Mahabharata — Vana Parva, Shloka 121
युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya
ह्वियमाणा हृता राजन् विष्णुना प्रभविष्णुना | तत्राभिषेकं कुर्वीत तीर्थकोट्यां युधिष्ठिर
hviyamāṇā hṛtā rājan viṣṇunā prabhaviṣṇunā | tatrābhiṣekaṃ kurvīta tīrthakoṭyāṃ yudhiṣṭhira ||
غُولستیہ نے کہا—“اے راجَن! پکارے جانے پر بھی وہ قادرِ مطلق وِشنو کے ہاتھوں اٹھا لی گئی۔ پس اے یُدھِشٹھِر، ‘تیرتھ کوٹی’ نامی اس مقدس گھاٹ پر ابھیشیک کی رسم ادا کرنی چاہیے۔”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the sanctifying power of a tīrtha and the dharmic value of prescribed rites: when a place is marked by divine action (Viṣṇu’s irresistible power), performing abhiṣeka there becomes a meritorious act of purification and devotion.
Ghūlastya addresses Yudhiṣṭhira, recounting that someone (a woman, implied by feminine participles) was called/invoked but was taken away by Viṣṇu; on that basis he recommends that Yudhiṣṭhira perform a consecratory rite at the pilgrimage site named Tīrthakoṭī.