Pulastya’s Tīrtha Enumeration: Sarasvatī, Naimiṣa, Gayā, and Associated Phalaśruti
Chapter 82
प्रभासते यथा सोम: सो<श्चमेधं च विन्दति । वरदान ततो गच्छेत् तीर्थ भरतसत्तम,ऐसा करनेवाला यात्री चन्द्रमाके समान प्रकाशित होता है। साथ ही उसे अश्वमेधयज्ञका फल मिलता है। भरतश्रेष्ठ! वहाँसे वरदानतीर्थमें जाय
prabhāsate yathā somaḥ so ’śvamedhaṃ ca vindati | varadānaṃ tato gacchet tīrtha bharatasattama |
凡行此戒者,光辉皎洁如月,并得与马祭(Aśvamedha)等同之功德。噫,婆罗多族之最胜者!自彼处当复前往名为“施愿”(Varadāna)之圣渡口——叙述者如是引导朝圣者继续前行,将巡礼诸圣地(tīrtha)呈现为净化行持、成就崇高灵果之伦理修行。
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Pilgrimage and prescribed observances at tīrthas are portrayed as powerful dharmic disciplines: they purify the practitioner and can confer merit likened to the highest Vedic sacrifices, symbolized here by the Aśvamedha and the Moon-like radiance.
The speaker (Ghūlastya) is guiding the listener through a sequence of sacred places: after describing the fruit of a particular practice, he instructs that the pilgrim should next go from there to the tīrtha named Varadāna.