Shloka 192
Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga
Pulastya’s Instruction
संनिहत्यामुपस्पृश्य राहुग्रस्ते दिवाकरे । अश्वमेधशतं तेन तत्रेष्ट शाश्वतं भवेत्,सूर्यग्रहणके समय संनिहतीमें स्नान करनेसे सौ अश्वमेधयज्ञोंका अभीष्ट एवं शाश्वत फल प्राप्त होता है
sannihatyām upaspṛśya rāhugraste divākare | aśvamedhaśataṁ tena tatreṣṭaṁ śāśvataṁ bhavet ||
Dijo Ghūlastya: «Si, cuando el sol es eclipsado por Rāhu, alguien se baña en Sannihatyā, alcanza el mérito deseado y perdurable, igual al de cien sacrificios Aśvamedha realizados allí». Con ello se ensalza el baño sagrado durante el eclipse como un acto conforme al dharma, cuyo fruto se proclama duradero, poniendo el acento en la pureza, el momento propicio y la fe, y no en la violencia ni en la ostentación.
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that properly timed, faith-filled observance at a sacred place—here, bathing during a solar eclipse—can yield immense and lasting spiritual merit, comparable to grand royal sacrifices, highlighting inner purity and dharmic discipline over mere external grandeur.
A speaker named Ghūlastya is describing the greatness of a particular tīrtha (Sannihatyā) within the Vana Parva’s pilgrimage context, praising the specific act of bathing there during a solar eclipse as producing extraordinary, enduring religious fruit.