁ mahat | etāni pañca tīrthāni dadarśa kuru-sattamaḥ ||

Vaiśampāyana dit : « Grand, en vérité, est le tīrtha de Bhāradvāja, renommé pour apaiser et effacer le péché. Le meilleur des Kurus contempla ces cinq tīrthas » — une suite de pèlerinage qui présente le voyage d’Arjuna comme une purification morale, où le contact avec les lieux sanctifiés est donné comme moyen de nettoyage éthique et de discipline intérieure renouvelée.

{'bhāradvājasya''of Bhāradvāja (the sage
{'bhāradvājasya':
genitive singular)', 'tīrtham''sacred ford
genitive singular)', 'tīrtham':
holy bathing spot', 'tu''indeed
holy bathing spot', 'tu':
but (emphatic particle)', 'pāpa''sin
but (emphatic particle)', 'pāpa':
moral stain', 'praśamanam''pacification
moral stain', 'praśamanam':
removal', 'mahat''great
removal', 'mahat':
eminent', 'etāni''these (neuter plural)', 'pañca': 'five', 'tīrthāni': 'holy places (plural of tīrtha)', 'dadarśa': 'saw
eminent', 'etāni':
beheld (perfect of √dṛś)', 'kuru-sattamaḥ''the best among the Kurus (epithet
beheld (perfect of √dṛś)', 'kuru-sattamaḥ':

वैशम्पायन उवाच

V
Vaiśampāyana
B
Bhāradvāja
A
Arjuna (Kuru-sattama)
B
Bhāradvāja-tīrtha

Educational Q&A

The verse highlights tīrtha-yātrā as an ethical practice: sacred places are portrayed as instruments for pāpa-praśamana (the calming and removal of moral taint), encouraging self-restraint, repentance, and renewed commitment to dharma.

Vaiśampāyana narrates that Arjuna, praised as the foremost of the Kurus, visits and beholds a set of five pilgrimage sites, among which Bhāradvāja’s tīrtha is singled out as especially powerful for removing sin.