Garudapurana 1.82

The glorious Garuḍa Purāṇa [Chapter] 82. / Homage to the glorious Gaṇeśa. / (Now begins the greatness of Gayā.) / Brahmā said: / The most essential of the essential, O Vyāsa, is the supreme greatness of Gayā; / I shall declare it in brief, bestowing enjoyment and liberation; listen.

In former times there was an asura named Gayāsura, exceedingly heroic, / who performed most terrible asceticism, tormenting all living beings.

Tormented by his asceticism, the gods went to Hari for his destruction; / Hari spoke to them who had sought refuge: "You must be accompanied by Śiva;

his huge body shall be felled." The gods said to Hari, "So be it." / Once, for the purpose of worshiping Śiva, [bringing] lotuses from the Milk Ocean,

having brought them, that mighty one lay down in the land of Kīkaṭa. / Deluded by the illusion of Viṣṇu, he was struck down with a mace by Viṣṇu.

Therefore Viṣṇu, holder of the mace, remains at Gayā, bestowing liberation. / His body took the form of a liṅga, and the Grandfather stayed in the pure [spot],

along with Janārdana, Kāleśa, and also another, Prapitāmaha. / Viṣṇu then established the boundary: "This shall be a holy place of pilgrimage;

a man who performs sacrifice, śrāddha, the offering of funeral cakes, bathing, and the like— / that man shall go to heaven and the realm of Brahman, not to hell."

Knowing the Gayā tīrtha to be supreme, the Grandfather performed a sacrifice; / he honored the brāhmaṇas who had arrived to serve as priests.

Having created the Mahānadī flowing with delicious liquids, and likewise ponds and reservoirs, / and eatables, food, fruits, and so forth, he also created Kāmadhenu.

The Lord gave the five-krośa field of Gayā to the brāhmaṇas. / But because of greed, accepting wealth and the like at sacrifices of dharma,

the brāhmaṇas stayed there; then the brāhmaṇas were cursed at Gayā: / "Let not learning extend for three generations; let not wealth extend for three generations;

may your river carry [only] water, and the mountain be [only] stone." / But when prayed to by those who were cursed, the Lord Brahmā granted grace:

"Indeed, people who perform śrāddha at Gayā are holy and go to the realm of Brahman. / Those who worship you have always worshiped me.

Knowledge of Brahman, a śrāddha at Gayā, dying in a cowshed, / and residence in Kurukṣetra—these are the four kinds of liberation for men.

O Vyāsa, all oceans, rivers, and likewise ponds, wells, and lakes / go to the Gayā tīrtha wishing to bathe; there is no doubt.

Killing a brāhmaṇa, drinking liquor, theft, intercourse with the teacher's wife— / all sin arising from association with these is destroyed by a śrāddha at Gayā.

Those who died without sacraments, those killed by beasts or thieves, / and those bitten by serpents—liberated by a śrāddha at Gayā, they go to heaven.

The reward that a person obtains by offering funeral cakes at Gayā / cannot be described by me even in hundreds of millions of years."

Thus ends the eighty-second chapter, named "The Greatness of Gayā," in the Code of Conduct, the first part of the first section of the glorious Garuḍa Purāṇa.