Shloka 74
वेगेन समतिक्रान्ता सर्वतीर्थपुरस्कृता । तपनस्य सुता देवी त्रिषु लोकेषु विश्रुता,राजेन्द्र! तत्पश्चात् महर्षियोंद्वारा प्रशंसित प्रयागतीर्थमें जाय। जहाँ ब्रह्मा आदि देवता, दिशा, दिक्पाल, लोकपाल, साध्य, लोकसम्मानित पितर, सनत्कुमार आदि महर्षि, अंगिरा आदि निर्मल ब्रह्मर्षि, नाग, सुपर्ण, सिद्ध, सूर्य, नदी, समुद्र, गन्धर्व, अप्सरा तथा ब्रह्माजीसहित भगवान् विष्णु निवास करते हैं। वहाँ तीन अग्निकुण्ड हैं जिनके बीचसे सब तीर्थोंसे सम्पन्न गंगा वेगपूर्वक बहती हैं। त्रिभुवनविख्यात सूर्यपुत्री लोकपावनी यमुनादेवी वहाँ गंगाजीके साथ मिली हैं। गंगा और यमुनाका मध्यभाग पृथ्वीका जघन माना गया है
vegena samatikrāntā sarvatīrthapuraskṛtā | tapanasya sutā devī triṣu lokeṣu viśrutā, rājendra! tatpaścāt mahārṣibhir dvārā praśaṃsite prayāgatīrtheṃ yāyāt | yatra brahmādayo devatā diśaḥ dikpālāḥ lokapālāḥ sādhyāḥ lokasammānitāḥ pitaraḥ sanatkumārādayo maharṣayaḥ aṅgirādayaḥ nirmalā brahmarṣayaḥ nāgāḥ suparṇāḥ siddhāḥ sūryaḥ nadyaḥ samudrāḥ gandharvāḥ apsarasaś ca brahmaṇā saha bhagavān viṣṇuś ca nivasantīti | tatra trayo 'gnikuṇḍāḥ, yeṣāṃ madhyena sarvatīrthasampannā gaṅgā vegapūrvakaṃ vahati | tribhuvanavikhyātā sūryaputrī lokapāvanī yamunā devī tatra gaṅgāyāḥ saha milati | gaṅgāyamunayor madhyabhāgaḥ pṛthivyā jaghanaṃ manyate |
Pulastya said: “O king, thereafter you should go to the sacred ford of Prayāga, praised by the great seers. There the goddess—daughter of Tapana and renowned in the three worlds—has swiftly passed on, leading the host of holy places. At Prayāga dwell Brahmā and the other gods; the quarters and their guardians; the world-protectors; the Sādhyas; the Pitṛs honored by the worlds; great sages such as Sanatkumāra; pure Brahmarṣis such as Aṅgiras; Nāgas; Suparṇas; Siddhas; the Sun; rivers and the ocean; Gandharvas and Apsarases; and, together with Brahmā, Lord Viṣṇu himself. There are three fire-altars, and between them the Gaṅgā—endowed with the merit of all tīrthas—rushes onward. There the Yamunā, the world-purifying daughter of the Sun, famed in the three worlds, joins the Gaṅgā. The land between the Gaṅgā and Yamunā is regarded as the ‘lower waist’ of the earth.”
पुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage elevates tīrtha-yātrā as a dharmic practice: sacred places are portrayed as meeting-points of cosmic powers, and approaching them with reverence is framed as a means of purification and alignment with the world’s moral-spiritual order.
Pulastya instructs the king to proceed to Prayāga, describing it as a supremely sanctifying confluence where Gaṅgā and Yamunā meet, surrounded by gods, sages, and celestial beings, and marked by three fire-altars—thereby emphasizing its exceptional holiness.