Shloka 29
Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga
Pulastya’s Instruction
पितर ऊचु. राम राम महाभाग प्रीता: सम तव भार्गव,पितरोंने कहा--महाभाग राम! परशुराम! भृगुनन्दन! विभो! हम तुम्हारी इस पितृभक्तिसे और तुम्हारे पराक्रमसे भी बहुत प्रसन्न हुए हैं। महाद्युते! तुम्हारा कल्याण हो। तुम कोई वर माँगो। बोलो, क्या चाहते हो?
pitara ūcuḥ — rāma rāma mahābhāga prītāḥ sma tava bhārgava | (bhṛgunandana vibho) vayaṃ tava pitṛbhaktyā ca parākramena ca suṣṭu prītāḥ | mahādyute te kalyāṇaṃ bhavatu | varaṃ vṛṇīṣva—brūhi, kiṃ icchasi?
Wika ng mga Pitṛ (mga Ninuno): “Rāma, Rāma—O Bhārgava na lubhang mapalad! Nalulugod kami sa iyo. O Paraśurāma, inapo ni Bhṛgu, O makapangyarihan—ang iyong debosyon sa mga ninuno at ang iyong kagitingan ay labis na nagpasaya sa amin. O maningning na bayani, nawa’y sumaiyo ang pagpapala. Pumili ng isang biyaya; magsalita—ano ang ninanais mo?”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse upholds pitṛbhakti—reverent devotion to one’s ancestors—as a powerful dharmic virtue. When joined with disciplined valor, it becomes worthy of divine/ancestral approval and yields auspicious outcomes, symbolized here by the granting of a boon.
The Pitṛs (ancestral Fathers) address Paraśurāma with honorific epithets, declare their satisfaction with his ancestral devotion and prowess, bless him, and invite him to ask for a boon—setting up the next narrative turn based on what he requests.