Shloka 41
Dhaumya’s Enumeration of Eastern Tīrthas
Prācī-diś Tīrtha-kathana
दण्डकारण्यमासाद्य पुण्यं राजन्नुपस्पृशेत् । गोसहस्रफलं तस्य स्नातमात्रस्य भारत,राजन्! भरतनन्दन! जो दण्डकारण्यमें जाकर स्नान करता है, उसे स्नान करनेमात्रसे सहस्र गोदानका फल प्राप्त होता है
daṇḍakāraṇyam āsādya puṇyaṁ rājann upaspṛśet | gosahasraphalaṁ tasya snātamātrasya bhārata ||
Pulastya berkata: “Wahai raja, setelah mencapai hutan suci Daṇḍaka, hendaklah mandi sucinya dilakukan di sana. Wahai keturunan Bharata, hanya dengan mandi itu saja ia memperoleh pahala setara sedekah seribu ekor sapi.”
पुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that contact with a sanctified place through a simple act of ritual bathing can yield great spiritual merit—comparable to major charity—highlighting the purifying power of tīrtha-practice and the accessibility of dharmic merit through disciplined, reverent action.
Pulastya, speaking to a king addressed as ‘Bhārata,’ continues a discourse on sacred places and their rewards, stating that upon reaching Daṇḍakāraṇya, one should bathe; the mere bath grants the merit equivalent to donating a thousand cows.