Shloka 85
Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga
Pulastya’s Instruction
तदनन्तर तीनों लोकोंमें विख्यात त्रिविष्टपतीर्थमें जाय। वहाँ वैतरणी नामक पुण्यमयी पापनाशिनी नदी है ।। तत्र स्नात्वार्चयित्वा च शूलपारणिं वृषध्वजम् | सर्वपापविशुद्धात्मा गच्छेत परमां गतिम्,उसमें स्नान करके शूलपाणि भगवान् शंकरकी पूजा करनेसे मनुष्य सब पापोंसे शुद्धचित्त हो परम गतिको प्राप्त होता है
tadanantaraṁ trīṁl lokānāṁ vikhyāte trivisṭapatīrtheṁ yāyāt | tatra vaitaraṇī nāmakaṁ puṇyamayī pāpanāśinī nadī asti || tatra snātvārcayitvā ca śūlapāṇiṁ vṛṣadhvajam | sarvapāpaviśuddhātmā gacchet paramāṁ gatim ||
Kế đó, hãy đến bến thánh Triviṣṭapa, nổi danh khắp ba cõi. Ở đó có dòng sông thiêng mang tên Vaitaraṇī, dòng nước diệt trừ tội lỗi. Tắm mình nơi ấy và thờ phụng Śiva—Đấng cầm đinh ba, cờ hiệu mang hình bò—thì con người được gột sạch mọi lỗi lầm trong tâm, và đạt đến cảnh giới tối thượng.
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that sincere pilgrimage (tīrtha-yātrā), combined with worship of Śiva, functions as a discipline of inner purification: by bathing in a sanctifying river and offering devotion, one becomes cleansed of moral taint and oriented toward the highest spiritual end (paramā gati).
The speaker gives practical guidance in a sequence of pilgrimage instructions: go next to the renowned Triviṣṭapa-tīrtha, bathe in the Vaitaraṇī river there, and worship Śiva (Śūlapāṇi, Vṛṣadhvaja). The promised result is purification from sins and attainment of the supreme destination.