Agnipurana 115
English (machine translation) 115
- Language
- English
Contents
- 115.8 — 3 parts
- 115.17 — 12 parts
- 115.26 — 6 parts
- 115.36 — 6 parts
- 115.44 — 6 parts
- 115.52 — 8 parts
- 115.62 — 3 parts
- 115.72 — 5 parts
- 115.74 — 3 parts
115.1
Agni said: / If one is prepared to go to Gayā, having performed an ancestral rite according to rule, / having assumed the attire of a pilgrim, and having circumambulated the village,
115.2
he should travel every day, self-restrained and receiving no gifts. / As soon as one has set forth from home towards Gayā,
115.3
at every step there is a stairway to heaven for the ancestors. / What need is there for knowledge of Brahman? What need for dying in a cowshed?
115.4
What need for dwelling in Kurukṣetra, when a son goes to Gayā? / Seeing the son arrived at Gayā, there is rejoicing for the ancestors:
115.5
"Touching even the water with his feet, what will he not give to us?" / Knowledge of Brahman, an ancestral rite at Gayā, and likewise death in a cowshed,
115.6
and dwelling in Kurukṣetra—these are the four kinds of liberation for men. / Frightened by fear of hell, the ancestors desire a son:
115.7
"Whichever son goes to Gayā, he will be our deliverer." / Shaving the head and fasting—this is the rule at all sacred fords.
115.8
At the sacred ford of Gayā there is no restriction of time or the like; one should offer rice-balls daily. / And one who dwells [there] for three fortnights purifies up to seventy generations of his family.
115.8.p1
[Footnote]
115.8.p2
1 "gantum" in kha., ga., gha., cha., and ja.
115.8.p3
2 "yadi" in gha., ga., and jha.
115.9
On the Aṣṭakā days, during a rite for prosperity, at Gayā, and on the anniversary of death, / an ancestral rite is performed here separately for the mother; elsewhere, it is together with the husband.
115.10
[An ancestral rite] for nine deities beginning with the father, and likewise for twelve deities— / on the first day, one should bathe in the sacred ford Uttaramānasa.
115.11
In the holy Uttaramānasa, for the increase of life and health, / to destroy the flood of all sins, and for liberation, one should perform a bath:
115.12
Having satisfied the gods, ancestors, and others, the performer of the ancestral rite should offer rice-balls: / 'I satisfy the gods residing in heaven, the atmosphere, and on earth.
115.13
One should satisfy the ancestors and mothers in heaven, the atmosphere, and on earth: / father, paternal grandfather, and likewise paternal great-grandfather;
115.14
mother, paternal grandmother, and likewise paternal great-grandmother; / maternal grandfather, maternal great-grandfather, and maternal great-great-grandfather.
115.15
To them and to the others I offer these rice-balls for their deliverance. / Oṃ, reverence to the Sun-god, who has the forms of the Moon, Mars, and Mercury,
115.16
who has the forms of Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rāhu, and Ketu.' / Having bathed in Uttaramānasa, he delivers his entire lineage.
115.17
Having bowed to the Sun, a man should go in silence to Dakṣiṇamānasa:
115.17.p1
[Footnotes]
115.17.p2
1 'anvaṣṭakāsu vṛddhau ca' according to manuscripts gha and ṅa.
115.17.p3
2 'sarvāghaughavināśāya' according to manuscripts kha, gha, and cha.
115.17.p4
3 'snānaṃ sarvavimuktaye' according to manuscript cha.
115.17.p5
4 'divyāntarīkṣagān bhaumān' according to manuscript ga.
115.17.p6
5 'mātā mātāmahī caiva' according to manuscripts ka, kha, ga, cha, and ja.
115.17.p7
6 'vṛddhapramātṛkāmahaḥ' according to manuscripts ka, ga, cha, and ja.
115.17.p8
7 'tebhyastebhyaḥ' according to manuscripts gha and ja.
115.17.p9
8 'somabhaumasvarūpiṇe' according to manuscript gha.
115.17.p10
9 'snātvā' according to manuscript ka.
115.17.p11
10 'sūryaṃ dṛṣṭvā' according to manuscript ṅa.
115.17.p12
11 'tato dakṣiṇamānasam' according to manuscripts ga, gha, ja, and jha.
115.17_2
'I bathe in Dakṣiṇamānasa for the satisfaction of the ancestors.
115.18
Having come to Gayā, may all my ancestors go to heaven.' / Then, having performed the ancestral rite and offered rice-balls, he should bow to the Sun and recite this:
115.19
'Oṃ, reverence to the Sun, the maintainer, the origin [of all]; be [gracious] to me, O Lord! / Bestower of worldly enjoyment and liberation, revered by the world, [gratify] all ancestors!
115.20
Kavyavāhana fire, Soma, Yama, and Aryaman, / the Agniṣvāttas, the Barhiṣads, the Ājyapas, the ancestral deities—
115.21
may the illustrious ones come here, protected by you! / And those who are my ancestors, the maternal ancestors and the rest,
115.22
I, the giver of rice-balls to them, have come to this Gayā.' / North of Muṇḍapṛṣṭha is [the ford] worshipped by hosts of divine sages,
115.23
by name the Kanakhala sacred ford, renowned in the three worlds, / which causes delight to the perfected ones and strikes terror into sinners,
115.24
and is constantly guarded by darting-tongued great serpents. / Having bathed there, humans go to heaven [or] delight on earth.
115.25
Then one should go to Phalgu sacred ford, the supreme [spot] situated on the Mahānadī. / From the serpent, from Janārdana, from the well, from the banyan tree, and from Uttaramānasa—
115.26
this is declared to be Gayāśiras, and it is called Phalgu sacred ford; / and Muṇḍapṛṣṭha, Nāga, and others are the innermost essence of the essence.
115.26.p1
[Footnotes]
115.26.p2
1 'karomi pitṛdaivate' according to manuscript ja.
115.26.p3
2 'bhānave tasmai' according to manuscript ṅa.
115.26.p4
3 'devarṣigaṇasevitam' according to manuscripts gha and ja; 'devatāgaṇasevitam' according to manuscript jha.
115.26.p5
4 'tatra snātā divam' according to manuscript ja.
115.26.p6
5 'phalguṃ gayāśiraḥ' according to manuscripts kha, ṅa, and cha.
115.27
Because fortune, speech, the wish-granting cow, water, earth, / pleasant sights, and so on bear fruit there, Phalgu sacred ford is not unsubstantial.
115.28
When a man has bathed in the Phalgu sacred ford and seen the god Gadādhara, / is this not sufficient for men who perform good deeds?
115.29
Whatever sacred fords and lakes there are on earth as far as the ocean, / they will go to Phalgu sacred ford once day after day.
115.30
Devoutly he bathes in Phalgu sacred ford, the king of sacred fords, / for the ancestors' attainment of the world of Brahmā and for his own worldly enjoyment and liberation.
115.31
Having bathed, the performer of the ancestral rite, offering rice-balls, should then bow to the god Pitāmaha. / In the Kali age people are devotees of Maheśvara; here the god is Gadādhara.
115.32
Pitāmaha has the form of a liṅga, so I bow to Maheśvara, / to Gadādhara, Bala, Kāma, Aniruddha, and Nārāyaṇa.
115.33
I bow to the one called Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Nṛsiṃha, and to Varāha and the rest. / Then, having beheld Gadādhara, he delivers a hundred [generations of his] families.
115.34
On the second day, in Dharmāraṇya at the excellent hermitage of Mataṅga, / having bathed in Mataṅga's pond, he should perform the ancestral rite and offer rice-balls.
115.35
Having bowed to Mataṅgeśa and Siddheśa, he should speak this: / 'May the deities be the authority and the world-protectors the witnesses!
115.36
Having come to this Mataṅga, redemption has been made by me for the ancestors.' / Then bath, water-libations, ancestral rites, and other [rites] in the Brahma sacred ford and at the well—
115.36.p1
[Footnotes]
115.36.p2
1 'ato devaḥ' according to manuscripts kha, ga, gha, and cha.
115.36.p3
2 'nārāyaṇam' according to manuscripts kha, ga, and ṅa.
115.36.p4
3 'śrāddhadaḥ piṇḍadaḥ' according to manuscript kha.
115.36.p5
4 'mataṅgeśañca siddheśam' according to manuscript ja.
115.36.p6
5 'brahmatīrthetra' according to manuscript kha.
115.37
between that well and the sacrificial post, an ancestral rite [serves] for the deliverance of a hundred families. / Having bowed to the tree of great enlightenment, the virtuous one shares in the heavenly world.
115.38
On the third day, firm in his votive observance, he should bathe in Brahmasaras: / 'I bathe in the sacred ford of Brahmasaras for the attainment of Brahmā
115.39
and for the world of Brahmā for the ancestors, [at the lake] frequented by hosts of Brahmanical sages.' / The performer of the ancestral rite should offer libation, rice-balls, and sprinkling of water; / and desiring [the fruit of] a Vājapeya sacrifice, he should circumambulate Brahmā's sacrificial post.
115.40
A single sage, holding a jar and kuśa grass tips in hand, pours water at the root of a mango tree: / the sacred traditions are watered, and the ancestors are satisfied—a single rite is well known to accomplish two purposes.
115.41
And having bowed to Brahmā, he delivers a hundred families. / On the fourth day, having bathed in Phalgu sacred ford and offered libations to the gods and others,
115.42
and having performed the ancestral rite with rice-balls, he should have it done on Gayāśiras. / The sacred precinct of Gayā is five krośas; Gayāśiras is one krośa.
115.43
By offering rice-balls there, he delivers a hundred families. / On Muṇḍapṛṣṭha the footprint was imprinted by the wise Mahādeva.
115.44
Muṇḍapṛṣṭha is declared to be visibly the head, Gayāśiras.
115.44.p1
[Footnote]
115.44.p2
1 'In the assembly of Brahmā' [brahmasadasi] thus in manuscripts kha, gha, ṅa, and ja.
115.44.p3
2 The reading beginning with 'mayāgatya' and ending with 'snānaṃ kuryādyatavrataḥ' is absent in manuscript cha.
115.44.p4
3 'At the Brahmasadas sacred ford' [brahmasadastīrthe] thus in manuscript gha; 'At the Brahmaśiras sacred ford' [brahmaśirastīrthe] thus in manuscript kha.
115.44.p5
4 'Performing libations and ancestral rites, offering funeral cakes, and [doing] libations' [tarpaṇaśrāddhakṛt piṇḍapradaścāpi prasecanam] thus in manuscripts kha and cha.
115.44.p6
'Performing libations and ancestral rites, offering funeral cakes, and sprinkling mango trees' [tarpaṇaśrāddhakṛt piṇḍapradaścāmraprasecanam] thus in manuscripts ga, gha, ṅa, and ja.
115.44_2
There, manifestly at the Gayāśiras, the hermitage at the Phalgu sacred ford was made.
115.45
Nectar flows there, imperishable for the ancestors when offered. / Having bathed at Daśāśvamedha and seen the god, the grandfather [Brahmā],
115.46
And having touched the footstep of Rudra, a man is not born here again. / Having offered a funeral cake the size of a śamī leaf at Gayāśiras,
115.47
Those staying in hell go to heaven, and those in heaven attain liberation. / Then, with milk rice, flour, barley meal, or sacrificial boiled rice,
115.48
With rice grains and wheat mixed with sesame seeds, the offering of funeral cakes [is performed]. / Having offered a funeral cake at the footstep of Rudra, one delivers a hundred families.
115.49
Likewise, offering an ancestral rite and funeral cakes at the footstep of Viṣṇu, he is freed from debts; / a man rescues a hundred families of ancestors and others, and himself.
115.50
Likewise, performing the ancestral rite at the footstep of Brahmā, he leads the ancestors to the world of Brahmā. / In the same way at the footstep of the Dakṣiṇāgni, likewise at the footstep of the Gārhapatya,
115.51
Or at the footstep of the Āhavanīya, the performer of the ancestral rite obtains the fruit of a Vedic sacrifice. / At [the footsteps] of the Āvasathya fire, the Moon, the Sun, the Gaṇa,
115.52
Of Agastya, and of Kārttikeya, the performer of the ancestral rite delivers his family. / Having bowed to the chariot of the Sun, a man should bow to Karṇāditya.
115.52.p1
[Footnote]
115.52.p2
1 'Sheltered by the Phalgu sacred ford' [phalgutīrthāśrayam] thus in manuscripts ga, gha, ja, and jha.
115.52.p3
2 'One should offer a funeral cake at Gayāśiras' [piṇḍaṃ dadyādgayāśire] thus in manuscript ja.
115.52.p4
3 'Offering funeral cakes delivers the family' [piṇḍadaḥ kulamuktikṛt] thus in manuscripts ga and ja; 'Offering funeral cakes delivers greatly' [piṇḍado hy atimuktikṛt] thus in manuscript gha.
115.52.p5
4 'By oneself' [svātmanā] thus in manuscript ja.
115.52.p6
5 'An ancestral rite at the footstep of Brahmā' [brahmapade śrāddham] thus in manuscript jha.
115.52.p7
6 'Of Varuṇa and Indra' [varuṇasyātha cendrasya] thus in manuscript ṅa; 'Of the Āvasathya and Indra' [āvasathyasya cendrasya] thus in manuscript cha; 'Of the Āvasathya together with Indra' [āvasathyasya sendrasya] thus in manuscript ja.
115.52.p8
7 'Having seen the chariot' [rathaṃ dṛṣṭvā] thus in manuscripts kha and cha.
115.53
Having bowed to the footstep of Kanakeśa, he should bow to Gayākedāra. / Freed from all sins, he leads the ancestors to the city of Brahmā.
115.54
Even Viśāla, offering funeral cakes at Gayāśīrṣa, obtained sons. / Viśāla was born as a prince in Viśālā; he addressed the brahmins:
115.55
"How may I have sons and the like?" The brahmins said to Viśālaka: / "By the offering of funeral cakes at Gayā, everything will be yours."
115.56
Then Viśāla too offered funeral cakes to the ancestors at Gayāśīrṣa. / Having seen white and red persons in the sky, he asked them:
115.57
"Who are you?" And one white one among them said to Viśālaka: / "I, white, am your father; through auspicious deeds I have gone to Indra's world.
115.58
The red one is my father, O son, and the black one is the grandfather." / He said, "Having reached hell, we have been liberated by you.
115.59
From the offering of funeral cakes, we go to the world of Brahmā." Having spoken thus, they departed. / Viśāla, having obtained sons and other blessings, ruled the kingdom and went to Hari.
115.60
And the king of ghosts spoke thus to a merchant for his own liberation: / "Afflicted along with all the ghosts, the fruit of good deeds is being enjoyed.
115.61
On the conjunction of the twelfth lunar day of Śravaṇa, a pot with food and water / was formerly given at midday; that presents itself for our subsistence.
115.62
Take my wealth, go, and become an offerer of funeral cakes at Gayā." / Then the merchant, taking the wealth, became an offerer of funeral cakes at Gayā.
115.62.p1
[Footnote]
115.62.p2
1 'Having gone, he gave' [dadau gataḥ] thus in manuscripts kha, ga, gha, ṅa, cha, and ja.
115.62.p3
2 'Accompanied by a caravan and with water' [sārthaś ca sodakaḥ] thus in manuscript cha.
115.63
The king of ghosts, along with the ghosts, was liberated and led to the city of Hari. / From offering funeral cakes at Gayāśīrṣa, [one delivers] oneself and one's ancestors,
115.64
And the sons who are in the paternal lineage and likewise in the maternal lineage, / and the other deceased kinsmen of teachers, fathers-in-law, and friends;
115.65
Those in my family who have been deprived of funeral cakes, destitute of sons and wives, / those who have missed funeral rites, those born blind, and the bull-like men,
115.66
The deformed, the miscarried embryos, known or unknown in my family— / to them a funeral cake has been offered by me; may it present itself as imperishable!
115.67
Whichever of my ancestors abide in the form of ghosts, / may all of them attain satisfaction forever through this offering of funeral cakes!
115.68
A funeral cake should indeed be offered to all by all saviours of their lineage; / and it should likewise be offered for oneself by one desiring an imperishable world.
115.69
On the fifth day, a wise man should bathe at Gadālola with the mantra: / "At Gadālola, the sacred ford for cleansing the mace, which is supremely purifying,
115.70
I bathe for the pacification of the disease of worldly existence, O Janārdana!" / "Homage to the imperishable banyan tree, the granter of imperishable heaven,
115.71
For the imperishable benefit of father and other ancestors, and for the destruction of all sins!" / One should perform an ancestral rite at the foot of the banyan tree and feed brahmins.
115.72
When one brahmin is fed, ten million are fed; / what then when many have eaten? That which is given to the ancestors becomes imperishable.
115.72.p1
[Footnote]
115.72.p2
1 The passage beginning with 'pretarāja' and ending with 'svapitṝṃstathā' is absent in manuscript jha.
115.72.p3
2 'Destitute of auspicious deeds' [śubhakarmavivarjitāḥ] thus in manuscript jha.
115.72.p4
3 'By this funeral cake' [piṇḍenānena] thus in manuscript ṅa.
115.72.p5
4 'On the bank of the banyan tree' [vaṭataṭe] thus in manuscript ja.
115.73
He who gives food at Gayā—through him the ancestors possess a son. / Having bowed to the banyan tree and to Vaṭeśvara, one should worship the great-grandfather [Brahmā].
115.74
He attains imperishable worlds and delivers a hundred families. / In due order or out of order, the pilgrimage to Gayā bears great fruit.
115.74.p1
Thus ends the one hundred and fifteenth chapter, entitled 'The Pilgrimage to Gayā', in the greatness of Gayā in the great Agni Purāṇa.
115.74.p3
Now the one hundred and sixteenth chapter.
115.74.p4
The Rules for the Pilgrimage to Gayā.
Other recensions (1)
- Agnipurāṇa (Nag Publishers edition, Delhi) — Sanskrit
Linked texts (1)
- Agnipurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit