Mahabharata — Vana Parva, Shloka 150

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

Devanagari script

यत्र स्नात्वा कृतार्थो5स्मीत्यात्मानमवगच्छति । षष्ठकालोपवासेन मुच्यते ब्रह्म॒हत्यया

Transliteration

yatra snātvā kṛtārtho ’smīty ātmānam avagacchati | ṣaṣṭha-kālopavāsena mucyate brahmahatyayā ||

Translation

在那圣地沐浴之后，人便于心中自知：“我已得其所愿。”若居于彼处，依仪在第六时行持斋戒，甚至可解脱重罪——婆罗门杀（brahma-hatyā，杀害婆罗门）之业。

Word by Word

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र
• Form: indeclinable (locative adverb)

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Karana
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: absolutive (क्त्वा), indeclinable; prior action

• कृतार्थः: fulfilled, having attained one’s purpose
• कृतार्थः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृतार्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• अस्मि: I am
• अस्मि: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: present, 1st person, singular (parasmaipada)

• इति: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति
• Form: indeclinable (quotative particle)

• आत्मानम्: oneself
• आत्मानम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: masculine, accusative, singular

• अवगच्छति: understands, realizes
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव-गम् (धातु)
• Form: present, 3rd person, singular (parasmaipada)

• षष्ठकालोपवासेन: by fasting at the sixth time/period
• षष्ठकालोपवासेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: षष्ठकालोपवास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: masculine, instrumental, singular

• मुच्यते: is released, is freed
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुच् (धातु)
• Form: present, 3rd person, singular; passive (ātmanepada form in passive sense)

• ब्रह्महत्यया: from the sin of brahmin-slaying
• ब्रह्महत्यया: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्महत्यā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: feminine, ablative, singular (Vedic/epic variant for -आयाः/-आयात् sense; intended: 'from brahmahatyā')

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• brahmahatyā (sin of brahmin-slaying)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that sacred bathing (snāna) combined with disciplined fasting (upavāsa) at a prescribed time functions as a powerful act of purification, capable of removing even extremely grave moral taints such as brahma-hatyā, emphasizing the ethical force of repentance and regulated religious practice.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker is describing the spiritual efficacy of a particular holy place: bathing there brings a sense of fulfilled purpose, and observing the specified fast while staying there is said to grant release from severe sin, as part of a broader tirtha-māhātmya (praise of pilgrimage sites) discourse in the Vana Parva.