Shloka 316
Pulastya’s Tīrtha Enumeration: Sarasvatī, Naimiṣa, Gayā, and Associated Phalaśruti
Chapter 82
प्राप्रुयात् स नरो लोकान् ब्रह्मण: सदने$क्षयान् | विशेषतः कार्तिकमासकी पूर्णिमाको जो पुष्करतीर्थमें स्नानके लिये जाता है, वह मनुष्य ब्रह्मधाममें अक्षय लोकोंको प्राप्त होता है
prāpnuyāt sa naro lokān brahmaṇaḥ sadane'kṣayān | viśeṣataḥ kārtikamāsakī pūrṇimāyāṁ yaḥ puṣkaratīrthe snānāya gacchati sa naro brahmadhāmni'kṣayān lokān prāpnoti ||
Such a person attains the imperishable worlds in Brahmā’s abode. In particular, one who goes to bathe at the sacred ford of Puṣkara on the full-moon day of the month of Kārtika reaches Brahmā’s realm and gains unfailing, enduring heavenly worlds. The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s ethic that disciplined pilgrimage and timely sacred bathing, performed with faith, yield lasting spiritual merit.
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that sincere observance of sacred time and place—especially bathing at Puṣkara on Kārtika Pūrṇimā—produces enduring spiritual merit, culminating in attainment of imperishable realms in Brahmā’s abode.
Within the Vana Parva’s tīrtha-māhātmya context, the speaker praises the फल (result) of a specific pilgrimage act: going to Puṣkara for a ritual bath on the Kārtika full moon, describing the exalted posthumous destination it grants.