Shukra’s Curse on King Danda and Andhaka’s Challenge to Shiva
बाढमाह ऋषिश्रेष्ठस्ततो नत्वा महेश्वरम् गते ते ऋषिणा सार्द्धू पुष्करारण्यमादरात्
bāḍhamāha ṛṣiśreṣṭhastato natvā maheśvaram gate te ṛṣiṇā sārddhū puṣkarāraṇyamādarāt
Então o mais eminente dos sábios respondeu: “Assim seja.” Depois, tendo-se prostrado diante de Maheśvara (Śiva), partiram com aquele sábio e, com reverência, seguiram para a floresta de Puṣkara (Puṣkarāraṇya).
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The verse frames pilgrimage as beginning with deity-vandana (obeisance). Even when the destination is a tīrtha, the journey is ritually ‘authorized’ by honoring a presiding deity—here Śiva—signaling the Purāṇic norm of integrating devotion with sacred geography.
In tīrtha literature, “araṇya” marks a sanctified ecological zone—woodland, hermitages, and ritual sites—forming a pilgrimage micro-region around Puṣkara rather than a single point-location.
Not necessarily. The act of bowing to Śiva functions as a conventional auspicious preface; Puṣkara traditions are often multi-deity, and the chapter’s emphasis is on tīrtha-mahimā rather than exclusive sectarian identity.