Shloka 16
Account of Various Sacred Tīrthas
Pilgrimage Merits and Prayāga Supremacy
श्रीपर्वतं समासाद्य नदीतीरमुपस्पृशेत् । अश्वमेधमवाप्नोति परां सिद्धिं च गच्छति
śrīparvataṃ samāsādya nadītīramupaspṛśet | aśvamedhamavāpnoti parāṃ siddhiṃ ca gacchati
শ্রীপর্বতে পৌঁছে নদীতীরে শুদ্ধিস্নান/আচমন করলে মানুষ অশ্বমেধ যজ্ঞফল লাভ করে এবং পরম সিদ্ধিতে গমন করে।
Unspecified (narratorial/teaching voice within Svarga-khaṇḍa’s tīrtha-māhātmya context)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: mountain
Sandhi Resolution Notes: नदीतीरमुपस्पृशेत् = नदीतीरम् + उपस्पृशेत्; अश्वमेधमवाप्नोति = अश्वमेधम् + अवाप्नोति
FAQs
It presents tīrtha-visit and riverbank ablution (snāna/upaspṛśa) as a powerful dharmic act capable of conferring great sacrificial merit.
Aśvamedha symbolizes one of the highest Vedic royal sacrifices; the verse uses it as a benchmark to express how extraordinary the fruit of the tīrtha-rite is.
It emphasizes purification and sincere sacred observance—approaching a holy place and performing prescribed rites—as a means toward higher spiritual attainment (parā siddhi).