Shloka 17
Cyavana’s Reconciliation with Indra; Tīrtha-Indexing at Ārcīka-parvata and Yamunā
Chapter 125
चैत्याश्वैते बहुविधास्त्रिदशानां युधिष्ठिर । एतच्चन्द्रमसस्तीर्थमृषय: पर्युपासते । वैखानसा बालखिल्या: पावका वायुभोजना:
Lomāśa uvāca — caityāś caite bahuvidhās tridashānāṁ Yudhiṣṭhira | etac candramasas tīrtham ṛṣayaḥ paryupāsate | vaikhānasā bālakhilyāḥ pāvakā vāyubhojanāḥ, Yudhiṣṭhira |
Lomāśa dit : «Ô Yudhiṣṭhira, voici de nombreux sanctuaires des dieux, de formes diverses. C’est le gué sacré de la Lune, révéré et servi par les sages. Ici demeurent les ascètes vaikhānasa appelés Bālakhilya—purs et purificateurs, vivant de l’air. Aussi, fais la circumambulation de ces cimes et de ces sources saintes selon ton désir, puis baigne-toi ; car le pèlerinage accompli avec discipline et l’ablution faite avec révérence purifient l’esprit et affermissent l’homme dans le dharma.»
लोगमश उवाच
Educational Q&A
Reverent approach to tīrthas—seeing shrines, honoring sages, circumambulating sacred sites, and bathing with discipline—functions as a moral and mental purification that supports steadfastness in dharma.
Lomāśa guides Yudhiṣṭhira on a pilgrimage, identifying a Moon-associated tīrtha with many divine shrines and resident ascetics (Vaikhānasas/Bālakhilyas), and instructing the proper devotional actions to perform there.