ईश्वर उवाच । तस्यैव दक्षिणे देवि तस्माद्गव्यूतिमात्रतः । पातालगामिनी गंगा संस्थिता पापनाशिनी
īśvara uvāca | tasyaiva dakṣiṇe devi tasmādgavyūtimātrataḥ | pātālagāminī gaṃgā saṃsthitā pāpanāśinī
Īśvara dit : Ô Déesse, juste au sud de ce lieu même, à la distance d’un seul gavyūti, est établie la Gaṅgā qui descend vers Pātāla, elle qui détruit les péchés.
Īśvara (Śiva)
Tirtha: Pātālagāminī Gaṅgā (Prabhāsa)
Type: ghat
Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)
Scene: Īśvara points southward from the Bālārka shrine; a luminous ribbon of water emerges and descends into a dark, cavern-like opening symbolizing Pātāla; pilgrims gather with waterpots; the river glows with a celestial sheen.
Sacred geography is itself salvific: proximity to a tīrtha like Pātāla Gaṅgā is portrayed as a means for pāpa-kṣaya (destruction of sin).
Pātāla Gaṅgā at Prabhāsa Kṣetra.
Implicitly, tīrtha-sevā such as visiting and bathing is suggested by describing the sin-destroying Gaṅgā, though bathing is stated explicitly in the next verse.