Shloka 306
Pulastya’s Tīrtha Enumeration: Sarasvatī, Naimiṣa, Gayā, and Associated Phalaśruti
Chapter 82
न वै योनौ प्रजायते स्नातास्तीर्थे महात्मन: । उसीसे विद्वान् पुरुष अश्वमेधयज्ञका फल पाता है। नृपश्रेष्ठ! ब्राह्मण, क्षत्रिय, वैश्य अथवा शूद्र जो कोई भी महात्मा ब्रह्माजीके तीर्थमें स्नान कर लेते हैं, वे फिर किसी योनिमें जन्म नहीं लेते हैं
na vai yonau prajāyate snātās tīrthe mahātmanaḥ |
Ghūlastya disse: “Essas pessoas de grande alma que se banharam neste vau sagrado não tornam a nascer em ventre algum. Por esse ato apenas, o homem instruído alcança o mérito de um sacrifício Aśvamedha. Ó melhor dos reis, seja brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya ou śūdra—quem se banha no tīrtha de Brahmā fica livre de novos nascimentos corporificados.”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that sincere ritual purification at a powerful tīrtha can confer extraordinary spiritual merit—equated here with the fruit of an Aśvamedha—and even freedom from further rebirth. It also emphasizes broad eligibility: the benefit is said to be available to all four varṇas.
In the context of the Vana Parva’s tīrtha-yātrā discourse, the speaker Ghūlastya praises a particular sacred place associated with Brahmā, describing the immense rewards of bathing there and addressing a king as the listener.