Shloka 533
Pulastya’s Tīrtha Enumeration: Sarasvatī, Naimiṣa, Gayā, and Associated Phalaśruti
Chapter 82
अग्निष्टोममवाप्रोति विमान चाधिरोहति । इन्द्रियोंको काबूमें रखकर ब्रह्मचर्यका पालन करते हुए दक्षिण समुद्रकी यात्रा करनेसे मनुष्य अग्निष्टोमयज्ञका फल और विमानपर बैठनेका सौभाग्य पाता है
agniṣṭomam avāpnoti vimānaṃ cādhirohati | indriyāṇi vaśīkṛtya brahmacaryaṃ samācaran dakṣiṇa-samudra-yātrayā manuṣyo ’gniṣṭoma-yajña-phalaṃ vimāna-ārohaṇa-saubhāgyaṃ ca prāpnoti ||
Ghūlastya said: “One who masters the senses and lives in celibate discipline, undertaking a pilgrimage to the Southern Ocean, attains the merit of the Agniṣṭoma sacrifice and the blessed fortune of ascending a celestial chariot. The teaching is that self-restraint and vowed conduct, joined with sacred travel, yield exalted spiritual reward.”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Self-mastery (control of the senses) and disciplined brahmacarya, when paired with a sacred pilgrimage, are presented as powerful sources of puṇya—equal to the merit of a major Vedic sacrifice—and lead to exalted posthumous reward symbolized by mounting a vimāna.
The speaker, Ghūlastya, is describing the spiritual benefits of a specific vow-based journey to the Southern Ocean, framing it as an alternative or equivalent path to sacrificial merit: ethical restraint and pilgrimage confer Agniṣṭoma-like results and heavenly ascent.