Shloka 20
Account of Various Sacred Tīrthas
Pilgrimage Merits and Prayāga Supremacy
ततो गच्छेत कावेरीं वृतामृप्सरसां गणैः । तत्र स्नात्वा नरो राजन्गोसहस्रफलं लभेत्
tato gaccheta kāverīṃ vṛtāmṛpsarasāṃ gaṇaiḥ | tatra snātvā naro rājangosahasraphalaṃ labhet
Kemudian hendaklah pergi ke Sungai Kāverī, yang dikelilingi rombongan apsarā. Wahai Raja, orang yang mandi di sana memperoleh pahala setara sedekah seribu ekor lembu.
Unspecified in provided excerpt (likely a Purāṇic narrator addressing a king within a tīrtha-māhātmya context)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: river
Sandhi Resolution Notes: rājan + go-sahasra-phalam → rājangosahasraphalam (final -n before g); vṛtā + apsarasām → vṛtām apsarasām (anusvāra before vowel in some recensions).
FAQs
It states that bathing in the Kāverī grants merit equal to the religious fruit of gifting a thousand cows (go-sahasra-phala).
Their presence poetically marks the river as celestial and highly sanctified, implying that the tīrtha is honored even in divine realms.
The verse promotes tīrtha-oriented piety and encourages accessible religious practice—devout bathing at a sacred river is presented as a powerful means of accruing merit comparable to costly charity.