Shloka 91

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

Devanagari script

ततो गृध्रवर्ट गच्छेत्‌ स्थानं देवस्थ धीमत: । स्नायीत भस्मना तत्र अभिगम्य वृषध्वजम्‌,तदनन्तर परम बुद्धिमान्‌ महादेवजीके गृधप्रवट नामक स्थानकी यात्रा करे और वहाँ भगवान्‌ शंकरके समीप जाकर भस्मसे स्नान करे (अपने शरीरमें भस्म लगाये)

Transliteration

tato gṛdhravraṭaṁ gacchet sthānaṁ devastha dhīmataḥ | snāyīt bhasmanā tatra abhigamya vṛṣadhvajam ||

Translation

அதன்பின் அறிவுடையவன் ‘கிருத்ரவ்ரட’ எனப்படும் புனித தேவஸ்தலத்திற்குச் செல்ல வேண்டும். அங்கே வृषத்வஜனாகிய மகாதேவன் சங்கரனை அணுகி, பஸ்மத்தால் ஸ்நானம் செய்ய வேண்டும்—அதாவது உடலில் புனித விபூதியைப் பூச வேண்டும்.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

गृध्रवटम्to (the place called) Gṛdhravaṭa

गच्छेत्should go

स्थानम्place, abode

देवस्थम्divine/sacred (lit. 'abode of the gods')

धीमतःof the wise one

स्नायीतshould bathe

भस्मनाwith ash

तत्रthere

अभिगम्यhaving approached

वृषध्वजम्Vṛṣadhvaja (Śiva; 'he whose banner is the bull')

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

Gṛdhravraṭa (tīrtha/place)

Vṛṣadhvaja (Śiva)

Mahādeva (Śiva)

bhasma (sacred ash)

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?

The verse teaches that tīrtha-yātrā and worship should be performed with disciplined purity and humility: approach Śiva reverently and undertake the prescribed act of purification (bhasma-snāna), emphasizing devotion expressed through right observance.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker gives a procedural instruction for a pilgrimage stop: go to the sacred place named Gṛdhravraṭa, then approach Śiva (Vṛṣadhvaja/Mahādeva) there and perform a ritual bath with sacred ash as part of the worship.