Shloka 113
Dhaumya’s Enumeration of Eastern Tīrthas
Prācī-diś Tīrtha-kathana
भीष्मश्न कुरुशार्दूल शास्त्रतत्त्वार्थदर्शिवान् । पुलस्त्यवचनाच्चैव पृथिवीं परिचक्रमे,कुरुश्रेष्ठ! शास्त्रके ताच्चिक अर्थको जाननेवाले भीष्मने महर्षि पुलस्त्यके वचनसे (तीर्थयात्राके लिये) सारी पृथ्वीकी परिक्रमा की
bhīṣmaḥ śnaḥ kuruśārdūla śāstratattvārthadarśivān | pulastyavacanāccaiva pṛthivīṃ paricakrame, kuruśreṣṭha |
Narada said: “O tiger among the Kurus, Bhishma—one who truly perceived the principles and meanings of the sacred teachings—set out, at the command of the sage Pulastya, and journeyed in pilgrimage around the whole earth. In this, his learning is shown not as mere scholarship, but as disciplined action guided by a teacher’s word and directed toward dharma.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
True understanding of śāstra is validated through disciplined conduct: Bhishma’s insight into principles and meanings leads to action—undertaking pilgrimage—motivated by obedience to a sage’s instruction and oriented toward dharma.
Narada recounts that Bhishma, renowned for discerning the essence of sacred teachings, undertook a journey around the world as a pilgrimage, doing so specifically because the sage Pulastya instructed him to.