Narmadā–Tīrtha-Māhātmya: Sequence of Sacred Fords and Their Fruits
ऋषितीर्थं ततो गत्वा सर्वपापहरं नृणाम् / स्नातमात्रो नरस्तत्र शिवलोके महीयते
ṛṣitīrthaṃ tato gatvā sarvapāpaharaṃ nṛṇām / snātamātro narastatra śivaloke mahīyate
తదుపరి ‘ఋషితీర్థం’కు వెళ్లాలి; అది మనుషుల సమస్త పాపాలను హరించేది. అక్కడ కేవలం స్నానం చేసినంత మాత్రాన మనిషి శివలోకంలో గౌరవింపబడతాడు.
Lord Kūrma (Vishnu) instructing King Indradyumna (tīrtha-māhātmya context)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Indirectly: it stresses purification (pāpa-kṣaya) and sacred contact (tīrtha-snānā) as supports for inner fitness (adhikāra) for higher realization; the verse itself focuses on karmic purification and post-mortem exaltation in Śiva-loka rather than defining Ātman.
A preparatory discipline: tīrtha-snāna as a purificatory observance (śauca/saṃskāra-like practice) that supports dharma and later yogic pursuits; the emphasis is on ritual purity and merit as groundwork for deeper sādhana (including Pāśupata-oriented devotion in the Purāṇic frame).
Vishnu (as Lord Kūrma) teaches a practice whose fruit is honor in Śiva’s realm, reflecting the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva–Vaishnava harmony: devotion and merit upheld by one deity culminate in the grace/attainment associated with the other.