Shloka 150

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

Devanagari script

यत्र स्नात्वा कृतार्थो5स्मीत्यात्मानमवगच्छति । षष्ठकालोपवासेन मुच्यते ब्रह्म॒हत्यया

Transliteration

yatra snātvā kṛtārtho ’smīty ātmānam avagacchati | ṣaṣṭha-kālopavāsena mucyate brahmahatyayā ||

Translation

ਉਸ ਤੀਰਥ ਵਿੱਚ ਸਨਾਨ ਕਰ ਕੇ ਮਨੁੱਖ ਆਪਣੇ ਅੰਦਰ ਜਾਣ ਲੈਂਦਾ ਹੈ—“ਮੈਂ ਕ੍ਰਿਤਾਰਥ ਹੋ ਗਿਆ।” ਉੱਥੇ ਵਿਧੀ ਅਨੁਸਾਰ ਛੱਠੇ ਕਾਲ ਦਾ ਉਪਵਾਸ ਕਰਨ ਨਾਲ ਉਹ ਬ੍ਰਹਮਹਤਿਆ ਵਰਗੇ ਮਹਾਪਾਪ ਤੋਂ ਵੀ ਮੁਕਤ ਹੋ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ।

Word by Word

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र
• Form: indeclinable (locative adverb)

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Karana
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: absolutive (क्त्वा), indeclinable; prior action

• कृतार्थः: fulfilled, having attained one’s purpose
• कृतार्थः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृतार्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• अस्मि: I am
• अस्मि: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: present, 1st person, singular (parasmaipada)

• इति: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति
• Form: indeclinable (quotative particle)

• आत्मानम्: oneself
• आत्मानम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: masculine, accusative, singular

• अवगच्छति: understands, realizes
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव-गम् (धातु)
• Form: present, 3rd person, singular (parasmaipada)

• षष्ठकालोपवासेन: by fasting at the sixth time/period
• षष्ठकालोपवासेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: षष्ठकालोपवास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: masculine, instrumental, singular

• मुच्यते: is released, is freed
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुच् (धातु)
• Form: present, 3rd person, singular; passive (ātmanepada form in passive sense)

• ब्रह्महत्यया: from the sin of brahmin-slaying
• ब्रह्महत्यया: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्महत्यā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: feminine, ablative, singular (Vedic/epic variant for -आयाः/-आयात् sense; intended: 'from brahmahatyā')

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• brahmahatyā (sin of brahmin-slaying)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that sacred bathing (snāna) combined with disciplined fasting (upavāsa) at a prescribed time functions as a powerful act of purification, capable of removing even extremely grave moral taints such as brahma-hatyā, emphasizing the ethical force of repentance and regulated religious practice.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker is describing the spiritual efficacy of a particular holy place: bathing there brings a sense of fulfilled purpose, and observing the specified fast while staying there is said to grant release from severe sin, as part of a broader tirtha-māhātmya (praise of pilgrimage sites) discourse in the Vana Parva.