Shloka 3

आदि पर्व — खाण्डवदाह प्रसङ्गः: पावकस्य याचनं तथा इन्द्रवर्षनिवारणोपायः

Adi Parva — Khāṇḍava episode: Agni’s request and the means to resist Indra’s rain

Devanagari script

अगस्त्यतीर्थ सौभद्रं पौलोम॑ च सुपावनम्‌ | कारन्धमं प्रसन्नं च हयमेधफलं च तत्‌,उनके नाम इस प्रकार हैं--अगस्त्यतीर्थ, सौभद्र-तीर्थ, परम पावन पौलोमतीर्थ, अश्वमेध यज्ञका फल देनेवाला स्वच्छ कारन्धमतीर्थ तथा पापनाशक महान्‌ भारद्वाजतीर्थ। कुरुश्रेष्ठ अर्जुनने इन पाँचों तीर्थोका दर्शन किया

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca: Agastyatīrthaṃ Saubhadraṃ Paulomaṃ ca supāvanam | Kārandhamaṃ prasannaṃ ca hayamedhaphalaṃ ca tat |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “(Arjuna beheld) Agastya-tīrtha, Saubhadra-tīrtha, and the supremely purifying Pauloma-tīrtha; also the clear and serene Kārandhama-tīrtha, famed for bestowing the fruit of the Aśvamedha sacrifice.” The passage underscores the ethical ideal that pilgrimage and reverent encounter with sacred places are means of inner purification and merit, aligning one’s conduct with dharma.

Word by Word

• {'Vaiśampāyana uvāca': 'Vaiśampāyana said', 'tīrtha': 'ford

• pilgrimage site', 'Agastya-tīrtha': 'the sacred place associated with the sage Agastya', 'Saubhadra(-tīrtha)': 'a tīrtha named Saubhadra (traditionally connected with auspiciousness/‘of Subhadrā’ depending on context)', 'Pauloma(-tīrtha)': 'a tīrtha associated with Paulomā/Pauloma lineage

• described as highly purifying', 'supāvana': 'very purifying

• sanctifying', 'Kārandhama(-tīrtha)': 'a tīrtha named Kārandhama', 'prasanna': 'clear, tranquil, serene

• also ‘pleased’', 'hayamedha': 'Aśvamedha

• the horse-sacrifice', 'phala': 'fruit

• merit', 'tat': 'that (referring to the aforementioned/that place or merit)'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Agastya-tīrtha
• Saubhadra-tīrtha
• Pauloma-tīrtha
• Kārandhama-tīrtha
• Aśvamedha (Hayamedha)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights tīrtha-darśana (visiting sacred fords) as a dharmic practice that purifies and yields merit, even being spoken of in terms comparable to great sacrificial results (like the Aśvamedha).

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana enumerates a sequence of holy places encountered in the course of a pilgrimage narrative, naming several tīrthas and characterizing one as granting the fruit of the horse-sacrifice.