Shloka 17
स निर्गत: कौरवपुण्यलब्धो गजाह्वयात्तीर्थपद: पदानि । अन्वाक्रमत्पुण्यचिकीर्षयोर्व्यां अधिष्ठितो यानि सहस्रमूर्ति: ॥ १७ ॥
sa nirgataḥ kaurava-puṇya-labdho gajāhvayāt tīrtha-padaḥ padāni anvākramat puṇya-cikīrṣayorvyām adhiṣṭhito yāni sahasra-mūrtiḥ
By the merit of his piety, Vidura gained the auspicious fruit found among the Kauravas. Leaving Gajāhvaya (Hastināpura), he took shelter of many holy tīrthas, which are as the Lord’s lotus feet. Longing for a higher life of sanctity, he journeyed to sacred places where the Lord, in thousands of transcendental forms, is enshrined.
Vidura was undoubtedly a highly elevated and pious soul; otherwise he would not have taken his birth in the Kaurava family. To have high parentage, to possess wealth, to be highly learned and to have great personal beauty are all due to past pious acts. But such pious possessions are not sufficient for obtaining the grace of the Lord and being engaged in His transcendental loving service. Vidura considered himself less pious, and therefore he decided to travel to all the great places of pilgrimage in the world in order to achieve greater piety and advance nearer to the Lord. At that time, Lord Kṛṣṇa was personally present in the world, and Vidura could have at once approached Him directly, but he did not do so because he was not sufficiently freed from sin. One cannot be one-hundred-percent devoted to the Lord unless and until he is completely free from all effects of sin. Vidura was conscious that by the association of the diplomatic Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Duryodhana he had lost his piety and was therefore not fit to associate at once with the Lord. In Bhagavad-gītā (7.28) this is confirmed in the following verse:
FAQs
In this verse, 'tīrtha-pada' indicates the Supreme Lord whose lotus feet are the ultimate source and shelter of all holy places—pilgrimage becomes sacred because it is connected to Him.
Because the Lord is intrinsically pure and worshipable; when He moves through the world, His presence turns ordinary places and paths into spiritually potent sites, inspiring devotion and dharma.
By seeking the Lord’s presence through bhakti—hearing, chanting, and remembering—one can make daily life sacred, just as the Lord’s footsteps make the earth a tīrtha.