Shloka 52

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

Devanagari script

अग्निष्टोमातिरात्राभ्यां फलमाप्नोति मानव: | तत्र संध्यां समासाद्य विद्यातीर्थमनुत्तमम्‌

Transliteration

agniṣṭomātirātrābhyāṁ phalam āpnoti mānavaḥ | tatra sandhyāṁ samāsādya vidyātīrtham anuttamam ||

Translation

Ghūlastya disse: “Ao realizar os sacrifícios Agniṣṭoma e Atirātra, a pessoa alcança a recompensa que lhes é devida. Contudo, ali, ao chegar o tempo do sandhyā (o crepúsculo), encontra-se um ‘tīrtha do conhecimento’ sem igual — um meio sagrado de atravessar por meio do aprendizado e da disciplina interior.”

Word by Word

अग्निष्टोमfrom the Agniṣṭoma (sacrifice)

अतिरात्रfrom the Atirātra (sacrifice)

अभ्याम्by/with (dual instrumental ending used with the two items)

फलम्fruit, result

आप्नोतिattains

मानवःa man, human

तत्रthere

सन्ध्याम्twilight; the Sandhyā (rite/time)

समासाद्यhaving approached/attained

विद्यातीर्थम्the ford/place of learning (a sacred seat of knowledge)

अनुत्तमम्unsurpassed, excellent

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

Ghūlastya

Agniṣṭoma (sacrifice)

Atirātra (sacrifice)

Sandhyā (twilight time)

Vidyātīrtha (ford/place of knowledge)

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?

Ritual action (like major Soma-sacrifices) yields merit, but the verse elevates the ‘vidyātīrtha’—the transformative crossing achieved through knowledge and disciplined awareness, especially at sacred liminal moments such as sandhyā.

What is happening in the narrative?

Ghūlastya is describing the fruits of renowned Vedic sacrifices and then points to a superior spiritual opportunity: upon reaching the twilight observance (sandhyā), one encounters an unsurpassed sacred ‘ford’ of knowledge, implying a shift from external rite to inner realization.