Shloka 37
Pulastya’s Tīrtha Enumeration: Sarasvatī, Naimiṣa, Gayā, and Associated Phalaśruti
Chapter 82
कार्तिकीं वा वसेदेकां पुष्करे सममेव तत्,जो पूरे सौ वर्षोतक अग्निहोत्र करता है और जो कार्तिककी एक ही पूर्णिमाको पुष्करमें वास करता है, दोनोंका फल बराबर है
kārtikīṁ vā vased ekāṁ puṣkare samam eva tat
Ghūlastya said: “If one dwells at Puṣkara for a single Kārtikī full-moon observance, its merit equals that of performing the Agnihotra sacrifice unceasingly for a hundred years.”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
A focused, sincere observance at a sacred place and time (staying at Puṣkara on Kārtikī) can yield merit equal to prolonged ritual labor (a century of Agnihotra), highlighting that dharmic fruit depends on disciplined devotion and right observance, not only on duration or difficulty.
In a tīrtha-māhātmya context within the Vana Parva, the speaker Ghūlastya praises the sanctity of Puṣkara and the Kārtikī observance by declaring its fruit equivalent to an exceptionally long performance of Agnihotra.