Shloka 24
Avanti–Narmadā–Puṣkara Tīrtha-Kathana (धौम्यकथितं तीर्थवर्णनम्)
धूतपाप्मभिराकीर्णा पुण्यं तस्याश्न दर्शनम् 'युधिष्ठिर! जहाँ पुण्यसलिला भागीरथी गंगा सरोवरमें स्थित थी। महाराज! जहाँपर उन्हें 'ब्रह्मशाला” यह पवित्र नाम दिया गया है। वह पुण्यतीर्थ निष्पाप मनुष्योंसे व्याप्त है; उसका दर्शन पुण्यमय बताया गया है ।। पवित्रो मड्नलीयश्व ख्यातो लोके महात्मन:
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: dhūtapāpmabhir ākīrṇā puṇyaṃ tasyāś ca darśanam | yudhiṣṭhira! yatra puṇya-salilā bhāgīrathī gaṅgā sarovare sthitā | mahārāja! yatra tasyāḥ ‘brahmaśālā’ iti pavitraṃ nāma pradattaṃ | tat puṇya-tīrthaṃ niṣpāpa-manuṣyaiḥ vyāptaṃ; tasya darśanaṃ puṇyam iti kathyate || pavitro maṅgalīyaś ca khyāto loke mahātman ||
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: «Oh Yudhiṣṭhira, aquel lugar sagrado está colmado de hombres cuyos pecados han sido lavados, y se declara meritorio el solo hecho de contemplarlo. Allí, la Bhāgīrathī Gaṅgā—santa en sus aguas—mora en un lago. Oh rey, es allí donde se la conoce por el nombre puro de “Brahmaśālā”. Ese santo vado es frecuentado por personas sin mancha, y se dice que su mera visión confiere virtud; oh magnánimo, es célebre en el mundo como purificador y auspicioso.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage emphasizes tīrtha-darśana: contact with a sacred place—especially one associated with the Gaṅgā—supports moral purification and the cultivation of puṇya. It frames holiness not only as ritual but as an ethical state: the tīrtha is ‘inhabited by the sinless,’ suggesting that virtue, community, and sacred geography reinforce one another.
Vaiśampāyana describes to Yudhiṣṭhira a renowned pilgrimage-site where the Bhāgīrathī Gaṅgā rests in a lake and is honored with the name ‘Brahmaśālā.’ He highlights the site’s fame, auspiciousness, and the belief that merely seeing it grants merit.