Shloka 44

Pulastya’s Tīrtha Enumeration: Sarasvatī, Naimiṣa, Gayā, and Associated Phalaśruti

Chapter 82

Devanagari script

आगर््त्यं सर आसाद्य पितृदेवार्चने रत: । त्रिरात्रोपोषितो राजन्नग्निष्टोमफलं लभेत्‌,राजन्‌! जो अगस्त्यसरोवर जाकर देवताओं और पितरोंके पूजनमें तत्पर हो तीन रात उपवास करता है, वह अग्निष्टोमयज्ञका फल पाता है

Transliteration

āgastyāṁ sara āsādya pitṛdevārcane rataḥ | trirātropoṣito rājann agniṣṭomaphalaṁ labhet ||

Translation

¡Oh Rey! Quien llegue al lago de Agastya y, entregado al culto de los dioses y de los antepasados, ayune durante tres noches, obtiene el mérito equivalente al sacrificio Agniṣṭoma.

Word by Word

आगस्त्यंAgastya (lake/holy place named after Agastya)

सरःlake

आसाद्यhaving reached/approached

पितृदेवार्चनेin the worship of the Pitrs and the gods

रतःengaged/devoted

त्रिरात्रोपोषितःone who has fasted for three nights

राजन्O king

अग्निष्टोमफलंthe fruit (merit) of the Agniṣṭoma sacrifice

लभेत्would obtain

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

Agastya (implied by āgastyam)

Āgastyasaras (Agastya’s lake)

Pitṛs (ancestors)

Devas (gods)

Agniṣṭoma-yajña

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Sincere worship of gods and ancestors combined with disciplined fasting at a sacred tīrtha can confer merit comparable to an elaborate Vedic sacrifice, emphasizing inner resolve and ethical restraint alongside ritual action.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker addresses the king and describes the spiritual benefit of visiting Agastya’s lake: if a person performs worship of devas and pitṛs there and fasts for three nights, they gain the fruit of the Agniṣṭoma sacrifice—typical of the Vana Parva’s tīrtha-māhātmya (praise of pilgrimage sites).