Shloka 170
Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga
Pulastya’s Instruction
नरेश्वर! तदनन्तर तीर्थसेवी पुरुष अनरकतीर्थमें जाय। राजन! उसमें स्नान करनेसे मनुष्य कभी दुर्गतिमें नहीं पड़ता। महीपते! पुरुषसिंह! वहाँ स्वयं ब्रह्मा नारायण आदि देवताओंके साथ नित्य निवास करते हैं ।। सांनिध्य॑ तत्र राजेन्द्र रुद्रपत्न्या: कुरूद्गवह | अभिगम्य च तां देवीं न दुर्गतिमवाप्रुयात्,कुरुश्रेष्ठ! महाराज! वहाँ रुद्रपत्नी दुर्गीजीका स्थान भी है। उस देवीके निकट जानेसे मनुष्य कभी दुर्गतिमें नहीं पड़ता
nareśvara! tadanantaraṁ tīrthasevī puruṣo ’narakatīrthaṁ gacchet | rājan! tatra snānena manuṣyo na kadācid durgatiṁ prāpnoti | mahīpate! puruṣasiṁha! tatra svayaṁ brahmā nārāyaṇaś ca devaiḥ sārdhaṁ nityaṁ nivasantīti || sānnidhyaṁ tatra rājendra rudrapatnyāḥ kurūdvaha | abhigamya ca tāṁ devīṁ na durgatim avāpnuyāt, kuruśreṣṭha ||
“噫，人中之主！其后，行朝圣者当往名为阿那罗迦圣渡（Anaraka-tīrtha）之处。大王啊，于彼沐浴者，永不堕入恶趣。护地之君、众人之最胜者啊，据说梵天自身与那罗延，并诸天众，恒常居于彼处。万王之王、承持俱卢族统者啊，彼处亦有鲁陀罗之妃的临在；亲近彼女神者，俱卢中最胜者啊，便不至遭厄运，亦不堕卑下之境。”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Pilgrimage undertaken with reverence—especially bathing at a sanctified tīrtha and approaching the Goddess—functions as a dharmic act of purification and protection, said to prevent ‘durgati’ (a fallen or miserable destiny) by aligning the pilgrim with divine presence.
The speaker instructs the king about the next stop in a sequence of pilgrimage sites: Anaraka-tīrtha. The passage praises its power—bathing there and visiting the nearby seat of Rudra’s consort (identified here with Durgā) ensures freedom from misfortune—while emphasizing that major deities (Brahmā and Nārāyaṇa) are believed to dwell there continually.