Shloka 115
Pulastya’s Tīrtha Enumeration: Sarasvatī, Naimiṣa, Gayā, and Associated Phalaśruti
Chapter 82
सरस्वत्यां महाराज अनुसंवत्सरं च ते । दृश्यन्ते भरतश्रेष्ठ वृत्तां वै कार्तिकीं सदा,राजेन्द्र! शशयान नामक तीर्थ अत्यन्त दुर्लभ है। उसमें जाकर स्नान करे। महाराज भारत! वहाँ सरस्वती नदीमें प्रतिवर्ष कार्तिकी पूर्णिमाको शश (खरगोश)-के रूपमें छिपे हुए पुष्करतीर्थ देखे जाते हैं। भरतश्रेष्ठ! नरव्याप्र! वहाँ स्नान करके मनुष्य सदा चन्द्रमाके समान प्रकाशित होता है। भरतकुलतिलक! उसे सहस्न गोदानका फल भी मिलता है
sarasvatyāṁ mahārāja anu-saṁvatsaraṁ ca te | dṛśyante bharataśreṣṭha vṛttāṁ vai kārtikīṁ sadā || rājendra! śaśayāna-nāmakaṁ tīrtham atyanta-durlabham | tatra gatvā snānaṁ kuryāt | mahārāja bharata! tatra sarasvatī-nadyāṁ prativarṣaṁ kārtikī-pūrṇimāyāṁ śaśa-rūpeṇa channaṁ puṣkara-tīrthaṁ dṛśyate | bharataśreṣṭha! naravyāghra! tatra snātvā manuṣyaḥ sadā candramā iva prakāśate | bharatakula-tilaka! tasya sahasra-go-dānasya phalam api labhyate ||
Ghūlastya said: “O king, O best of the Bharatas, in the Sarasvatī there is a sacred ford that is seen year after year, especially at the time of the Kārtikī full-moon. O lord of kings, the tīrtha called Śaśayāna is exceedingly rare. One should go there and bathe. O great Bharata, on every Kārtikī full-moon the hidden Puṣkara-tīrtha is beheld there in the form of a hare. O tiger among men, by bathing there a person shines with a lunar radiance. O ornament of the Bharata line, one also gains the merit equal to the gift of a thousand cows.”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage teaches that dharmic merit can be gained through tīrtha-yātrā and ritual bathing performed at an auspicious time (Kārtikī full-moon). It frames pilgrimage as a disciplined ethical act that purifies and bestows merit comparable to major gifts (such as a thousand cows).
A sage-like speaker (Ghūlastya) instructs a king about a rare pilgrimage spot on the Sarasvatī called Śaśayāna. He describes a wondrous annual manifestation: on Kārtikī full-moon the hidden Puṣkara-tīrtha is seen in the form of a hare, and bathing there grants radiance and great religious merit.