Shloka 118
युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya
दिवौकसां पुष्करिणीं समासाद्य नराधिप । न दुर्गतिमवाप्रोति वाजिमेधं च विन्दति,नरेश्वर! फिर देवपुष्करिणीमें जाकर मानव कभी दुर्गतिमें नहीं पड़ता और अश्वमेधयज्ञका फल पाता है
divaukāsāṁ puṣkariṇīṁ samāsādya narādhipa | na durgatim avāpnoti vājimedhaṁ ca vindati, nareśvara ||
O king, having reached the celestial sacred lake, a person does not fall into an evil destiny; rather, O lord of men, he attains the merit equivalent to that of the Aśvamedha sacrifice. The verse frames pilgrimage to a divinely charged tīrtha as an ethically elevating act that protects one from moral-spiritual decline and grants great religious merit.
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Pilgrimage to a divinely sanctified tīrtha is presented as a powerful dharmic act: it prevents a fall into durgati (evil destiny) and yields merit comparable to the grand royal Aśvamedha.
The speaker addresses a king and praises a specific sacred lake associated with celestial beings, declaring that reaching it grants extraordinary spiritual benefit and the fruit of an Aśvamedha.