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 |
Ghūlastya nói: “Hỡi bậc vương giả tối thượng, hãy thực hiện nghi lễ tắm gội tại một tīrtha, rồi chuyên tâm thờ phụng chư thiên và tổ tiên. Khi tâm linh đã được gột sạch mọi tội lỗi, người hành hương sẽ đạt công đức ngang với lễ tế 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.