Shloka 2
आदि पर्व — खाण्डवदाह प्रसङ्गः: पावकस्य याचनं तथा इन्द्रवर्षनिवारणोपायः
Adi Parva — Khāṇḍava episode: Agni’s request and the means to resist Indra’s rain
वर्जयन्ति सम तीर्थानि तत्र पठच सम तापसा: । अवकीर्णानि यान्यासन् पुरस्तात् तु तपस्विभि:,वहाँ उन दिनों तपस्वीलोग पाँच तीर्थोंको छोड़ देते थे। ये वे ही तीर्थ थे, जहाँ पूर्वकालमें बहुतेरे तपस्वी महात्मा भरे रहते थे
vaiśampāyana uvāca | varjayanti sma tīrthāni tatra pañca sma tāpasāḥ | avakīrṇāni yāny āsan purastāt tu tapassibhiḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana disse: “Naquele lugar, os ascetas daqueles dias costumavam evitar cinco tīrthas. Eram os mesmos vaus sagrados que, em tempos antigos, haviam sido frequentados em multidão e santificados por muitos grandes ascetas.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sacredness is sustained by right conduct and conducive conditions; when a place becomes spiritually compromised or unsuitable, the righteous may withdraw rather than lend it legitimacy. The verse highlights discernment (viveka) in religious practice, not mere attachment to holy geography.
The narrator reports that ascetics in that region were deliberately avoiding five particular tīrthas, even though those same sites had once been crowded with revered ascetics in earlier times—signaling a change in circumstances and the perceived sanctity or safety of those places.