Shloka 60

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

Devanagari script

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

Transliteration

naimiṣaṁ mṛgayānasya pāpasyārdhaṁ praṇaśyati | praviṣṭamātrastu naraḥ sarvapāpaiḥ pramucyate ||

Translation

グーラスティヤは言った。「狩猟を求めてナイミシャ（Naimiṣa）に来る者であっても、その行いによって負った罪の半ばはただちに滅する。しかも、その聖地に足を踏み入れた瞬間、彼は一切の罪から解き放たれる。」

Word by Word

नैमिषम्Naimiṣa (forest/holy place)

मृगयानस्यof the hunter / of one engaged in hunting

पापस्यof sin

अर्धम्half

प्रणश्यतिperishes / is destroyed

प्रविष्टमात्रःhaving just entered

तुbut / indeed

नरःa man

सर्वपापैःfrom all sins (lit. by/with all sins)

प्रमुच्यतेis released / is freed

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

Ghūlastya

Naimiṣa (Naimiṣāraṇya)

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?

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.

What is happening in the narrative?

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.