Shloka 18
Pulastya’s Tīrtha Enumeration: Sarasvatī, Naimiṣa, Gayā, and Associated Phalaśruti
Chapter 82
अनुपोष्य त्रिरात्राणि तीर्थान्यनभिगम्य च । अदत्त्वा काज्चनं गाश्व दरिद्रो नाम जायते,मनुष्य इसीलिये दरिद्र होता है कि वह (तीर्थोमें) तीन राततक उपवास नहीं करता, तीर्थोंकी यात्रा नहीं करता और सुवर्णदान और गोदान नहीं करता
anupoṣya trirātrāṇi tīrthāny anabhigamya ca | adattvā kāñcanaṃ gāśvaṃ daridro nāma jāyate ||
Ghūlastya said: “A person becomes known as ‘poor’ because he does not undertake a three-night fast, does not visit sacred pilgrimage-fords, and does not give gifts—such as gold, cows, and horses.” The verse frames poverty not merely as lack of wealth, but as the moral and religious consequence of neglecting austerity, pilgrimage, and generosity.
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that poverty is linked to neglect of dharmic practices—austerity (three-night fast), pilgrimage to tīrthas, and generosity (giving gold, cows, horses). It emphasizes ethical and religious discipline as a foundation for prosperity and social well-being.
In a didactic context within Vana Parva, the speaker Ghūlastya states a moral principle: those who do not perform certain religious observances and acts of charity come to be regarded as poor, highlighting the Mahābhārata’s theme that inner conduct and ritual-ethical duties shape one’s worldly condition.