Shloka 156
Brāhmaṇya-प्रश्नः — The Inquiry into Attaining Brāhmaṇya
Mataṅga–Gardabhī Itihāsa
एकमासं निराहार: स पश्यति हि देवता: । जहाँ उत्तर दिशामें भागीरथी गंगा गिरती हैं और वहाँ उनका स्रोत तीन भागोंमें विभक्त हो जाता है
ekamāsaṃ nirāhāraḥ sa paśyati hi devatāḥ | yatra uttaradiśi bhāgīrathī gaṅgā patati tatra ca tasyāḥ srotaḥ tribhāgena vibhajyate, tat bhagavataḥ maheśvarasya tristhāna-nāma tīrtham | yo manuṣyaḥ ekamāsaṃ nirāhāraḥ san tatra snātvā devatānāṃ pratyakṣa-darśanaṃ labhate |
“Aquele que permanece sem alimento por um mês verdadeiramente contempla os deuses. Na região do norte, onde desce a Bhāgīrathī Gaṅgā e sua corrente se divide em três braços, encontra-se o tīrtha chamado Tristhāna, pertencente ao Senhor Maheśvara. Quem jejua por um mês e ali se banha alcança visão direta das divindades.”
अजड्रिय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that disciplined austerity (a month-long fast) combined with reverent pilgrimage and ritual bathing at a Śiva-associated tīrtha is said to yield extraordinary spiritual fruit—direct perception of the divine—highlighting the Mahābhārata’s emphasis on tapas, tīrtha-sevā, and faith as dharmic means to inner purification.
Ajadriya describes the greatness of a specific sacred place: where the Bhāgīrathī Gaṅgā descends in the north and splits into three channels. He identifies it as Maheśvara’s Tristhāna tīrtha and states the promised result for a pilgrim who fasts for a month and bathes there—vision of the gods.