Shloka 143
Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga
Pulastya’s Instruction
अज्ञानाजज्ञानतो वापि स्त्रिया वा पुरुषेण वा । यत् किंचिदशुभं कर्म कृतं मानुषबुद्धिना,भारत! स्त्री हो या पुरुष, उसने मानव-बुद्धिसे अनजानमें या जान-बूझकर जो कुछ भी पापकर्म किया है, वह सब पृथूदकतीर्थमें स्नान करनेमात्रसे नष्ट हो जाता है और तीर्थसेवी पुरुषको अश्वमेधयज्ञके फल एवं स्वर्गलोककी प्राप्ति होती है
ajñānāj jñānato vāpi striyā vā puruṣeṇa vā | yat kiñcid aśubhaṃ karma kṛtaṃ mānuṣa-buddhinā, bhārata! strī ho yā puruṣa, usne mānuṣa-buddhi se anjān meṃ yā jān-būjhkar jo kuch bhī pāpa-karma kiyā hai, vah sab pṛthūdaka-tīrtha meṃ snān karne-mātra se naṣṭ ho jātā hai aura tīrtha-sevī puruṣ ko aśvamedha-yajña ke phal evaṃ svarga-loka kī prāpti hotī hai
Sinabi ni Ghūlastya: “O Bhārata, maging nagawa man sa kamangmangan o sa sadyang pag-alam—ng babae man o ng lalaki—anumang masamang gawa na nagawa dahil sa kahinaan ng isip-tao ay napapawi sa pagligo lamang sa tīrtha ng Pṛthūdaka. At ang naglilingkod sa tīrtha na iyon ay nagkakamit ng kapakinabangang tulad ng handog na Aśvamedha at nakaaabot sa daigdig ng langit.”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the purificatory power attributed to tīrtha-bathing and tīrtha-service: even morally harmful actions—whether committed knowingly or unknowingly, by anyone—are said to be cleansed at Pṛthūdaka, and devoted pilgrimage yields extraordinary merit comparable to an Aśvamedha and leads to heaven.
In the Vana Parva’s tīrtha-yātrā context, the speaker Ghūlastya praises the sanctity of the Pṛthūdaka pilgrimage site, describing its capacity to remove sin through bathing and to grant high sacrificial merit and heavenly attainment to those who serve the sacred place.