Shloka 119
युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya
अथ सोमपदं गच्छेद् ब्रह्मचारी समाहित: । माहेश्वरपदे स्नात्वा वाजिमेधफलं लभेत्,तदनन्तर ब्रह्मचर्यपालनपूर्वक एकाग्रचित्त हो सोमपदतीर्थमें जाय। वहाँ माहेश्वरपदमें स्नान करनेसे अश्वमेधयज्ञका फल मिलता है
atha somapadaṁ gacched brahmacārī samāhitaḥ | māheśvarapade snātvā vājimedhaphalaṁ labhet |
Depois, observando o brahmacarya (castidade disciplinada) e com a mente recolhida, deve-se seguir ao vau sagrado chamado Somapada. Tendo-se banhado no local conhecido como Māheśvarapada, diz-se que se obtém o mérito equivalente ao sacrifício Aśvamedha.
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links spiritual merit to disciplined conduct: a brahmacārī with a steady, focused mind who undertakes pilgrimage and performs purifying bathing at a Śiva-associated tīrtha is said to gain merit comparable to a grand royal sacrifice, emphasizing inner restraint and devotion over mere external power.
The speaker is describing a sequence of sacred destinations in a tīrtha-yātrā. Here, the instruction is to go next to Somapada and bathe at Māheśvarapada, with the promised result that such bathing confers the fruit of the Aśvamedha.