एतेषामपि तीर्थानां चतुर्णामपि सत्तम । पंचमं मणिकर्ण्याख्यं मनावेयवशुद्धिदम्
eteṣāmapi tīrthānāṃ caturṇāmapi sattama | paṃcamaṃ maṇikarṇyākhyaṃ manāveyavaśuddhidam
Ô le meilleur des vertueux, même parmi ces quatre tīrthas, il en est un cinquième nommé Maṇikarṇī (Maṇikarṇikā), qui accorde une purification parfaite, jusque dans l’intime de l’être, rendant l’esprit et le corps sans tache.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue context, typically Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Maṇikarṇī / Maṇikarṇikā
Type: ghat
Listener: Agastya
Scene: Five tīrtha emblems arranged like petals; the fifth (Maṇikarṇikā) shines brightest; a pilgrim’s mind depicted as a dark cloud clearing into a clear sky as he steps into the water; subtle aura around the head and heart indicating manas-śuddhi.
Sacred geography is graded: Maṇikarṇikā is proclaimed a culminating tīrtha whose contact purifies the whole person—inner mind and outer conduct.
Maṇikarṇikā (also styled Maṇikarṇī), elevated as a ‘fifth’ preeminent tīrtha.
No explicit rite is stated; the implied practice is tīrtha-sevā—approach, bathing, and reverent engagement that yields śuddhi (purification).