Shloka 9
Udīcī-diśi Tīrtha-kīrtana
Northern Sacred Places Enumeration
एकत:ः सरित: सर्वा गड़ाद्या: सलिलोच्चया: । पयोष्णी चैकत: पुण्या तीर्थेभ्यो हि मता मम,एक ओर अगाध जलराशिसे भरी हुई गंगा आदि सम्पूर्ण नदियाँ हों और दूसरी ओर केवल पुण्यसलिला पयोष्णी नदी हो तो वही अन्य सब नदियोंकी अपेक्षा श्रेष्ठ है; ऐसा मेरा विचार है
ekataḥ saritaḥ sarvā gaṅgādyāḥ salilocchayāḥ | payoṣṇī caikataḥ puṇyā tīrthebhyo hi matā mama ||
Dhaumya said: “Even if, on one side, there were all rivers—such as the Gaṅgā—swollen with deep and abundant waters, and on the other side there were only the sacred Payoṣṇī, then in my judgment Payoṣṇī alone surpasses all the rest as a tīrtha, a place of holy merit. Not number nor outward grandeur decides spiritual excellence, but sanctity and the power of the tīrtha.”
धौम्य उवाच