Shloka 105
Account of Various Sacred Tīrthas
Pilgrimage Merits and Prayāga Supremacy
नाकृतो नाकृतात्मा च नाशुचिर्न च तस्करः । स्नाति तीर्थेषु कौरव्य न च वक्रमतिर्नरः
nākṛto nākṛtātmā ca nāśucirna ca taskaraḥ | snāti tīrtheṣu kauravya na ca vakramatirnaraḥ
O Kauravya, ein Mann, der nicht von schlechter Tat ist, dessen Inneres nicht verkehrt, der weder unrein noch ein Dieb ist, der in den Tīrthas badet und dessen Sinn nicht krumm ist—der erlangt wahrhaft die Frucht des heiligen Bades.
Pulastya (to Bhīṣma) [traditional Svarga-khaṇḍa dialogue framing]
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Type: tirtha
Sandhi Resolution Notes: nā-kṛtaḥ = na + ākṛtaḥ; nā-kṛta-ātmā = na + ākṛtātmā; nā-śuciḥ = na + aśuciḥ; na ca (repeated); vakramatirnaraḥ = vakra-matiḥ + naraḥ.
FAQs
It presents tīrtha-bathing as fruitful when paired with ethical integrity—clean conduct, inner purity, and an uncrooked mind—rather than as a merely external ritual.
They represent outward wrongdoing (stealing) and inward deceit (vakra-mati). The verse implies that pilgrimage rites cannot compensate for deliberate unethical behavior or mental dishonesty.
Ritual acts like bathing at sacred places are validated by character: purity, honesty, and sincerity. Spiritual merit is tied to moral transformation, not only sacred travel.