Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 22
Asita Devala Observes Jaigīṣavya’s Yogic Attainment and Chooses Mokṣa-dharma (देवल-जैगीषव्योपाख्यानम्)
तत्र हत्वा पुरा विष्णुरसुरी मधुकैटभौ । आप्लुत्य भरतश्रेष्ठ तीर्थप्रवर उत्तमे
tatra hatvā purā viṣṇur asurī madhukaiṭabhau | āplutya bharataśreṣṭha tīrthapravara uttame ||
وہیں قدیم زمانے میں وشنو نے اسوری مَدھو اور کَیٹبھ کو قتل کیا تھا؛ اور اے بھرت-شریشٹھ! اس نہایت بہترین، برتر تیرتھ میں اشنان کرکے (پاوَن ہوا)۔
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links righteous action and sacred space: even divine victory over destructive forces is paired with ritual purification at a tīrtha, underscoring the Mahābhārata’s ethic that power and violence must be framed within dharma and sanctifying discipline.
Vaiśampāyana points to a particular holy place, recalling an ancient precedent: Viṣṇu once killed the demonic pair Madhu and Kaiṭabha there and then bathed at that foremost tīrtha, establishing the site’s sanctity through mythic memory.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.