Shloka 114
Pulastya’s Tīrtha Enumeration: Sarasvatī, Naimiṣa, Gayā, and Associated Phalaśruti
Chapter 82
शशयानं च राजेन्द्र तीर्थमासाद्य दुर्लभम् । शशरूपप्रतिच्छन्ना: पुष्करा यत्र भारत,राजेन्द्र! शशयान नामक तीर्थ अत्यन्त दुर्लभ है। उसमें जाकर स्नान करे। महाराज भारत! वहाँ सरस्वती नदीमें प्रतिवर्ष कार्तिकी पूर्णिमाको शश (खरगोश)-के रूपमें छिपे हुए पुष्करतीर्थ देखे जाते हैं। भरतश्रेष्ठ! नरव्याप्र! वहाँ स्नान करके मनुष्य सदा चन्द्रमाके समान प्रकाशित होता है। भरतकुलतिलक! उसे सहस्न गोदानका फल भी मिलता है
śaśayānaṃ ca rājendra tīrtham āsādya durlabham | śaśarūpapraticchannāḥ puṣkarā yatra bhārata ||
Ghūlastya disse: “Ó rei, há um vau sagrado raro e difícil de alcançar, chamado Śaśayāna. Ó Bhārata, ali se diz que os tīrthas de Puṣkara estão ocultos na forma de uma lebre. Quem ali se banha resplandece sempre como a Lua e obtém mérito igual ao de doar mil vacas.”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage emphasizes tīrtha-yātrā and snāna as dharmic practices: reaching rare sacred places with faith and discipline is said to purify and confer radiance and great merit, symbolically equated with major gifts like go-dāna.
A sage-like speaker (Ghūlastya) instructs the king (addressed as Rājendra/Bhārata) about a particular rare pilgrimage site named Śaśayāna, describing its wondrous feature—Puṣkara-tīrthas concealed in a hare-form—and the spiritual rewards of bathing there.