Shloka 69

Pulastya’s Tīrtha Enumeration: Sarasvatī, Naimiṣa, Gayā, and Associated Phalaśruti

Chapter 82

Devanagari script

तर्पयित्वा पितृन्‌ देवानृषींश्व भरतर्षभ । प्राप्रोति वारुणं लोक॑ दीप्यमानं स्वतेजसा,भारत! सतर और सिंधु नदीके संगममें जाकर वरुणतीर्थमें स्नान करके शुद्धचित्त हो देवताओं, ऋषियों तथा पितरोंका तर्पण करे। भरतकुलतिलक! ऐसा करनेसे मनुष्य दिव्य दीप्तिसे देदीप्यमान वरुणलोकको प्राप्त होता है

Transliteration

tarpayitvā pitṝn devān ṛṣīṁś ca bharatarṣabha | prāpnoti vāruṇaṁ lokaṁ dīpyamānaṁ svatejasā ||

Translation

Ghūlastya said: “O bull among the Bharatas, after offering libations (tarpana) to the Pitṛs, the gods, and the seers, a person attains Varuṇa’s radiant world, shining by its own splendor. The teaching emphasizes purity of mind through sacred bathing and gratitude toward divine and ancestral lineages, presenting ritual duty as a path to auspicious posthumous destiny.”

Word by Word

• {'tarpayitvā': 'having satisfied/propitiated (by offering water-libations), having performed tarpana', 'pitṝn': 'the ancestors, forefathers (Pitṛs)', 'devān': 'the gods, deities', 'ṛṣīn': 'seers, sages', 'ca': 'and', 'bharatarṣabha': 'O best of the Bharatas (honorific address)', 'prāpnoti': 'attains, reaches, obtains', 'vāruṇam': 'belonging to Varuṇa

• of Varuṇa', 'lokam': 'world, realm', 'dīpyamānam': 'shining, radiant, blazing', 'svatejasā': 'by its own splendor/energy (tejas)'}

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Ghūlastya
• Bharatarṣabha (address to a Bharata prince, i.e., Yudhiṣṭhira in context)
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Devas (gods)
• Ṛṣis (seers)
• Varuṇa
• Vāruṇa-loka (Varuṇa’s realm)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Performing tarpana—honoring ancestors, gods, and sages with offerings—together with inner purity is presented as a dharmic act that yields spiritual merit and leads to an exalted destination, here described as Varuṇa’s radiant realm.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker Ghūlastya instructs a Bharata prince on the fruit of a specific religious observance: after propitiating Pitṛs, devas, and ṛṣis, one is said to attain the luminous world of Varuṇa.