Shloka 1456
युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya
अश्वमेधमवाप्रोति नरो नास्त्यत्र संशय: । तदनन्तर वीराश्रमनिवासी कुमार कार्तिकेयके निकट जाकर मनुष्य अश्वमेधयज्ञका फल प्राप्त कर लेता है, इसमें संशय नहीं है
aśvamedham avāpnoti naro nāsty atra saṃśayaḥ | tad-anantaraṃ vīrāśrama-nivāsī kumāra-kārtikeyasya nikaṭaṃ gatvā manuṣya aśvamedha-yajñasya phalaṃ prāpnoti, atra saṃśayo na vidyate |
Ghulasthya said: “A man attains the merit of the Aśvamedha sacrifice—there is no doubt of it. Thereafter, by going near Kumāra Kārtikeya who dwells in the Vīrāśrama, a person obtains the fruit of the Aśvamedha rite; on this there is no uncertainty.”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage asserts that approaching a sacred presence—Kumāra Kārtikeya at Vīrāśrama—can confer merit equal to a grand royal sacrifice like the Aśvamedha, emphasizing the ethical-religious idea that sincere pilgrimage and reverence may substitute for costly ritual power.
A speaker named Ghulasthya describes the spiritual benefit available at a particular holy site: after reaching Vīrāśrama and going near Kumāra Kārtikeya, a person is said to gain the fruit of performing an Aśvamedha, with the statement framed as certain and doubtless.