Shloka 174

Devanagari script

ततः स्वस्तिपुरं गच्छेत्‌ तीर्थसेवी नराधिप । प्रदक्षिणमुपावृत्य गोसहस्रफलं लभेत्‌,नरेश्वर! तदनन्तर तीर्थसेवी पुरुष स्वस्तिपुरमें जाय, उसकी परिक्रमा करनेसे सहस्र गोदानका फल मिलता है

Transliteration

tataḥ svastipuraṁ gacchet tīrthasevī narādhipa | pradakṣiṇam upāvṛtya gosahasraphalaṁ labhet, nareśvara ||

Translation

Then, O king, the pilgrim devoted to visiting sacred fords should go to Svastipura. Having circumambulated it in the auspicious clockwise manner, O lord of men, he obtains the merit equal to the gift of a thousand cows. The passage underscores the ethical ideal that disciplined pilgrimage—performed with reverence and proper ritual conduct—yields great spiritual fruit.

Word by Word

ततःthen/thereafter

स्वस्तिपुरम्to Svastipura (the city named Svastipura)

गच्छेत्should go

तीर्थसेवीa pilgrim/one who frequents sacred fords

नराधिपO king (lord of men)

प्रदक्षिणम्clockwise / in circumambulation

उपावृत्यhaving gone around / having circumambulated

गोसहस्रफलम्the merit/reward of a thousand cows (as a gift)

लभेत्would obtain / should obtain

नरेश्वरO lord of men (king)

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

Svastipura

narādhipa (king)

tīrthasevī (pilgrim)

go-sahasra (a thousand cows)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Reverent pilgrimage and proper ritual conduct—here, going to Svastipura and performing pradakṣiṇā—are presented as powerful dharmic acts that generate great merit, symbolically equated with the renowned charity of gifting a thousand cows.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker instructs a king about a specific tīrtha-sequence: the pilgrim should proceed to Svastipura and circumambulate it; the text then states the resulting spiritual reward (gosahasra-phala).