Shloka 88
Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga
Pulastya’s Instruction
अग्निष्टोमातिरात्रा भ्यां फलं विन्दति भारत | तीर्थ च सर्वदेवानां स्नात्वा भरतसत्तम
agniṣṭomātirātrābhyāṁ phalaṁ vindati bhārata | tīrthaṁ ca sarvadevānāṁ snātvā bharatasattama ||
হে ভাৰত, অগ্নিষ্টোম আৰু অতিরাত্ৰ—এই দুয়োটা সোমযজ্ঞৰ সমান ফল লাভ হয়। আৰু হে ভৰতশ্ৰেষ্ঠ, সৰ্বদেৱ-তীৰ্থত স্নান কৰিলেও সেই একে পুণ্য লাভ হয়।
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that sincere pilgrimage-bathing at a revered tīrtha can confer merit comparable to great Vedic Soma-sacrifices, emphasizing accessible paths to purification and dharmic reward beyond costly ritual performance.
A speaker named Ghūlastya is describing the spiritual efficacy of a particular tīrtha: he tells the Bharata hero that bathing there yields the same religious fruit as performing the Agniṣṭoma and Atirātra sacrifices, thereby encouraging tīrtha-yātrā during the Pāṇḍavas’ forest sojourn.