सर्वतीर्थमयं दिव्यमृषीणां प्रवरं द्विजम् । आसनस्थं समायुक्तं धन्यं पूज्यं दृढव्रतम्
sarvatīrthamayaṃ divyamṛṣīṇāṃ pravaraṃ dvijam | āsanasthaṃ samāyuktaṃ dhanyaṃ pūjyaṃ dṛḍhavratam
وہ دیویہ، تمام تیرتھوں کے جوہر کا پیکر، رشیوں میں برتر دِوِج مارکنڈےیہ—آسن پر مستحکم بیٹھا تھا؛ مبارک، قابلِ پرستش، اور عہد میں ثابت قدم۔
Sūta (narrating)
Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya (through Mārkaṇḍeya as sarva-tīrtha-maya)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages
Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya sits on an āsana, composed and vow-steady; around him, subtle icons of many tīrthas (river, mountain, liṅga, śālagrāma) appear as symbolic emanations, showing ‘all-tīrtha embodied’.
A realized sage is portrayed as a living tīrtha—purity, discipline, and blessing concentrated in a dharmic life.
Indirectly, the verse elevates the tīrtha-theme by calling the sage ‘made of all tīrthas,’ preparing for Dharmāraṇya’s māhātmya.
Dṛḍha-vrata (steadfast vow) is praised as a defining discipline, though no specific rite is prescribed.