Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga
Pulastya’s Instruction
संनिहत्यामुपस्पृश्य राहुग्रस्ते दिवाकरे । अश्वमेधशतं तेन तत्रेष्ट शाश्वतं भवेत्,सूर्यग्रहणके समय संनिहतीमें स्नान करनेसे सौ अश्वमेधयज्ञोंका अभीष्ट एवं शाश्वत फल प्राप्त होता है
sannihatyām upaspṛśya rāhugraste divākare | aśvamedhaśataṁ tena tatreṣṭaṁ śāśvataṁ bhavet ||
グーラスティヤは言った。「羅睺(ラーフ)が太陽を呑み、日蝕となるその時、サンニハティヤー(Sannihatyā)にて沐浴する者は、そこにおいて百のアシュヴァメーダ(馬祭)を修したに等しい、望みのままの、しかも永続する功徳を得る。」この言葉は、蝕の時の聖浴を法(ダルマ)にかなう行として讃え、その果が久しく保たれると説き、暴力や誇示ではなく、清浄・時宜・信を重んじる。
घुलस्त्य उवाच
The verse teaches that properly timed, faith-filled observance at a sacred place—here, bathing during a solar eclipse—can yield immense and lasting spiritual merit, comparable to grand royal sacrifices, highlighting inner purity and dharmic discipline over mere external grandeur.
A speaker named Ghūlastya is describing the greatness of a particular tīrtha (Sannihatyā) within the Vana Parva’s pilgrimage context, praising the specific act of bathing there during a solar eclipse as producing extraordinary, enduring religious fruit.