Shloka 64
Prayaga-mahatmya
Glory of Prayaga and the Magha Bath at Triveni
तस्य पुण्यस्य संख्यां नो चित्रगुप्तोऽपि वेत्त्यलम् । राजसूयसहस्रस्य वाजपेयशतस्य च । फलं सितासिते माघे स्नातानां भवति ध्रुवम् ॥ ६४ ॥
tasya puṇyasya saṃkhyāṃ no citragupto'pi vettyalam | rājasūyasahasrasya vājapeyaśatasya ca | phalaṃ sitāsite māghe snātānāṃ bhavati dhruvam || 64 ||
Even Citragupta cannot fully know the measure of that merit. The fruit gained by those who bathe in Māgha—whether in the bright or the dark fortnight—is assuredly equal to the merit of a thousand Rājasūya sacrifices and a hundred Vājapeya sacrifices.
Narada (teaching within a Māhātmya discourse; speaker attribution follows the Narada–Sanatkumāra dialogue frame typical of this section)
Vrata: Māgha-snāna (Māgha observance)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: bhakti
FAQs
It elevates Māgha-month bathing (Māgha-snāna) as a powerful dharmic act whose merit is said to be immeasurable—even beyond Citragupta’s full accounting—placing it on par with major royal Vedic sacrifices.
By presenting an accessible practice (holy bathing in Māgha) that yields immense spiritual fruit, the verse supports a bhakti-friendly principle: sincere, regular sacred observances can rival elaborate yajñas when performed with faith and purity.
It implicitly uses calendrical/time-division knowledge (Jyotiṣa/Vedāṅga time reckoning) via the Māgha month and the bright/dark fortnight (śukla–kṛṣṇa pakṣa) as the ritual timing for accruing the stated merit.