Shloka 26

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

Devanagari script

ततो गच्छेत धर्मज्ञ नमस्कृत्य महागिरिम्‌,धर्मज्ञ! वहाँसे महापर्वत हिमालयको नमस्कार करके गंगाद्वार (हरिद्वार)-की यात्रा करे, जो स्वर्गद्वारके समान है; इसमें संशय नहीं है। वहाँ एकाग्रचित्त हो कोटितीर्थमें स्नान करे

Transliteration

tato gacchet dharmajña namaskṛtya mahāgirim | dharmajña! vahāṁse mahāparvata himālayako namaskāra karke gaṅgādvāra (haridvāra)-kī yātrā kare, jo svargadvārake samāna hai; isameṁ saṁśaya nahīṁ hai | vahāṁ ekāgracitta ho koṭitīrthameṁ snāna kare |

Translation

అనంతరం, ఓ ధర్మజ్ఞా, మహాగిరి హిమాలయాన్ని నమస్కరించి గంగాద్వారము (హరిద్వార్) వైపు ప్రయాణించాలి; అది స్వర్గద్వారముతో సమానము—ఇందులో సందేహము లేదు. అక్కడ ఏకాగ్రచిత్తుడై కోటితీర్థములో స్నానము చేయాలి.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

गच्छेत्should go

धर्मज्ञO knower of dharma

नमस्कृत्यhaving saluted

महागिरिम्the great mountain

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

Himālaya

Gaṅgādvāra (Haridwar)

Svargadvāra

Koṭitīrtha

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma is practiced through reverence and disciplined action: honoring sacred places (Himālaya, Gaṅgādvāra) and performing purificatory rites with ekāgratā (one-pointed attention). The verse links outer pilgrimage with inner mental focus, implying that merit depends not only on travel but on mindful, respectful conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker gives a step-by-step instruction for a tīrtha-yātrā: first bow to the great mountain Himālaya, then travel to Gaṅgādvāra (Haridwar), praised as heaven’s gateway, and finally bathe at the sacred Koṭitīrtha with concentrated mind.