Shloka 13
Kurukṣetra Pilgrimage: Sages Praise Kṛṣṇa; Vasudeva Inquires on Karma; Viṣṇu-yajña Performed
यस्यात्मबुद्धि: कुणपे त्रिधातुके स्वधी: कलत्रादिषु भौम इज्यधी: । यत्तीर्थबुद्धि: सलिले न कर्हिचि- ज्जनेष्वभिज्ञेषु स एव गोखर: ॥ १३ ॥
yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ
One who identifies the self with the inert body made of mucus, bile and air; who takes wife and family as permanently “mine”; who deems an earthen image or the land of birth worshipable; who sees a tīrtha as merely its water—yet never associates with, honors, worships, or even visits those wise in spiritual truth—such a person is no better than a cow or an ass.
True intelligence is shown by one’s freedom from false identification of the self. As stated in the Bṛhaspati-saṁhitā:
FAQs
This verse condemns bodily self-identification as ignorance, saying that one who thinks the self is the material body and lives in possessiveness is compared to an animal.
A tīrtha is not merely sacred water; true holiness is found in the association of realized devotees and saints, who carry spiritual knowledge and devotion.
Reduce body-based identity and possessiveness, seek sādhu-saṅga, and treat pilgrimage and religious practice as a means to grow devotion and humility rather than as mere external ritual.