अहं स्नातः समस्तेषु तीर्थेषु धरणीतले । न च पापेन निर्मुक्तः किं करोमि च सांप्रतम्
ahaṃ snātaḥ samasteṣu tīrtheṣu dharaṇītale | na ca pāpena nirmuktaḥ kiṃ karomi ca sāṃpratam
“Banhei-me em todos os tīrthas sobre a terra, e ainda assim não me libertei do pecado. Que devo fazer agora?”
Śakra (Indra/Vāsava)
Listener: Śaunaka and sages
Scene: Śakra, exhausted, stands dripping at a riverbank, hands folded in despair, realizing the stain remains; the vastness of his journey contrasts with his inner heaviness.
True purification requires more than external rites; one must seek the specific remedy (prāyaścitta) suited to the fault.
No single site is singled out; the verse speaks of all earthly tīrthas collectively.
Snāna at tīrthas is mentioned, while the verse prompts inquiry into further prāyaścitta.