Shloka 733
युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya
अश्वमेधमवाप्रोति पुनाति च कुलं नर: । कुरुनन्दन! गोमतीके रामतीर्थमें स्नान करके मनुष्य अश्वमेधयज्ञका फल पाता और अपने कुलको पवित्र कर देता है
aśvamedham avāpnoti punāti ca kulaṃ naraḥ | kurunandana! gomatyāṃ rāmatīrthe snātvā manuṣyaḥ aśvamedhayajñasya phalaṃ prāpnoti sva-kulaṃ ca pavitraṃ karoti |
Ghūlastya disse: “Ó alegria dos Kurus! Ao banhar-se em Rāma-tīrtha, no rio Gomatī, a pessoa alcança o mérito do sacrifício Aśvamedha e purifica a sua linhagem.”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the extraordinary purificatory power attributed to sacred places: bathing at Rāma-tīrtha on the Gomatī is said to yield the merit of an Aśvamedha and to purify one’s lineage, emphasizing faith, sanctity of tīrthas, and moral-spiritual uplift beyond costly ritual.
In the tīrtha-mahātmya section of the Vana Parva, a speaker (Ghūlastya) addresses a Kuru prince (‘Kurunandana’) and praises a specific pilgrimage site—Rāma-tīrtha on the Gomatī—by declaring the great merit gained through bathing there.