Shloka 23
बदरपाचन-तीर्थमाहात्म्यम् | Badarapācana Tīrtha Māhātmya
Indratīrtha and the Austerities of Srucāvatī & Arundhatī
तत्राप्लुत्य ततो ब्रह्मा सह देवै: प्रभु: पुरा,ससर्ज तीर्थानि तथा देवतानां यथाविधि । पूर्वकालमें देवताओंसहित भगवान् ब्रह्माने वहाँ स्नान करके विधिपूर्वक देवतीर्थोंकी रचना की थी
tatrāplutya tato brahmā saha devaiḥ prabhuḥ purā | sasarja tīrthāni tathā devatānāṃ yathāvidhi ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : Là, aux temps anciens, le Seigneur Brahmā, avec les dieux, s’y baigna puis, selon le rite prescrit, institua les tīrtha—les gués sacrés—et les lieux divins d’ablution, sanctifiant cet endroit par une consécration réglée et conforme à l’ordonnance rituelle.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sacredness is not merely a matter of place but of dharmic order: even divine acts of consecration are performed yathāvidhi—according to prescribed rule—highlighting the Mahābhārata’s emphasis on disciplined, lawful practice as the basis of religious merit.
The narrator states that in ancient times Brahmā, accompanied by the gods, bathed at that location and then established the tīrthas—divine pilgrimage/bathing sites—through proper ritual procedure, explaining the origin and authority of the sacred spot being described.