Shloka 1
Account of Various Sacred Tīrthas
Pilgrimage Merits and Prayāga Supremacy
नारद उवाच । अथ संध्यां समासाद्य स विद्यांतीर्थमुत्तमम् । उपस्पृश्य नरो विद्वान्भवेन्नास्त्यत्र संशयः
nārada uvāca | atha saṃdhyāṃ samāsādya sa vidyāṃtīrthamuttamam | upaspṛśya naro vidvānbhavennāstyatra saṃśayaḥ
Nārada dijo: Luego, al llegar al tiempo de la saṃdhyā, el hombre, al purificarse (ācamana) en el excelentísimo vado sagrado llamado Vidyā-tīrtha, se vuelve verdaderamente sabio; no hay duda.
Nārada
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: tirtha
Sandhi Resolution Notes: नारद उवाच → नारदः + उवाच; विद्वान्भवेत् → विद्वान् + भवेत्; भवennāstyatra → भवेत् + न + अस्ति + अत्र
FAQs
It presents Vidyā-tīrtha as an exceptionally excellent sacred place whose ritual purification (upaspṛśya/ācamana) at saṃdhyā is said to confer learning or wisdom.
The verse links the saṃdhyā time—traditionally reserved for prayer and purification—with visiting a tīrtha and performing ācamana, implying that disciplined timing and ritual purity support inner clarity and knowledge.
It encourages regular, timely practice (saṃdhyā) and purification of body and mind; knowledge is portrayed not only as intellectual but as something cultivated through sacred conduct and reverence for tīrthas.