Shloka 170
नरेश्वर! तदनन्तर तीर्थसेवी पुरुष अनरकतीर्थमें जाय। राजन! उसमें स्नान करनेसे मनुष्य कभी दुर्गतिमें नहीं पड़ता। महीपते! पुरुषसिंह! वहाँ स्वयं ब्रह्मा नारायण आदि देवताओंके साथ नित्य निवास करते हैं ।। सांनिध्य॑ तत्र राजेन्द्र रुद्रपत्न्या: कुरूद्गवह | अभिगम्य च तां देवीं न दुर्गतिमवाप्रुयात्,कुरुश्रेष्ठ! महाराज! वहाँ रुद्रपत्नी दुर्गीजीका स्थान भी है। उस देवीके निकट जानेसे मनुष्य कभी दुर्गतिमें नहीं पड़ता
nareśvara! tadanantaraṁ tīrthasevī puruṣo ’narakatīrthaṁ gacchet | rājan! tatra snānena manuṣyo na kadācid durgatiṁ prāpnoti | mahīpate! puruṣasiṁha! tatra svayaṁ brahmā nārāyaṇaś ca devaiḥ sārdhaṁ nityaṁ nivasantīti || sānnidhyaṁ tatra rājendra rudrapatnyāḥ kurūdvaha | abhigamya ca tāṁ devīṁ na durgatim avāpnuyāt, kuruśreṣṭha ||
“O lord of men! After this, the pilgrim should go to the sacred ford called Anaraka-tīrtha. O king, by bathing there a person never falls into an evil destiny. O protector of the earth, O best of men, Brahmā himself and Nārāyaṇa, together with the gods, are said to dwell there perpetually. O king of kings, O bearer of the Kuru line, the presence of Rudra’s consort is also there; having approached that goddess, O best of the Kurus, one does not attain misfortune or a degraded state.”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Pilgrimage undertaken with reverence—especially bathing at a sanctified tīrtha and approaching the Goddess—functions as a dharmic act of purification and protection, said to prevent ‘durgati’ (a fallen or miserable destiny) by aligning the pilgrim with divine presence.
The speaker instructs the king about the next stop in a sequence of pilgrimage sites: Anaraka-tīrtha. The passage praises its power—bathing there and visiting the nearby seat of Rudra’s consort (identified here with Durgā) ensures freedom from misfortune—while emphasizing that major deities (Brahmā and Nārāyaṇa) are believed to dwell there continually.