Shloka 30
अर्जुनदुःखहेतुप्रश्नः — Inquiry into the cause of Arjuna’s recurring hardship
Book 14, Chapter 89
गत्वा त्ववभृथं राजा विपाप्मा भ्रातृभि: सह । सभाज्यमान: शुशुभे महेन्द्रस्त्रिदशैरिव,यज्ञके अन्तमें अवभूथस्नान करके पापरहित हुए राजा युधिष्ठिर अपने भाइयोंसे सम्मानित हो इस प्रकार शोभा पाने लगे, जैसे देवताओंसे पूजित देवराज इन्द्र सुशोभित होते हैं
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
gatvā tv avabhṛthaṃ rājā vipāpmā bhrātṛbhiḥ saha |
sabhājyamānaḥ śuśubhe mahendraḥ tridāśair iva ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Having gone to the avabhṛtha (the concluding ceremonial bath of the sacrifice), the king became purified of sin. Honoured and celebrated together with his brothers, Yudhiṣṭhira shone with splendour—like great Indra, radiant when revered by the gods. The verse frames ritual completion as moral cleansing and portrays rightful kingship as inseparable from communal honour and dharmic restoration after violence.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Completion of a righteous sacrifice culminates in avabhṛtha purification, symbolizing the restoration of moral order; true royal splendour arises from dharmic conduct and the honour of one’s community (here, the brothers), not from power alone.
After the Aśvamedha’s concluding avabhṛtha bath, Yudhiṣṭhira is described as purified and radiant, being honoured by his brothers; the poet likens his splendour to Indra being revered by the gods.