Shloka 42

युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya

Devanagari script

अश्वमेधमवाप्रोति त्रिरात्रोपोषितो नर: । गोसहस्रफलं विद्यात्‌ कुलं चैव समुद्धरेत्‌,नरपते! तत्पश्चात्‌ तीर्थसेवी अरुन्धतीवटके समीप जाय और सामुद्रकतीर्थमें स्नान करके ब्रह्मचर्यपालनपूर्वक एकाग्रचित्त हो तीन रात उपवास करे। इससे मनुष्य अश्वमेधयज्ञ और सहस््र गोदानका फल पाता तथा अपने कुलका उद्धार कर देता है

Transliteration

aśvamedham avāpnoti trirātro-poṣito naraḥ | go-sahasra-phalaṁ vidyāt kulaṁ caiva samuddharet, nara-pate ||

Translation

Ghūlastya said: “O king, a man who observes a fast for three nights attains the merit of the Aśvamedha sacrifice. Know that he also gains the fruit of gifting a thousand cows, and he uplifts his entire lineage.” In context, the verse commends disciplined austerity and pilgrimage-observance as ethically potent acts whose merit is held to equal major royal rites and lavish charity, emphasizing inner restraint as a means of benefiting both oneself and one’s family line.

Word by Word

• {'aśvamedham': 'the Aśvamedha (horse-sacrifice), a supreme royal Vedic rite

• here a benchmark of great merit', 'avāpnoti': 'attains, obtains', 'trirātra': 'three nights', 'upoṣitaḥ': 'one who has fasted/kept a religious fast', 'naraḥ': 'a man, person', 'go-sahasra': 'a thousand cows', 'phalam': 'fruit, result, merit', 'vidyāt': 'should know

• understand as (injunctive/optative sense)', 'kulam': 'family, lineage, clan', 'ca eva': 'and indeed', 'samuddharet': 'would raise up, redeem, uplift (spiritually/meritoriously)', 'nara-pate': 'O lord of men

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Ghūlastya (speaker)
• nara-pati (the king addressed)
• Aśvamedha (sacrifice)
• go-sahasra (a thousand cows; charitable gift)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that disciplined austerity—specifically a three-night fast undertaken with religious intent—can generate merit comparable to grand public rites (Aśvamedha) and major charity (gift of a thousand cows), and that such merit is believed to benefit not only the practitioner but also their lineage.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker named Ghūlastya addresses a king and prescribes/commends a three-night fast as part of a sacred observance, describing the extraordinary spiritual rewards it yields—equating it with renowned sacrifices and donations and asserting its power to uplift one’s family line.