याज्ञवल्क्य उवाच । तथापि देव मे शुद्धिर्हृदयस्य न जायते । तस्माद्वद सुरश्रेष्ठ प्रायश्चित्तं विशुद्धये
yājñavalkya uvāca | tathāpi deva me śuddhirhṛdayasya na jāyate | tasmādvada suraśreṣṭha prāyaścittaṃ viśuddhaye
Яджнявалкья сказал: «И всё же, о Дэва, чистота моего сердца не возникает. Потому, о лучший из богов, поведай мне прайашчитту — искупление для полного очищения».
Yājñavalkya
Outer acts are incomplete without inner transformation; true dharma seeks citta-śuddhi through right means.
The verse sets up the Tīrthamāhātmya context; the specific kṣetra is elaborated in the following verses of the same adhyāya.
A request is made for prāyaścitta (expiatory discipline); the concrete prescription is given immediately afterward (liṅga-sthāpanā).