Shloka 4
Dhaumya’s Enumeration of Eastern Tīrthas
Prācī-diś Tīrtha-kathana
गड्जायास्तत्र राजेन्द्र सागरस्य च संगमे । अश्वमेधं दशगुणं प्रवदन्ति मनीषिण:,राजेन्द्र! वहाँ गंगासागरसंगममें स्नान करनेसे दस अश्वमेधयज्ञोंके फलकी प्राप्ति होती है, ऐसा मनीषी पुरुष कहते हैं
gaṅgāyās tatra rājendra sāgarasya ca saṅgame | aśvamedhaṃ daśaguṇaṃ pravadanti manīṣiṇaḥ ||
Pulastya berkata: “Wahai raja, di pertemuan suci tempat Sungai Gaṅgā bertemu lautan, para bijaksana menyatakan bahawa mandi di sana menghasilkan pahala sepuluh kali ganda—setara dengan buah sepuluh korban Aśvamedha.”
पुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that certain tīrthas (sacred places) are believed to confer extraordinary spiritual merit through simple acts like bathing, sometimes said to equal or surpass the merit of costly royal sacrifices. It underscores an ethic of accessible dharma: purification and merit are not limited to kings who can perform grand yajñas.
Pulastya, speaking to a king, describes the sanctity of the Gaṅgā’s meeting with the ocean and reports the traditional claim of sages that bathing at this confluence grants tenfold Aśvamedha merit—part of a broader tīrtha-mahātmya (praise of pilgrimage sites) discourse in the Vana Parva.