Shloka 11
Brāhmaṇya-प्रश्नः — The Inquiry into Attaining Brāhmaṇya
Mataṅga–Gardabhī Itihāsa
इन्द्रतोयां समासाद्य गन्धमादनसंनिधौ
indratoyāṃ samāsādya gandhamādana-sannidhau | gandhamādana-parvate nikaṭa indratoyā-nadīṃ ca kuraṅga-kṣetra-antar-gatāṃ kartoyā-nadīṃ ca saṃyata-cittaḥ śuddha-bhāvena snātvā trīṇi rātrāṇy upavāsī manuṣyaḥ aśvamedha-yajñasya phalaṃ prāpnoti |
अजद्रिय उवाच—इन्द्रतोयां समासाद्य गन्धमादनसन्निधौ, तथा कुरङ्गक्षेत्रान्तर्गतां करतोयां च; संयतचित्तः शुचिर्भूत्वा तत्र स्नात्वा त्रिरात्रमुपोष्य—स नरः अश्वमेधयज्ञफलमवाप्नोति।
अजड्रिय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that great religious merit is not only tied to costly royal rituals; disciplined conduct—purity of intention, mental restraint, sacred bathing, and a short but sincere fast—can yield merit comparable to the Aśvamedha.
Ajadriya describes specific sacred rivers and locations (Indratoyā near Gandhamādana, and Kartoyā in the Kuranga region) and prescribes a tirtha-observance: bathe there with a purified mind and then fast for three nights to obtain the fruit of an Aśvamedha.