Shloka 104

Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga

Pulastya’s Instruction

Devanagari script

सर्वपापविशुद्धात्मा विष्णुलोकं॑ स गच्छति । कुलम्पुने नर: स्नात्वा पुनाति स्वकुलं ततः,तत्पश्चात्‌ त्रिलोकविख्यात वामनतीर्थमें जाय। वहाँ विष्णुपदमें स्नान और वामनदेवताका पूजन करनेसे मनुष्य सब पापोंसे शुद्ध हो भगवान्‌ विष्णुके लोकमें जाता है। कुलम्पुनतीर्थमें स्नान करके मानव अपने कुलको पवित्र कर देता है

Transliteration

sarvapāpaviśuddhātmā viṣṇulokaṃ sa gacchati | kulampune naraḥ snātvā punāti svakulaṃ tataḥ ||

Translation

He whose inner self is purified of all sins goes to Viṣṇu’s world. And by bathing at the sacred ford called Kulampunā, a person thereafter purifies his own lineage as well.

Word by Word

• {'sarva': 'all, every', 'pāpa': 'sin, demerit, moral fault', 'viśuddha': 'purified, cleansed', 'ātmā': 'self

• inner being, mind-heart', 'viṣṇuloka': 'the world/abode of Viṣṇu', 'gacchati': 'goes, attains', 'naraḥ': 'man, person', 'snātvā': 'having bathed (absolutive of √snā)', 'punāti': 'purifies (from √pū)', 'svakula': 'one’s own family/lineage', 'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Viṣṇuloka
• Kulampunā-tīrtha (Kulampune)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that tīrtha-bathing and devotion lead to inner purification (freedom from pāpa), and that such purification is not only personal but can be understood as extending merit and sanctity to one’s family line; the highest fruit described is attainment of Viṣṇu’s abode.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the context of a tīrtha-māhātmya passage in the Vana Parva, the speaker is describing the spiritual benefits of specific pilgrimage sites—here, Kulampunā—stating that bathing there purifies the pilgrim and his lineage, and that complete purification leads to reaching Viṣṇuloka.