Shloka 70
Pulastya’s Tīrtha Enumeration: Sarasvatī, Naimiṣa, Gayā, and Associated Phalaśruti
Chapter 82
शड्कुकर्णेश्वरं देवमर्चयित्वा युधिष्ठिर । अश्वमेधाद् दशगुणं प्रवदन्ति मनीषिण:,युधिष्ठिर! वहाँ शंकुकर्णेश्वर शिवकी पूजा करनेसे मनीषी पुरुष अश्वमेधसे दस गुने पुण्यफलकी प्राप्ति बताते हैं
Śaṅkukarṇeśvaraṃ devam arcayitvā Yudhiṣṭhira, aśvamedhād daśaguṇaṃ pravadanti manīṣiṇaḥ.
Ghūlastya nói: “Hỡi Yudhiṣṭhira, chỉ cần thờ phụng đấng thần linh Śaṅkukarṇeśvara (Śiva), các bậc hiền trí tuyên rằng người ấy đạt công đức gấp mười lần so với lễ tế Aśvamedha.”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse elevates sincere devotion at a sacred Śiva shrine—worship of Śaṅkukarṇeśvara—as yielding exceptionally high spiritual merit, even surpassing grand royal sacrifices like the Aśvamedha. It implies that dharmic fruit is not measured only by scale or expense of ritual, but by the sanctity of the act and the object of devotion.
Ghūlastya addresses Yudhiṣṭhira and recommends worship at the Śaṅkukarṇeśvara shrine, reporting the traditional assessment of sages that such worship grants ten times the merit of an Aśvamedha. The statement functions as guidance within the Vana Parva’s broader pilgrimage-and-instruction setting.