Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga
Pulastya’s Instruction
पितर ऊचु. राम राम महाभाग प्रीता: सम तव भार्गव,पितरोंने कहा--महाभाग राम! परशुराम! भृगुनन्दन! विभो! हम तुम्हारी इस पितृभक्तिसे और तुम्हारे पराक्रमसे भी बहुत प्रसन्न हुए हैं। महाद्युते! तुम्हारा कल्याण हो। तुम कोई वर माँगो। बोलो, क्या चाहते हो?
pitara ūcuḥ — rāma rāma mahābhāga prītāḥ sma tava bhārgava | (bhṛgunandana vibho) vayaṃ tava pitṛbhaktyā ca parākramena ca suṣṭu prītāḥ | mahādyute te kalyāṇaṃ bhavatu | varaṃ vṛṇīṣva—brūhi, kiṃ icchasi?
祖霊(ピトリ)たちは言った。「ラーマよ、ラーマよ――大いなる幸運を具えたバールガヴァよ! 我らは汝を喜ぶ。パラシュラーマよ、ブリグの末裔よ、力ある者よ――祖先への敬虔と汝の武勇は、我らをことのほか歓ばせた。光輝く英雄よ、吉祥が汝に宿らんことを。望みの恩寵を選べ。言え――何を欲する?」
घुलस्त्य उवाच
The verse upholds pitṛbhakti—reverent devotion to one’s ancestors—as a powerful dharmic virtue. When joined with disciplined valor, it becomes worthy of divine/ancestral approval and yields auspicious outcomes, symbolized here by the granting of a boon.
The Pitṛs (ancestral Fathers) address Paraśurāma with honorific epithets, declare their satisfaction with his ancestral devotion and prowess, bless him, and invite him to ask for a boon—setting up the next narrative turn based on what he requests.