Shloka 79
युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya
अविमुक्त समासाद्य तीर्थसेवी कुरूद्वह । दर्शनाद् देवदेवस्य मुच्यते ब्रह्म॒ुह॒त्यया
Avimuktaṁ samāsādya tīrthasevī kurūdvaha | darśanād devadevasya mucyate brahmahatyayā ||
హే కురువీరా! అవిముక్తానికి చేరి తీర్థసేవ చేసే యాత్రికుడు దేవదేవుని దర్శనమాత్రంతోనే బ్రహ్మహత్య పాపం నుండి విముక్తుడవుతాడు.
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that sincere pilgrimage (tīrtha-sevā) culminating in darśana of the supreme deity (Devadeva, here understood as Śiva) has extraordinary purificatory power—so great that it is said to free one even from brahmahatyā, a paradigmatic ‘heavy’ sin. Ethically, it highlights repentance, reverence, and transformative encounter with the sacred as means of moral restoration.
In the Vana Parva’s tīrtha-māhātmya setting, the speaker (Ghūlastya) addresses a Kuru noble with an honorific (kurūdvaha) and praises the sanctity of Avimukta. He states that a pilgrim who reaches this holy place and performs tīrtha observances gains liberation from grave sin through the mere sight of Devadeva.