Shloka 88
Dhaumya’s Enumeration of Eastern Tīrthas
Prācī-diś Tīrtha-kathana
कुरुक्षेत्रसमा गड्जा यत्र तत्रावगाहिता । विशेषो वै कनखले प्रयागे परमं महत्,गंगामें जहाँ कहीं भी स्नान किया जाय वह कुरुक्षेत्रके समान पुण्यदायिनी है। कनखलनमें गंगाका स्नान विशेष माहात्म्य रखता है और प्रयागमें गंगा-स्नानका माहात्म्य सबकी अपेक्षा बहुत अधिक है
kurukṣetrasamā gaṅgā yatra tatrāvagāhitā | viśeṣo vai kanakhale prayāge paramaṁ mahat |
Pulastya said: “Wherever one bathes in the Gaṅgā, that act is as meritorious as bathing at Kurukṣetra. Yet the sanctity is held to be especially distinguished at Kanakhala, and at Prayāga the greatness of bathing in the Gaṅgā is considered supreme.”
पुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bathing in the Gaṅgā is broadly purifying and merit-giving wherever performed, yet tradition recognizes graded sacred potency among tīrthas—Kanakhala as especially distinguished and Prayāga as preeminent—encouraging both accessible devotion and reverence for renowned pilgrimage centers.
Pulastya, in a discourse on tīrthas during the Vana Parva, describes the relative sanctity of bathing places connected with the Gaṅgā, comparing general Gaṅgā-bathing to Kurukṣetra’s merit while highlighting Kanakhala and Prayāga as exceptionally powerful sites.