Shloka 12
अज्ञान–लोभयोः परस्परहेतुत्वम्
Mutual Causality of Ignorance and Greed
यत्रावगाहा पीत्वा च नैनं श्वोमरणं तपेत् । महासर: पुष्कराणि प्रभासोत्तरमानसे
yatrāvagāhya pītvā ca nainaṃ śvomaraṇaṃ tapet | mahāsaraḥ puṣkarāṇi prabhāsottaramānase |
Śaunaka dit : «En ce lieu sacré, après s’y être baigné et en avoir bu l’eau, l’homme n’est plus tourmenté par la crainte de mourir, fût-ce dès le lendemain ; il devient kṛtakṛtya, “celui qui a accompli ce qui devait l’être”. C’est pourquoi il ne redoute plus la mort. Si tu vas te baigner au grand lac de Puṣkara, à Prabhāsa, à Uttara-mānasa, à Kālodaka, à Dṛṣadgavatī, au confluent de la Sarasvatī, et dans d’autres tīrthas tels que Mānasa-sarovara, tu obtiendras de nouveau une longue vie afin de poursuivre ton existence.»
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Pilgrimage and ritual purification at renowned tīrthas—especially bathing and drinking their waters—symbolize completing one’s religious duties (kṛtakṛtyatā), which dissolves anxiety about imminent death and is said to confer renewed vitality and longevity.
Śaunaka is describing the power of specific sacred sites (Puṣkara, Prabhāsa, Uttara-mānasa, Kālodaka, Dṛṣadgavatī, the Sarasvatī confluence, and Mānasarovara), advising that bathing there and drinking the water removes fear of near death and grants long life.