Shloka 185
Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga
Pulastya’s Instruction
सोमतीर्थे नर: स्नात्वा तीर्थसेवी नराधिप
Somatīrthe naraḥ snātvā tīrthasevī narādhipa
Disse Ghūlastya: “Ó rei, aquele que se banha em Somatīrtha e vive em devota assistência aos vaus sagrados (tīrthas) alcança o mérito purificador próprio da peregrinação—um lembrete ético de que a disciplina e a reverência nos lugares santos são louvadas como meio de limpeza interior e vida justa.”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Reverent pilgrimage—especially ritual bathing at a tīrtha and sustained devotion to sacred observances—is presented as a purifier that supports dharmic living and moral self-discipline.
A speaker (Ghūlastya) addresses a king and begins describing the spiritual benefit of bathing at the sacred place Somatīrtha, as part of a broader tīrtha-mahātmya (praise of pilgrimage sites) section in the Vana Parva.