Matsyapurana 110

English (machine translation) 110

Language: English

110.1

Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Hear once again, O king, the greatness of Prayāga: / Naimiṣa, Puṣkara, Gotīrtha, the confluence of the Indus and the ocean,

110.2

Gayā, Caitraka, and Gaṅgāsāgara, / and these and many others, as well as the holy mountains—

110.3

ten thousand sacred places and another thirty crores / reside constantly at Prayāga; so say the wise.

110.4

There are also three fire-altar pits, in the midst of which the Jāhnavī / emerges from Prayāga, bowed to by all sacred places.

110.5

The divine daughter of the Sun, renowned in the three worlds, / the Yamunā, uniting with the Gaṅgā, blesses the world.

110.6

Between the Gaṅgā and the Yamunā is traditionally known as the hips of the earth; / Prayāga, O tiger among kings, [no other place] equals even a sixteenth part of it.

110.7

Three and a half crores of sacred places, Vāyu declared, / are in heaven, on earth, and in the mid-air; all that is considered the Jāhnavī.

110.8

Prayāga is the foundation, along with both Kambala and Aśvatara, / and that which is Bhogavatī: this is the sacrificial altar of the lord of progeny.

110.9

There the Vedas and sacrifices embodied, O Yudhiṣṭhira, / and the sages rich in asceticism worship the lord of progeny.

110.10

The gods sacrifice with rituals, and likewise the disc-wielding kings; / therefore nothing is more sacred in the three worlds, O descendant of Bharata.

110.11

By its power, it surpasses all sacred places, O mighty lord: / ten thousand sacred places, and another three crores.

110.12

Where the exalted Gaṅgā flows, that region is the treasure of asceticism, / and the banks of the Gaṅgā should be known as a realm of perfection.

110.13

One should know this truth for the good of oneself and the virtuous; / and one should whisper it into the ear of a friend and of a devoted disciple.

110.14

This brings good fortune, this leads to heaven, this is true, this is happiness; / this is holy, this conforms to righteousness, this is purifying, the supreme duty.

110.15

This is the secret of the great sages, destroying all sins; / and having studied this, even a twice-born man, spotless, reaches heaven.

110.16

He who, ever pure, listens daily to [the greatness of] this sacred place / obtains recollection of past births and rejoices on the vault of heaven.

110.17

Those sacred places are reached by the virtuous who follow the wise; / bathe in the sacred places, O Kaurava, and do not be perverse in mind.

110.18

Having been properly asked by you, I have spoken, O mighty lord; / all your ancestors have been delivered, and likewise your grandfathers.

Vows, gifts, austerity, sacred places, all sacrifices with priestly fees, / yogas, Sāṃkhya, good conduct, and whatever other causes of knowledge there are— / all of them do not equal a sixteenth part of Prayāga.

110.20

Thus knowledge, yoga, and the sacred place, O Yudhiṣṭhira, / are attained with much hardship, and through them they reach the supreme state; / knowledge of the three times arises, and one will go to the world of heaven.

Translations (1)

The Matsya Puranam — A Taluqdar of Oudh 1916, English

Linked texts (1)

Matsyapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit