Shloka 73
Account of Various Sacred Tīrthas
Pilgrimage Merits and Prayāga Supremacy
तीर्थं भोगवती चैव वेदी प्रोक्ता प्रजापतेः । तत्र वेदाश्च यज्ञाश्च मूर्त्तिमंतो युधिष्ठिर
tīrthaṃ bhogavatī caiva vedī proktā prajāpateḥ | tatra vedāśca yajñāśca mūrttimaṃto yudhiṣṭhira
ذلك المَخاضُ المقدّس يُدعى «بهوغافَتي»، وقد أُعلن أنّه مذبحُ براجاباتي. وهناك، يا يودهيشثيرا، تحضرُ الفيداتُ والقرابينُ كحقائقَ متجسّدة.
Unspecified narrator addressing Yudhiṣṭhira (dialogue context not provided in the input)
Concept: A true tīrtha is a living altar where Veda and yajña become tangible; sacred geography embodies dharma.
Application: Treat pilgrimage and temple-space as ‘living scripture’: approach with cleanliness, restraint, and attentive recitation; let daily worship become a small ‘vedi’ through mantra, offering, and ethical discipline.
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: tirtha
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A primordial pilgrimage ford named Bhogavatī opens like a luminous altar-platform, its stone vedi inscribed with subtle Vedic syllables. From the air itself, the four Vedas appear as radiant, personified sages holding palm-leaf scrolls, while sacrificial fires rise in orderly tongues, forming a mandala around an unseen Prajāpati presence.","primary_figures":["Personified Ṛgveda","Personified Yajurveda","Personified Sāmaveda","Personified Atharvaveda","Prajāpati (symbolic presence)","Yudhiṣṭhira (as reverent witness)"],"setting":"River-ford tīrtha with a raised vedi, kusa grass, ladles, clarified butter vessels, and a surrounding grove of aśvattha and bilva; distant hermitages and smoke-lines of yajñas.","lighting_mood":"divine radiance","color_palette":["gold leaf","smoke-white","saffron","river-jade","deep indigo"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: Bhogavatī-tīrtha as a grand vedi at a river-ford, personified four Vedas as haloed sages with palm-leaf manuscripts, stylized yajña flames forming a mandala, Prajāpati suggested as a radiant lotus-throne aura behind the altar; heavy gold leaf embellishment on halos, altar edges, and ornaments; rich vermilion, emerald green, and lapis blue background with gem-studded detailing.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: a serene river confluence-like ford labeled Bhogavatī, delicate brushwork showing a small stone vedi, thin smoke from sacrificial fires, four refined sage-figures as Vedas with cool pastel garments, distant ashrams and trees; lyrical naturalism, soft Himalayan sky gradients, intricate textile patterns, gentle facial features.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold black outlines and flat natural pigments depict the vedi at the tīrtha, stylized flames, four Veda-personifications with large expressive eyes, Prajāpati as a symbolic radiant aura-lotus; dominant red, yellow, green with controlled blue accents, temple-wall composition symmetry.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: sacred ford rendered as a lotus-bordered altar scene, ornate floral borders and repeating lotus motifs; personified Vedas as attendant sages around a central radiant altar; peacocks and cows at the grove edge; deep indigo ground with gold highlights and fine white linework, Nathdwara-inspired decorative density."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"narrative","suggested_raga":"Yaman","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["low temple bells","crackling sacrificial fire","soft conch shell","distant river flow"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: च + एव → चैव. वेदाः + च → वेदाश्च (ः + च → श्च). यज्ञाः + च → यज्ञाश्च.
FAQs
It frames the place as both a pilgrimage ford (tīrtha) and a cosmic sacrificial altar (vedī), implying that ritual merit and creative order associated with Prajāpati are especially accessible there.
It suggests the sanctity is not merely symbolic: the Vedic revelation and sacrificial rites are envisioned as tangibly present, as if taking form in that location—heightening the site’s ritual potency.
It encourages reverence for sacred places as living centers of dharma, where study of the Veda and performance of righteous rites align one with cosmic order and disciplined devotion.