Shloka 88
Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga
Pulastya’s Instruction
अग्निष्टोमातिरात्रा भ्यां फलं विन्दति भारत | तीर्थ च सर्वदेवानां स्नात्वा भरतसत्तम
agniṣṭomātirātrābhyāṁ phalaṁ vindati bhārata | tīrthaṁ ca sarvadevānāṁ snātvā bharatasattama ||
古拉斯提亚（Ghūlastya）说道：“婆罗多（Bhārata）啊，人可得与阿耆尼什托摩（Agniṣṭoma）与阿提罗多罗（Atirātra）两种苏摩祭同等之果报；而婆罗多族中最胜者啊，在此圣地渡口沐浴——此处被视为诸天共同的朝圣之所——亦能获得同样的净化功德。”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that sincere pilgrimage-bathing at a revered tīrtha can confer merit comparable to great Vedic Soma-sacrifices, emphasizing accessible paths to purification and dharmic reward beyond costly ritual performance.
A speaker named Ghūlastya is describing the spiritual efficacy of a particular tīrtha: he tells the Bharata hero that bathing there yields the same religious fruit as performing the Agniṣṭoma and Atirātra sacrifices, thereby encouraging tīrtha-yātrā during the Pāṇḍavas’ forest sojourn.