SB 1.19.8
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 8
- tatropajagmur bhuvanaṁ punānā
- mahānubhāvā munayaḥ sa-śiṣyāḥ
- prāyeṇa tīrthābhigamāpadeśaiḥ
- svayaṁ hi tīrthāni punanti santaḥ
SYNONYMS
tatra — there; upajagmuḥ — arrived; bhuvanam — the universe; punānāḥ — those who can sanctify; mahā-anubhāvāḥ — great minds; munayaḥ — thinkers; sa-śiṣyāḥ — along with their disciples; prāyeṇa — almost; tīrtha — place of pilgrimage; abhigama — journey; apadeśaiḥ — on the plea of; svayam — personally; hi — certainly; tīrthāni — all the places of pilgrimage; punanti — sanctify; santaḥ — sages.
TRANSLATION
At that time all the great minds and thinkers, accompanied by their disciples, and sages who could verily sanctify a place of pilgrimage just by their presence, arrived there on the plea of making a pilgrim's journey.
PURPORT
When Mahārāja Parīkṣit sat down on the bank of the Ganges, the news spread in all directions of the universe, and the great-minded sages, who could follow the importance of the occasion, all arrived there on the plea of pilgrimage. Actually they came to meet Mahārāja Parīkṣit and not to take a bath of pilgrimage because all of them were competent enough to sanctify the places of pilgrimage. Common men go to pilgrimage sites to get themselves purified of all sins. Thus the places of pilgrimage become overburdened with the sins of others. But when such sages visit overburdened places of pilgrimage, they sanctify the places by their presence. Therefore the sages who came to meet Mahārāja Parīkṣit were not very much interested in getting themselves purified like common men, but on the plea of taking a bath in that place they came to meet Mahārāja Parīkṣit because they could foresee that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam would be spoken by Śukadeva Gosvāmī. All of them wanted to take advantage of the great occasion.