Shloka 44
Pulastya’s Tīrtha Enumeration: Sarasvatī, Naimiṣa, Gayā, and Associated Phalaśruti
Chapter 82
आगर््त्यं सर आसाद्य पितृदेवार्चने रत: । त्रिरात्रोपोषितो राजन्नग्निष्टोमफलं लभेत्,राजन्! जो अगस्त्यसरोवर जाकर देवताओं और पितरोंके पूजनमें तत्पर हो तीन रात उपवास करता है, वह अग्निष्टोमयज्ञका फल पाता है
āgastyāṁ sara āsādya pitṛdevārcane rataḥ | trirātropoṣito rājann agniṣṭomaphalaṁ labhet ||
O King, one who reaches the lake of Agastya and, devoted to worship of the gods and the ancestral spirits, observes a fast for three nights, attains the merit equivalent to the Agniṣṭoma sacrifice. The passage underscores that disciplined austerity joined with reverent ritual intention can yield the same ethical-spiritual fruit as major Vedic rites.
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sincere worship of gods and ancestors combined with disciplined fasting at a sacred tīrtha can confer merit comparable to an elaborate Vedic sacrifice, emphasizing inner resolve and ethical restraint alongside ritual action.
A speaker addresses the king and describes the spiritual benefit of visiting Agastya’s lake: if a person performs worship of devas and pitṛs there and fasts for three nights, they gain the fruit of the Agniṣṭoma sacrifice—typical of the Vana Parva’s tīrtha-māhātmya (praise of pilgrimage sites).