Shloka 36
युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya
अग्निष्टोममवाप्रोति मुनिलोकं॑ च गच्छति । राजेन्द्र! तदनन्तर उत्तम ज्ञानपावन तीर्थमें जाय। वहाँ जानेसे मनुष्य अग्निष्टोमयज्ञका फल पाता और मुनिलोकमें जाता है,ततो गच्छेत राजेन्द्र सुगन्धां लोकविश्रुताम् । सर्वपापविशुद्धात्मा ब्रह्मलोके महीयते राजेन्द्र! तदनन्तर लोकविख्यात सुगन्धातीर्थकी यात्रा करे। इससे सब पापोंसे विशुद्धचित्त हुआ मानव ब्रह्मलोकमें पूजित होता है
agniṣṭomam avāpnoti munilokaṃ ca gacchati | rājendra! tad-anantaraṃ uttama-jñāna-pāvanaṃ tīrthaṃ yāyāt | tatra gamanāt manuṣyaḥ agniṣṭoma-yajñasya phalaṃ prāpnoti munilokaṃ ca gacchati || tato gacchet rājendra sugandhāṃ loka-viśrutām | sarva-pāpa-viśuddhātmā brahmaloke mahīyate ||
Ghūlastya said: “O best of kings, thereafter one should go to that sacred ford which purifies through the highest knowledge. By visiting it, a person gains the merit of the Agniṣṭoma sacrifice and attains the world of sages. Then, O king, one should proceed to Sugandhā, famed throughout the worlds. With the inner self cleansed of all sins, one is honored in Brahmaloka.”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage) and inner purification can confer merits comparable to major Vedic sacrifices, culminating in elevated spiritual destinations (Muniloka, Brahmaloka). Ethical emphasis falls on cleansing sin and refining the inner self, not merely performing external rites.
A sage (Ghūlastya) instructs a king (addressed as Rājendra) in a sequence of pilgrimage destinations: first a tīrtha said to purify through highest knowledge, then the famed Sugandhā tīrtha, describing the spiritual fruits—sacrificial merit, access to the sages’ realm, and honor in Brahmaloka.