Shloka 160
Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga
Pulastya’s Instruction
तीर्थाभिषेकं कुर्वीत पितृदेवार्चने रत: । सर्वपापविशुद्धात्मा अग्निष्टोमफलं लभेत्,राजेन्द्र! वहाँसे उत्तम रेणुकातीर्थकी यात्रा करे। पहले उस तीर्थमें स्नान करे; फिर देवताओं और पितरोंकी पूजामें तत्पर हो जाय। उससे तीर्थयात्री सब पापोंसे शुद्ध हो अग्निष्टोमयज्ञका फल पाता है
tīrthābhiṣekaṃ kurvīta pitṛdevārcane rataḥ | sarvapāpaviśuddhātmā agniṣṭomaphalaṃ labhet, rājendra |
Wika ni Ghūlastya: “O pinakamainam sa mga hari, magsagawa muna ng banal na pagligo sa isang tīrtha, at pagkatapos ay magpakasigasig sa pagsamba sa mga diyos at sa mga ninuno. Kapag nalinis ang diwa mula sa lahat ng kasalanan, matatamo ng manlalakbay ang gantimpalang katumbas ng handog na Agniṣṭoma.”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Pilgrimage is not merely travel: it is completed by disciplined sacred bathing and sincere worship of both gods and ancestors; such integrated practice is said to cleanse moral impurity and yield merit comparable to a great Vedic sacrifice (Agniṣṭoma).
A speaker named Ghūlastya instructs a king about proper conduct at a sacred place: bathe ritually at the tīrtha, then engage in offerings and worship for deities and forefathers, promising the pilgrim the high sacrificial reward of Agniṣṭoma.