Shloka 116
Pulastya’s Tīrtha Enumeration: Sarasvatī, Naimiṣa, Gayā, and Associated Phalaśruti
Chapter 82
तत्र स्नात्वा नरव्याप्र द्योतते शशिवत् सदा । गोसहस्रफलं चैव प्राप्तुयाद् भरतर्षभ,राजेन्द्र! शशयान नामक तीर्थ अत्यन्त दुर्लभ है। उसमें जाकर स्नान करे। महाराज भारत! वहाँ सरस्वती नदीमें प्रतिवर्ष कार्तिकी पूर्णिमाको शश (खरगोश)-के रूपमें छिपे हुए पुष्करतीर्थ देखे जाते हैं। भरतश्रेष्ठ! नरव्याप्र! वहाँ स्नान करके मनुष्य सदा चन्द्रमाके समान प्रकाशित होता है। भरतकुलतिलक! उसे सहस्न गोदानका फल भी मिलता है
tatra snātvā naravyāghra dyotate śaśivat sadā | gosahasraphalaṃ caiva prāpnuyād bharatarṣabha rājendra |
“O tiger among men! Having bathed there, a man ever shines like the moon. And, O bull among the Bharatas, O king, he also obtains the merit equal to gifting a thousand cows.”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that sincere pilgrimage and ritual bathing at a sacred tīrtha are dharmic acts that purify the person, confer inner ‘radiance’ (symbolized by moonlike brilliance), and yield great merit—here equated with the highly praised gift of a thousand cows.
A speaker is describing the greatness of a particular sacred place (tīrtha). He tells the addressed king/hero that bathing there makes one shine like the moon and grants the religious fruit comparable to donating a thousand cows, thereby encouraging the journey and observance.