सूर्यग्रहे कुरुक्षेत्रे नर्मदायां शशिग्रहे । तुलादानस्य यत्पुण्यं तदत्र दीपदानतः
sūryagrahe kurukṣetre narmadāyāṃ śaśigrahe | tulādānasya yatpuṇyaṃ tadatra dīpadānataḥ
Das Verdienst, das man durch das große „tulā-dāna“ in Kurukṣetra während einer Sonnenfinsternis oder an der Narmadā während einer Mondfinsternis erlangt—ebendieses Verdienst entsteht hier durch die schlichte Gabe einer Lampe.
Brahmā (deduced: Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa narrative style—Brahmā to Nārada)
Tirtha: Ayodhyā (contextual ‘atra’)
Type: kshetra
Scene: Night falls over the ghāṭa; rows of small lamps float on the river, forming a luminous path; priests chant while pilgrims place lamps with careful hands; distant temple spires silhouette against the glow.
Even a small act of dharma—offering a lamp with devotion—can equal the merit of renowned, difficult pilgrim-rites.
The verse compares famous merit-sites (Kurukṣetra, Narmadā) to the ‘here’ of Ayodhyāmāhātmya’s praised sacred setting, where dīpadāna is especially potent.
Dīpadāna (donation/lighting of a lamp), presented as equal in fruit to tulā-dāna performed at eclipse-times in major tīrthas.