Shloka 92

Pulastya’s Tīrtha Enumeration: Sarasvatī, Naimiṣa, Gayā, and Associated Phalaśruti

Chapter 82

Devanagari script

ततो गच्छेत वडवां त्रिषु लोकेषु विश्रुताम्‌ पश्चिमायां तु संध्यायामुपस्पृश्य यथाविधि,वहाँसे त्रिभुवनविख्यात वडवातीर्थको जाय। वहाँ पश्चिम संध्याके समय विधिपूर्वक स्नान और आचमन करके अग्निदेवको यथाशक्ति चरु निवेदन करे। वहाँ पितरोंके लिये दिया हुआ दान अक्षय होता है; ऐसा मनीषी पुरुष कहते हैं

Transliteration

tato gacchet vaḍavāṃ triṣu lokeṣu viśrutām | paścimāyāṃ tu saṃdhyāyām upaspṛśya yathāvidhi |

Translation

Then one should proceed to the Vaḍavā tīrtha, renowned in the three worlds. At the western twilight, having bathed and performed ācamana according to rule, one should offer a caru oblation to Agni to the best of one’s ability. The wise declare that gifts given there for the sake of the Pitṛs become imperishable.

Word by Word

• {'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter', 'gacchet': 'one should go/proceed (optative

• injunction)', 'vaḍavām': 'to Vaḍavā (a sacred ford/tīrtha

• accusative)', 'triṣu lokeṣu': 'in the three worlds', 'viśrutām': 'well-known, renowned', 'paścimāyām saṃdhyāyām': 'at the western twilight (evening sandhyā)', 'upaspṛśya': 'having performed ritual bathing/ablution

• having purified oneself (incl. ācamana)', 'yathāvidhi': 'according to prescribed rule', 'agni-devam': 'Agni, the fire-god', 'caru': 'cooked oblation (rice/gruel) offered in fire', 'nivedayet': 'one should offer/present', 'yathāśakti': 'according to one’s ability', 'pitṝṇām': 'for the ancestors (Pitṛs)', 'dānam': 'gift, charitable offering', 'akṣayam': 'imperishable, inexhaustible (of merit/fruit)', 'manīṣiṇaḥ': 'wise, discerning persons'}

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaḍavā-tīrtha
• Agni (Agni-deva)
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• western twilight (paścimā saṃdhyā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage teaches that dharmic travel to sacred places should be joined with disciplined observance—purification at the proper time (evening sandhyā), offering to Agni within one’s means, and charity dedicated to the ancestors. Such acts, done according to rule and with sincerity, are said to yield imperishable merit (akṣaya-phala).

What is happening in the narrative?

Ghūlastya instructs the listener on the next stage of a tīrtha-journey: go to the renowned Vaḍavā tīrtha, perform evening purification rites, make a caru oblation to Agni, and give gifts for the Pitṛs—highlighting the special efficacy of that place for ancestral offerings.