Shloka 18
Kāśī-māhātmya: Avimukta Gaṅgā and the Pañcanada Tīrtha
स्नानमात्रान्नरो याति भित्वा ब्रह्मांडमंडपम् । प्रयागे माघमासे तु सम्यक् स्नानस्य यत्फलम् ॥ १८ ॥
snānamātrānnaro yāti bhitvā brahmāṃḍamaṃḍapam | prayāge māghamāse tu samyak snānasya yatphalam || 18 ||
కేవలం స్నానం మాత్రంతోనే మనిషి బ్రహ్మాండమండపాన్ని ఛేదించి అతీతుడవుతాడు; మాఘమాసంలో ప్రయాగంలో సమ్యక్ స్నాన ఫలం ఇదే.
Suta (narrating the Tirtha-Mahatmya section; teaching conveyed as Narada Purana discourse)
Vrata: Māgha-snāna (seasonal observance)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It declares the extraordinary liberating merit (phala) of a correctly performed Māgha-month bath at Prayāga—so powerful that it is described as transcending the cosmic enclosure (brahmāṇḍa), i.e., the bondage of worldly existence.
In the Narada Purana’s Tirtha-Māhātmya mode, devotion is expressed through reverent, rule-based sacred practice (snāna at a Vishnu-favored tirtha). The act becomes bhakti in ritual form—faithfully approaching a holy place and performing the prescribed observance.
Kalpa (ritual procedure) and Jyotiṣa (sacred timing) are implied: the verse stresses doing the bath “properly” (samyak) and specifically in the Māgha month, indicating correct observance, seasonality, and auspicious calendrical timing.