Shloka 142
Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga
Pulastya’s Instruction
पृथूदकमिति ख्यातं कार्तिकेयस्य वै नृप । तत्राभिषेकं कुर्वीत पितृदेवार्चने रत:,राजेन्द्र! तदनन्तर कार्तिकेयके त्रिभुवनविख्यात पृथूदकतीर्थकी यात्रा करे और वहाँ स्नान करके देवताओं तथा पितरोंकी पूजामें संलग्न रहे
pṛthūdakam iti khyātaṃ kārtikeyasya vai nṛpa | tatrābhiṣekaṃ kurvīta pitṛdevārcane rataḥ ||
Ghūlastya dijo: «Oh rey, hay un lugar sagrado conocido como Pṛthūdaka, perteneciente a Kārttikeya. Allí debe realizarse el baño ritual (abhiṣeka) y mantenerse uno entregado al culto de los dioses y de los antepasados. Así, después de visitar este tīrtha de Kārttikeya, famoso en el mundo, hay que bañarse allí y dedicarse a las ofrendas reverentes—uniendo la purificación personal con la gratitud hacia las fuentes divinas y ancestrales del orden.»
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that pilgrimage is not merely travel but disciplined dharma: one should purify oneself through sacred bathing and sustain reverence through worship of both devas and pitṛs, acknowledging cosmic order and ancestral obligations.
Ghūlastya instructs the king about the famed tīrtha called Pṛthūdaka associated with Kārttikeya, advising him to go there, perform ritual bathing/abhiṣeka, and engage in worship of gods and ancestors as part of the prescribed pilgrimage sequence.