Shloka 38
Pulastya’s Tīrtha Enumeration: Sarasvatī, Naimiṣa, Gayā, and Associated Phalaśruti
Chapter 82
त्रीणि शृद्भाणि शुभ्राणि त्रीणि प्रद्रवणानि च । पुष्कराण्यादिसिद्धानि न विद्यस्तत्र कारणम्,तीन शुभ्र पर्वतशिखर, तीन सोते और तीन पुष्कर--ये आदिसिद्ध तीर्थ हैं। ये कब किस कारणसे तीर्थ माने गये? इसका हमें पता नहीं है
trīṇi śṛdbhāṇi śubhrāṇi trīṇi pradravaṇāni ca | puṣkarāṇy ādisiddhāni na vidyās tatra kāraṇam ||
“May tatlong kumikislap na tuktok ng bundok, tatlong umaagos na bukal, at tatlong lawa ng Puṣkara—mga banal na tawiran (tīrtha) itong itinuturing na naitatag mula pa sa unang panahon. Ngunit hindi natin nalalaman kung anong sanhi o dahilang pangkasaysayan ang unang nagpaangat sa kanila bilang mga tīrtha.”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights reverence for ancient sacred places whose sanctity is accepted as ‘ādi-siddha’ (primevally established), while also modeling humility: not every religious tradition has a recoverable historical cause, yet it can still function as a dharmic guide for pilgrimage and restraint.
In the Vana Parva’s tīrtha-context, the speaker enumerates a set of revered pilgrimage sites—three shining peaks, three springs, and three Puṣkara lakes—and remarks that their origin as tīrthas is unknown, implying their sanctity is rooted in immemorial tradition rather than a remembered event.