Mahabharata — Vana Parva, Shloka 41

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

Devanagari script

अरुन्धतीवटं गच्छेत्‌ तीर्थसेवी नराधिप । सामुद्रकमुपस्पृश्य ब्रह्मचारी समाहित:

Transliteration

arundhatīvaṭaṃ gacchet tīrthasevī narādhipa | sāmudrakam upaspṛśya brahmacārī samāhitaḥ |

Translation

Ghūlasthya berkata: “Wahai raja, hendaklah peziarah pergi ke beringin suci Arundhatī. Setelah mandi suci di tirtha Sāmudraka, ia harus hidup sebagai brahmacārin, dengan batin terhimpun, dan berpuasa selama tiga malam. Dengan laku ini seseorang memperoleh pahala setara Aśvamedha dan buah kebajikan dari sedekah seribu ekor sapi, serta mengangkat seluruh garis keturunannya.”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'arundhatīvaṭa', 'definition': '‘Arundhatī’s banyan tree’

• a named sacred tree/shrine associated with the ideal of chastity and marital fidelity'}, {'term': 'gacchet', 'definition': 'should go

• ought to proceed'}, {'term': 'tīrthasevī', 'definition': 'one who frequents/serves sacred fords

• a pilgrim devoted to tīrthas'}, {'term': 'narādhipa / narapate', 'definition': 'O ruler of men

• O king'}, {'term': 'sāmudraka', 'definition': 'the Sāmudraka tīrtha

• a sacred bathing place (tīrtha-name)'}, {'term': 'upaspṛśya', 'definition': 'having touched the water

• having performed ritual bathing/ablution'}, {'term': 'brahmacārī', 'definition': 'one observing brahmacarya

• celibate, disciplined in conduct'}, {'term': 'samāhitaḥ', 'definition': 'composed, concentrated, mentally collected'}, {'term': 'upavāsa', 'definition': 'fasting

• here, a three-night fast (as indicated by the prose gloss)'}, {'term': 'aśvamedha', 'definition': 'the horse-sacrifice

• emblematic of supreme royal merit'}, {'term': 'sahasra-godāna', 'definition': 'gift of a thousand cows

• a major act of charity'}, {'term': 'kuloddhāra', 'definition': 'uplift/salvation of one’s lineage

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Ghulasthya
• Narādhipa (the king addressed)
• Arundhatīvaṭa
• Sāmudraka-tīrtha
• Aśvamedha (sacrifice)
• Go-dāna (gift of cows)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Pilgrimage is not merely travel but disciplined practice: ritual bathing, brahmacarya, mental concentration, and fasting. Such self-restraint and purity are presented as generating merit comparable to grand sacrifices and major charities, with benefits extending to one’s lineage.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker named Ghulasthya instructs a king about a specific tīrtha-sequence: go to Arundhatīvaṭa, bathe at the Sāmudraka tīrtha, observe celibacy and focused mind, and fast for three nights, promising exalted sacrificial and charitable fruits and the uplift of the family line.