Shloka 113
Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga
Pulastya’s Instruction
ततो गच्छेत राजेन्द्र ब्रह्मणस्तीर्थमुत्तमम् । तत्र वर्णावर: स्नात्वा ब्राह्मण्यं लभते नर:
tato gacchet rājendra brahmaṇas tīrtham uttamam | tatra varṇāvaraḥ snātvā brāhmaṇyaṁ labhate naraḥ ||
Then, O best of kings, one should proceed to the supreme sacred ford of Brahmā. Having bathed there, even a person of lower social standing attains the status and dignity of a brāhmaṇa—signifying purification, uplift through sacred discipline, and the ethical ideal that inner refinement can elevate one’s life.
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes the transformative power attributed to tīrtha-yātrā and ritual bathing: sincere contact with a supremely sacred place is said to purify and elevate a person, symbolically granting the dignity and qualities associated with brāhmaṇya (cultivated purity, discipline, and ethical refinement).
The speaker is directing the addressed king to proceed next to Brahmā’s renowned pilgrimage site, describing its extraordinary fruit: bathing there is proclaimed to confer a high spiritual-social status even upon someone considered ‘lower’ in the traditional varṇa hierarchy.