Shloka 55
Dhaumya’s Enumeration of Eastern Tīrthas
Prācī-diś Tīrtha-kathana
मेधाविकं समासाद्य पितृन् देवांश्व॒ तर्पयेत् | अग्निष्टोममवाप्रोति स्मृतिं मेधां च विन्दति
medhāvikaṃ samāsādya pitṝn devāṃś ca tarpayet | agniṣṭomam avāpnoti smṛtiṃ medhāṃ ca vindati
Pulastya said: “Having approached the Medhāvika (sacred place/rite), one should satisfy the Pitṛs (ancestral spirits) and the gods with due offerings. By doing so, one attains the merit of the Agniṣṭoma sacrifice and gains both recollection (smṛti) and intelligence (medhā).”
पुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Honoring both ancestors and gods through proper tarpaṇa is presented as a dharmic act whose fruit equals major Vedic sacrifice (Agniṣṭoma) and also refines the practitioner’s inner faculties—memory (smṛti) and intelligence (medhā).
Pulastya is instructing about the spiritual benefits of approaching a sacred observance/place called Medhāvika and performing propitiatory offerings to the Pitṛs and the devas, emphasizing its exceptional merit and its effect on mental clarity.