Shloka 88
Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga
Pulastya’s Instruction
अग्निष्टोमातिरात्रा भ्यां फलं विन्दति भारत | तीर्थ च सर्वदेवानां स्नात्वा भरतसत्तम
agniṣṭomātirātrābhyāṁ phalaṁ vindati bhārata | tīrthaṁ ca sarvadevānāṁ snātvā bharatasattama ||
グーラースティヤ（Ghūlastya）は言った。「バーラタ（Bhārata）よ、人はアグニシュトーマ（Agniṣṭoma）とアティラートラ（Atirātra）のソーマ祭に等しい功徳の果を得る。さらに、バーラタ族の最勝者よ、諸神すべてのティールタ（聖地）とされるこの渡しで沐浴すれば、同じ浄化の報いを得るのである。」
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that sincere pilgrimage-bathing at a revered tīrtha can confer merit comparable to great Vedic Soma-sacrifices, emphasizing accessible paths to purification and dharmic reward beyond costly ritual performance.
A speaker named Ghūlastya is describing the spiritual efficacy of a particular tīrtha: he tells the Bharata hero that bathing there yields the same religious fruit as performing the Agniṣṭoma and Atirātra sacrifices, thereby encouraging tīrtha-yātrā during the Pāṇḍavas’ forest sojourn.