Shloka 366
Dhaumya’s Enumeration of Eastern Tīrthas
Prācī-diś Tīrtha-kathana
त्रिरात्रमुषितः स्नात्वा अश्वमेधफलं लभेत् । कुशप्लवनतीर्थमें जाकर स्नान करके ब्रह्मचर्यपालनपूर्वक एकाग्रचित्त हो तीन रात निवास करनेवाला पुरुष अश्वमेधयज्ञका फल पाता है
trirātram uṣitaḥ snātvā aśvamedha-phalaṁ labhet | kuśaplavana-tīrthe gatvā snātvā brahmacarya-pālana-pūrvakam ekāgra-citto bhūtvā trirātraṁ nivāsī puruṣaḥ aśvamedha-yajñasya phalaṁ prāpnoti |
Pulastya said: “A man who goes to the sacred ford called Kuśaplavana, bathes there, and then—having first undertaken the observance of brahmacarya—dwells for three nights with a concentrated mind, attains the merit equal to that of the Aśvamedha sacrifice.”
पुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that disciplined pilgrimage—bathing at a sacred tīrtha, maintaining brahmacarya, and staying with focused mind—can yield merit comparable to a grand royal sacrifice, emphasizing inner restraint and sincerity over mere external grandeur.
Pulastya is describing the spiritual efficacy of a specific pilgrimage site, Kuśaplavana, prescribing a three-night observance with ritual bathing and ethical self-control, and stating the resulting reward in terms familiar to epic audiences: the fruit of the Aśvamedha.