CC Madhya 9.4
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 4
sei saba tīrtha sparśi’ mahā-tīrtha kaila
sei chale sei deśera loka nistārila
SYNONYMS
sei saba—all those; tīrtha—holy places; sparśi’—touching; mahā-tīrtha—into great places of pilgrimage; kaila—made them; sei chale—under that plea; sei deśera—of those countries; loka—the people; nistārila—He delivered.
TRANSLATION
On the plea of visiting all those holy places, the Lord converted many thousands of residents and thus delivered them. Simply by touching the holy places, He made them into great places of pilgrimage.
PURPORT
It is said, tīrthī-kurvanti tīrthāni. A tīrtha, or holy place, is a place where great saintly personalities visit or reside. Although the holy places were already places of pilgrimage, they were all purified by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s visit. Many people go to these holy places and leave their sinful activities there, thus becoming free from contamination. When these contaminations pile up, they are counteracted by the visit of great personalities like Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His strict followers. Many kinds of patients come to a hospital, which may be infected by many types of diseases. Actually the hospital is always infected, but the expert physician keeps the hospital sterilized by his expert presence and management. Similarly, places of pilgrimage are always infected by the sins left by the sinners who go there, but when a personality like Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu visits such a place, all contaminations vanish.