Shloka 150

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

Devanagari script

यत्र स्नात्वा कृतार्थो5स्मीत्यात्मानमवगच्छति । षष्ठकालोपवासेन मुच्यते ब्रह्म॒हत्यया,उसमें स्नान करके मनुष्य अपने-आपको कृतार्थ मानने लगता है। वहाँ रहकर छठे समय उपवास करनेसे मनुष्य ब्रह्महत्यासे छुटकारा पा जाता है

Transliteration

yatra snātvā kṛtārtho ’smīty ātmānam avagacchati | ṣaṣṭha-kālopavāsena mucyate brahmahatyayā ||

Translation

ఆ తీర్థంలో స్నానం చేసిన తరువాత మనిషి తనలో తానే—“నేను కృతార్థుడనయ్యాను” అని గ్రహించును. అక్కడ విధిగా షష్ఠకాల ఉపవాసం ఆచరించితే బ్రహ్మహత్య వంటి మహాపాపం నుండికూడా విముక్తి పొందును.

Word by Word

यत्रwhere

स्नात्वाhaving bathed

कृतार्थःfulfilled, having attained one’s purpose

अस्मिI am

इतिthus

आत्मानम्oneself

अवगच्छतिunderstands, realizes

षष्ठकालोपवासेनby fasting at the sixth time/period

मुच्यतेis released, is freed

ब्रह्महत्ययाfrom the sin of brahmin-slaying

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

brahmahatyā (sin of brahmin-slaying)

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that sacred bathing (snāna) combined with disciplined fasting (upavāsa) at a prescribed time functions as a powerful act of purification, capable of removing even extremely grave moral taints such as brahma-hatyā, emphasizing the ethical force of repentance and regulated religious practice.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker is describing the spiritual efficacy of a particular holy place: bathing there brings a sense of fulfilled purpose, and observing the specified fast while staying there is said to grant release from severe sin, as part of a broader tirtha-māhātmya (praise of pilgrimage sites) discourse in the Vana Parva.