Having enumerated the virtues of this excellent water to the best of his ability and bathed his mind in it, and remembering Parvathi and Shankara, the poet (Tulasidasa) proceeds with his charming story.

Laying on my heart the lotus feet of Raghunatha and thus securing his grace, I now proceed to relate the charming story of the meeting (or of the blessed converse) of the two great sages (Yajnavalkya and Bharadvaja).

The sage Bharadvaja lives at Prayaga; he is utterly devoted to the feet of Rama. A great ascetic and an embodiment of self-restraint, composure of mind and compassion, he is supremely skilled in the way of spiritual wisdom.

In the month of Magha, when the sun enters the sign of Capricorn, everyone visits the chief of holy places, Prayaga. Troops of gods and demons, Kinnaras (demigods) and men all throng reverently to bathe in the triple stream of the Ganga, Yamuna and Sarasvati.

They worship the lotus feet of Venimadhava (the presiding deity of Prayaga) and rapturously touch the imperishable banyan. The hallowed hermitage of Bharadvaja is a very pleasant retreat, exceedingly pure and attractive ever to great hermits,

-and the haunt of sages and seers who come to bathe at that holiest of all holy places. At daybreak they all perform their ablutions with religious fervour and then converse together on Hari’s virtues.

They discuss the definition of Brahma (the Absolute), the precepts of religion and the classification of fundamental entities and expatiate on faith in the Lord combined with knowledge and spiritual detachment.