Shloka 116
सूर्यरथ-कालचक्र-आयनविभागः, संध्योपासनम्, देवयान-पितृयानम्, विष्णुपद-गङ्गावतरणम्
स्नातस्य सलिले यस्याः सद्यः पापं प्रणश्यति अपूर्वपुण्यप्राप्तिश् च सद्यो मैत्रेय जायते
snātasya salile yasyāḥ sadyaḥ pāpaṃ praṇaśyati apūrvapuṇyaprāptiś ca sadyo maitreya jāyate
O Maitreya, for one who bathes in the waters of that sacred tīrtha, sin is destroyed at once; and immediately there arises the gaining of a merit never before possessed.
Sage Parāśara (in dialogue with Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Sacred geography and the purificatory efficacy of the tirtha’s waters
Teaching: Devotional
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Contact with a Viṣṇu-sanctified tīrtha (especially by snāna) rapidly removes pāpa and produces fresh spiritual merit.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Approach pilgrimage and ritual bathing with śraddhā, pairing it with remembrance of Viṣṇu and ethical restraint.
Vishishtadvaita: Grace mediated through sacred loci and substances: the Lord’s sanctifying power operates in the world without diminishing His transcendence.
Vishnu Form: Hari
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
This verse states that bathing in a true sacred water-source causes immediate destruction of sin and produces fresh, unprecedented merit (apūrva-puṇya), framing tīrthas as instruments of dharmic purification.
Parāśara presents the tīrtha’s efficacy as instantaneous (sadyaḥ): the act of bathing is portrayed as directly dissolving pāpa while simultaneously generating positive spiritual credit, emphasizing the potency of sacred geography within dharma.
Though Vishnu is not named in the line, the Vishnu Purana situates tīrtha-purification within Vishnu’s sovereign maintenance of cosmic order: sacred places and their fruits operate under the divine governance that upholds dharma.