Abhiṣeka (Consecratory Bathing Rite)

The chapter sacralizes the site by linking it to yajña ontology: the tīrtha is said to arise from the ‘limbs’ of Aśvamedha, transferring the prestige of Vedic sacrifice into a place-based Vaiṣṇava practice where snāna, mantra, and worship yield sacrifice-equivalent merit.

The text states that in the immediate presence of deity-darśana, acts like bathing and charity become akṣaya (inexhaustible). The theological mechanism is proximity to the manifest Lord, not merely the water-body itself.

After listing many rivers and tīrthas, it explicitly declares that none equal the blessed sight of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, establishing darśana as the apex of pilgrimage efficacy.

Pre-bath: purity, ācamana, mental meditation on Hari, reverential posture, and tīrtha-mantra. Post-bath: tarpaṇa (to gods, sages, ancestors), ācamana, restraint in speech, piṇḍa offerings, and worship of Puruṣottama.