Shloka 192
Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga
Pulastya’s Instruction
संनिहत्यामुपस्पृश्य राहुग्रस्ते दिवाकरे । अश्वमेधशतं तेन तत्रेष्ट शाश्वतं भवेत्,सूर्यग्रहणके समय संनिहतीमें स्नान करनेसे सौ अश्वमेधयज्ञोंका अभीष्ट एवं शाश्वत फल प्राप्त होता है
sannihatyām upaspṛśya rāhugraste divākare | aśvamedhaśataṁ tena tatreṣṭaṁ śāśvataṁ bhavet ||
Sinabi ni Ghūlastya: “Kapag sa oras na nilalamon ni Rāhu ang araw (paglalaho ng araw), at may maligo sa Sannihatyā, matatamo niya ang minimithi at di-naglalaho na kabutihang-loob na katumbas ng sandaang handog na Aśvamedha na isinagawa roon.” Itinatanghal nito ang banal na pagligo sa panahon ng paglalaho bilang gawang ayon sa dharma na pinupuri ang pangmatagalang bunga—binibigyang-diin ang kadalisayan, tamang panahon, at pananampalataya, hindi ang karahasan o pagpapakitang-gilas.
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that properly timed, faith-filled observance at a sacred place—here, bathing during a solar eclipse—can yield immense and lasting spiritual merit, comparable to grand royal sacrifices, highlighting inner purity and dharmic discipline over mere external grandeur.
A speaker named Ghūlastya is describing the greatness of a particular tīrtha (Sannihatyā) within the Vana Parva’s pilgrimage context, praising the specific act of bathing there during a solar eclipse as producing extraordinary, enduring religious fruit.