Shloka 54
निमज्ज्य हि गतौ तौ च प्रशंसन्तौ नदी च ताम् । मार्गे च मिलिता काचित्सुन्दरी भूषणान्विता
nimajjya hi gatau tau ca praśaṃsantau nadī ca tām | mārge ca militā kācitsundarī bhūṣaṇānvitā
After bathing by immersion, the two went on their way, praising that river. On the road they met a certain beautiful woman, adorned with ornaments.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Jyotirlinga: Oṃkāreśvara
Sthala Purana: After bathing, the brāhmaṇa and the cow proceed praising the Narmadā; on the road they encounter an ornamented beautiful woman—often a narrative device in Purāṇic tīrtha-kathā to introduce a divine test, revelation, or personified śakti of the kṣetra.
Significance: Post-snāna movement ‘back into the world’ tests whether purification matures into discernment; the encounter hints at concealed divinity (tirodhāna) that will later unfold as instruction or grace.
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: teaching
FAQs
The verse highlights tīrtha-snānā (sacred bathing) and gratitude toward the holy river—an outer act that supports inner purification, preparing the devotees’ minds for Shiva-centered remembrance and the unfolding of the Jyotirlinga pilgrimage narrative.
In the Kotirudrasaṃhitā, pilgrimage and tīrtha practices commonly serve as preparatory disciplines before approaching a Jyotirlinga—Saguna Shiva as the Linga—so the devotee arrives with humility, purity, and praise on the tongue.
Perform tīrtha-snānā with a prayerful attitude and follow it with stuti (praise); as a Shaiva practice, one may mentally repeat the Pañcākṣarī—“Om Namaḥ Śivāya”—while traveling to the shrine.