Shloka 38
Pulastya’s Tīrtha Enumeration: Sarasvatī, Naimiṣa, Gayā, and Associated Phalaśruti
Chapter 82
त्रीणि शृद्भाणि शुभ्राणि त्रीणि प्रद्रवणानि च । पुष्कराण्यादिसिद्धानि न विद्यस्तत्र कारणम्,तीन शुभ्र पर्वतशिखर, तीन सोते और तीन पुष्कर--ये आदिसिद्ध तीर्थ हैं। ये कब किस कारणसे तीर्थ माने गये? इसका हमें पता नहीं है
trīṇi śṛdbhāṇi śubhrāṇi trīṇi pradravaṇāni ca | puṣkarāṇy ādisiddhāni na vidyās tatra kāraṇam ||
“有三座皎洁的山峰，三处奔流的泉源，以及三座普什迦罗湖——这些皆是被认为自太古便已成立的圣地（tīrtha）。然而，我们并不知晓究竟因何缘由、何种历史原因，它们最初被尊为圣地。”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights reverence for ancient sacred places whose sanctity is accepted as ‘ādi-siddha’ (primevally established), while also modeling humility: not every religious tradition has a recoverable historical cause, yet it can still function as a dharmic guide for pilgrimage and restraint.
In the Vana Parva’s tīrtha-context, the speaker enumerates a set of revered pilgrimage sites—three shining peaks, three springs, and three Puṣkara lakes—and remarks that their origin as tīrthas is unknown, implying their sanctity is rooted in immemorial tradition rather than a remembered event.