Shloka 183
Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga
Pulastya’s Instruction
तत्र स्नात्वा नरश्रेष्ठ अग्निष्टोमफलं लभेत् | धर्मज्ञ! वहाँसे परम उत्तम वाराहतीर्थको जाय, जहाँ भगवान् विष्णु पहले वाराहरूपसे स्थित हुए थे। नरश्रेष्ठ! वहाँ स्नान करनेसे अग्निष्टोमयज्ञका फल मिलता है,ततो गच्छेत राजेन्द्र तीर्थ त्रैलोक्यविश्रुतम् आदित्यलोकं व्रजति कुलं चैव समुद्धरेत् । राजेन्द्र! तत्पश्चात् उस त्रैलोक्यविख्यात तीर्थमें जाय, जहाँ तेजोराशि महात्मा सूर्यका आश्रम है। उसमें स्नान करके सूर्यदेवकी पूजा करनेसे मनुष्य सूर्यके लोकमें जाता और अपने कुलका उद्धार करता है
tatra snātvā naraśreṣṭha agniṣṭomaphalaṃ labhet | dharmajña! tataḥ gacchet rājendra tīrthaṃ trailokyaviśrutam | ādityalokaṃ vrajati kulaṃ caiva samuddharet ||
Ghūlastya said: “O best of men, by bathing there one obtains the merit of the Agniṣṭoma sacrifice. O knower of dharma, from there one should proceed to the supremely excellent Varāha-tīrtha, where Lord Viṣṇu once abided in the form of the Boar. O lord of kings, then one should go to that sacred ford renowned in the three worlds, the hermitage of the radiant great Sun. Bathing there and worshipping Sūrya, a person attains the Sun’s world and uplifts his lineage.”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Pilgrimage and ritual purity, when joined with devotion and dharma, are presented as powerful means of accruing merit: bathing at specific tīrthas yields sacrificial fruit (Agniṣṭoma-phala), worship of Sūrya grants access to Āditya-loka, and such acts are said to uplift one’s lineage (kula-samuddhāra).
The speaker (Ghūlastya) guides a kingly listener through a sequence of sacred sites: first a place where bathing grants Agniṣṭoma merit, then the excellent Varāha-tīrtha linked to Viṣṇu’s Varāha form, and thereafter a three-world-famous tīrtha identified with Sūrya’s hermitage, where bathing and worship lead to the Sun’s realm and benefit one’s family line.