शौनक उवाच । अत्यद्भुतमिदं सूत गुप्तक्षेत्रस्य पावनम् । महन्माहात्म्यमतुलं कीर्तितं हर्षवर्धनम्
śaunaka uvāca | atyadbhutamidaṃ sūta guptakṣetrasya pāvanam | mahanmāhātmyamatulaṃ kīrtitaṃ harṣavardhanam
शौनक बोले—हे सूत! यह अत्यन्त अद्भुत है—गुप्तक्षेत्र का पावन महत्त्व। इसका महान्, अतुलनीय माहात्म्य कहा गया है, जो हर्ष को बढ़ाने वाला है।
Śaunaka
Tirtha: Guptakṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Sūta
Scene: In Naimiṣāraṇya, Śaunaka addresses Sūta with uplifted hand, eyes bright with wonder; surrounding sages lean in, the atmosphere charged with joy as the ‘Guptakṣetra’ is praised as supremely purifying.
Recognizing and celebrating a kṣetra’s māhātmya strengthens faith and inspires dharmic pilgrimage.
Guptakṣetra is explicitly praised as purifying and wondrous.
No direct prescription; the verse models śraddhā through appreciative acknowledgment of the narrated māhātmya.