Shloka 18

Dhaumya’s Enumeration of Eastern Tīrthas

Prācī-diś Tīrtha-kathana

Devanagari script

श्रीपर्वत॑ं समासाद्य नदीतीरमुपस्पृशेत्‌

Transliteration

Śrīparvataṁ samāsādya nadītīram upaspṛśet.

Translation

Pulastya said: “Having reached Śrīparvata, one should go to the bank of the river and perform the purificatory act of touching water (ritual ablution).” The instruction frames pilgrimage as disciplined conduct: arrival at a sacred place is to be followed by bodily and mental purification, aligning the traveler with dharma through cleanliness and reverence.

Word by Word

श्रीपर्वतम्the auspicious mountain (Śrīparvata)

समासाद्यhaving approached/reached

नदीतीरम्the river-bank

उपस्पृशेत्should touch; should perform ācamana by touching (water)

Speaker

पुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

Pulastya

Śrīparvata

river bank (nadītīra)

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?

Pilgrimage is not merely travel to a holy site; it requires ritual and ethical discipline—beginning with purification (upaspṛśa/ablution) upon reaching the sacred landscape.

What is happening in the narrative?

Pulastya gives procedural guidance for a tīrtha-yātrā: after arriving at Śrīparvata, the pilgrim should go to the riverbank and perform the customary purificatory water-touching/ablution.