Shloka 7
युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya
प्लक्षाद्वेवी खुता राजन् महापुण्या सरस्वती । तत्राभिषेकं कुर्वीत वल्मीकान्नि:सृते जले
plakṣād devī kṣutā rājan mahāpuṇyā sarasvatī | tatrābhiṣekaṃ kurvīta valmīkān niḥsṛte jale ||
Ghūlastya dit : «Ô Roi, de l’arbre Plakṣa jaillit la déesse Sarasvatī, suprêmement sainte. Là, il faut accomplir les ablutions, en se baignant dans l’eau qui sourd d’une fourmilière. Entrer dans cette forêt suffit à délivrer l’homme de ses péchés ; et au-delà se trouve cette source très sacrée du fleuve, où sont prescrites la purification et le renouvellement de l’engagement envers le dharma.»
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that certain tīrthas (sacred places) are approached with reverence and disciplined action: bathing (abhiṣeka) at the holy source of Sarasvatī is prescribed as a means of purification and moral renewal, reinforcing commitment to dharma.
Ghūlastya is guiding the king through a sacred landscape, identifying the origin-place of the goddess-river Sarasvatī near a plakṣa tree and instructing him to bathe in the water that emerges from an anthill, a specific ritual act within the broader tīrtha-yātrā account.