Shloka 9
Dhaumya’s Enumeration of Eastern Tīrthas
Prācī-diś Tīrtha-kathana
शोणस्य नर्मदायाश्च प्रभवे कुरुनन्दन । वंशगुल्म उपस्पृश्य वाजिमेधफलं लभेत्,कुरुनन्दन! शोण और नर्मदाके उत्पत्तिस्थान वंशगुल्मतीर्थमें स्नान करके तीर्थयात्री अश्वमेधयज्ञका फल पाता है
śoṇasya narmadāyāś ca prabhave kurunandana | vaṃśagulmam upaspṛśya vājimedhaphalaṃ labhet ||
Pulastya said: “O delight of the Kurus, at Vaṃśagulma—the sacred ford where the rivers Śoṇa and Narmadā arise—one who bathes and performs the prescribed rite of contact with the tīrtha gains the merit equivalent to an Aśvamedha sacrifice.”
पुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Great spiritual merit is not limited to kings who can perform grand sacrifices; sincere pilgrimage and proper observance at a sacred tīrtha can confer comparable puṇya, emphasizing accessible dharma through purity and devotion.
Sage Pulastya instructs the Kuru prince (Kurunandana) during a tīrtha-yātrā discourse, praising Vaṃśagulma—linked with the origins of the Śoṇa and Narmadā—and stating that bathing/ritual contact there yields the merit of an Aśvamedha.