Shloka 13
Tapas-śreṣṭhatā: Anāśana as the Highest Austerity
Bhagīratha–Brahmā Saṃvāda
पुष्करतीर्थमें जो सैकड़ों-हजारों बार मैंने ब्राह्गोंको एक लाख घोड़े और दो लाख गौएँ दान कीं तथा सोनेके उत्तम चन्द्रहार धारण करनेवाली जाम्बूनदके आभूषणोंसे विभूषित हुई साठ हजार सुन्दरी कन््याओंका जो सहस्रों बार दान किया, उस पुण्यसे भी मैं यहाँ नहीं आया हूँ ।।
Bhagīratha uvāca: Puṣkaratīrthe yat śataśaḥ sahasraśaś ca mayā brāhmaṇebhyo dānam dattam—lakṣaṃ aśvānāṃ dvilakṣaṃ gavāṃ ca; tathā suvarṇasya uttama-candrahāra-dhāriṇīḥ jāmbūnada-ābharaṇa-vibhūṣitāḥ ṣaṣṭi-sahasra-sundarīḥ kanyāḥ sahasraśo mayā dattāḥ—tad api puṇyena aham iha na āgataḥ. Daśārbudāni ca ardhaṃ go-sava-ijyāyāṃ mayā dattāni; ekaikaśo daśa gāvo brāhmaṇebhyaḥ prāptāḥ. Samānavatsāḥ payasā samanvitāḥ, suvarṇa-kāṃsya-upaduhāś ca dattāḥ; na tena api, lokanātha, aham iha prāptaḥ.
Bhagīratha dijo: «En el vado sagrado de Puṣkara di, cientos y miles de veces, dádivas a los brahmanes: cien mil caballos y doscientas mil vacas. Y una y otra vez otorgué sesenta mil hermosas doncellas, engalanadas con joyas de oro de Jāmbūnada y con excelentes collares de oro, cual lunas. Sin embargo, no es por el mérito de esos actos que he llegado a este lugar. Además, en el sacrificio llamado Go-sava doné noventa y cinco crores de vacas lecheras; cada brahmán recibió diez. Cada vaca fue entregada con un ternero del mismo color, rebosante de leche, y con vasijas de ordeño de oro y bronce. Ni siquiera por el mérito de ese sacrificio, oh Señor del mundo, alcancé este estado».
भगीरथ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even immense ritual giving—lavish dāna at a tīrtha and grand sacrificial donations—does not automatically guarantee the highest attainment. The passage stresses humility and implies that something beyond sheer quantity of gifts (such as inner purity, right intention, or higher dharma) is required.
Bhagīratha recounts extraordinary acts of generosity at Puṣkara and during the Go-sava sacrifice—donating vast numbers of horses, cows, and richly adorned maidens, and distributing cows with calves and milking vessels to Brahmins. He then declares that his present attainment was not reached merely through the merit of those deeds, addressing the listener as ‘Lokanātha’.