Upanishads · Mahā 3.2
॥
Devanāgarī
सार्धत्रिकोटितीर्थेषु स्नात्वा गृहमुपागतः स्वोदन्तं कथयामास ऋभुं नत्वा महायशाः
Transliteration (IAST)
sārdhatrikoṭitīrtheṣu snātvā gṛhamupāgataḥ svodantaṃ kathayāmāsa ṛbhuṃ natvā mahāyaśāḥ
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
सार्ध-त्रि-कोटि-तीर्थेषुsārdha-tri-koṭi-tīrtheṣuin three and a half crores of holy places; at three and a half koṭis of shrines
स्नात्वा गृहम् उपागतःsnātvā gṛham upāgataḥhaving bathed, he came home; having made ablution, he arrived at the house
स्व-उदन्तम् कथयामासsva-udantam kathayāmāsahe told his own story; he related his account
ऋभुम् नत्वा महा-यशाःṛbhum natvā mahā-yaśāḥbowing to Ṛbhu, the far-famed one; having bowed before Ṛbhu, the glorious one
Translation
Having bathed in three and a half crores of holy places, he came home and, bowing to Ṛbhu, the far-famed one told his story.
Version
861a5c34540e · published Jul 29, 2026, 6:29:20 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The number is named not for precision but for completeness: three and a half koṭis is the tradition's constant count of tīrthas — simply “all there are”.
Nidāgha went round everything. Bathed everywhere.
And here is the essential detail. On arriving, he does not report merits and does not boast of the circuit. He bows to the teacher and begins to tell what has happened to him.
The next verse will say it outright: from the power of those ablutions a pondering rose in his mind.
Worth marking is how the book views pilgrimage. Not as a stock of merits, but as that which changes one's sight. The fruit of visiting the shrines is not a store of good but a question.