Pulastya Tīrtha-Yātrā
In the Vana Parva of the Mahābhārata, the great ṛshi Pulastya visits Bhīshma and gives a long list of tīrthas (sacred places) across Bharatavarsha: their names, where they lie, who or what makes each one holy, and the phala (fruit) of visiting them. Pulastya is one of the Saptarshis and a mind-born son of Brahmā. This account to Bhīshma is one of the two large lists of tīrthas in the Vana Parva. The other is Dhaumya’s list to Yudhishṭhira. Pulastya’s list is arranged by the four directions and names hundreds of holy places. It gives the whole sacred geography of the land as the Mahābhārata holds it.
How the account comes down
Yudhishṭhira and the Pāṇḍavas were about to go to the forest, and they thought of going on tīrtha-yātrā (a journey to tīrthas). Bhīshma told them what he had learned long before from Pulastya Maharshi. Pulastya had come to Bhīshma and told him this full list of sacred places. The Mahābhārata keeps the account inside the larger tīrtha section of the Vana Parva and weaves it together with other accounts, to give as full a picture as possible of the tīrtha-yātrā that dharma teaches. (Chapters 82–83)
How the list is arranged
Pulastya went through the holy places of the east, the south, the west and the north. For each tīrtha he named:
- The place, and where it lies in relation to rivers, mountains or well-known landmarks.
- The deva, ṛshi or event that made the place holy.
- The phala (fruit) of visiting, bathing, or giving dāna (gifts) and śrāddha (rites for the ancestors) there.
- In many cases, how many days one must stay to gain the whole phala.
Taken together, the list maps the whole sacred land of Bharatavarsha, from the Himālaya in the north to the southern sea, and from the eastern coast to the western lands. It includes rivers (above all the Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Sarasvatī, Narmadā, Godāvarī and Kāverī), mountains, lakes, meetings of rivers with the sea, and the āśramas of great ṛshis. (Chapters 82–85)
Main tīrthas named by Pulastya
Among the hundreds of tīrthas, a few get special attention.
Rivers. The Gaṅgā is the highest tīrtha, whose very name purifies. Also the Yamunā, the Sarasvatī (especially at Pushkara and at Plakshāvataraṇa, where she enters the earth), the Narmadā, the Godāvarī, the Kāverī and the Sindhu.
Holy lakes and meetings of rivers. Pushkara, the lake made by Brahmā’s lotus and the place of the great Pushkara tīrtha. The meeting of the Gaṅgā, Yamunā and Sarasvatī at Prayāga. Various kuṇḍas (pools) and lakes tied to ṛshis.
Places in the Himālaya. The sources of the great rivers, Badarī (Badrikāśrama), Kedāra and Gaṅgādvāra.
Southern tīrthas. The banks of the Godāvarī, the sea at the southern tip, and places linked with Agastya’s stay in the south.
Places for the ancestors. Gayā, named as the best tīrtha for śrāddha and piṇḍadāna (the offering of rice balls); places on the Phalgu; and certain places where the pitṛs are always present and are easily reached through ritual. (Chapters 82–85)
The phala of tīrtha-yātrā and of tapas
A central point of Pulastya’s list is that tīrtha-snāna (bathing at a holy place) is equal to other hard practices of tapas (austerity), yajña and dāna, and sometimes greater. Again and again the account says that the puṇya (merit) of visiting a given tīrtha equals the puṇya of certain great yajñas, such as the Aśvamedha or the Rājasūya, or of certain austerities kept for a year. In this way tīrtha-yātrā becomes a path of dharma and puṇya for those who cannot pay for costly yajñas or keep severe tapas. (Chapters 82–85)
Pulastya’s list and Dhaumya’s list
Pulastya’s account to Bhīshma and Dhaumya’s account to Yudhishṭhira (Chapters 86–90) go together. Dhaumya’s list is more closely fitted to the Pāṇḍavas’ actual journey. Pulastya’s is the full catalogue of the whole sacred land. Together they give the Vana Parva its wide range as a text on sacred geography.
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 82–85 (Pulastya’s account to Bhīshma)
- Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 86–90 (Dhaumya’s account to Yudhishṭhira)