Shloka 89
युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya
कपिलाया: सवत्सायाश्चरन्त्या: पर्वते कृतम् सवत्साया: पदानि सम दृश्यन्तेडद्यापि भारत
kapilāyāḥ savatsāyāś carantyāḥ parvate kṛtaṃ savatsāyāḥ padāni samadṛśyante ’dyāpi bhārata | rājan! vahāṃ eka parvatapar caranevālī bachṛe-sahita kapilā gau ke viśāla caraṇacihna āja bhī aṅkita haiṃ | bharatanandana! bachṛe-sahita us gau ke caraṇacihna āja bhī vahāṃ dekhe jāte haiṃ |
Ghūlastya dit : «Ô Bhārata, aujourd’hui encore, on voit distinctement, imprimées sur cette montagne, les traces de la vache fauve Kapilā, allant avec son veau. Ô roi, sur cette montagne demeurent gravées les grandes marques de sabots de la Kapilā avec son petit. Ô descendant de Bharata, ces empreintes s’y voient encore, même à présent.»
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the authority of enduring sacred signs in the landscape: visible traces become a form of testimony that links present observers to a remembered, meaningful event, encouraging reverence and faith in the moral-sacred order associated with such places.
The speaker points out a mountain where the hoof-prints of a tawny cow (Kapilā) and her calf are said to remain imprinted even now, presenting this as a remarkable, still-visible marker for the king/descendant of Bharata.