Puṣkara-Māhātmya (The Glory of Puṣkara)

The chapter states that the total merit obtained by bathing at all sacred bathing-places is gained by a mortal who bathes once at Jyeṣṭha-kuṇḍa, making it a concentrated locus of tīrtha-phala within Puṣkara.

Ākāśa-Puṣkara is described as a tīrtha that bestows the fruits of mantra and yoga; meditation on the Divine ‘in the ether/sky’ with mantras beginning “Āpo hi ṣṭhā…” followed by bathing is said to lead to the eternal abode (liberation).

Each major bath-site is paired with a specific gift—cow, land, gold, food, grains, sesame—and with honoring brāhmaṇas; the text frames dāna as the completing limb of tīrtha-yātrā that converts ritual contact with the kṣetra into durable dharma and higher-world attainment.

It explicitly urges reverence and service by all varṇas (Brāhmaṇa, Kṣatriya, Vaiśya, Śūdra), emphasizing ethical qualifications (Brahman-devotion, compassion) and ritual sincerity rather than exclusivity.