Shloka 20
The Greatness of Gayā
Gayā-Māhātmya
ब्रह्मज्ञानं गयाश्राद्धं गोगृहे मरणं तथा । वासः पुंसां कुरुक्षेत्रे मुक्तिरेषा चतुर्विधा ॥ २० ॥
brahmajñānaṃ gayāśrāddhaṃ gogṛhe maraṇaṃ tathā | vāsaḥ puṃsāṃ kurukṣetre muktireṣā caturvidhā || 20 ||
ब्रह्मज्ञानं गयाश्राद्धं गोगृहे मरणं तथा । कुरुक्षेत्रे निवासश्च—एषा मुक्तेः चतुर्विधा गतिः ॥
Narada (teaching within the Uttara-Bhaga tirtha-mahatmya context)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhakti
FAQs
It compresses the Uttara-Bhaga’s tirtha-centered teaching into a fourfold moksha framework—jnana (Brahman-realization) alongside powerful sacred-place/rite associations (Gayā śrāddha, Kurukṣetra-vāsa) and the ideal of a sanctified end of life (death in a go-gṛha).
Though it names jñāna explicitly, the listed acts (śrāddha at Gayā, living at Kurukṣetra, reverent proximity to the cow) are traditionally performed with śraddhā and devotion; in the Purāṇic worldview, such devotionally charged tirtha-rites support purification and readiness for liberation.
Ritual practice (kalpa/śrauta-smārta procedure) is implied through Gayā-śrāddha—rules of śrāddha, offerings, and timing—showing applied dharma-ritual knowledge rather than technical vyākaraṇa or jyotiṣa in this specific verse.