Garudapurana 3.26

The venerable Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa—[Chapter] 26. / The maiden said: / For what reason did Śrīnivāsa come here? Tell me. / And where did the Śeṣācala mountain come from, and when did the destroyer of sins arrive? / And for what purpose did the Svāmipuṣkariṇī pool come here? Tell [me].

Jaigīṣavya said: / Listen, fortunate, noble lady, to the arrival of Veṅkaṭeśa, / [by hearing which] our harsh sins depart, O lovely lady!

In ancient times there was Hiraṇyākṣa, son of Kaśyapa and Diti. / Through the curse of Sanaka and the others, the second gatekeeper [of Viṣṇu]

was born into the womb of the Daityas as a powerful thorn in the side of the gods. / He was Saṃjīva, also called Vijaya, a devotee of Hari, a mighty lord.

Hiraṇyākṣa was himself a Daitya, a reviler of Hari's devotees. / Being such, Hiraṇyākṣa set out to perform ascetic penance.

Then his mother, the goddess Diti, said to Hiraṇyākṣa: / Diti said: / You are an affectionate child, highly fortunate; do not perform penance at eight years of age!

Do not give me sorrow! Who, knowing the truth, will protect [me]? / I cannot live even for a moment; without you, there is no life [for me]!

Do not perform penance, O noble child, for the sake of my life! / Having thus been addressed by his mother, Vijaya spoke, overcome [by truth]:

Hiraṇyākṣa said to his mother: Having cast off delusion, devote yourself sufficiently to the worship of Viṣṇu! / The affection rooted in me on account of being a son brings pleasure and pain in this world and the next.

As long as you feel affection for me, O mother, so long will you incur perpetual distress. / O mother, your notion of sonship toward me, and likewise this notion of motherhood of mine toward you,

my notion of fatherhood toward my venerable father, and your notion of him being a husband—this is all false. / For Hari alone creates everything; that Murāri is the certain and true protector.

Therefore, Hari alone is always the mother; the motherhood of any other is only metaphorical. / If the nature of a creator were fundamentally in you, tell me, who is the mother of Droṇa and the others?

If motherhood were truly primary in you, tell me, who is the mother of Dhātṛ and the others? / Since the universe continually proceeds from Him, Hari alone is always the father, Viṣṇu, unborn and primeval.

If a father were always the primary father, tell me, who is the protector of the child in the womb? / If parents were the real protectors, tell me, who are the two protectors of tortoises and the like?

If parents were the protectors, tell me, who were the two guardians of Kṛpa and his sister? / Therefore, the primeval Viṣṇu is the son who saves embodied beings from the hell named Put.

I am not the savior from hell, O fair-browed lady, nor is the husband, nor the father and others, / nor the mother, nor the younger brother and the rest; Viṣṇu alone is the savior everywhere, and none other.

Having cut down your illusion with the sword of knowledge, remember Hari with devotion! / For the remembrance consisting of devotion to Viṣṇu's name removes all sins completely, O mother!

Whoever remembers the name of Viṣṇu with devotion becomes one whose sins are destroyed. / This body is difficult to obtain in the land of actions, and rarer still is the worship of Viṣṇu's form therein.

Your life has passed away in vain; quickly worship the feet of Śrīnivāsa! / Having thus instructed his mother, that best of sons, possessed by Daitya nature, became an ascetic.

Having pleased the four-faced Brahmā with devotion, the mighty one attained invulnerability from him. / Then, rolling up the earth like a mat, that best of Daityas, the mighty one, carried it off.

Then Hari, the primeval, unborn Viṣṇu in the Boar incarnation, manifested in the Śrīmuṣṇa region. / Cleaving the ocean, the mighty Lord entered, reaching the surface of the earth resting in Rasātala.

Having placed it on the tip of his tusk, he came out; upon his arrival, the best of Daityas approached. / Striking him at the base of the ear, he slew him, and pacified the earth as before.

Having stationed the great elephants of the quarters, the venerable Boar Viṣṇu took up residence in Śrīmuṣṇa. / Then Hari Viṣṇu thought: 'Now, where will mortals worship

my human-like form with devotion, and where shall I bestow compassion upon them?' / Having thus reflected, O fair maiden, the Lord of the earth, having placed the mountain named Śeṣa from Vaikuṇṭha / on the shoulders of the king of birds, came in person to the surface of the earth.

Beginning from the banks of the Suvarṇamukharī / up to the Śrī Kṛṣṇaveṇī, the Garuda-bannered Lord stationed that mountain.

At the tail of the mountain is Śrīśaila; the middle is known as Ahobala; / and the face is declared to be the sacred place of Śrīnivāsa.

One's desire is accomplished with little austerity at this Ahobala; / all the holy waters, including the Gaṅgā, are truly present here.

Whoever constantly attends upon it, endowed with faith and devotion, / if desiring knowledge, obtains knowledge; if desiring wealth, obtains wealth.

One desiring a son obtains a son; a king attains a kingdom; / whatever a mortal desires, that he surely obtains in every way.

Because whatever is thought of is accomplished, they know it as the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel; / and because of the abundance of pools and lakes on this mountain, / the knowers of essential truths call it Puṣkarādri.

Because of its nature of gold, they know it as Kanakādri; / and because it came from Vaikuṇṭha, it is known as Vaikuṇṭhādri.

Endowed with the sovereign power of immortality, it is known as Veṅkaṭādri. / As far as the greatness of the mountain of Veṅkaṭeśa extends,

even the four-faced Brahmā is unable to declare it entirely. / Those who practice supreme devotion on Veṅkaṭādri day after day— / the lame man becomes swift-footed, and the sightless man becomes lotus-eyed.

The mute surely becomes eloquent, the deaf becomes one who hears, / the barren woman has many sons, and the impoverished becomes wealthy.

All this surely comes about merely by devotion on the mountain. / But who on earth truly knows the real nature of Mount Veṅkaṭa?

Since the man who knows the holy greatness of this mountain, / [knows that] the Lord of Māyā, abandoning the supreme bliss of highest Vaikuṇṭha, / rejoices with Ramā on the shore of the Svāmipuṣkariṇī.

Salutations to you, Śrīnivāsa, the illustrious Lord of Veṅkaṭa, / whose body is auspicious and wondrous, and who grants desired objects!

Listen, O maiden, to the greatness of the holy Svāmipuṣkariṇī; / within the Svāmipuṣkariṇī, Śrīnivāsa is present at all times.

Those who bathe there hold liberation in their hand. / There are three and a half crores of holy sites in the three worlds; / all of them are ever present right there in this holy water of Hari.

That holy site, called Śrīnivāsa, is bowed to by all the gods; / that indeed is proclaimed to be the temple of Śrīnivāsa.

O maiden, merely by seeing it, sins are reduced to ashes; / merely by a single bath, association with the virtuous surely occurs.

Attaining knowledge from association with the virtuous, one finds liberation through knowledge; / such is the case for qualified persons, but the opposite occurs for non-yogins.

Those who consider that liberation comes merely by bathing in holy waters / are all to be known as asuras; they indeed go to the lowest destination.

O maiden, in the north-western corner of this holy water of Śrīnivāsa, / Vāyu is ever present to perform the unsurpassed worship of Viṣṇu.

That is proclaimed as Vāyutīrtha, spanning twelve cubits; / it is declared to be six cubits in length on the west, / and Vāyutīrtha is declared to measure six cubits on the north.

O good maiden, those Vaiṣṇavas, foremost servants of Vaiṣṇavas, who first bathe there, / dwell within Madhva: 'May the compassionate Śrīnivāsa be ever pleased with me through this bath!'

Those who wish to bathe in Madhvatīrtha, O goddess—great devotees of Vāyu such as Rudra and others—/ always bathe there in the morning, O goddess, even before sunrise.

Those who discharge feces, urine, vomit, or phlegm born of the body into Vāyutīrtha, / or who wash their anus or their genitals there, O maiden, are indeed asuras and rākṣasas.

For those who hear the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, how can I describe their merit, O goddess, / and for those who chant the mantra of Kṛṣṇa, O goddess, the most secret eight-syllable supreme mantra?

Hari, Keśava, residing within Madhva, is exceedingly pleased with them—there is no doubt about this; / and likewise for those who give gifts there to foremost brahmins and wise Vaiṣṇavas.

The gods do not even know their merit; Śrīnivāsa Hari alone knows it. / For those who give a śālagrāma at Vāyutīrtha, that Lord of Veṅkaṭa knows their merit.

Ablution at Vāyutīrtha with a desireless mind is exceedingly rare for Vaiṣṇavas, O goddess; / and hearing the Bhāgavata by the servants of Viṣṇu at that holy site is attained only through good fortune.

Likewise, rare at that holy site, O goddess, is the gift of a śālagrāma to an eminent brahmin—/ shaped like a jambu fruit, deep blue in color, having two openings and endowed with four discs,

endowed with good filaments, with golden marks of a banner, an elephant goad, thunderbolt marks, and barley grains. / The great say this is the Janārdana image; giving it at that holy site is exceedingly rare.

The gift of that image is most excellent, O auspicious one, and supreme, exceedingly rare; here there should be no greed. / Most rare is the gift of a young cow that yields much milk, and likewise of garments, jewels, and the like.

A most excellent gift of wealth, O goddess, which is desired by oneself, is declared by the great to be [true] charity; / the gift of fruit that one does not desire, and giving gifts for garments' sake, the great call useless.

The gift of a young cow is most excellent and meritorious, yet milk-yielding cows are not readily obtained; / a noble disposition to make a most excellent gift of garments is exceedingly difficult for people to attain.

A most excellent book of the Bhāgavata is difficult to attain, as is Vāyutīrtha, O maiden; / a most excellent gift of wealth at Vāyutīrtha, O goddess, is indeed difficult for men to accomplish; / and discourse on Hari by Vaiṣṇavas who know the truth is exceedingly rare at Vāyutīrtha, O maiden.

Situated in the northern direction from the holy water of Śrīnivāsa / is what is called Candratīrtha; the moon is ever present there.

Staying there, he performs the worship of Śrīnivāsa; / in that holy place, O maiden, people perform their bath.

They are liberated from sins such as violating the guru's bed, of this there is no doubt. / Having bathed there, whoever gives a śālagrāma in its eastern part

attains liberation through knowledge—no consideration is needed on this point. / And the gift of a Dadhivāmana image there is exceedingly rare:

the size of a jujube fruit, round, blue in color, / with a pleasing face, delicate, and very smooth, O auspicious maiden,

endowed with two discs, accompanied by five cow-paddocks, / furnished with a bow and arrow, endless, shaped like an earring,

accompanied by the delight of a garland of forest flowers, endowed with a thousand heads, / furnished with a silver speck, measuring half a bhadra on the right,

accompanied by the moon, O goddess, it is called Dadhivāmana. / Such an image is rare for men in the Kali age, bestowing much good fortune; / know that image to be equal to Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa, O beautiful lady.

Giving that image is exceedingly rare, and hearing [about it] at Candratīrtha is hard to attain; / hearing properly of the true nature of Dadhivāmana from a Vaiṣṇava is very hard to obtain.

Having bathed there, they know that the fruit of the gift is equal to hearing the true form of Vāmana; / Candratīrtha is declared to measure ten cubits.

A bath there at midday is rare for human beings, O most auspicious lady; / residing there, a blessed man constantly worships Hari.

The gift of a Varāha image of the śālagrāma is rare: / the size of a jambu fruit, like a hen's egg,

its mouth circular, in size like a chickpea or the like; / on the left side of the deity, leaving out the central portion,

endowed with two discs, and on the head, O lady, / marked with a gold speck—it is called Bhūvarāha.

Having performed the worship of the form of Bhūvarāha, having given a gift, and also having heard [the teaching], / and having seen Bhūvarāha stationed there, that man has indeed fulfilled his purpose in this world.

Whoever bathes there and properly hears the marks of the form of Bhūvarāha, / he attains merit thereby, O goddess, and partakes of liberation; there is no doubt about this.

In the northeast corner of Śrīnivāsa, O goddess, is the Raudra tīrtha, supremely purifying; / staying there, the great-souled god Rudra continually performs the worship of Śrīnivāsa.

They declare its measure to be eight cubits; Vaiṣṇavas must certainly bathe there. / Having bathed there, restrained, one should hear the divine narrative of Murāri with reverence; / one should bathe, drink, and make gifts there; Lakṣmīnṛsiṃha is pleased continually, O goddess.

[It is] the size of a jujube fruit, round, and endowed with a dot,

endowed with two disc-marks on the left side of the deity, / marked with a golden line, slightly reddish,

of the colour of a vaiśya, with an aperture, marked with the signs of a lotus-line and the like; / know that to be Lakṣmīnṛsiṃha, the giver of worldly enjoyment and liberation.

Know that gifting such a form of the Gaṇḍakī stone is difficult to achieve, O best of birds; / having bathed there, one should, filled with devotion, hear about the nature of Śrīnṛsiṃha, the Lord of Lakṣmī.

From gifting the image one obtains the fruit, O goddess; truly, truly, there is no doubt about this.

Between the northeast and the east, the Brahma-tīrtha is proclaimed, / difficult for mortals to reach, whose bathing accomplishes all aims.

A gift of a śālagrāma there is indeed rare for mortals; / giving the form of Lakṣmīnārāyaṇa itself is exceedingly rare.

Its size is described as equal to the space of an audumbara fruit, / umbrella-shaped, round, with a pleasant aperture, auspicious,

its aperture declared to be the measure of a chickpea's extent, / endowed with abundance equally on the left and right sides,

of the colour of a calf in a cow-herd, endowed with four disc-marks, / marked with cow-hoofs, endowed with a mark of gold,

endowed with a garland of forest flowers, and endowed with thunderbolt feathers; / they know such a form of Hari to be Lakṣmīnārāyaṇa.

In the Kali age, obtaining it on earth is remembered as rare for men, / and gifting it is even more so, O goddess; what more shall I tell you?

And having bathed well in the Brahma-tīrtha, the narrative of Hari must be heard, / and of the Gaṇḍakī stone of Lakṣmīnārāyaṇa.

Whoever knows its characteristics, then he surely attains / a result equal to that [gift]; there is no doubt, no deliberation is to be made here.

To the east of the tīrtha of Śrīnivāsa lies the Indra-tīrtha; / the husband of Śacī resides there to perform the worship of Śrīnivāsa.

The gift of a śālagrāma stone should certainly be made to a learned brāhmaṇa; / the gift of a śālagrāma stone destroys ten million killings.

Whoever gives on the earth the stone called Sītārāma at that tīrtha, O auspicious goddess, / he shall become equal to a king.

The Sītārāma stone, O goddess, is proclaimed to be of two kinds: / one endowed with five disc-marks, and [another] endowed with six disc-marks.

Even among them, that endowed with six disc-marks is proclaimed as best; / and double the fruit of the one endowed with five disc-marks is declared.

The measure of a fowl's egg, very smooth, dark blue in colour, / endowed with three apertures, furnished with six disc-marks and filaments,

marked with a gold line, furnished with [marks of] a banner, thunderbolt, and goad; / such indeed is remembered as the one named Sītārāma, O auspicious one.

[When there is] the sheath of Sītārāma in an aperture or in homage, O goddess, / it is rare in the Kali age for men, bestowing one's own sovereignty, auspicious.

At the Indra-tīrtha, O great goddess, the stone named Sītārāma / which is given is rare; that is not the fruit of small asceticism.

In the absence of the capacity to give, the characteristics of Hari should be heard; / one obtains that very fruit which comes from giving a śālagrāma stone.

In the southeast corner of Śrīnivāsa, O goddess, lies the highly praised tīrtha named Vahni; / that fire god resides always in the middle of the tīrtha to worship Śrīnivāsa.

Whoever bathes with devotion in the tīrtha named Vahni, O goddess, remembering the Unborn One, / attains liberation through knowledge, O goddess; bathing there is rare for men.

Knowing that bathing in the king of tīrthas is difficult, devotion to it is also rare, O goddess; / the gift of that stone among śālagrāmas called Vāsudeva is exceedingly rare.

Small, round, dark blue, with a fine aperture, an aperture-disc that is very pure, / endowed with a beautiful flute, called Vāsudeva; its gift is rare in the Kali age, O auspicious one.

In the absence of capacity for its gift, O goddess, having bathed in the tīrtha, / the marks of the stone named Vāsudeva should be fully heard; the great ones say the fruit of both is equal.

To the south of Śrīnivāsa is remembered the Yama-tīrtha; / the King of Justice resides there always to worship Hari.

Bathing and gifting there are remembered as supreme and imperishable; / a gift of a śālagrāma stone should be made there, O great sage.

The gift of the stone named Paṭṭābhirāma is desired: / thick like a mango fruit, endowed with three apertures,

devoid of a top disc-mark, furnished with seven disc-marks, / blue in colour, with a gold line, endowed with [marks of] cow-hoofs and the like.

Paṭṭavardhanarāma is rare, bestowing great good fortune; / whoever gives Paṭṭavardhanarāma there / becomes consecrated to sovereignty; no deliberation is to be made here.

In the southwest of Śrīnivāsa is the excellent Nairṛta tīrtha; / Nirṛti indeed resides there always to perform worship.

A bath should be taken there; rebirth does not occur. / And of the śālagrāma stone named Puruṣottama,

whatever mortal gives the form, he goes to the supreme state: / shaped like an audumbara fruit, with an auspicious, pleasant aperture,

endowed with two disc-marks, endowed with a disc-mark at the top, / endowed with a golden dot, furnished with a thunderbolt and goad.

The gift of that form is rare, because thereby the great-souled god, the Abode of Śrī, is pleased. / When giving [it] is difficult to accomplish, O goddess, then the characteristics of that form should be heard.

Between the guardians of the waters and the south-west, Śeṣatīrtha is traditionally considered supreme. / Having bathed there, one gives the Śeṣa-form [stone] to a twice-born.

He goes to the highest realm, free from return [to rebirth]. / Shaped like a fruit of the udumbara tree, and also having the shape of a coil,

its mouth resembles Śeṣa, and on it two discs are considered [to exist]. / That fruit-like [stone] joined with one disc, accompanied by anthill-like marks,

endowed with a slight color, is very clearly the Śeṣa-form. / The Śeṣa-form is declared to be of two kinds: sleeping and awakened.

The awakened one has raised hoods, endowed with seven hundred thousand hoods; / even among them, the sleeping one is rare and traditionally regarded as bringing great fortune.

It grants liberation in this world and in the next as well, of this there is no doubt. / Where it begins from nine discs and extends up to twenty,

it is to be known as Ananta, truly bestowing infinite fruit. / Above twenty [discs], O fair-faced one, it is to be known as Viśvambhara.

Even there, it is endowed with filaments, discs, and characteristic marks. / But in the Kali [age], it is rare for men, and the gift of it is extremely rare.

Having bathed at Śeṣatīrtha with a mind that is truly purified, / and having heard their characteristics, one attains the supreme state.

Beyond that, O fortunate lady, is the excellent sacred water of Varuṇa, / where the god Varuṇa always resides to perform worship of Hari.

One should bathe there, and an excellent gift should be given: / either a Śiśumāra, a Matsya, or a Trivikrama / should be given by one desiring prosperity at this sacred ford, O noble lady.

Shaped like a jambū fruit, slender at the tail, bearing dots, / having three discs at the mouth and a disc upon the tail,

rich in rows of dots and the śrīvatsa, it is declared to be the Matsya-form. / Endowed with a disc below the tail, it is declared to be Śiśumāra.

If it is endowed with a curved disc, it is declared to be Trivikrama. / Having heard their characteristics at the excellent sacred water of Varuṇa,

and obtaining the fruit of this gift, one rejoices in the dwelling of Viṣṇu. / In whichever home the aforesaid forms dwell, O radiant lady, / the Bhāgīrathī, the best of sacred waters, is present, there is no doubt.

Bathing in the Svāmipuṣkariṇī is difficult for men to achieve in the Kali age, / and bathing in the sacred waters situated there is even more difficult to achieve.

The gift of a Śālagrāma stone is likewise considered difficult to accomplish; / giving a maiden on the bank of the Svāmipuṣkariṇī is very difficult to accomplish.

Giving a kapilā cow is difficult to accomplish; giving food is very difficult to accomplish / at the Svāmipuṣkariṇī sacred water and in the other sacred waters, O radiant lady.

Take bath properly, and likewise make the gift of a bed.' / Thus addressed by the sage Jaigīṣavya, the maiden,

firm in her vows, bathed in the Svāmipuṣkariṇī; / having bathed well in these sacred waters, the beautiful lady made the gifts.

The lady dwelt there for thrice seven days. / Whoever hears the greatness of the bank of the Svāmipuṣkariṇī / attains supreme devotion to the Abode of Śrī, who comprises the universe.

Thus ends the twenty-sixth chapter, named 'Description of the Characteristics and Gift of the Śālagrāmas belonging to the Deity Residing in the Sacred Waters beginning with Svāmipuṣkariṇī in the Greatness of the Vyaṅkaṭa Mountain,' in the Brahmakāṇḍa, the third part of the Uttarakhaṇḍa in the glorious and great Garuḍa Purāṇa.