Shloka 49
Pulastya’s Tīrtha Enumeration: Sarasvatī, Naimiṣa, Gayā, and Associated Phalaśruti
Chapter 82
महाकाल ततो गच्छेन्नियतो नियताशन: । कोटितीर्थमुपस्पृश्य हयमेधफलं लभेत्,वहाँसे महाकालतीर्थको जाय। वहाँ नियम-पूर्वक रहकर नियमित भोजन करे। वहाँ कोटितीर्थमें आचमन (एवं स्नान) करनेसे अश्वमेधयज्ञका फल प्राप्त होता है
Mahākāla tato gacchen niyato niyatāśanaḥ | Koṭitīrtham upaspṛśya hayamedhaphalaṁ labhet ||
Then one should proceed to the sacred ford called Mahākāla. Living there with disciplined observances and regulated food, and performing ācamana (and bathing) at Koṭitīrtha, one is said to obtain the merit equivalent to that of an Aśvamedha sacrifice. The passage emphasizes that inner restraint and purity of conduct, joined to reverent contact with a tīrtha, can yield great spiritual fruit without violence or royal power.
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Great religious merit is linked not only to grand rituals but also to disciplined living—restraint, regulated diet, and ritual purity—performed with faith at sacred places.
The speaker is describing a sequence of pilgrimage actions: go to Mahākāla-tīrtha, stay there observing vows and moderation, then perform ācamana/bathing at Koṭitīrtha; doing so is praised as yielding the merit of an Aśvamedha.