ययातिरुवाच । चंडिकाया द्विजश्रेष्ठ कथं तत्राश्रमोऽभवत् । कस्मिन्काले फलं तेन किं दृष्टेन भवेन्नृणाम्
yayātiruvāca | caṃḍikāyā dvijaśreṣṭha kathaṃ tatrāśramo'bhavat | kasminkāle phalaṃ tena kiṃ dṛṣṭena bhavennṛṇām
Yayāti said: “O best of brāhmaṇas, how did Caṇḍikā’s hermitage come to be there? At what time did its fruit arise, and what benefit do people gain merely by beholding it?”
King Yayāti
Tirtha: Caṇḍikā-āśrama
Type: kshetra
Listener: Dvijaśreṣṭha (best of brāhmaṇas)
Scene: King Yayāti, hands folded, questions a venerable brāhmaṇa about Caṇḍikā’s hermitage—its origin, the era of its fruit, and the benefit of mere sight; the hermitage lies in the background.
Pilgrimage tradition values not only rituals but also ‘darśana’—the sanctifying power of seeing a holy place and knowing its origin.
Caṇḍikāśrama, whose origin and benefits are being requested.
None; it is an inquiry about time, origin, and the merit of darśana.