Shloka 21

Tīrtha-Māhātmya: Catalog of Sacred Places and the Supreme Inner Tīrtha

Devanagari script

नन्दितीर्थं मुक्तिदं च कोटितीर्थफलप्रदम् / नासिक्यं च महातीर्थं गोवर्धनमतः परम्

Transliteration

nanditīrthaṃ muktidaṃ ca koṭitīrthaphalapradam / nāsikyaṃ ca mahātīrthaṃ govardhanamataḥ param

Translation

نندیتیर्थ موکش دینے والا اور کروڑوں تیرتھوں کے پھل کے برابر پُنّیہ عطا کرنے والا کہا گیا ہے۔ ناسِکْیَ بھی مہاتیرتھ ہے؛ اور گووردھن ان سب سے بھی برتر قرار دیا گیا ہے۔

Word by Word

• नन्दितीर्थम्: Nandi-tirtha (a sacred ford)
• नन्दितीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नन्दि-तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक; नन्दि + तीर्थ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (नन्देः तीर्थम्)

• मुक्तिदम्: granting liberation
• मुक्तिदम्: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुक्ति-द (प्रातिपदिक; मुक्ति + द)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मुक्तेः दः/दातृ—‘giver of liberation’)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• कोटितीर्थफलप्रदम्: bestowing the fruit of a crore of pilgrimages
• कोटितीर्थफलप्रदम्: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कोटि-तीर्थ-फल-प्रद (प्रातिपदिक; कोटि + तीर्थ + फल + प्रद)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (कोटितीर्थस्य फलम् इव फलम् प्रददाति)

• नासिक्यम्: Nāsikya (a tirtha/place)
• नासिक्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नासिक्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• महातीर्थम्: the great tirtha
• महातीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा-तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक; महा + तीर्थ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (महच्च तत् तीर्थम्)

• गोवर्धनम्: Govardhana (hill/tirtha)
• गोवर्धनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोवर्धन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• अतः: therefore; hence
• अतः: Sambandha (Logical connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; हेत्वर्थ/तस्मात्-अर्थक (therefore/from this)

• परम्: supreme; highest
• परम्: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (श्रेष्ठम्/उत्तमम्)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (speaking to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Tīrtha-sevā and reverence to supremely sacred places as a support for purification and liberation.

Vedantic Theme: Sādhana through śraddhā and saṃskāra: external sacred supports can orient the mind toward mokṣa.

Application: Undertake pilgrimage with devotion and ethical discipline; treat sacred places as occasions for japa, dāna, and inner purification rather than mere tourism.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: tirtha (sacred ford) and sacred hill

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.81.22 (Vishnupāda-udaka tīrthas); Garuda Purana 1.81.23-24 (inner tīrtha: dhyāna, indriya-nigraha); Garuda Purana 1.81.25 (for bheda-darśins, tīrtha-gamana enjoined)

Characters & Entities

• Nanditirtha
• Nasikya (Nashik)
• Govardhana

FAQs

What is the importance of tīrthas (holy places) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse highlights tīrthas as spiritually potent sites where pilgrimage and worship can yield vast merit (koti-tīrtha-phala) and even support liberation-oriented practice (muktidam).

How does this verse explain the path of the soul in Garuda Purana?

Rather than describing post-death travel directly, the verse points to preparatory dharma—seeking purifying sacred places and merit—which the Garuda Purana treats as supportive causes for a better destiny and moksha-oriented purification.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Undertake pilgrimage with ethical discipline—truthfulness, charity, and devotion—treating tīrtha-yātrā not as tourism but as a vow-based practice aimed at inner purification and remembrance of the divine.