Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga
Pulastya’s Instruction
आदित्यस्याश्रमो यत्र तेजोराशेमहात्मन: । तम्मिंस्तीर्थे नर: स्नात्वा पूजयित्वा विभावसुम्
ādityasyāśramo yatra tejorāśe mahātmanaḥ | tasmiṃs tīrthe naraḥ snātvā pūjayitvā vibhāvasum ||
Allí se halla la ermita de Āditya, el magnánimo que es como una masa de resplandor. Quien se bañe en ese vado sagrado debe luego rendir culto a Vibhāvasu, el Radiante, uniendo la purificación del baño con la devoción a la luz divina.
घुलस्त्य उवाच
The verse links inner and outer purification: one should bathe at a tīrtha (ritual cleansing and moral renewal) and then offer worship to the divine principle of light/radiance, suggesting that sanctity is fulfilled by both disciplined action and reverent devotion.
The speaker points out a specific sacred location—Āditya’s hermitage and its associated tīrtha—and prescribes the customary pilgrimage act: bathe there and worship the radiant deity (Vibhāvasu), marking the site as spiritually efficacious within the tīrtha-travel context of the Vana Parva.