Shloka 18
Kāśī-māhātmya: Avimukta Gaṅgā and the Pañcanada Tīrtha
स्नानमात्रान्नरो याति भित्वा ब्रह्मांडमंडपम् । प्रयागे माघमासे तु सम्यक् स्नानस्य यत्फलम् ॥ १८ ॥
snānamātrānnaro yāti bhitvā brahmāṃḍamaṃḍapam | prayāge māghamāse tu samyak snānasya yatphalam || 18 ||
ಸ್ನಾನಮಾತ್ರದಿಂದಲೇ ಮನುಷ್ಯನು ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಾಂಡಮಂಡಪವನ್ನು ಭೇದಿಸಿ ಅತೀತನಾಗುತ್ತಾನೆ; ಮಾಘಮಾಸದಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಯಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಮ್ಯಕ್ ಸ್ನಾನದ ಫಲ ಇಂತಹದು.
Suta (narrating the Tirtha-Mahatmya section; teaching conveyed as Narada Purana discourse)
Vrata: Māgha-snāna (seasonal observance)
Rasa: {"primary_rasa":"adbhuta","secondary_rasa":"shanta","emotional_journey":"A striking promise—mere bathing can transcend cosmic confinement—settling into serene confidence in Prayāga’s Māgha-snāna fruit."}
FAQs
It declares the extraordinary liberating merit (phala) of a correctly performed Māgha-month bath at Prayāga—so powerful that it is described as transcending the cosmic enclosure (brahmāṇḍa), i.e., the bondage of worldly existence.
In the Narada Purana’s Tirtha-Māhātmya mode, devotion is expressed through reverent, rule-based sacred practice (snāna at a Vishnu-favored tirtha). The act becomes bhakti in ritual form—faithfully approaching a holy place and performing the prescribed observance.
Kalpa (ritual procedure) and Jyotiṣa (sacred timing) are implied: the verse stresses doing the bath “properly” (samyak) and specifically in the Māgha month, indicating correct observance, seasonality, and auspicious calendrical timing.