Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga
Pulastya’s Instruction
गोसहस्रस्य राजेन्द्र फलं विन्दति मानव: । पाणिखाते नर: स्नात्वा तर्पयित्वा च देवता:
gosahasrasya rājendra phalaṁ vindati mānavaḥ | pāṇikhāte naraḥ snātvā tarpayitvā ca devatāḥ ||
大王啊,凡人在手掘水坑中沐浴,继而如法向诸天奉献奠水(tarpana),所得功德等同于施舍千头乳牛。
घुलस्त्य उवाच
The verse teaches that great religious merit is not limited to costly gifts; even a simple act—bathing in a hand-dug water source and performing tarpana to the deities with reverence—can yield merit comparable to donating a thousand cows.
Ghūlastya addresses the king and explains the spiritual reward (phala) of a specific practice: bathing in a hand-dug pit and then offering libations to the deities, equating its merit with the famed charity of gifting a thousand cows.