Shloka 68
Brāhmaṇya-प्रश्नः — The Inquiry into Attaining Brāhmaṇya
Mataṅga–Gardabhī Itihāsa
यह तीर्थ-सेवनका कार्य परम पवित्र, पुण्यप्रद, स्वर्गकी प्राप्तिका सर्वोत्तम साधन और वेदोंका गुप्त रहस्य है। प्रत्येक तीर्थ पावन और स्नानके योग्य होता है ।।
idaṃ dadyād dvijātīnāṃ sādhōr ātma-hitasya ca | suhṛdāṃ ca japet karṇe śiṣyasyānugatasya ca ||
Ajaran berkenaan dengan kemuliaan tīrtha ini adalah amat suci, mendatangkan pahala, sarana terbaik menuju surga, dan rahasia tersembunyi Veda; setiap tīrtha adalah kudus dan layak untuk mandi ritual. Karena itu, kemuliaan tīrtha ini hendaknya disampaikan hanya kepada kaum dvija, kepada orang saleh yang mencari kebaikan sejatinya, kepada sahabat tepercaya, dan kepada murid yang patuh—dibisikkan secara pribadi sebagai rahasia yang dijaga.
अजड्रिय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the ‘tīrtha-māhātmya’ (the sacred doctrine of pilgrimage and its purifying power) is to be transmitted with discretion—shared only with qualified recipients (twice-born, virtuous seekers, trusted friends, and obedient disciples), privately and reverently, as a guarded sacred knowledge.
A speaker is describing the sanctity and spiritual efficacy of visiting pilgrimage places and bathing there, while also prescribing the proper protocol for teaching this subject: it should be conveyed confidentially (as a whispered recitation) to select, worthy listeners rather than broadcast indiscriminately.