History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c74.92

v5.c74.92

The Tristhalī-setu (pp. 1-3) has a long discussion about the saṅkalpa¹³⁰⁷ (declaration) to be made at the time of starting on a pilgrimage. The conclusions reached are that the declaration should not include the names of all the holy places intended to be visited, but should expressly state the last one up to which one desires to go, that persons from southern or western India should make a saṅkalpa about Gayā (and pilgrimage to Prayāga and Kāśī will be implied) and that a person from East India should make a saṅkalpa about Prayāga (and pilgrimage to Gayā and Kāśī will be included as a matter of course) and that (as an alternative method) a man from south or west India should at first make a saṅkalpa about pilgrimage to Prayāga, then while in Prayāga he should make a saṅkalpa about visiting Kāśī and then in Kāśī he should make a saṅkalpa about visiting Gayā. A pilgrim from Eastern India should first make a saṅkalpa about Gayā, then, while in Gayā, he should make one about Kāśī and so on. The Tīrthaprakāśa (p. 326) appears to criticize the first method proposed by the Tristhalīsetu and states its own view to be that those who intend to visit many sacred places should make a saṅkalpa in the form 'I shall perform pilgrimage' (Tīrtha-yātrāmaham kariṣye). The Tīrthaprakāśa, however, approves of the second method proposed as an alternative.