Shloka 81
Account of Various Sacred Tīrthas
Pilgrimage Merits and Prayāga Supremacy
चतुर्विद्ये च यत्पुण्यं सत्यवादिषु चैव यत् । स्नातएवतदाप्नोतिगंगायामुनसंगमे
caturvidye ca yatpuṇyaṃ satyavādiṣu caiva yat | snātaevatadāpnotigaṃgāyāmunasaṃgame
Segala pahala dari empat macam pengetahuan, dan pahala para penutur kebenaran—orang yang mandi di pertemuan Gaṅgā dan Yamunā memperoleh pahala yang sama itu.
Unspecified (narrative voice not provided in the input excerpt)
Concept: Tīrtha-snāna at the Saṅgama grants merit comparable to scholarship and truthfulness—suggesting that sacred bathing can support and even compensate for difficult-to-attain virtues when done with śraddhā.
Application: Pair inner virtues (truthfulness, study) with outer purifiers (pilgrimage, sacred bathing); let ritual become a recommitment to satya and disciplined learning.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: river
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Two mighty rivers meet—Gaṅgā in pale, luminous currents and Yamunā in deep blue-green—forming a braided seam of sacred water. A bather stands waist-deep with folded hands, while behind him a subtle tableau shows a scholar with palm-leaf manuscripts and a truth-speaker with a steady flame at the throat, visually equating their merits to the single act of Saṅgama snāna.","primary_figures":["devotee performing snāna","personifications of Gaṅgā and Yamunā (optional)","symbolic scholar and satya-vādī figures (allegorical)"],"setting":"Confluence ghat with steps, prayer flags, and distant akṣaya-vaṭa; waterline as the central compositional axis","lighting_mood":"temple lamp-lit","color_palette":["deep teal","milk-white","lapis blue","marigold gold","sandstone beige"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: Saṅgama snāna scene with Gaṅgā and Yamunā as jeweled goddesses, devotee in añjali, gold leaf ripples and halos, side panels showing catur-vidyā scholar and satya-vādī with radiant speech-flame, rich reds/greens and ornate borders.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: gentle confluence with delicate wave patterns, bather in calm devotion, soft architectural ghats, symbolic scholar and truth-speaker in the background like poetic vignettes, cool palette with warm highlights.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: stylized rivers as patterned bands, central devotee in frontal pose, allegorical panels for learning and truth, bold outlines and natural pigments, temple-wall symmetry.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: confluence framed by lotus and floral borders, central bather, peacocks on the ghats, deep blues and gold, small medallions depicting manuscripts and a truth-flame to encode the verse’s equivalence."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"meditative","suggested_raga":"Bhupali","pace":"slow-meditative","voice_tone":"serene","sound_elements":["flowing water","soft bell chimes","distant mantra hum","birds at riverbank","silence between phrases"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: yat+puṇyam → yatpuṇyam (त्+प्); ca+eva → caiva (अ+ए → ऐ); snātaḥ+eva → snāta eva (visarga before vowel; written snātaeva); eva+tat → evatat; tat+āpnoti → tadāpnoti (त्+आ → दा); āpnoti+gaṅgā... → āpnoti gaṅgā... (word boundary).
FAQs
It highlights the Gaṅgā–Yamunā confluence (saṅgama), traditionally identified with Prayāga, as a preeminent tīrtha where a single sacred bath is praised as yielding exceptional spiritual merit.
By elevating a simple act of reverent pilgrimage—bathing at a holy confluence—it underscores accessible, faith-centered practice (tīrtha-sevā) as spiritually potent, not limited only to scholarly attainment.
The verse pairs sacred merit with ‘truth-speaking’ (satya), implying that ethical integrity is a high spiritual value and that tīrtha practices are ideally aligned with virtues like truthfulness.