Shloka 54
Aṣṭāvakra–Strī-saṃvāda: Dhṛti, hospitality, and a dispute on autonomy
कैलासं मन्दरं हैमं॑ सर्वाननुचचार ह । एवं समूचे कैलास, मन्दराचल और हिमालयपर विचरण करने लगे || ५३ $ || तानतीत्य महाशैलान् कैरातं स्थानमुत्तमम्,उन बड़े-बड़े पर्वतोंको लाँचकर यतचित्त हो उन्होंने किरातवेषधारी महादेवजीके उत्तम स्थानकी परिक्रमा की और उसे मस्तक झुकाकर प्रणाम किया। फिर नीचे पृथ्वीपर उतरकर वे उस स्थानके माहात्म्यसे तत्काल पवित्रात्मा हो गये
kailāsaṃ mandaraṃ haimaṃ sarvān anucacāra ha | evaṃ samūce kailāsa-mandarācala-himālayeṣu vicaraṇaṃ cakruḥ || tān atītya mahāśailān kairātaṃ sthānam uttamam | yatacittāḥ kirātaveṣadhāriṇaṃ mahādevaṃ paricakrmuḥ śirasā ca praṇemuḥ | tataḥ pṛthivīm avaruhya tasya sthānasya māhātmyāt sadyaḥ pavitrātmāno babhūvuḥ ||
Bhishma dijo: Recorrieron Kailāsa, Mandara y las montañas doradas, brillantes como la nieve. Así vagaron por todo Kailāsa, Mandara y el Himālaya. Tras dejar atrás aquellos grandes picos, con la mente refrenada, circunvalaron el excelso recinto de Mahādeva—Śiva en el disfraz de Kirāta, el cazador—y, inclinando la cabeza, rindieron homenaje. Luego, al descender de nuevo a la tierra, por el poder santificador de la grandeza de aquel lugar sagrado, quedaron purificados al instante.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes that disciplined pilgrimage—approaching sacred places with a restrained mind, performing respectful circumambulation, and bowing in humility—has purifying ethical and spiritual effects. Reverence and self-control are presented as practical means of inner cleansing.
The travelers roam across Kailāsa, Mandara, and the Himālaya, then pass beyond the great peaks to an excellent sacred site associated with Śiva in Kirāta (hunter) guise. They circumambulate the site, bow in homage, descend back to the earth, and are immediately purified by the site’s sanctifying power.