Shloka 109

Dhaumya’s Enumeration of Eastern Tīrthas

Prācī-diś Tīrtha-kathana

Devanagari script

स्नाति तीर्थेषु कौरव्य न च वक्रमतिर्नर: | त्वया तु सम्यग्वृत्तेन नित्यं धर्मार्थदर्शिना

Transliteration

snāti tīrtheṣu kauravya na ca vakramatir naraḥ | tvayā tu samyagvṛttena nityaṁ dharmārthadarśinā

Translation

পুলস্ত্য ক’লে—হে কৌৰব্য! মানুহে তীৰ্থত স্নান কৰিলেও তাৰ বক্ৰবুদ্ধি তাতেৰে নাযায়। কিন্তু তুমি সম্যক্ আচৰণশীল আৰু নিত্য ধৰ্ম-অৰ্থ বিচাৰক; সেয়ে তোমাৰ ক্ষেত্ৰত শুদ্ধিৰ উদ্দেশ্য কেৱল বিধিত নহয়, শীলতেই সম্পূৰ্ণ হয়।

Word by Word

स्नातिbathes

तीर्थेषुin sacred fords/holy places

कौरव्यO Kauravya (descendant of Kuru)

नnot

चand

वक्रमतिःa crooked-minded (person)

नरःman

त्वयाby you

तुbut

सम्यग्वृत्तेनwith right conduct; by proper behavior

नित्यम्always

धर्मार्थदर्शिनाby one who sees (what is) dharma and artha; discerning righteousness and benefit

Speaker

पुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

Pulastya

Kauravya (a Kuru descendant)

tīrtha (sacred pilgrimage places)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Ritual acts like bathing at tīrthas do not automatically remove inner crookedness; genuine purification and merit come from samyak-vṛtti—steady right conduct—and clear discernment of dharma and artha.

What is happening in the narrative?

The sage Pulastya addresses a Kuru-descended interlocutor, contrasting external pilgrimage rites with inner moral transformation, and commends the listener’s upright, dharma-guided way of life as the true source of purity.