Shloka 89
Pulastya’s Tīrtha Enumeration: Sarasvatī, Naimiṣa, Gayā, and Associated Phalaśruti
Chapter 82
वितस्तां च समासाद्य संतर्प्य पितृदेवता: । नर: फलमवाप्रोति वाजपेयस्य भारत,भारत! वितस्तातीर्थ (झेलम)-में जाकर वहाँ देवताओं और पितरोंका तर्पण करनेसे मनुष्यको वाजपेययज्ञका फल प्राप्त होता है
Vitastāṁ ca samāsādya santarpya pitṛdevatāḥ | naraḥ phalam avāpnoti vājapeyasya bhārata bhārata ||
Ghūlastya said: “O Bhārata, O Bhārata! By reaching the river Vitastā and there offering the prescribed libations to the gods and the ancestors, a person attains the merit equivalent to that of performing the Vājapeya sacrifice.”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that sincere performance of dharmic rites at a sacred place—specifically tarpaṇa for gods and ancestors at Vitastā—can yield merit comparable to an elaborate royal sacrifice, emphasizing accessibility of spiritual merit through proper devotion and ritual duty.
In the context of tīrtha-māhātmya within the Vana Parva, the speaker Ghūlastya praises the sanctity of the Vitastā tīrtha, stating that visiting it and performing offerings to devas and pitṛs grants the fruit of the Vājapeya yajña.