Shloka 60
युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya
नैमिषं मृगयानस्य पापस्यार्ध प्रणश्यति । प्रविष्टमात्रस्तु नर: सर्वपापै: प्रमुच्यते,नैमिषकी खोज करनेवाले पुरुषका आधा पाप उसी समय नष्ट हो जाता है और उसमें प्रवेश करते ही वह सारे पापोंसे छुटकारा पा जाता है
naimiṣaṁ mṛgayānasya pāpasyārdhaṁ praṇaśyati | praviṣṭamātrastu naraḥ sarvapāpaiḥ pramucyate ||
Ghūlastya said: 'For a man who comes to Naimiṣa in pursuit of the hunt, half of the sin incurred by that act is destroyed at once. And the moment he merely enters that sacred place, he is released from all sins.' The statement frames Naimiṣa as a powerful tīrtha whose sanctity can counteract even ethically fraught actions such as hunting, emphasizing the purificatory force of holy places and the possibility of moral restoration.
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the purificatory power (tīrtha-māhātmya) of Naimiṣa: even actions that generate moral demerit—here, hunting—have their sin diminished, and mere entry into the sacred space is said to bring release from sins, highlighting repentance, sacred geography, and the possibility of ethical renewal.
A speaker named Ghūlastya is describing the spiritual efficacy of the holy place Naimiṣa to the listeners, presenting it as a tīrtha where sins are rapidly destroyed, thereby encouraging pilgrimage and reverence for that sacred region.