Shloka 533
एककालं निराहारो लोकानावसते शुभान् | वीरप्रमोक्षतीर्थमें जाकर मनुष्य सब पापोंसे छुटकारा पा जाता है। भारत! कृत्तिका और मधघाके तीर्थमें जाकर मानव अग्निष्टोम और अतितरात्र यज्ञोंका फल पाता है। वहीं प्रात:-संध्याके समय परम उत्तम विद्यातीर्थमें जाकर स्नान करनेसे मनुष्य जहाँ-कहीं भी विद्या प्राप्त कर लेता है। जो सब पापोंसे छुड़ानेवाले महाश्रमतीर्थमें एक समय उपवास करके एक रात वहीं निवास करता है, उसे शुभ लोकोंकी प्राप्ति होती है
ekakālaṃ nirāhāro lokān āvasate śubhān | vīrapramokṣatīrthe gatvā manuṣyaḥ sarvapāpebhyaḥ pramucyate | bhārata kṛttikā-madhgā-tīrthe gatvā mānavaḥ agniṣṭoma-atirātra-yajñayoḥ phalaṃ prāpnoti | tatraiva prātaḥ-saṃdhyāyāṃ paramottame vidyātīrthe snānena manuṣyaḥ yatra kutrāpi vidyāṃ labhate | sarvapāpāpahāriṇi mahāśramatīrthe ekakālaṃ upavāsya ekarātraṃ tatra nivasan sa śubhān lokān avāpnoti ||
Ghūlastya said: “One who eats only once and remains without further food, staying for a night at the Mahāśrama ford that removes all sins, attains auspicious worlds. By going to the ford called Vīrapramokṣa, a person is freed from all sins. O Bhārata, by visiting the sacred places of Kṛttikā and Madhgā one gains the merit of the Agniṣṭoma and Atirātra sacrifices. And there, bathing at dawn at the supremely excellent Vidyā-tīrtha, a person obtains learning wherever he may be.”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage teaches that disciplined austerity (such as eating once and fasting) combined with reverent pilgrimage and timely ritual acts (especially dawn bathing) purifies wrongdoing and yields spiritual merit—comparable to major Vedic sacrifices—and even supports the acquisition of learning.
Ghūlastya is describing the fruits of visiting specific tīrthas: Vīrapramokṣa grants release from sins; Kṛttikā and Madhgā confer the merit of Agniṣṭoma and Atirātra rites; Vidyā-tīrtha grants learning through dawn bathing; and staying a night at Mahāśrama-tīrtha after a one-time fast leads to auspicious worlds.