Shloka 172

Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga

Pulastya’s Instruction

Devanagari script

नारायणं चाभिगम्य पद्मना भमरिंदम | राजमानो महाराज विष्णुलोकं च गच्छति,शत्रुदमन महाराज! पद्मनाभ भगवान्‌ नारायणके निकट जाकर (उनका दर्शन करके) मनुष्य तेजस्वी रूप धारण करके भगवान्‌ विष्णुके लोकमें जाता है। पुरुषरत्न! सब देवताओंके तीर्थोंमें स्नान करके मनुष्य सब दु:खोंसे मुक्त हो चन्द्रमाके समान प्रकाशित होता है

Transliteration

nārāyaṇaṃ cābhigamya padmanābhaṃ marindama | rājamāno mahārāja viṣṇulokaṃ ca gacchati ||

Translation

Ghūlastya nói: “Hỡi bậc chế ngự kẻ thù, hỡi đại vương—khi đến gần và chiêm bái Nārāyaṇa, Đấng Padmanābha (Liên Hoa Tề), con người trở nên rạng ngời và đạt đến cõi của Viṣṇu. Và hỡi bậc ưu tú trong loài người, nhờ tắm ở các bến thiêng của hết thảy chư thiên, người ấy được giải thoát mọi sầu khổ và sáng như trăng.”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'nārāyaṇam', 'definition': 'Nārāyaṇa (Viṣṇu), the supreme divine person

• object of devotion'}, {'term': 'abhigamya', 'definition': 'having approached, having gone near (in reverence)'}, {'term': 'padmanābham', 'definition': 'the Lotus-naveled (epithet of Viṣṇu/Nārāyaṇa)'}, {'term': 'arindama', 'definition': 'subduer of enemies (royal epithet)'}, {'term': 'rājamānaḥ', 'definition': 'shining, resplendent

• appearing in glory'}, {'term': 'mahārāja', 'definition': 'great king (honorific address)'}, {'term': 'viṣṇulokam', 'definition': 'the world/realm of Viṣṇu

• divine abode attained by merit and devotion'}, {'term': 'gacchati', 'definition': 'goes, attains'}, {'term': 'tīrtha', 'definition': 'sacred ford/pilgrimage place

• a site of ritual bathing and merit'}, {'term': 'snāna', 'definition': 'ritual bath

• purificatory immersion'}, {'term': 'duḥkha', 'definition': 'sorrow, suffering, affliction'}, {'term': 'mukta', 'definition': 'freed, released'}]

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Ghulastya
• Nārāyaṇa
• Padmanābha (Viṣṇu)
• Viṣṇuloka
• tīrthas (sacred pilgrimage fords)
• the gods (devas)
• the moon (as simile)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Reverent approach and vision of Nārāyaṇa (Padmanābha) and purificatory pilgrimage-bathing are presented as powerful means to inner purification: they remove sorrow, confer spiritual radiance, and culminate in attaining Viṣṇu’s realm.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker (Ghulastya) addresses a great king with honorific epithets, praising the fruit of devotion to Nārāyaṇa and the merit of bathing at divine tīrthas, describing the devotee’s transformation into a radiant state and the attainment of Viṣṇuloka.