Shloka 125
युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya
राजेन्द्र! तदनन्तर नारायण-स्थानको जाय। भरतनन्दन! वहाँ भगवान् विष्णु सदा निवास करते हैं। ब्रह्मा आदि देवता, तपोधन ऋषि, आदित्य, वसु तथा रुद्र भी वहाँ रहकर जनार्दनकी उपासना करते हैं। उस तीर्थमें अद्भुतकर्मा भगवान् विष्णु शालग्रामके नामसे प्रसिद्ध हैं ।। अभिगम्य त्रिलोकेशं वरदं विष्णुमव्ययम् । अश्वमेधमवाप्रोति विष्णुलोकं॑ च गच्छति,तीनों लोकोंके स्वामी उन वरदायक अविनाशी भगवान् विष्णुके समीप जाकर मनुष्य अश्वमेधयज्ञका फल पाता और विष्णुलोकमें जाता है
rājendra! tadanantaraṃ nārāyaṇa-sthānako jāyate. bharatanandana! tatra bhagavān viṣṇuḥ sadā nivāsam karoti. brahmādayo devatāḥ, tapodhanā ṛṣayaḥ, ādityāḥ, vasavaḥ tathā rudrā api tatra sthitvā janārdanasya upāsanāṃ kurvanti. tasmin tīrthe adbhuta-karmā bhagavān viṣṇuḥ śālagrāma-nāmnā prasiddhaḥ. abhigamya trilokeśaṃ varadaṃ viṣṇum avyayam, aśvamedham avāpnoti viṣṇulokaṃ ca gacchati.
Ghūlastya said: “O king! After that comes the sacred place called Nārāyaṇa-sthāna. O descendant of Bharata, there the Blessed Lord Viṣṇu dwells eternally. Brahmā and the other gods, ascetic sages rich in austerity, the Ādityas, the Vasus, and the Rudras also remain there and worship Janārdana. In that holy ford the Lord of wondrous deeds, Viṣṇu, is renowned by the name Śālagrāma. One who approaches that imperishable Viṣṇu—Lord of the three worlds and giver of boons—obtains the merit of an Aśvamedha sacrifice and goes to the world of Viṣṇu.”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage elevates tīrtha-yātrā and devotion to Viṣṇu as powerful, ethically accessible means of gaining great merit: sincere approach and worship at a sacred place can yield the fruit of major royal sacrifices and lead toward a higher divine destination.
Ghūlastya describes a sequence of pilgrimage sites, highlighting Nārāyaṇa-sthāna where Viṣṇu is said to dwell. He notes that gods and sages worship there, that Viṣṇu is famed as Śālagrāma at that tīrtha, and he proclaims the spiritual reward for visiting and venerating the deity.