Shloka 119
Pulastya’s Tīrtha Enumeration: Sarasvatī, Naimiṣa, Gayā, and Associated Phalaśruti
Chapter 82
पुरा यत्र महाराज मुनिकोटि: समागता । हर्षेण महताविष्टा रुद्रदर्शनकाड्क्षया,ऐसा करनेसे मनुष्य दस हजार गोदानका फल पाता है और अपने कुलका उद्धार कर देता है। धर्मज्ञ! वहाँसे एकाग्रचित्त हो रुद्रकोटितीर्थमें जाय। महाराज! रुद्रकोटि वह स्थान है, जहाँ पूर्वकालमें एक करोड़ मुनि बड़े हर्षमें भरकर भगवान् रुद्रके दर्शनकी अभिलाषासे आये थे। भारत! “भगवान् वृषभध्वजका दर्शन पहले मैं करूँगा, मैं करूँगा" ऐसा संकल्प करके वे महर्षि वहाँके लिये प्रस्थित हुए थे
purā yatra mahārāja munikoṭiḥ samāgatā | harṣeṇa mahatāviṣṭā rudradarśanakāṅkṣayā ||
Ghūlastya said: “O great king, in ancient times there is a place where a crore of sages assembled, filled with great joy, longing for the vision of Rudra. With single-minded devotion they came there, resolved—each thinking, ‘May I be the first to behold the Bull-bannered Lord.’”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the power of single-minded spiritual aspiration: intense joy and collective resolve directed toward divine darśana (vision of Rudra) is presented as a model of devotion and a source of religious merit.
Ghūlastya describes a sacred place from ancient times where an immense multitude of sages gathered, overwhelmed with joy, yearning to see Rudra; their competitive resolve to be first underscores the intensity of their devotion.