Shloka 98
युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya
ततः फल्गुं व्रजेद् राज॑स्तीर्थसेवी नराधिप । अश्वमेधमवाप्रोति सिद्धि च महतीं व्रजेत्,राजन! नरेश्वर! तदनन्तर तीर्थसेवी मानव फल्गुतीर्थमें जाय। वहाँ जानेसे उसे अश्वमेधयज्ञका फल मिलता है और बहुत बड़ी सिद्धि प्राप्त होती है
tataḥ phalguṁ vrajed rājā tīrthasevī narādhipa | aśvamedham avāpnoti siddhiṁ ca mahatīṁ vrajet, rājan! nareśvara! tadanantaraṁ tīrthasevī mānava phalgutīrtheṁ yāyāt | tatra jānena sa aśvamedhayajñaphalaṁ labhate ca bahu-mahatīṁ siddhiṁ prāpnoti |
Then, O king—O lord of men—let the pilgrim devoted to sacred fords proceed to Phalgu. By going there, he attains the merit of an Aśvamedha sacrifice and reaches a very great spiritual accomplishment. Thus the teaching praises pilgrimage undertaken with reverence as a dharmic path that yields exalted fruit without violence or conquest.
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Devout pilgrimage to a recognized tīrtha is presented as a powerful dharmic practice: simply by visiting Phalgu with a pilgrim’s intent, one gains merit comparable to the Aśvamedha and attains great siddhi—highlighting inner reverence over outward grandeur.
The speaker instructs the king about the next sacred destination in a sequence of tīrthas: the pilgrim should go to Phalgu, where the act of visiting is said to confer the fruit of an Aśvamedha sacrifice and a great spiritual accomplishment.