Shloka 126
युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya
तत्रोदपानं धर्मज्ञ सर्वपापप्रमोचनम् । समुद्रास्तत्र चत्वार: कूपे संनिहिता: सदा
tatrodapānaṃ dharmajña sarvapāpapramocanam | samudrās tatra catvāraḥ kūpe saṃnihitāḥ sadā ||
There is a well there, O knower of dharma, that frees one from all sins. In that very well, the four oceans are said to be ever-present together.
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes the purificatory power attributed to a sacred site: contact with or worship at a tirtha is portrayed as capable of removing accumulated moral impurity (pāpa), underscoring the Mahābhārata’s linkage of dharma with pilgrimage, restraint, and reverence.
The speaker describes a particular sacred well at a pilgrimage location, praising it as sin-destroying and marvelously potent—so potent that it is said to contain the presence of the four oceans within it—thereby encouraging the listener to honor or visit the site.