Shloka 54
Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga
Pulastya’s Instruction
ततो गच्छेत राजेन्द्र सुतीर्थकमनुत्तमम्,अश्वमेधमवाप्रोति पितृलोक॑ च गच्छति । राजेन्द्र! वहाँसे परम उत्तम सुतीर्थमें जाय। वहाँ देवतालोग पितरोंके साथ सदा विद्यमान रहते हैं। वहाँ पितरों और देवताओंके पूजनमें तत्पर हो स्नान करे। इससे तीर्थयात्री अश्वमेधयज्ञका फल पाता और पितृलोकमें जाता है
tato gacchet rājendra sutīrthakam anuttamam | aśvamedham avāpnoti pitṛlokaṁ ca gacchati ||
Entonces, oh el mejor de los reyes, debe uno dirigirse al insuperable vado sagrado llamado Sutīrthaka. Allí, se dice, los Padres (los Pitṛ, espíritus ancestrales) están siempre presentes junto con los dioses. Bañándose allí con atención devota, entregado al culto de los antepasados y de las deidades, el peregrino alcanza el mérito de un sacrificio Aśvamedha y obtiene paso al mundo de los ancestros. El verso presenta la peregrinación no como mero viaje, sino como reverencia disciplinada que, por la pureza, la fe y el honor del linaje, otorga el gran fruto del sacrificio.
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Reverent pilgrimage and ritual bathing performed with worship of the gods and especially the ancestors yields extraordinary merit—equated here with the fruit of an Aśvamedha—and supports one’s onward journey to Pitṛloka; dharma is expressed through purity, faith, and honoring lineage.
A speaker instructs the addressed king about the next sacred destination in a tīrtha itinerary: he should go to the excellent tīrtha Sutīrthaka, where gods and ancestors are believed to be present, and bathe there with worship; the promised result is great sacrificial merit and attainment of the ancestral realm.