Shloka 86
Account of Various Sacred Tīrthas
Pilgrimage Merits and Prayāga Supremacy
सर्वं दहति गंगापस्तूलराशिमिवानलः । सर्वं कृतयुगे पुण्यं त्रेतायां पुष्करं स्मृतम्
sarvaṃ dahati gaṃgāpastūlarāśimivānalaḥ | sarvaṃ kṛtayuge puṇyaṃ tretāyāṃ puṣkaraṃ smṛtam
ഗംഗാജലം എല്ലാം ദഹിപ്പിക്കുന്നു; അഗ്നി പരുത്തിക്കൂമ്പാരത്തെ ദഹിപ്പിക്കുന്നതുപോലെ. കൃതയുഗത്തിൽ എല്ലാം പുണ്യമെന്നു സ്മരിക്കപ്പെട്ടു; ത്രേതായുഗത്തിൽ പുഷ്കരം പ്രധാന പുണ്യതീർത്ഥമായി പ്രസിദ്ധം.
Unspecified (context-dependent narrator within the Svarga-khaṇḍa dialogue)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: tirtha
Sandhi Resolution Notes: गंगापस्तूलराशिमिवानलः = गंगापः + तूलराशिम् + इव + अनलः (सन्धि: पः+त→पस्; इव+अनलः→इवानलः).
FAQs
It portrays Gaṅgā-water as powerfully purifying—able to destroy accumulated impurities (especially sins) swiftly and completely, just as fire instantly consumes a pile of cotton.
It suggests that in Kṛta Yuga merit was widespread or easily attained (“all was meritorious”), whereas in Tretā Yuga Puṣkara is singled out as a particularly renowned locus of merit among tīrthas.
It encourages seeking purification and merit through sacred means—reverence for purifying tīrthas like Gaṅgā and honoring eminent pilgrimage sites like Puṣkara—while recognizing that spiritual conditions and practices are framed differently across Yugas.