वारुणादपि चाग्नेयाद्वायव्यादपि चेंद्रतः । मंत्रस्थानादपि परं ब्राह्मं स्नानमिदं परम् । ब्राह्मस्नानेन यः स्नातः स बाह्याभ्यंतरं शुचिः
vāruṇādapi cāgneyādvāyavyādapi ceṃdrataḥ | maṃtrasthānādapi paraṃ brāhmaṃ snānamidaṃ param | brāhmasnānena yaḥ snātaḥ sa bāhyābhyaṃtaraṃ śuciḥ
Plus élevé que le bain de Varuṇa, plus élevé que le bain d’Agni, plus élevé que le bain de Vāyu, et plus élevé encore que le bain d’Indra—plus élevé même que le simple « lieu des mantras »—tel est ce bain suprême, le bain brāhmique. Celui qui s’est baigné par le Brāhma-snāna devient pur au dehors comme au dedans.
Skanda (deduced from Dharmāraṇya-khaṇḍa narrative style within Brahmakhaṇḍa)
Tirtha: Brāhma-snāna (conceptual)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A contemplative ascetic at a riverbank performs snāna while a luminous ‘brahmic’ radiance rises from the heart-lotus, surpassing the four elemental deities who stand as witnesses (Varuṇa with noose, Agni with flames, Vāyu with billowing scarf, Indra with vajra).
The highest purification is the Brāhma-bath—purity rooted in Brahman/inner sanctity—surpassing merely external ritual categories.
The verse emphasizes the principle of inner sanctification rather than naming a single tīrtha; it fits Dharmāraṇya’s teaching that true tīrtha is purity of consciousness.
It recommends ‘Brāhma snāna’—a superior purificatory bath understood as mantra-informed, inwardly grounded purification.