Shloka 21
Dhaumya’s Enumeration of Eastern Tīrthas
Prācī-diś Tīrtha-kathana
अश्वमेधमवाप्रोति परां सिद्धि च गच्छति । ऋषभं पर्वतं गत्वा पाण्ड्ये दैवतपूजितम् । वाजपेयमवाप्रोति नाकपृष्ठे च मोदते,श्रीपर्वतपर देवी पार्वतीके साथ महातेजस्वी महादेवजी बड़ी प्रसन्नताके साथ निवास करते हैं। देवताओंके साथ ब्रह्माजी भी वहाँ रहते हैं। वहाँ देवकुण्डमें स्नान करके पवित्र हो जितात्मा पुरुष अश्वमेधयज्ञका फल पाता और परम सिद्धि लाभ करता है। पाड्यदेशमें देवपूजित ऋषभ पर्वतपर जाकर तीर्थयात्री वाजपेययज्ञका फल पाता और स्वर्गलोकमें आनन्दित होता है
aśvamedham avāpnoti parāṃ siddhiṃ ca gacchati | ṛṣabhaṃ parvataṃ gatvā pāṇḍye daivatapūjitam | vājapeyam avāpnoti nākapṛṣṭhe ca modate ||
Pulastya said: “By visiting this sacred place, a person gains the merit of an Aśvamedha sacrifice and attains the highest spiritual accomplishment. And by going to the divinely revered Ṛṣabha Mountain in the Pāṇḍya country, the pilgrim gains the merit of a Vājapeya sacrifice and rejoices on the heights of heaven.” The passage frames pilgrimage and purification as ethically potent acts: disciplined, self-controlled conduct at holy sites is presented as a dharmic means to inner elevation and auspicious posthumous destiny.
पुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that disciplined pilgrimage to revered tīrthas can confer the same moral-spiritual merit as grand royal sacrifices, emphasizing inner purity and dharmic conduct over mere ritual expenditure.
Pulastya is describing the fruits of visiting specific sacred locations: one yields the merit of an Aśvamedha and supreme siddhi, and another—Ṛṣabha Mountain in the Pāṇḍya region—yields the merit of a Vājapeya and joy in heaven.