Shloka 58
Dhaumya’s Enumeration of Eastern Tīrthas
Prācī-diś Tīrtha-kathana
ततो गिरिवरश्रेष्ठे चित्रकूटे विशाम्पते । मन्दाकिनीं समासाद्य सर्वपापप्रणाशिनीम्,राजन! तदनन्तर पर्वतश्रेष्ठ चित्रकूटमें सब पापोंका नाश करनेवाली मन्दाकिनीके तटपर पहुँचकर उसमें स्नान करे और देवताओं तथा पितरोंकी पूजामें लग जाय। इससे वह अश्वमेधयज्ञका फल पाता और परम गतिको प्राप्त होता है
tato girivarāgreṣṭhe citrakūṭe viśāmpate | mandākinīṁ samāsādya sarvapāpapraṇāśinīm || rājan! tadanantaraṁ parvataśreṣṭha citrakūṭa meṁ sab pāpoṁ kā nāś karanevālī mandākinī ke taṭa par pahuṁcakara usameṁ snāna kare aura devatāoṁ tathā pitaroṁ kī pūjā meṁ laga jāya | isase vaha aśvamedhayajña kā phala pāta aura parama gati ko prāpta hotā hai ||
Pulastya disse: “Então, ó senhor dos povos, tendo alcançado o mais eminente dos montes, Citrakūṭa, e aproximando-te da Mandākinī —a que destrói todos os pecados—, banha-te ali e dedica-te ao culto dos deuses e dos Pitṛs. Por isso, obterás o mérito de um Aśvamedha e alcançarás o estado supremo.”
पुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Purification and spiritual uplift are attained through disciplined pilgrimage: bathing at a sacred tīrtha and performing worship for both gods and ancestors yields great merit—symbolically equated here with the fruit of an Aśvamedha—and leads toward the highest spiritual goal.
Pulastya instructs the king about a specific sacred itinerary: go to Citrakūṭa, reach the Mandākinī river, bathe, and engage in devatā- and pitṛ-worship; the passage promises exceptional religious merit and an exalted destiny from these acts.