Shloka 26

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

Devanagari script

ततो गच्छेत धर्मज्ञ नमस्कृत्य महागिरिम्‌

Transliteration

tato gacchet dharmajña namaskṛtya mahāgirim | dharmajña! vahāṁse mahāparvata himālayako namaskāra karke gaṅgādvāra (haridvāra)-kī yātrā kare, jo svargadvārake samāna hai; isameṁ saṁśaya nahīṁ hai | vahāṁ ekāgracitta ho koṭitīrthameṁ snāna kare |

Translation

ત્યાર પછી, હે ધર્મજ્ઞ, મહાગિરિ હિમાલયને નમસ્કાર કરીને ગંગાદ્વાર (હરિદ્વાર) તરફ યાત્રા કરવી જોઈએ; તે સ્વર્ગદ્વાર સમાન છે—એમાં શંકા નથી. ત્યાં એકાગ્ર અને સમાહિત ચિત્તથી કોટિતીર્થમાં સ્નાન કરવું.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• गच्छेत्: should go
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम्
• Form: Vidhi-linga, optative (injunctive sense: should), 3rd, singular, Parasmaipada

• धर्मज्ञ: O knower of dharma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्मज्ञ
• Form: masculine, vocative, singular

• नमस्कृत्य: having saluted
• Type: Verb
• Root: नमस् + कृ
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), active (parasmai sense), true

• महागिरिम्: the great mountain
• महागिरिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: महागिरि
• Form: masculine, accusative, singular

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Himālaya
• Gaṅgādvāra (Haridwar)
• Svargadvāra
• Koṭitīrtha

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma is practiced through reverence and disciplined action: honoring sacred places (Himālaya, Gaṅgādvāra) and performing purificatory rites with ekāgratā (one-pointed attention). The verse links outer pilgrimage with inner mental focus, implying that merit depends not only on travel but on mindful, respectful conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker gives a step-by-step instruction for a tīrtha-yātrā: first bow to the great mountain Himālaya, then travel to Gaṅgādvāra (Haridwar), praised as heaven’s gateway, and finally bathe at the sacred Koṭitīrtha with concentrated mind.