Shloka 166
Dhaumya’s Enumeration of Eastern Tīrthas
Prācī-diś Tīrtha-kathana
रामतीर्थ नर: स्नात्वा अश्वमेधफलं लभेत् । इसके बाद परशुरामसेवित महेन्द्रपर्वतपर जाकर वहाँके रामतीर्थमें स्नान करनेसे मनुष्यको अश्वमेधयज्ञका फल मिलता है
Rāmatīrthaṁ naraḥ snātvā aśvamedhaphalaṁ labhet.
Pulastya said: “A person who bathes at Rāma-tīrtha attains merit equal to the fruit of the Aśvamedha sacrifice. Thereafter, having gone to Mount Mahendra—served by Paraśurāma—and bathing at the Rāma-tīrtha there, one gains the fruit of the Aśvamedha.”
पुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Pilgrimage and ritual bathing at a sanctified tīrtha, when done as a dharmic act, can yield merit comparable to grand sacrifices, highlighting an accessible path to spiritual benefit through purity and reverence.
Pulastya is describing the fruits of visiting specific sacred sites; here he states that bathing at Rāma-tīrtha grants the fruit of an Aśvamedha, as part of a larger itinerary of tīrtha-yātrā and its rewards.