Shloka 129
युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya
जातिस्मरत्वमाप्रोति स्नात्वा तत्र न संशय: । माहेश्वरपुरं गत्वा अर्चयित्वा वृषध्वजम्
jātismaratvam āpnoti snātvā tatra na saṁśayaḥ | māheśvarapuraṁ gatvā arcayitvā vṛṣadhvajam |
Ghūlastya dit : « En se baignant à ce gué sacré, on acquiert à coup sûr le pouvoir de se souvenir des naissances antérieures — il n’y a là aucun doute. Et en allant à Māheśvarapura, en adorant le Seigneur à la Bannière du Taureau (Śiva) et en observant le jeûne, l’homme obtient tous les buts qu’il désire ; là encore, pas la moindre incertitude. »
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes the transformative power of tīrtha-practice: ritual bathing, worship, and fasting are presented as disciplined acts that purify the person, strengthen spiritual insight (even to the point of recalling past births), and help fulfill legitimate aims when directed toward devotion and self-restraint.
Ghūlastya is describing the fruits of visiting specific sacred sites: bathing at a particular tīrtha grants jātismaratva (memory of former births), and going to Māheśvarapura to worship Śiva (Vṛṣadhvaja) with fasting yields the attainment of desired goals.