Shloka 183
Dhaumya’s Enumeration of Eastern Tīrthas
Prācī-diś Tīrtha-kathana
अश्वमेधमवाप्रोति पूजयित्वा वृषध्वजम् | श्रीपर्वतपर जाकर वहाँकी नदीके तटपर स्नान करे। वहाँ भगवान् शंकरकी पूजा करके मनुष्यको अश्वमेधयज्ञका फल प्राप्त होता है
aśvamedham avāpnoti pūjayitvā vṛṣadhvajam | śrīparvatapara gatvā tatra nadyāḥ taṭe snānaṃ kuryāt | tatra bhagavantaṃ śaṅkaraṃ pūjayitvā manuṣyo 'śvamedhayajñasya phalaṃ prāpnoti ||
Pulastya said: “One attains the merit of the Aśvamedha by worshipping Vṛṣadhvaja (Śiva). Having gone to the sacred Śrīparvata and bathing on the bank of the river there, a person who worships Lord Śaṅkara at that place gains the fruit of the Aśvamedha sacrifice.” The passage emphasizes that sincere devotion and sacred observance at a tīrtha can yield the highest ritual merit, redirecting religious aspiration from costly rites toward accessible, ethically grounded worship.
पुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that wholehearted worship of Śiva at a sacred tīrtha—combined with purifying acts like river-bathing—can confer the same spiritual merit as the grand Aśvamedha sacrifice, highlighting devotion and accessible dharmic practice over expensive ritual display.
Pulastya is describing a tīrtha-observance: one should go to Śrīparvata, bathe at the riverbank there, and worship Śaṅkara; by doing so, the pilgrim gains the fruit traditionally attributed to performing an Aśvamedha.