śuśrūṣoḥ śraddadhānasya vāsudeva-kathā-ruciḥ |
syān mahat-sevayā viprāḥ puṇya-tīrtha-niṣevaṇāt ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.2.16)
“O learned ones, taste for discussion of Vāsudeva shall come about for one possessed of śraddhā and desirous to hear [such discussion] as a result of service to a mahat as an outcome of pilgrimage to a holy place.”
śuśrūṣoḥ śraddadhānasya vāsudeva-kathā-ruciḥ Read on →
arcye viṣṇau śilā‑dhīr guruṣu nara‑matir vaiṣṇave jāti‑buddhir
viṣṇor vā vaiṣṇavānāṁ kali‑mala‑mathane pāda‑tīrthe’mbu‑buddhiḥ |
śrī-viṣṇor nāmni mantre sakala‑kaluṣa‑he śabda‑sāmānya‑buddhir
viṣṇau sarveśvareśe tad‑itara‑sama‑dhīr yasya vā nārakī saḥ ||
(Unknown source; attributed to a southerner in Padyāvalī: 114; cited in Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.26)
“One who has the notion of a stone in relation to a Deity of Viṣṇu [e.g., a Śālagrāma-śilā], the idea of a man in relation to gurus, the notion of a caste in relation to a Vaiṣṇava, the notion of water in relation to the sacred foot-wash of Viṣṇu or the Vaiṣṇavas, which is a destroyer of the contamination of Kali, the notion of an ordinary word in relation to the name of Śrī Viṣṇu, which is a vanquisher of all sin, or the notion of equality with those other than himself in relation to Viṣṇu, the Īśvara of all Īśvaras, is destined for Nāraka.”
arcye viṣṇau śilā‑dhīr guruṣu nara‑matir vaiṣṇave jāti‑buddhir Read on →
tīrthe tīrthe nirmalaṁ sādhu-vṛndaṁ
vṛnde vṛnde tattva-cintānuvāda |
vāde vāde jāyate tattva-bodhaḥ
bodhe bodhe bhāsate candra-cūḍaḥ ||
(Śuka-rambhā-samvāda: 3)
“In tīrtha after tīrtha, there are assemblies of faultless sādhus. In assembly after assembly, there is deliberation on and explanation of tattva. In vāda after vāda, there arises realization of tattva, and in realization after realization, the moon-crowned one [i.e., Śiva] shines.”
tīrthe tīrthe nirmalaṁ sādhu-vṛndaṁ Read on →
kiṁ durāpādanaṁ teṣāṁ puṁsām uddāma-cetasām |
yair āśritas tīrtha-padaś caraṇo vyasanātyayaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.23.42)
“What is difficult to attain for those persons of unfettered mind [i.e., of strong mind, or, even alternately, of uncontrolled mind] who take shelter in the feet of he whose feet are the origin of all tīrthas, the feet which bring about the cessation of [all] plight [i.e., saṁsāra itself]?”
kiṁ durāpādanaṁ teṣāṁ puṁsām uddāma-cetasām Read on →
gaṅgādi-puṇya-tīrtheṣu yo naraḥ snātum icchati |
yaḥ karoti satāṁ saṅgāṁ tayoḥ sat-saṅgamo varaḥ ||
(Padma Purāṇa: 5.98.78; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.256)
“Between a human being who desires to swim in purifying tīrthas such as the Gaṅgā and one who engages in association with sādhus, the one who associates with sādhus is superior.”
gaṅgādi-puṇya-tīrtheṣu yo naraḥ snātum icchati Read on →
na hy am-mayāni tīrthāni na devā mṛc-chilā-mayāḥ |
te punanty uru-kālena darśanād eva sādhavaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.84.11; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.204, Bhakti Sandarbha 184)
[Kṛṣṇa:] “Are places made of water not tīrthas? [They are.] Are figures made of earth and stone are not devas? [They are.] They [certainly] purify [a living being] over the course of a long time. Sādhus [however] purify just by sight [i.e., immediately, and should thus be considered the greatest of tīrthas and the greatest of devas].”
na hy am-mayāni tīrthāni na devā mṛc-chilā-mayāḥ Read on →
vidyā-tapaḥ-prāṇa-nirodha-maitrī-
tīrthābhiṣeka-vrata-dāna-japyaiḥ |
nātyanta-śuddhiṁ labhate’ntar-ātmā
yathā hṛdi-sthe bhagavaty anante ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 12.3.48)
“The inner self does not attain such great purification by learning [i.e., worship of the devatās], austerity, prāṇāyāma, good will, bathing at tīrthas, rites, charity, or japa as [its does] when Bhagavān Ananta is situated in the heart.”
vidyā-tapaḥ-prāṇa-nirodha-maitrī Read on →
anarthi-tarpaṇaṁ vittaṁ cittam adhyāna-darpaṇam |
atīrtha-sarpaṇaṁ dehaṁ paryante śocyatāṁ vrajet ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha)
“Wealth that does not satisfy the needy, a mind that is not a mirror for meditation, and a body that does not go to the tīrthas shall become lamentable in the end.”
anarthi-tarpaṇaṁ vittaṁ Read on →
mantre tīrthe dvije deve daivajñe bheṣaje gurau |
yādṛśī bhāvanā yasya siddhir bhavati tādṛśī ||
(Skanda Purāṇga: 5.3.227.38–9; cited in Pañcatantra: 5.96)
“In regard to a mantra, tīrtha, brāhmaṇa, deva, astrologer, medicine, or guru—as is one’s attitude (bhāvanā), so is one’s attainment.”
mantre tīrthe dvije deve Read on →
bhavad-vidhā bhāgavatās tīrtha-bhūtāḥ svayaṁ prabho
tīrthī-kurvanti tīrthāni svāntaḥsthena gadā-bhṛtā
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.13.10; cited in Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.1.63)
[Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira to Vidura:] “O master, devotees like you are themselves manifest tīrthas. They make the tīrthas tīrthas by the presence of the Club-bearer [i.e., Bhagavān] within their hearts.”
bhavad-vidhā bhāgavatās Read on →
