Shloka 83
Dhaumya’s Enumeration of Eastern Tīrthas
Prācī-diś Tīrtha-kathana
न वेदवचनात् तात न लोकवचनादपि । मतिरुत्क्रमणीया ते प्रयागमरणं प्रति,तात! तुम्हें किसी वैदिक वचनसे या लौकिक वचनसे भी प्रयागमें मरनेका विचार नहीं त्यागना चाहिये
na vedavacanāt tāta na lokavacanād api | matir utkramaṇīyā te prayāgamaraṇaṃ prati, tāta ||
Pulastya said: “Dear child, neither by citing Vedic injunctions nor by appealing to worldly opinion should you abandon your resolve that is set upon dying at Prayāga. Hold firm to that intention.”
पुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes steadfastness of resolve in a dharmic undertaking: one should not be swayed either by scriptural disputation or by popular opinion when one’s intention is firmly directed toward a sacred, value-laden goal (here, death at the tīrtha of Prayāga).
Pulastya addresses someone affectionately as ‘tāta’ and instructs him not to relinquish his intention connected with Prayāga—specifically, the resolve to meet death there—rejecting both Vedic-argument and worldly persuasion as reasons to abandon it.