Shloka 41
Pulastya’s Tīrtha Enumeration: Sarasvatī, Naimiṣa, Gayā, and Associated Phalaśruti
Chapter 82
जम्बूमार्ग समाविश्य देवर्षिपितृसेवितम् । अश्वमेधमवाप्रोति सर्वकामसमन्वित:,जम्बूमार्ग देवताओं, ऋषियों तथा पितरोंसे सेवित तीर्थ है। उसमें जाकर मनुष्य समस्त मनोवांछित भोगोंसे सम्पन्न हो अश्वमेधयज्ञका फल पाता है
jambūmārgaṃ samāviśya devarṣi-pitṛ-sevitam | aśvamedham avāpnoti sarvakāma-samanvitaḥ ||
Entering the sacred ford called Jambūmārga—revered and frequented by the gods, seers, and the ancestral Fathers—a person becomes endowed with all desired enjoyments and attains the merit equal to that of an Aśvamedha sacrifice. The passage underscores the Mahābhārata’s ethic that pilgrimage to a sanctified tīrtha, approached with reverence, can confer great spiritual reward comparable to royal ritual power.
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
That reverent pilgrimage to a tīrtha sanctified by divine and ancestral presence can yield extraordinary merit—here said to equal the fruit of an Aśvamedha—highlighting the Mahābhārata’s valuation of sacred places and disciplined devotion as powerful means of dharmic uplift.
A speaker is describing the greatness of a particular sacred ford, Jambūmārga, explaining that one who goes there gains fulfillment of desires and the sacrificial merit comparable to performing the Aśvamedha.