Shloka 50
युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya
यदि तत्र वसेन्मासं शाकाहारो नराधिप । भगुतुज़ं समासाद्य वाजिमेधफलं लभेत्,नरेश्वर! यदि मनुष्य भृगुतुंगमें जाकर शाकाहारी हो वहाँ एक मासतक निवास करे तो उसे अश्वमेध-यज्ञका फल प्राप्त होता है
yadi tatra vasen māsaṁ śākāhāro narādhipa | bhṛgutungaṁ samāsādya vājimedhaphalaṁ labhet, nareśvara ||
Ghūlastya said: “O king, if a man goes to Bhṛgutunga and lives there for a month, sustaining himself on a diet of greens, he attains the merit equal to that of the Aśvamedha sacrifice. The teaching here is that disciplined restraint and reverent residence at a sanctified place can yield spiritual fruit comparable to grand royal rites, making merit accessible through ethical self-control rather than power or wealth.”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Merit is not limited to costly royal sacrifices; disciplined living (a month of restrained diet and residence at a sacred tīrtha) can confer comparable spiritual reward, emphasizing accessible dharma through self-control.
A speaker named Ghūlastya addresses a king and describes the specific merit gained by traveling to the sacred site Bhṛgutunga and observing a month-long austere regimen there, equating it with the fruit of the Aśvamedha.