Across India, countless tirthas (pilgrimage sites) are believed to offer liberation, merit, and purification. However, the scriptures themselves—when examined closely—present a very different message. Ved Vyas ji, in the Shrimad Devi Bhagwat Purana, emphatically states that all pilgrimages are useless except the “Chitta Shuddhi Tirtha”—the pilgrimage of inner purification. This is the only tirth capable of cleansing the soul.
To highlight the futility of external pilgrimages, the Brahm Purana presents the narrative of the Pururava Tirtha. Far from being spiritually uplifting, the story reveals the moral downfall and worldly entanglements associated with such places.
Below is a summary of the Brahm Purana’s Chapter 31, which makes this truth unmistakably clear.
The chapter begins with Brahma proclaiming that the holy place named Pururavas destroys sins even by remembrance. However, what unfolds next is entirely contrary to spiritual purity or inner upliftment.
King Pururavas once visited Brahma’s abode, where he saw the divine river-goddess Sarasvati laughing beside Brahma. Struck by her beauty, Pururavas asked Urvasi (his celestial companion) who she was.
Urvasi replied that this was Sarasvati herself, daughter of Brahma, who visits Brahma daily.
Pururavas expressed a desire to meet her, and Urvasi conveyed this message. Sarasvati agreed, came to him, and engaged in a sensual relationship with the king for many years on the banks of the Sarasvati river.
Their union produced a son, Sarasvan, whose lineage continued through Brhadratha.
Brahma witnessed Sarasvati repeatedly visiting the king and saw similar behaviour involving other men. Displeased, Brahma cursed her: “Become Mahanadi (a great river).”
Overcome by fear, Sarasvati fled to Gautami (Godavari) and narrated the entire incident. Even Ganga approached Brahma to plead on Sarasvati’s behalf.
Ganga reminded Brahma that:
Hearing this, Brahma softened and partially withdrew the curse. He declared that Sarasvati would be both visible and invisible on Earth—a feature associated with the mysterious, partially subterranean Sarasvati river.
Pururavas later performed penance at the confluence where Sarasvati (agitated by the curse) met Ganga. Pleased, Goddess Ganga granted him boons. Thus, the site became known as:
When examined with spiritual clarity, the Pururava narrative exposes several realities:
The so-called holy site originates from:
This is hardly the birthplace of true spiritual elevation.
The chapter doesn't describe:
Instead, the narrative revolves around worldly emotions and divine politics.
If the purpose of a pilgrimage is purification, why is it built around events that reflect ignorance, lust, anger, and curses?
The episode contains neither Vedic worship nor inner transformation. It is purely a worldly story stamped as a “tirtha.”
In the Shrimad Devi Bhagwat Purana, Ved Vyas ji clearly declares:
All pilgrimages are useless except the Chitta Shuddhi Tirtha, the purification of the inner mind. External tirthas cannot cleanse the soul. Only true knowledge and inner transformation can.
The story from Brahm Purana confirms this truth by demonstrating the superficial and worldly origins of many physical tirthas.
The Pururava Pilgrimage story teaches us:
As Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj emphasizes, scripture-based worship of the Supreme God alone purifies the soul and grants liberation. Physical tirthas, no matter how glorified, cannot cleanse the inner mind or destroy past sins.
Real tirtha = Gyan (true knowledge) + Internal purification.
All else is delusion.