Shloka 31

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

Devanagari script

कपिलावटरटं ततो गच्छेत्‌ तीर्थसेवी नराधिप । उपोष्य रजनीं तत्र गोसहस्रफलं लभेत्‌,नरेश्वर! उसके बाद तीर्थसेवी मनुष्य कपिलावट-तीर्थमें जाय। वहाँ रातभर उपवास करनेसे उसे सहस्र गोदानका फल मिलता है

Transliteration

kapilāvaṭaraṭaṃ tato gacchet tīrthasevī narādhipa | upoṣya rajanīṃ tatra gosahasraphalaṃ labhet, nareśvara ||

Translation

それから、王よ、聖なる渡し場（ティールタ）を巡礼する者は、カピラーヴァタ（Kapilāvaṭa）と呼ばれる霊地へ赴くべきである。そこで一夜を通して断食を守るなら、人々の主よ、千頭の牛を施すに等しい功徳を得る。

Word by Word

कपिलावटम्Kapilāvaṭa (tīrtha/place-name) (as destination)

ततःthen, thereafter

गच्छेत्should go

तीर्थसेवीa pilgrim; one who frequents sacred fords

नराधिपO king (lord of men)

उपोष्यhaving fasted

रजनीम्the night

तत्रthere

गोसहस्रफलम्the merit/reward equal to (the gift of) a thousand cows

लभेत्would obtain; should obtain

नरेश्वरO lord of men (king)

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

Kapilāvaṭa (tīrtha)

narādhipa/nareśvara (the king addressed)

gosahasra (a thousand cows, as a meritorious gift)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Disciplined observance at a sacred place—here, fasting through the night at Kapilāvaṭa—is presented as a powerful dharmic act whose merit can equal major acts of charity (such as gifting a thousand cows), emphasizing self-restraint and devotion as paths to puṇya.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker instructs a king about the next step in a pilgrimage itinerary: the pilgrim should go to the Kapilāvaṭa tīrtha and keep a night-long fast there, which is said to confer the merit of a thousand cow-gifts.