Shloka 84
युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya
महानद्यामुपस्पृश्य तर्पयेत् पितृदेवता: । अक्षयान प्राप्तुयाल्लोकान् कुलं चैव समुद्धरेत्
mahānadyām upaspṛśya tarpayet pitṛdevatāḥ | akṣayān prāpnuyāl lokān kulaṃ caiva samuddharet ||
Barang siapa mandi di Mahānadī lalu mempersembahkan tarpana kepada para dewa dan para leluhur, ia mencapai alam-alam yang tak binasa dan mengangkat serta menebus garis keturunannya.
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ritual purity joined with gratitude—bathing at a sacred river and offering tarpana to gods and ancestors—generates enduring spiritual merit, benefiting both the practitioner (imperishable realms) and the wider family line (kula-uplift).
In the Tīrtha-yātrā section of the Vana Parva, the sage Pulastya describes the fruits of visiting specific sacred places. Here he states the merit gained by bathing in the Mahānadī and performing offerings to the gods and pitṛs.