Adhyaya 212

Chapter PP.6.212 presents a tīrtha-māhātmya within a royal teaching frame: Kośalā/Indraprastha (Śakraprastha) is proclaimed the supreme pilgrimage place, able to grant both worldly aims and liberation (mokṣa). A brāhmaṇa intent on departing for Nārāyaṇa’s abode and/or Badarikāśrama is stopped and admonished, through layered narration and proverbial analogies, not to abandon Kośalā—the Viṣṇu-beloved “daughter” that bestows desirelessness and mokṣa. Śrī Bhagavān Viṣṇu then manifests in a radiant form, explicitly ranking Indraprastha/Dakṣiṇa-Kośalā as foremost among all tīrthas, and affirming that He alone, as the inner Self, grants fruits everywhere. The brāhmaṇa attains entry into Viṣṇu’s state; the southern brāhmaṇas fast, die there, praise Hari, and receive sārūpya and eventual sevā-bhāva. The place is publicly named Dakṣiṇa-Kośalā; Uttara-Kośalā is linked with Rāma’s manifestation and Rāvaṇa’s slaying. Hearing this account is said to cleanse Kali’s impurities and lead to Viṣṇu’s feet.