Shloka 172

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

Pulastya’s Instruction

Devanagari script

नारायणं चाभिगम्य पद्मना भमरिंदम | राजमानो महाराज विष्णुलोकं च गच्छति,शत्रुदमन महाराज! पद्मनाभ भगवान्‌ नारायणके निकट जाकर (उनका दर्शन करके) मनुष्य तेजस्वी रूप धारण करके भगवान्‌ विष्णुके लोकमें जाता है। पुरुषरत्न! सब देवताओंके तीर्थोंमें स्नान करके मनुष्य सब दु:खोंसे मुक्त हो चन्द्रमाके समान प्रकाशित होता है

Transliteration

nārāyaṇaṃ cābhigamya padmanābhaṃ marindama | rājamāno mahārāja viṣṇulokaṃ ca gacchati ||

Translation

Ghūlastya said: “O subduer of foes, O great king—having approached and beheld Nārāyaṇa, the Lotus-naveled Lord Padmanābha, a person becomes radiant and attains the world of Viṣṇu. And, O best of men, by bathing in the sacred fords of all the gods, one is freed from every sorrow and shines like the moon.”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'nārāyaṇam', 'definition': 'Nārāyaṇa (Viṣṇu), the supreme divine person

• object of devotion'}, {'term': 'abhigamya', 'definition': 'having approached, having gone near (in reverence)'}, {'term': 'padmanābham', 'definition': 'the Lotus-naveled (epithet of Viṣṇu/Nārāyaṇa)'}, {'term': 'arindama', 'definition': 'subduer of enemies (royal epithet)'}, {'term': 'rājamānaḥ', 'definition': 'shining, resplendent

• appearing in glory'}, {'term': 'mahārāja', 'definition': 'great king (honorific address)'}, {'term': 'viṣṇulokam', 'definition': 'the world/realm of Viṣṇu

• divine abode attained by merit and devotion'}, {'term': 'gacchati', 'definition': 'goes, attains'}, {'term': 'tīrtha', 'definition': 'sacred ford/pilgrimage place

• a site of ritual bathing and merit'}, {'term': 'snāna', 'definition': 'ritual bath

• purificatory immersion'}, {'term': 'duḥkha', 'definition': 'sorrow, suffering, affliction'}, {'term': 'mukta', 'definition': 'freed, released'}]

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Ghulastya
• Nārāyaṇa
• Padmanābha (Viṣṇu)
• Viṣṇuloka
• tīrthas (sacred pilgrimage fords)
• the gods (devas)
• the moon (as simile)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Reverent approach and vision of Nārāyaṇa (Padmanābha) and purificatory pilgrimage-bathing are presented as powerful means to inner purification: they remove sorrow, confer spiritual radiance, and culminate in attaining Viṣṇu’s realm.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker (Ghulastya) addresses a great king with honorific epithets, praising the fruit of devotion to Nārāyaṇa and the merit of bathing at divine tīrthas, describing the devotee’s transformation into a radiant state and the attainment of Viṣṇuloka.