Panchatheertham is believed to be the five tirthas in the seas in South India. The Panchatheerthams are Agasthya Theertham, Soubhadram, Poulomam, Karandamam and Suprasanam. These are mentioned in the Mahabharata. These teerthas were frequented by Rishi Bhardwaja and therefore they were associated with him.
A heavenly damsel named Apsara Varga and her friends were cursed by a Rishi and therefore they stayed in the tirthas in the form of crocodiles for very long period. Due to this reason, the sages and people had stopped visiting the teerthas. It is said that once Arjuna of the Mahabharata visited the teerthas and pulled out Apsara Varga out of the teertha and thus granted liberation from the curse.
As five women got moksha in the Panchatheerthas they are also known as nari theerthams.
As per Mahabharata and Srimad Bhagavatam the theerthams are located in the seas in South India. There is another opinion that the Panchatheerthams are located between two hills in Haridwar in Uttarakhand. They are known as Amritakundam, Taptakundam, Sitakunda, Ramakunda and Surya Kundam.
As per Chaitanya Charitamrita these teerthams are located at Gokarna.
Some scholars are of the view that the theerthams are spread in north and south of India.