Shloka 63
Prayaga-mahatmya
Glory of Prayaga and the Magha Bath at Triveni
पश्चाच्चक्रिणि लीयंते प्रयागे माघमज्जिनः । उपस्पृशति यो माघे मकरार्के सितासिते ॥ ६३ ॥
paścāccakriṇi līyaṃte prayāge māghamajjinaḥ | upaspṛśati yo māghe makarārke sitāsite || 63 ||
Thereafter, those who immerse themselves in the Māgha bath at Prayāga ultimately merge into the Cakrin, Lord Viṣṇu. Whoever performs the purificatory ablution in the month of Māgha, when the sun is in Makara (Capricorn)—whether in the bright or the dark fortnight—attains that same supreme fruit.
Suta (narrating the Narada Purana’s Tirtha-Mahatmya section; dialogue context traditionally traces teachings through Narada’s lineage)
Vrata: Māgha-snāna (Māgha-vrata / Māgha-māsa observance)
Primary Rasa: bhakti
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It declares that Māgha स्नान (Māgha bathing) at Prayāga is a direct means to attain absorption in Viṣṇu (the Cakrin), presenting the tīrtha-rite as mokṣa-oriented purification.
By naming Viṣṇu as the final refuge and fruit of the vow, it frames the ritual act (snāna/upasparśa) as devotionally directed—an offering of body and mind toward the Cakrin.
Jyotiṣa (Vedic astrology/kalā-nirṇaya) is implied through the timing marker “makarārke”—the rite is emphasized when the sun transits Makara, and it applies across both śukla and kṛṣṇa pakṣas.