Shloka 64

युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya

Devanagari script

स मोदेत्‌ सर्वलोकेषु एवमाहुर्मनीषिण: । नित्यं मेध्यं च पुण्यं च नैमिषं नृपसत्तम

Transliteration

sa modet sarvalokeṣu evam āhur manīṣiṇaḥ | nityaṁ medhyaṁ ca puṇyaṁ ca naimiṣaṁ nṛpasattama |

Translation

« Celui qui y abandonne la vie après avoir jeûné goûte la joie dans tous les mondes — ainsi le proclament les sages. Ô le meilleur des rois, Naimiṣa est à jamais pur, sanctifiant, et source de mérite. »

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'saḥ', 'definition': 'he

• that person'}, {'term': 'modet', 'definition': 'would rejoice

• experiences delight (optative of √mud)'}, {'term': 'sarva-lokeṣu', 'definition': 'in all worlds/realms'}, {'term': 'evam', 'definition': 'thus

• in this manner'}, {'term': 'āhuḥ', 'definition': 'they say

• they declare'}, {'term': 'manīṣiṇaḥ', 'definition': 'the wise

• thoughtful authorities'}, {'term': 'nityam', 'definition': 'always

• perpetual'}, {'term': 'medhyam', 'definition': 'pure

• fit for sacrifice'}, {'term': 'puṇyam', 'definition': 'meritorious

• producing religious merit'}, {'term': 'naimiṣam', 'definition': 'Naimiṣa (sacred forest/holy place)'}, {'term': 'nṛpa-sattama', 'definition': 'best among kings'}]

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Naimiṣa (Naimiṣāraṇya)
• manīṣiṇaḥ (the wise/sages)
• nṛpasattama (addressed king)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage extols Naimiṣa as a perpetually pure and merit-giving sacred place, asserting—on the authority of the wise—that dying there after a vow of fasting leads to joy in all realms, emphasizing the ethical-religious power of tīrtha, austerity, and purity.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker addresses a king and praises the sanctity of the Naimiṣa pilgrimage site, reporting traditional sage-testimony about the spiritual fruit gained by one who undertakes fasting and relinquishes life there.