Mahabharata 3.121.15-21

Devanāgarī

वैशंपायन उवाच
स पयोष्ण्यां नरश्रेष्ठः स्नात्वा वै भ्रातृभिः सह ॥
वैडूर्यपर्वतं चैव नर्मदां च महानदीम् ॥
समाजगाम तेजस्वी भ्रातृभिः सहितो ऽनघः ॥
ततो ऽस्य सर्वाण्य् आचख्यौ लोमशो भगवान् ऋषिः ॥
तीर्थानि रमणीयानि तत्र तत्र विशां पते ॥
यथायोगं यथाप्रीति प्रययौ भ्रातृभिः सह ॥
ददमानो ऽसकृद् वित्तं ब्राह्मणेभ्यः सहस्रशः ॥
लोमश उवाच
देवानाम् एति कौन्तेय तथा राज्ञां सलोकताम् ॥
वैडूर्यपर्वतं दृष्ट्वा नर्मदाम् अवतीर्य च ॥
संधिर् एष नरश्रेष्ठ त्रेताया द्वापरस्य च ॥
एतम् आसाद्य कौन्तेय सर्वपापैः प्रमुच्यते ॥
एष शर्यातियज्ञस्य देशस् तात प्रकाशते ॥
साक्षाद् यत्रापिबत् सोमम् अश्विभ्यां सह कौशिकः ॥
चुकोप भार्गवश् चापि महेन्द्रस्य महातपाः ॥
संस्तम्भयाम् आस च तं वासवं च्यवनः प्रभुः ॥
सुकन्यां चापि भार्यां स राजपुत्रीम् इवाप्तवान् ॥

Transliteration (IAST)

vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca
sa payoṣṇyāṃ naraśreṣṭhaḥ snātvā vai bhrātṛbhiḥ saha ||
vaiḍūryaparvataṃ caiva narmadāṃ ca mahānadīm ||
samājagāma tejasvī bhrātṛbhiḥ sahito 'naghaḥ ||
tato 'sya sarvāṇy ācakhyau lomaśo bhagavān ṛṣiḥ ||
tīrthāni ramaṇīyāni tatra tatra viśāṃ pate ||
yathāyogaṃ yathāprīti prayayau bhrātṛbhiḥ saha ||
dadamāno 'sakṛd vittaṃ brāhmaṇebhyaḥ sahasraśaḥ ||
lomaśa uvāca
devānām eti kaunteya tathā rājñāṃ salokatām ||
vaiḍūryaparvataṃ dṛṣṭvā narmadām avatīrya ca ||
saṃdhir eṣa naraśreṣṭha tretāyā dvāparasya ca ||
etam āsādya kaunteya sarvapāpaiḥ pramucyate ||
eṣa śaryātiyajñasya deśas tāta prakāśate ||
sākṣād yatrāpibat somam aśvibhyāṃ saha kauśikaḥ ||
cukopa bhārgavaś cāpi mahendrasya mahātapāḥ ||
saṃstambhayām āsa ca taṃ vāsavaṃ cyavanaḥ prabhuḥ ||
sukanyāṃ cāpi bhāryāṃ sa rājaputrīm ivāptavān ||

Word-by-word

SanskritIASTMeaning

वैशंपायन उवाच स पयोष्ण्यां नरश्रेष्ठः स्नात्वा वै भ्रातृभिः सह ॥ वैडूर्यपर्वतं चैव नर्मदां च महानदीम् ॥ समाजगाम तेजस्वी भ्रातृभिः सहितो ऽनघः ॥ ततो ऽस्य सर्वाण्य् आचख्यौ लोमशो भगवान् ऋषिः ॥ तीर्थानि रमणीयानि तत्र तत्र विशां पते ॥ यथायोगं यथाप्रीति प्रययौ भ्रातृभिः सह ॥ ददमानो ऽसकृद् वित्तं ब्राह्मणेभ्यः सहस्रशः ॥ लोमश उवाच देवानाम् एति कौन्तेय तथा राज्ञां सलोकताम् ॥ वैडूर्यपर्वतं दृष्ट्वा नर्मदाम् अवतीर्य च ॥ संधिर् एष नरश्रेष्ठ त्रेताया द्वापरस्य च ॥ एतम् आसाद्य कौन्तेय सर्वपापैः प्रमुच्यते ॥ एष शर्यातियज्ञस्य देशस् तात प्रकाशते ॥ साक्षाद् यत्रापिबत् सोमम् अश्विभ्यां सह कौशिकः ॥ चुकोप भार्गवश् चापि महेन्द्रस्य महातपाः ॥ संस्तम्भयाम् आस च तं वासवं च्यवनः प्रभुः ॥ सुकन्यां चापि भार्यां स राजपुत्रीम् इवाप्तवान् ॥vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca sa payoṣṇyāṃ naraśreṣṭhaḥ snātvā vai bhrātṛbhiḥ saha || vaiḍūryaparvataṃ caiva narmadāṃ ca mahānadīm || samājagāma tejasvī bhrātṛbhiḥ sahito 'naghaḥ || tato 'sya sarvāṇy ācakhyau lomaśo bhagavān ṛṣiḥ || tīrthāni ramaṇīyāni tatra tatra viśāṃ pate || yathāyogaṃ yathāprīti prayayau bhrātṛbhiḥ saha || dadamāno 'sakṛd vittaṃ brāhmaṇebhyaḥ sahasraśaḥ || lomaśa uvāca devānām eti kaunteya tathā rājñāṃ salokatām || vaiḍūryaparvataṃ dṛṣṭvā narmadām avatīrya ca || saṃdhir eṣa naraśreṣṭha tretāyā dvāparasya ca || etam āsādya kaunteya sarvapāpaiḥ pramucyate || eṣa śaryātiyajñasya deśas tāta prakāśate || sākṣād yatrāpibat somam aśvibhyāṃ saha kauśikaḥ || cukopa bhārgavaś cāpi mahendrasya mahātapāḥ || saṃstambhayām āsa ca taṃ vāsavaṃ cyavanaḥ prabhuḥ || sukanyāṃ cāpi bhāryāṃ sa rājaputrīm ivāptavān ||Vaishampayana says that the best of men, having bathed in the Payoshni with his brothers, reached Mount Vaidurya and the great river Narmada; the blessed sage Lomasha told him of all the beautiful tirthas; Yudhishthira went on with his brothers as was fitting and as gave him joy, repeatedly giving thousands of goods to the brahmins; Lomasha says that, having seen Mount Vaidurya and entered the Narmada, the son of Kunti attains the same world as the gods and kings; this is the juncture of the Treta and Dvapara ages, reaching which a man is freed from sins; this is the place of Sharyati's sacrifice, where Kaushika drank soma together with the Ashvins; there Bhargava grew angry at Mahendra, Chyavana held Vasava immobile and obtained the princess Sukanya as his wife.

Translation

Vaishampayana said: "Having bathed in the Payoshni together with his brothers, the best of men, the sinless king, reached Mount Vaidurya and the great river Narmada. Then the blessed sage Lomasha told him of all the beautiful tirthas in every place, O lord of the people. Yudhishthira went on with his brothers as was fitting and as gave him joy, again and again giving thousands of riches to the brahmins. Lomasha said: 'Having seen Mount Vaidurya and having entered the Narmada, son of Kunti, a man attains the same world as the gods and kings. This, best of men, is the juncture of the Treta and Dvapara ages; reaching it, son of Kunti, a man is freed from all sins. Here, dear one, is the place of Sharyati's sacrifice, where Kaushika himself drank soma together with the two Ashvins. Here too the greatly ascetic Bhargava grew angry at Mahendra; here the mighty Chyavana held Vasava immobile and obtained as his wife the princess Sukanya.'"

Commentary

Pilgrimage joins geography with memory: a river, a mountain, and a place of sacrifice become gateways into the history of dharma. Yudhishthira learns to see the earth as a book of deeds.

Version

8c5b6b5112e2 · published Jul 16, 2026, 5:06:19 PM UTC

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