Shloka 95

Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga

Pulastya’s Instruction

Devanagari script

कौशिक्या: संगमे यस्तु दृषद्धत्याश्व भारत

Transliteration

kauśikyāḥ saṅgame yastu dṛṣaddhatyāśva bhārata

Translation

Ghūlastya dijo: «¡Oh Bhārata!, quienquiera que llegue a la confluencia del Kauśikī—ese lugar conocido por su vínculo con Dṛṣaddhatyāśva—(obtiene el mérito declarado)».

Word by Word

• कौशिक्याः: of (the river) Kauśikī
• कौशिक्याः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कौशिकी
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Singular

• संगमे: at the confluence
• संगमे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: संगम
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• यः: who
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• दृषद्धत्याश्व: Dṛṣaddhatyāśva (proper name)
• दृषद्धत्याश्व: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: दृषद्धत्याश्व
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भारत: O Bhārata
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Ghūlastya
• Kauśikī (river)
• Saṅgama (confluence)
• Dṛṣaddhatyāśva
• Bhārata (addressee)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse points to tīrtha-dharma: certain sacred locations—especially river confluences—are treated as ethically and spiritually potent spaces where disciplined visitation (with proper conduct) is believed to yield merit and purification.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Vana Parva’s pilgrimage context, the speaker Ghūlastya identifies a specific sacred site: the confluence of the Kauśikī, associated with the name Dṛṣaddhatyāśva, addressing the listener as ‘Bhārata’ while indicating the significance of going there.