Shloka 54
Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga
Pulastya’s Instruction
ततो गच्छेत राजेन्द्र सुतीर्थकमनुत्तमम्,अश्वमेधमवाप्रोति पितृलोक॑ च गच्छति । राजेन्द्र! वहाँसे परम उत्तम सुतीर्थमें जाय। वहाँ देवतालोग पितरोंके साथ सदा विद्यमान रहते हैं। वहाँ पितरों और देवताओंके पूजनमें तत्पर हो स्नान करे। इससे तीर्थयात्री अश्वमेधयज्ञका फल पाता और पितृलोकमें जाता है
tato gacchet rājendra sutīrthakam anuttamam | aśvamedham avāpnoti pitṛlokaṁ ca gacchati ||
それから、王の中の最勝者よ、無上の聖なる渡し「スティールタカ（Sutīrthaka）」へ赴くがよい。そこには祖霊（ピトリ、Pitṛ）と神々とが、常にともに在すと伝えられる。祖先と神々への供養に心を専らにし、そこで沐浴して身を清めるなら、巡礼者はアシュヴァメーダ（Aśvamedha）祭の功徳を得て、祖先の世界へと通じる道を得る。ここに説かれる巡礼とは、ただの旅ではなく、清浄と信とをもって血脈を敬う、規律ある崇敬の行である。
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Reverent pilgrimage and ritual bathing performed with worship of the gods and especially the ancestors yields extraordinary merit—equated here with the fruit of an Aśvamedha—and supports one’s onward journey to Pitṛloka; dharma is expressed through purity, faith, and honoring lineage.
A speaker instructs the addressed king about the next sacred destination in a tīrtha itinerary: he should go to the excellent tīrtha Sutīrthaka, where gods and ancestors are believed to be present, and bathe there with worship; the promised result is great sacrificial merit and attainment of the ancestral realm.