यत्र सिद्धिं गता राजन्वालखिल्या महर्षयः । तैस्तत्र निर्मितं कुण्डं सुरम्यं गिरि गह्वरे
yatra siddhiṃ gatā rājanvālakhilyā maharṣayaḥ | taistatra nirmitaṃ kuṇḍaṃ suramyaṃ giri gahvare
O hari, doon nakamit ng mga dakilang rishi na Vālakhilya ang siddhi. At doon, sa isang guwang ng bundok, kanilang nilikha ang isang marikit na kuṇḍa, isang banal na lawa.
Pulastya (contextual continuity in Adhyāya 16)
Tirtha: Maṇikarṇikā (kund in giri-gahvara)
Type: kund
Listener: Rājan (king)
Scene: In a rocky mountain hollow, a circle of tiny, radiant Vālakhilya sages sits in meditation; nearby, they carve/shape a beautiful kund, water shimmering as if newly invoked by mantra.
A tīrtha gains sanctity through realized sages; their siddhi and tapas consecrate the landscape and establish enduring sacred institutions like kuṇḍas.
The Maṇikarṇikā-associated region and its kuṇḍa set within a mountain hollow, tied to the Vālakhilyas’ siddhi.
No direct rite is commanded in this verse; it provides the tīrtha’s origin, supporting later practices like snāna and tarpaṇa at the kuṇḍa.