Shloka 1213
युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya
पुण्डरीकमवाप्रोति विष्णुलोकं॑ च गच्छति । भरतकुलतिलक! वहाँ तीर्थोकी विख्यात श्रेणीको एक दुरात्मा असुर कूर्मरूप धारण करके हरकर लिये जाता था। राजन! यह देख सर्वशक्तिमान् भगवान् विष्णुने उस तीर्थश्रेणीका उद्धार किया। युधिष्ठिर! वहाँ उस तीर्थकोटिमें स्नान करना चाहिये। ऐसा करनेवाले यात्रीको पुण्डरीकयज्ञका फल मिलता है और वह विष्णुलोकको जाता है
Puṇḍarīkam avāpnoti Viṣṇulokaṃ ca gacchati | Bharatakulatilaka! tatra tīrthānāṃ vikhyātāṃ śreṇīm ekaḥ durātmā asuraḥ kūrmarūpaṃ dhārayitvā harati sma | Rājan! tad dṛṣṭvā sarvaśaktimān Bhagavān Viṣṇus tasyāḥ tīrthaśreṇyā uddhāraṃ cakāra | Yudhiṣṭhira! tatra tat-tīrthakoṭyāṃ snānaṃ kartavyam | Evaṃ kurvan yātrikaḥ Puṇḍarīkayajñasya phalaṃ labhate, sa ca Viṣṇulokaṃ gacchati ||
He who performs the rite there attains the merit of the Puṇḍarīka sacrifice and goes to Viṣṇu’s world. O ornament of Bharata’s line! In that place there was a famed cluster of sacred fords, but a wicked asura, taking the form of a tortoise, used to seize and carry it away. O king, seeing this, the all-powerful Lord Viṣṇu rescued that sacred series of tīrthas. Therefore, Yudhiṣṭhira, one should bathe in that great assemblage of holy places; the pilgrim who does so gains the fruit of the Puṇḍarīka-yajña and reaches Viṣṇuloka.
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Pilgrimage and ritual bathing, when grounded in reverence for dharma, can yield great spiritual merit; the passage also teaches that sacred institutions are protected by the divine against forces that seek to corrupt or remove them.
A renowned cluster of holy fords is being carried off by a wicked asura who assumes a tortoise form; Viṣṇu intervenes and restores the tīrthas. The speaker then instructs Yudhiṣṭhira that bathing there grants the merit of the Puṇḍarīka sacrifice and leads to Viṣṇu’s abode.