Shloka 75
Dhaumya’s Enumeration of Eastern Tīrthas
Prācī-diś Tīrtha-kathana
यमुना गड़या सार्थ संगता लोकपावनी । गड़्ायमुनयोर्म ध्यं पृथिव्या जघनं स्मृतम्,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
yamunā gaṅgayā sārdhaṁ saṅgatā lokapāvanī | gaṅgāyamunayor madhyaṁ pṛthivyā jaghanaṁ smṛtam, rājendra |
Pulastya said: “The Yamunā, purifier of the worlds, unites there with the Gaṅgā. O best of kings, the region between the Gaṅgā and the Yamunā is traditionally regarded as the ‘lower portion’ (jaghana) of the earth. Therefore one should proceed to the Prayāga-tīrtha, praised by great seers, where the gods and revered beings abide. By visiting and honoring such a confluence, a person aligns with dharma through reverence for sacred geography, humility before the divine order, and the purifying discipline of pilgrimage.”
पुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Reverence for tīrthas and sacred confluences is presented as a dharmic practice: approaching holy places with humility and faith is said to purify and orient one toward the divine order upheld by tradition.
Pulastya describes the sacred confluence where the Yamunā meets the Gaṅgā and notes the traditional belief that the land between them is the earth’s ‘jaghana’; he then directs the listener toward the celebrated Prayāga-tīrtha.