Shloka 85
Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga
Pulastya’s Instruction
तदनन्तर तीनों लोकोंमें विख्यात त्रिविष्टपतीर्थमें जाय। वहाँ वैतरणी नामक पुण्यमयी पापनाशिनी नदी है ।। तत्र स्नात्वार्चयित्वा च शूलपारणिं वृषध्वजम् | सर्वपापविशुद्धात्मा गच्छेत परमां गतिम्,उसमें स्नान करके शूलपाणि भगवान् शंकरकी पूजा करनेसे मनुष्य सब पापोंसे शुद्धचित्त हो परम गतिको प्राप्त होता है
tadanantaraṁ trīṁl lokānāṁ vikhyāte trivisṭapatīrtheṁ yāyāt | tatra vaitaraṇī nāmakaṁ puṇyamayī pāpanāśinī nadī asti || tatra snātvārcayitvā ca śūlapāṇiṁ vṛṣadhvajam | sarvapāpaviśuddhātmā gacchet paramāṁ gatim ||
Depois, deve-se ir ao vau sagrado de Triviṣṭapa, afamado nos três mundos. Ali há o rio santo chamado Vaitaraṇī, destruidor do pecado. Banhar-se ali e venerar Śiva—o que empunha o tridente e tem por estandarte o touro—purifica o íntimo de toda culpa e conduz ao estado supremo.
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that sincere pilgrimage (tīrtha-yātrā), combined with worship of Śiva, functions as a discipline of inner purification: by bathing in a sanctifying river and offering devotion, one becomes cleansed of moral taint and oriented toward the highest spiritual end (paramā gati).
The speaker gives practical guidance in a sequence of pilgrimage instructions: go next to the renowned Triviṣṭapa-tīrtha, bathe in the Vaitaraṇī river there, and worship Śiva (Śūlapāṇi, Vṛṣadhvaja). The promised result is purification from sins and attainment of the supreme destination.