श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महाराज सर्पतीर्थमनुत्तमम् । यत्र सिद्धा महासर्पास्तपस्तप्त्वा युधिष्ठिर
śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca | tato gacchenmahārāja sarpatīrthamanuttamam | yatra siddhā mahāsarpāstapastaptvā yudhiṣṭhira
Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya bersabda: “Sesudah itu, wahai mahārāja, pergilah ke tīrtha yang tiada banding bernama Sarpa-tīrtha; di sana para nāga agung, setelah bertapa, meraih siddhi, wahai Yudhiṣṭhira.”
Mārkaṇḍeya
Tirtha: Sarpātīrtha
Type: ghat
Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira
Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya guiding Yudhiṣṭhira toward a river ford; at the ford, majestic nāgas in semi-divine form perform austerities—coiled in meditation, hoods flared like canopies—radiant with siddhi.
Pilgrimage to a sanctified place is praised as a dharmic path, especially where great beings attained siddhi through tapas.
Sarpa-tīrtha, an “unsurpassed” serpent-associated sacred ford in the Revā Khaṇḍa context.
The instruction is primarily to undertake yātrā (go/visit) to Sarpa-tīrtha; detailed rites appear in later verses.