Adhyaya 158

Mahādeva (Śiva) tells Umā of a sacred ford (tīrtha) called Picu-mandāraka on the bank of the Sābhramatī/Bhramatī, praised as disease-removing and purifying. Bathing there and worshiping Ravi (Sūrya) is said to grant desired results. Its sanctity is explained by a myth: when the Devas were defeated by the Dānavas, they became subtle and hid within particular trees—Śiva in the bilva, Viṣṇu in the aśvattha, Indra in the śirīṣa, and the Sun in the nimba—until Viṣṇu subdued the Daitya Kolāhala. Because the gods are thus identified with their refuge-trees, the destruction of such trees is forbidden. From the Sun’s resting-place arises the Picu-mandāraka. The chapter enjoins reciting twelve names/epithets of Sūrya, promising merit, wealth, progeny, and uplift across births; and at the supreme Nimbārka tīrtha, bathing and drinking its water bestows liberation (mokṣa).