Matsyapurana 106

English (machine translation) 106

Language: English

106.1

Yudhiṣṭhira said:
The more the greatness of Prayāga is spoken of by you,
the more I am freed from all sins, without a doubt.

106.2

O venerable one, by what rule should those who are resolute in dharma proceed?
Tell me that rite which is proclaimed for Prayāga, O great sage!

106.3

Mārkaṇḍeya said:
I will tell you, O king, the proper sequence of rules for a pilgrimage to the holy ford,
according to this ancient seers' rule, as seen and as heard.

106.4

If any man, desiring to make a pilgrimage to the holy ford of Prayāga, proceeds
mounted upon an ox, hear what the fruit is for him as well.

106.5

The tormentor of cattle dwells in a terrible, dreadful hell;
and the ancestors of that embodied being do not accept his water [offerings].

106.6

He who bathes his sons and children, and gives them drink,
just as for himself, so should he cause all gifts to be given to Brāhmaṇas.

106.7

A man who goes by a carriage out of pride of wealth, greed, or delusion,
all of that becomes fruitless for him; therefore, he should avoid a carriage.

106.8

He who gives away a maiden between the Gaṅgā and the Yamunā,
by the wedding rite of the seers, according to his means,

106.9

does not see that dreadful hell by that act;
having gone to the Northern Kurus, he rejoices for endless time,
and obtains righteous and handsome sons and wives.

106.10

A gift should be made there according to one's means;
thereby the fruit of the holy ford increases, there is no doubt of this;
O best of kings, he dwells in heaven until the cosmic dissolution.

106.11

He who abandons his vital breaths having approached the root of the banyan tree,
having surpassed all worlds, goes to the world of Rudra.

106.12

There the twelve Ādityas, dependent on Rudra, blaze forth;
they burn up the entire universe, but the root of the banyan tree is not consumed.

106.13

And when the moon, sun, and worlds are destroyed, and the universe has become a primordial cosmic ocean,
Viṣṇu resides there, acting as the sacrificer again and again.

106.14

Gods, Dānavas, Gandharvas, sages, Siddhas, and Cāraṇas
always resort to that holy ford, the confluence of the Gaṅgā and Yamunā.

106.15

Then, O best of kings, one should go to Prayāga, praising [it],
where Brahmā and the other gods, sages, Siddhas, and Cāraṇas,

106.16

and the world-guardians, Sādhyas, ancestors honored by the worlds,
and the supreme sages headed by Sanatkumāra,

106.17

and other brāhmaṇa-sages headed by Aṅgiras,
as well as the Nāgas, Suparṇas, Siddhas, and sky-farers,

106.18

oceans, rivers, mountains, Nāgas, and Vidyādharas,
and the venerable Hari, preceded by the lord of progeny, reside.

Between the Gaṅgā and Yamunā is remembered as the hips and loins of the earth;
Prayāga, O tiger among kings, is renowned throughout the three worlds;
nothing is more sacred than it in the three worlds, O Bhārata.

106.20

By hearing about that holy ford, and even by uttering its name,
or by taking up its earth, a person is freed from sin.

106.21

He who performs an ablution at the confluence, firm in his vows,
obtains a fruit equal to that of the Rājasūya and Aśvamedha sacrifices.

106.22

Neither by the word of a god, dear one, nor by the word of people
should your mind be turned away from going to Prayāga.

106.23

Ten thousand holy fords and sixty crores besides;
their presence is right here, O joy of the Kurus.

106.24

The destination of one joined to yoga, of a wise man abiding in truth,
is the same destination of one who abandons his vital breaths at the confluence of the Gaṅgā and Yamunā.

106.25

They do not truly live here in this world, here and there, O Yudhiṣṭhira,
who have not reached Prayāga; they are cheated in the three worlds.

106.26

Having thus seen that holy ford Prayāga, the supreme state,
one is freed from all sins like the moon from Rāhu.

106.27

Kambala and Aśvatara are two Nāgas on the wide bank of the Yamunā;
having bathed and drunk there, one is freed from all sins.

106.28

And having gone there to the renowned abode of Mahādeva,
a man delivers all [his ancestors]—ten preceding and ten following.

106.29

Having performed an ablution, a man obtains the fruit of an horse sacrifice;
he attains the heavenly world until the cosmic dissolution.

106.30

On the eastern bank of the Gaṅgā, O Bhārata, renowned in the three worlds,
is the well called Sāmudra, and the famed Pratiṣṭhāna.

106.31

If a celibate student, having conquered anger, stays there for three nights,
with his self purified of all sins, he obtains the fruit of a horse sacrifice.

106.32

To the north of Pratiṣṭhāna, and to the east of the Bhāgīrathī,
is the holy ford named Haṃsaprapatana, renowned in the three worlds.

106.33

The fruit of a horse sacrifice is obtained there merely by bathing, O Bhārata;
as long as the moon and the sun endure, so long is he glorified in heaven.

106.34

At the sacred Urvaśīramaṇa, extensive and white with swans,
he who abandons his vital breaths—hear what the fruit is for him as well.

106.35

For sixty thousand and six hundred years,
he is served together with his ancestors in the heavenly world, O lord of men.

106.36

He shall continually behold Urvaśī in the heavenly world, O best of men;
he is constantly worshipped, O son, by sages, Gandharvas, and Kiṃnaras.

106.37

Then, falling from heaven when his merit is exhausted and dropped from the sky,
he obtains a hundred maidens resembling Urvaśī.

106.38

He becomes the husband in the midst of many thousands of women;
he becomes a king enjoying ten thousand villages.

106.39

He awakens from sleep to the sound of girdles and anklets;
having enjoyed extensive pleasures, he returns again to that holy ford.

106.40

Always wearing white garments, restrained, with his senses controlled,
eating only once a day for a month, he becomes a lord of the earth.

106.41

He obtains a hundred women adorned with gold; / he becomes a great lord of the earth spanning to the ocean.

106.42

Endowed with wealth and grain, he becomes an enduring giver of gifts; / and after enjoying vast pleasures, he attains that holy place again.

106.43

Then, at the delightful Saṃdhyāvaṭa, a student of the Veda who has conquered his senses, / fasting and pure at twilight, will reach the world of Brahmā.

106.44

He who approaches Koṭitīrtha and surrenders his life / is honored in the heavenly realm for ten million thousand years.

106.45

Then, descending from heaven when his karma is exhausted and he has fallen from the sky, / he is born handsome into a family rich in gold, jewels, and pearls.

106.46

Then, going to Bhogavatī, to the north of Vāsuki, / there is another holy place named Daśāśvamedhaka.

106.47

A man who has bathed there obtains the fruit of a horse sacrifice; / he becomes wealthy, handsome, skilled, generous, and righteous.

106.48

The merit that lies in the four Vedas, the merit that belongs to speakers of truth, / and the righteousness that resides in non-violence—the fruit of all that comes merely from going there.

106.49

The Gaṅgā is equal to Kurukṣetra wherever one plunges into it; / but where it joins with the Vindhya, it is ten times greater than Kurukṣetra.

106.50

Where the glorious Gaṅgā flows with many holy sites and rich in ascetics, / that must be known as a realm of perfection; no doubt should be entertained on this point.

106.51

She carries mortals across on earth, and carries the serpents across below; / she carries the gods across in heaven: therefore she is known as the river that flows through three paths.

106.52

For as long as a person's bones remain in the Gaṅgā, / for that many thousands of years he is honored in the heavenly world.

106.53

Then, descending from heaven, he becomes the ruler of Jambūdvīpa. / It is the supreme among holy places, the great river among rivers, / granting liberation to all creatures, even to great sinners.

106.54

The Gaṅgā is easily accessible everywhere, but difficult of access in three places: / at Gaṅgādvāra, at Prayāga, and at the confluence of the Gaṅgā and the ocean. / Those who bathe there go to heaven, and those who die there have no rebirth.

106.55

For all beings whose minds are afflicted by sin, / seeking a destination, there is no destination equal to the Gaṅgā.

106.56

She is the purest of the pure and the most auspicious of the auspicious; / having descended from the head of Maheśvara, she is auspicious and removes all sins.

106.57

In the Kṛta [Yuga] the Naimiṣa sacred ground is praised, in the Tretā Puṣkara is supreme, / in the Dvāpara Kurukṣetra is superior, and in the Kali the Gaṅgā is distinguished.

106.58

One should resort only to the Gaṅgā, and especially to Prayāga; / no other remedy is found in the terrible Kali age, O king.

Translations (1)

The Matsya Puranam — A Taluqdar of Oudh 1916, English

Linked texts (1)

Matsyapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit