Shloka 9

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

Devanagari script

षट्सु शम्यानिपातेषु वल्मीकादिति निश्चय: । कपिलानां सहस्रं च वाजिमेधं च विन्दति

Transliteration

ṣaṭsu śamyānipāteṣu valmīkād iti niścayaḥ | kapilānāṁ sahasraṁ ca vājimedhaṁ ca vindati

Translation

శమీ కట్టెలు పడిన ఆ ఆరు స్థలాలలో (తీర్థసేవచేత) వల్మీక నిర్మాణాది పుణ్యం లభిస్తుందని ఇది స్థిరనిశ్చయం. అక్కడ వెయ్యి కపిల గోవుల దానఫలమూ, అశ్వమేధ యజ్ఞఫలమూ పొందుతాడు.

Word by Word

षट्सुin six

शम्यानिपातेषुin the falls/descents at the śamyā (stakes/pegs)

वल्मीकात्from the anthill

इतिthus

निश्चयःcertainty; determination

कपिलानाम्of the tawny/brown (ones)

सहस्रम्a thousand

चand

वाजिमेधम्the Aśvamedha (horse-sacrifice)

चand

विन्दतिfinds; obtains

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

Ghūlastya

śamī tree

valmīka (anthill)

kapilāḥ (tawny cows)

Vājimedha/Aśvamedha sacrifice

Character Dynamics

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 emphasizes that specific ritual acts and sacred observances—performed at prescribed places—are believed to yield immense religious merit, comparable to major royal sacrifices and large-scale gifts. It reflects the Mahābhārata’s broader ethic that dharma is supported by disciplined, tradition-guided action and reverence for sacred rites.

What is happening in the narrative?

Ghūlastya is describing the spiritual efficacy of certain ritual locations/actions connected with the śamī tree, asserting as a firm conclusion that performing the observance at six such points grants extraordinary merit—likened to the rewards of donating a thousand kapilā cows and performing the Aśvamedha.