Shloka 142

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

Pulastya’s Instruction

Devanagari script

पृथूदकमिति ख्यातं कार्तिकेयस्य वै नृप । तत्राभिषेकं कुर्वीत पितृदेवार्चने रत:,राजेन्द्र! तदनन्तर कार्तिकेयके त्रिभुवनविख्यात पृथूदकतीर्थकी यात्रा करे और वहाँ स्नान करके देवताओं तथा पितरोंकी पूजामें संलग्न रहे

Transliteration

pṛthūdakam iti khyātaṃ kārtikeyasya vai nṛpa | tatrābhiṣekaṃ kurvīta pitṛdevārcane rataḥ ||

Translation

古拉斯提亚说道：“噢，大王，有一处圣地名为普利图达迦（Pṛthūdaka），属迦尔蒂凯亚（Kārttikeya）所有。于彼处当行灌沐礼（abhiṣeka，仪式沐浴），并恒常致力于敬奉诸天与祖灵。因此，既已巡礼这处举世闻名的迦尔蒂凯亚圣渡，当于彼处沐浴，并以恭敬之心行供献——使自我净化与对神圣与祖先之秩序源头的感恩相合。”

Word by Word

पृथूदकम्Pr̥thūdaka (a sacred place/ford; lit. ‘abundant water’)

इतिthus; as

ख्यातम्known; famed

कार्तिकेयस्यof Kārttikeya

वैindeed; certainly

नृपO king

तत्रthere

अभिषेकम्ablution; ceremonial bathing

कुर्वीतshould do; should perform

पितृदेव-अर्चनेin the worship of the Fathers and the gods

रतःengaged; devoted

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

Ghūlastya (speaker)

nṛpa (the king addressed)

Pṛthūdaka (tīrtha)

Kārttikeya (Skanda)

pitṛs (ancestors)

devas (gods)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that pilgrimage is not merely travel but disciplined dharma: one should purify oneself through sacred bathing and sustain reverence through worship of both devas and pitṛs, acknowledging cosmic order and ancestral obligations.

What is happening in the narrative?

Ghūlastya instructs the king about the famed tīrtha called Pṛthūdaka associated with Kārttikeya, advising him to go there, perform ritual bathing/abhiṣeka, and engage in worship of gods and ancestors as part of the prescribed pilgrimage sequence.