Shloka 127
युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya
धर्मज्ञ! वहाँ एक कूप है, जो सब पापोंको दूर करनेवाला है। उसमें सदा चारों समुद्र निवास करते हैं ।। तत्रोपस्पृश्य राजेन्द्र न दुर्गतिमवाप्रुयात् । अभिगम्य महादेवं वरदं रुद्रमव्ययम्,राजेन्द्र! उसमें निवास करनेसे मनुष्य कभी दुर्गतिमें नहीं पड़ता। सबको वर देनेवाले अविनाशी महादेव रुद्रके समीप जाकर मनुष्य मेघोंके आवरणसे मुक्त हुए चन्द्रमाकी भाँति सुशोभित होता है। नरेश्वर! वहीं जातिस्मरतीर्थ है; जिसमें स्नान करके मनुष्य पवित्र एवं शुद्धचित्त हो जाता है। अर्थात् उसके शरीर और मनकी शुद्धि हो जाती है
dharmajña! tatra ekaḥ kūpaḥ asti yaḥ sarvapāpāpahārakaḥ; tasmin sadā catvāraḥ samudrāḥ nivasantīti. tatra upaspṛśya rājendra na durgatim avāpnoti. abhigamya mahādevaṃ varadaṃ rudram avyayam, rājendra, tatra nivāsena manuṣyaḥ meghāvaraṇamuktaś candramā iva suśobhate. nareśvara! tatraiva jātismaratīrtham asti; yatra snātvā manuṣyaḥ pavitraḥ śuddhacittaś ca bhavati—śarīramanasaḥ śuddhiḥ sampadyate.
O knower of dharma! There is a well there that removes all sins; within it the four oceans are said to dwell continually. O king, by touching its waters one does not fall into an evil destiny. And by approaching the imperishable Rudra—Mahādeva, the giver of boons—one becomes radiant, like the moon freed from the veil of clouds. O lord of men, that very place is the ‘Tīrtha of Remembering Past Births’; bathing there makes a person pure and clear-minded—bringing purification of both body and mind.
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage teaches that contact with sacred waters and reverent approach to Mahādeva (Rudra/Śiva) symbolize and effect purification: freedom from ‘durgati’ (downfall) arises through dharmic conduct supported by tīrtha-bathing and devotion, culminating in clarity of mind and moral renewal.
A speaker describes a specific sacred site: a well said to contain the presence of the four oceans. The king is told that ritual touching/bathing there prevents an evil fate, and that approaching Rudra nearby brings a radiance likened to the moon emerging from clouds. The place is identified as Jātismara-tīrtha, where bathing purifies both body and mind.