Mahabharata 3.201.92 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 201, Shloka 92
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
व्रजे वाप्यथवारण्ये यत्र सन्ति बहुश्रुता: । तत् तन्नगरमित्याहु: पार्थ तीर्थ च तद् भवेत्
vraje vāpy athavāraṇye yatra santi bahuśrutāḥ | tat tan nagaram ity āhuḥ pārtha tīrtha ca tad bhavet | kuntīnandana!
குந்தியின் மகனே பார்த்தா! அது மாட்டுக்காரர் குடியிருப்பாக இருந்தாலும் காடாக இருந்தாலும்—எங்கு பலசாஸ்திரம் கேட்டறிந்த பண்டிதர்கள் வாழ்கிறார்களோ, அந்த இடமே ‘நகரம்’ எனப்படுகிறது; மேலும் அது தானே ஒரு தீர்த்தமாகவும் ஆகிறது.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
A place is made ‘civilized’ and spiritually potent not by buildings or location but by the presence of learned, dharma-grounded people; their company turns even a forest or pastoral settlement into a ‘city’ and a ‘tīrtha’—a crossing-place that uplifts others.
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Arjuna (Pārtha, Kuntīnandana) and reframes the idea of sacred and urban space: wherever true learning and wise persons reside, that place deserves the status of a city and functions like a pilgrimage-site.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.