Shloka 156
युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya
कालिकासंगमे स्नात्वा कौशिक्यरुणयोर्गत: । त्रिरात्रोपोषितो राजन् सर्वपापै: प्रमुच्यते,राजन्! कौशिकी-अरुणा-संगम और कालिका-संगममें स्नान करके तीन रात उपवास करनेवाला मनुष्य सब पापोंसे मुक्त हो जाता है
kālikāsaṅgame snātvā kauśikyāruṇayor gataḥ | trirātropoṣito rājan sarvapāpaiḥ pramucyate rājan ||
Ô roi, celui qui se baigne au confluent de la Kālikā, puis se rend au lieu de rencontre de la Kauśikī et de l’Aruṇā, et observe ensuite un jeûne de trois nuits, est délivré de tous les péchés.
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Purification is achieved through a combination of sacred bathing at tīrthas (river confluences) and disciplined self-restraint (a three-night fast). The verse links external ritual acts with inner ethical renewal, presenting pilgrimage as a dharmic practice of atonement and moral reorientation.
Within the tīrtha-māhātmya context of the Vana Parva, the speaker instructs the king about the spiritual benefit of visiting specific confluences—Kālikā-saṅgama and the meeting of the Kauśikī and Aruṇā—and undertaking a three-night fast there, promising release from sins as the fruit of the observance.