Shloka 88
Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga
Pulastya’s Instruction
अग्निष्टोमातिरात्रा भ्यां फलं विन्दति भारत | तीर्थ च सर्वदेवानां स्नात्वा भरतसत्तम
agniṣṭomātirātrābhyāṁ phalaṁ vindati bhārata | tīrthaṁ ca sarvadevānāṁ snātvā bharatasattama ||
Ghūlastya disse: “Ó Bhārata, obtém-se um fruto de mérito comparável ao dos sacrifícios de Soma Agniṣṭoma e Atirātra; e, ó melhor dos Bharatas, ao banhar-se neste vau sagrado—tido como lugar de peregrinação de todos os deuses—alcança-se a mesma recompensa purificadora.”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that sincere pilgrimage-bathing at a revered tīrtha can confer merit comparable to great Vedic Soma-sacrifices, emphasizing accessible paths to purification and dharmic reward beyond costly ritual performance.
A speaker named Ghūlastya is describing the spiritual efficacy of a particular tīrtha: he tells the Bharata hero that bathing there yields the same religious fruit as performing the Agniṣṭoma and Atirātra sacrifices, thereby encouraging tīrtha-yātrā during the Pāṇḍavas’ forest sojourn.