Skandapurana 5.198

The seers said: / Three and a half crores of sacred fords here on the earth's surface / are heard of, Sūta, being proclaimed in full by the lords of sages.

How can the fruit born of ritual ablution in all the sacred fords be obtained / by those of short life, O highly fortunate one, now that the Kali age has arrived? / Sūta said: / Three sacred fields have been declared here, likewise three great forests; / three cities, three groves indeed, and likewise three villages;

likewise another triad of sacred fords along with a triad of mountains, / and a triad of great rivers that destroys all sins;

situated in the mortal world, O brahmins, bestowing the fruit of all sacred fords. / Whoever performs ritual ablution in all these receives the fruit of all.

Prajāpati declared this concerning these twenty-four in number: / one who bathes in a single triad obtains the fruit of the whole triad.

The seers said: / Which are the three sacred fields here, and which are the forests? / Which are proclaimed to be the three cities, O highly fortunate one, and which the groves?

Which are the villages? Which the sacred fords? Which the mountains and which the rivers? / Tell us all these by name, O Sūta, in detail.

Sūta said: / Kurukṣetra is known as the first, supreme sacred field; / the sacred field born of Hāṭakeśvara is celebrated as the second;

and the third sacred field is Prabhāsa, O best of brahmins. / This triad of sacred fields is holy and destroys all sins.

Having seen [them] according to the prescribed rule, a man is freed from sin. / Meditating with devotion on whatever desire one wishes in these sacred fields,

if he performs ritual ablution, the fruit cherished by his mind comes to pass. / He becomes [as if] bathed in the twenty-four [places], O brahmins.

Puṣkarāraṇya is one forest, and Naimiṣāraṇya indeed [the second]; / the third among them is proclaimed to be Dharmāraṇya, O brahmins.

And whoever performs ritual ablution in these three becomes a sharer in the twenty-four.

The city of Vārāṇasī is one, Dvārakā is the second city, / and the third is called Avantī, renowned in the three worlds.

A man who performs ritual ablution in these becomes a sharer in the twenty-four.

Vṛndāvana is one grove, and Khāṇḍava is the second grove; / another is celebrated as Dvaitavana, the third on the earth's surface.

And whoever performs ritual ablution in these three becomes a sharer in the twenty-four.

Kalpagrāma is remembered as one, Śāligrāma as the second, / and Nandigrāma is the renowned third, O best of brahmins.

And whoever performs ritual ablution in these three becomes a sharer in the twenty-four.

Agnitīrtha is remembered as one, and Śuklatīrtha as the next; / and the third is Pitṛtīrtha, exceedingly dear to the ancestors.

And whoever performs ritual ablution in these three becomes a sharer in the twenty-four.

Śrīparvata is remembered as one, and Arbuda likewise as the second; / the third here is named Raivata, renowned as the best of mountains.

And whoever performs ritual ablution in these three becomes a sharer in the twenty-four.

The river Gaṅgā is remembered as the first, and another is named Narmadā; / the third is Sarasvatī, the river arising from the Plakṣa tree.

Whoever performs ritual ablution in all these becomes a sharer in the twenty-four.

A man who performs ritual ablution in all these indeed / obtains the complete fruit of the three and a half crores [of sacred fords] here.

And a man who performs ritual ablution in one [of them] receives the fruit of the triad.

All this has been recounted to you, which I was asked, O best of brahmins: / the religious merit born of sacred fords that is obtained in brief by men on earth.

What now shall I say to you? Speak of that without delay.

The seers said: / All those sacred fords that exist in the sacred field of Hāṭakeśvara, O son of Sūta, / have been declared by you to us in great detail,

and likewise shrines beyond number. / Even in a hundred years it is not possible to perform ritual ablution here,

clearly, by a mortal in all of them according to the prescribed rule, / and likewise to see the shrines of the deities, O wise one.

The reward is proclaimed [only] for the day on which one has bathed in it. / Mortals were declared to have short lives even in the Kṛta age;

in the Tretā and in the Dvāpara as well, how much more so when the Kali age has arrived! / Knowing that human beings have such short lives, O son of Sūta,

how might they obtain the fruit born of ritual ablution in all the sacred fords, / or that born of seeing the deities, especially those who are penniless?

Is there any means here, whether divine or human, / by which religious merit may come to all of them easily?

Sūta said: / Regarding this matter, the great sage Viśvāmitra was asked in the past / by the king Ānarta, having approached his hermitage.

The king said: / O venerable one, the sacred fords here are beyond number, / and the rule of ritual ablution has been proclaimed in each and every one separately,

in a particular month, weekday, and lunar day by the best of sages; / gifts have likewise been stated, just as the rule of ritual ablution.

The darśana of the deities has also been declared separately. / It is not possible for anyone to obtain the fruit of all of them, O sage,

even in a hundred years, how much less in a few days! / Therefore, O highly fortunate one, tell an easy means for embodied beings.

[so that] a person, bathed in even a single sacred ford, / obtains the entire fruit born of bathing in all sacred fords?

Likewise, when a single god is seen, what fruit arises from all the gods / born of darśana shall come to men, O best of the twice-born?

Sūta said:
Having heard that and meditated for a long time, the great sage Viśvāmitra / spoke: “Listen, O lord of kings; I tell you a secret.

Here there are four excellent, principal sacred fords, O king. / When bathing is performed in them, O king, and thereafter a śrāddha, / the fruit born of bathing in all sacred fords is obtained.

Likewise, twenty-seven liṅgas are situated right here, / beginning with Siddheśvara, which remove all sins.

When all of them are seen with devotion and a purified mind, / the fruit born of the darśana of all the gods is obtained.

Even when a single foremost god [among them] is seen or worshipped, / the worship of the twenty-seven liṅgas is performed by him.”

The king said:
“Which four sacred fords are the principal ones there, O virtuous sage, / bathed in which a person properly obtains the fruit of all of them?”

Viśvāmitra said:
“Here there is a holy small well in which Gayā takes refuge / on the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight and on the day of the new moon,

especially, O highly fortunate one, when the sun is in the sign of Virgo. / Wearied by the many śrāddhas performed by the people of the earth,

whoever performs a śrāddha in it, properly endowed with faith,

on that day, O king of kings, he delivers his ancestors. / And the second sacred ford is remembered as Śaṅkhatīrtha.

Having bathed there, the man who then sees Śaṅkheśvara / on the first day of Māgha obtains the fruit of all of them.

Likewise, the third sacred ford bearing my name has attained preeminence. / But having bathed here, whoever beholds Hara installed by me,

named Viśvāmitreśvara, he shall obtain the fruit of all of them. / On the bright eighth day of Nabhasya, he obtains the fruit of all of them.

The fourth, renowned as Śakratīrtha, is an ornament for children. / Having bathed there for five days and having looked upon Śakreśvara / on the bright eighth day of Āśvina, he obtains the fruit of all of them.”

The king said:
“Tell me, O brahmin, the rule regarding the origin of Gayākūpī / in detail, O highly fortunate one; great faith has arisen in me.”

Viśvāmitra said:
“When the day of the new moon has arrived, with the sun situated in Virgo, / he who performs a śrāddha with devotion delivers his ancestors,

according to the rule of Bhartṛyajña, with pure brahmins born of the place. / A man who, abandoning the rule of Bhartṛyajña, by another rule

performs a śrāddha, foolish-minded, lacking brahmins born of the place, / or [performed] with impure ones, even if born of the place, that becomes futile for him.

It is like rain upon barren ground; this truth is spoken by me. / Just as a dance before a blind man, and singing for a deaf man, / so it goes to futility when performed with brahmins born of another place.

One should have the śrāddha performed by brahmins, even if ignorant, O best of the twice-born; / even knowers of the four Vedas are to be abandoned if born of another place.

In a rite for the gods or for the ancestors, especially at the drinking of soma— / but a man who has gone to another country and performs a śrāddha / must perform it before Agni, and not with another twice-born.

Having seated darbha effigies, he should perform the śrāddha, O best of the twice-born. / The priestly fee and food should be given to the local brahmins, even after a long time.

Just as a vessel full of the five products of the cow is polluted / by a single drop of liquor fallen [into it], O best of kings,

even by a single outsider seated in the midst / of many, O king, that śrāddha would incur defilement.

Even a native of the place knowing the four Vedas, if he does not possess purity, / will ruin the śrāddha [if seated] in the midst of many pure ones.

Therefore, with every effort, one should bring a pure brahmin,

even an ignorant local one, in the absence of virtuous ones; / not one with a missing limb or an extra limb, or otherwise corrupted.

In giving away a maiden and in a śrāddha, a well-born brahmin / should always be brought with effort by one who desires his own welfare, / if he too is endowed with purity, O best of kings.

As the aśvattha tree among trees, as Hari among deities, / so is one born of eight noble families among the brahmins born of the place.

As the thunderbolt among weapons, as the ocean among bodies of water, / so is one born of eight noble families among the brahmins born of the place.

As Uccaiḥśravas among horses, as Indra's mount among elephants, / so is one born of eight noble families among the brahmins born of the place.

As the Gaṅgā among rivers, and as Arundhatī among chaste wives, / likewise one belonging to eight families is remembered as the best among brahmins born of the place.

Just as the sun among planets, and the moon among constellations, / likewise one belonging to eight families is remembered as the best among brahmins born of the place.

As Meru among mountains, and a brahmin among two-footed beings, / so one belonging to eight families is the best among brahmins born of the place.

Just as Garuḍa among birds, and the lion among forest dwellers, / so one belonging to eight families is the best among brahmins born of the place.

Knowing this, one born of eight noble families should be employed with effort, O king, / in a śrāddha and in a sacrifice, and especially in giving away a maiden.

His ancestors dance and his grandfathers roar, / seeing one of eight noble families arrived at the base of the altar, O king.

Overjoyed, they say again: “What will the daughter’s son give us / with his sacred thread over the right shoulder—water with darbha grass and sesame seeds?”

The king said:
What is this pre-eminence of those born of the eight lineages
over all the Nāgaras that you have spoken of? Tell me that, O noble-minded one!

For surely the reason for this cannot be a small one, O best of the twice-born.

Viśvāmitra said:
What you have said, O great king, is true.
There are other Nāgaras as well who have mastered the Vedas and Vedāṅgas,

worthy of śrāddha, fit for sacrifices, and especially fit for taking brides.
Yet those [eight] were installed there, O king, by Indra himself

as foremost among all [the brahmins], and by all the Nāgaras collectively.
Therefore they have attained respect, especially in this very place.

Therefore a śrāddha should be performed with brahmins born of the eight lineages;
and if they are not obtained, it should be done with those born of Nāgara lineage,

not with twice-born who come from other places, even if they know the four Vedas.
Indeed, this ordinance was established by the great-souled Bhartṛyajña:

Whoever performs here a śrāddha or a sacrifice
excluding a Nāgara brahmin with any other, for him it will be fruitless.

The king said:
There are various other brahmins who have mastered the Vedas and Vedāṅgas,
peaceful ones born in the Madhyadeśa, as well as others born in tīrthas,

who were rejected by Bhartṛyajña, especially in śrāddha and sacrifice;
and those who have defective limbs, redundant limbs, are twice naked, or have dark teeth,

have diseased nails, are afflicted with leprosy, or are fools and contemptible,
were indicated by him as worthy of śrāddha. Resolve this doubt of mine!

Viśvāmitra said:
I shall tell you, O tiger among men, the many reasons
why they became fallen through the gift of Camatkāra's wife,

and through the acceptance [of gifts] by women while the brahmins were abroad,
from which arose a division designated as outer and inner.

Then, cursed by Durvāsas as if by an angry serpent,
they were permanently fallen through his curse on account of their pride in learning and wealth.

When Kuśa came to the throne, O king, a great fear of rākṣasas
was reported entirely by the subjects to that great-souled king.

A messenger was then sent to Vibhīṣaṇa in Laṅkā,
and he made known all the fear that had arisen among the people.

Paying homage to Kuśa's command and remembering Rāma's conduct,
[Vibhīṣaṇa] inspected [the matter] in the city of Laṅkā by Rāma's authority.

The perpetrators of the affliction fled in all ten directions;
in great fear, they went to the world of the gandharvas.

Unable to stay there because of the fear of Vibhīṣaṇa,
they arrived on earth and [spread to] many places.

Out of great fear, in the realm under Kuśa's rule,
they assumed the forms of brahmins and came there.

Unable to remain among [the faithful] because of the glory of the brahmins,
they went to Camatkārapura, the dwelling-place of the fallen.

Skilled in deception, by means of wealth and learning,
they consumed food together and dwelt among them.

From then on, they all assumed the nature of rākṣasas
and committed cruel deeds at every step.

Therefore, O king, tiger among men, they must be avoided in every way
at a śrāddha and a sacrifice; they cause one to fall into hell.

I shall mention another fault of theirs to you, O sinless one:
They were established as of threefold birth, O king, for destroying the poison of serpents.

Thence Camatkārapura attained its status as a city,
and all of them there especially came to have a threefold birth.

For these reasons they were avoided by Bhartṛyajña.
And there is yet another reason: even by their touch one does not attain purity,

and [the fault] stemming from Kumbhaka, originating from a great caṇḍāla, was incurred.

The king said:
Please tell me this reason also out of your favour, O brahmin;
you have knowledge of the world, both immobile and mobile.

Viśvāmitra said:
In this regard I will narrate to you another tale of past events,
concerning why all those other best brahmins were rejected by Bhartṛyajña.

Formerly, in the city of Vardhamāna, there was a man born of an outcaste class,
a caṇḍāla named Kumbhaka, pitiless and a committer of sinful deeds.

After some time, a son was born to him;
though [the father] was deformed, [the son] was endowed with beauty by the power of past deeds.

To him who had reddish-brown eyes, was very black, and was in middle age, O ruler of the earth,
[was born a son] capable in all tasks and endowed with all auspicious marks.

He grew rapidly like the moon in the bright fortnight,
praised by all people, possessed of a handsome form;
seeing his family, he continually experienced the highest detachment.

Then, wandering here and there out of sorrow into another country,
he reached Camatkārapura, having assumed the form of a twice-born.
He took ritual ablutions before all rites, eating only food gathered as alms.

At that very time, there was a brahmin celebrated for his vows,
renowned in the Chāndogya lineage, named Subhadra, O ruler of the earth.

A Nāgara who sacrificed every year and had mastered the Vedas and Vedāṅgas,
he lived there; and a daughter was born to him with a double row of teeth,

and likewise dreadful with three breasts and possessed of a whorl of hair upon her back.
Though [a suitor might be] poor, in great distress, or base-born, O ruler of the earth,

no one would accept her even when offered;
for she would devour her husband within six months!

A woman who has double teeth—thus have the physiognomists declared—
and a maiden with three breasts brings about the destruction of her father-in-law's family,
there is no doubt about this; therefore one should abandon her from afar.

A woman who has a whorl of hair upon her back will quickly become unchaste,
practising many sins; therefore one should avoid her.

Now, seeing her grown to maturity, the brahmin Subhadra
mounted a wheel of anxiety and found no peace.

“What shall I do? Where shall I go? How will she get a husband? / Even though asked again and again, no one accepts her.

[Whether] poor, diseased, or even old, as long as he is a brahmin; / for this was declared in the smṛti by the great seers of old regarding a maiden:

‘At eight years she is Gaurī, and at nine years she is Rohiṇī; / at ten years she is a maiden (kanyā), and beyond that she is a menstruating woman (rajasvalā).

Mother, father, and likewise the eldest brother— / all three go to hell upon seeing a maiden become a rajasvalā.’ ”

While he was thinking thus, that outcaste (antyaja), wearing the form of a twice-born, / arrived at his house to beg for alms, and was seen by that noble man.

And seeing such an appearance, he asked him out of wonder: / “Whence have you arrived here, and where will you go, mendicant?

Being so very handsome, why have you resorted to collecting alms? / Tell me, what is your lineage (gotra), and which is your ancestral lineage (pravara)?”

He said: “My very eminent dwelling place is in the Gauḍa country, / renowned by the name Bhojakaṭa, inhabited by various twice-born.

There was a brahmin named Mādhava, who had mastered the Vedas, / renowned in the Vasiṣṭha gotra, distinguished by a single pravara.

I am his son, known by the name Candraprabha.

Then, when in my eighth year I was observing my vow [of studenthood], / my father, the master of the Vedas, met his death.

My mother entered the fire together with him. / Then, overcome with dispassion, I departed from my own home.

Wandering among sacred fords, I arrived here at your city. / Now I will proceed to Prabhāsa, the supreme sacred field,

where Lord Someśvara came after leaving Kailāsa. / I have not studied the Vedas, nor the scriptures, O best of kings; / for the purpose of a pilgrimage to sacred fords, therefore, I wander for alms.”

Viśvāmitra said: / Hearing that speech of his, he reflected in his mind: / “This brahmin is from a good country, and his appearance is very handsome. / If he will accept my daughter, then I shall give [her] to him,

so long as she is not yet seen to have become a rajasvalā, / lest that base girl quickly disgrace my entire family.”

Then, having deliberated with his wife, he said to that outcaste: / “If you will accept my daughter, O twice-born, I shall give [her] to you.

I will indeed provide maintenance and nourishment for both of you at all times.”

Hearing that, delighted, the outcaste said to the best of kings: / “I will carry out your command; give me your daughter, O king.”

Having said “So be it,” he went and gave his own daughter to him; / then the wedding was performed according to the rule prescribed in the Gṛhya texts.

Then, filled with satisfaction and considering himself to have achieved his purpose, / he gave him wealth, grain, a house, a field, and wealth in cattle.

Then he too, having obtained her, indulged in many pleasures, / with foods, drinks, fine garments, perfumes, garlands, and ornaments.

Yet along whatever path he generally walked, / barking dogs followed behind him,

just as [they do] to other outcastes, and especially to him. / And if ever he engaged in the study of the Veda, / blood immediately fell from the mouth of that evil-minded one.

Meanwhile, all the people became suspicious, / and approaching one another, they said: “This man is undoubtedly a caṇḍāla,

since these sons of bitches follow behind [him] barking.” / Subhadra too, hearing that [talk] of theirs, became filled with anxiety.

Considering that to be true, filled with great sorrow, [he thought]: / “Surely my daughter's husband must be of the outcaste class.

It is known by all his actions, just as the people say.”

Thus, while that king, subject to public scandal, / was worrying day and night, some time passed.

When another day arrived, the foremost twice-born sages, / accompanied by an arbiter, came to the Brahmasthāna; / for the sake of his purification, they spoke so that doubt might be destroyed.

Then the best of the twice-born said to him who stood before the arbiter of the Brahmasthāna, / who stood with a pale face spoken to by the arbiter:

“State your family, your gotra, and especially your pravaras, / and the dwelling place and country of the brahmins, so that purification may be granted.”

Then he, trembling, with a sweating face / and downcast eyes, with joined palms, said this in a faltering voice:

“In the eighth year from my conception my father met his death. / Then my devoted mother, taking him [in her lap] / and abandoning me, afflicted and wretched, entered the fire.

Overcome with dispassion in my childhood out of grief for my father, / I undertook a pilgrimage to sacred fords along with other ascetics.

I did not study the Veda, nor have I examined the scriptures. / Dedicated to pilgrimages to sacred fords, I arrived at your city, / [taken in] by my father-in-law, the base-minded Subhadra, who is [in truth] un-auspicious (abhadra). / This [much] I know, O brahmins: either [my] gotra is indeed Vāsiṣṭha,

and with one pravara, [my] country is Gauḍa, and [my] city is Madhupura.” / Then those brahmins said: “He whose lineage is not known, / to him purification must be granted solely by means of the balance (dhaṭa).

Therefore, having mounted the balance solely for the sake of brahminhood, / and having thereby obtained purification, then enjoy pleasures, remaining right here.”

Gathering courage, he said to all the best twice-born: / “I will willingly accept even the heated coin (taptamāṣaka),

or I will enter fire, or I will consume poison.

How much more the ordeal of the balance (dhaṭadivya), which brings ease when performed! / For the sake of brahminhood, O brahmins, there is no aversion in my mind.”

Then those brahmins, having prescribed his purification / through the balance ordeal on a Sunday after that, / all went to their respective homes; and that outcast [posing as a] brahmin also went [home], O twice-born ones.

Then in secret he said to his own wife, O best of kings: / “I have been recognized by all the brahmins as an outcast by birth. / I will go to another country; you come with me.”

The wife said: / “I will enter fire; I will not go with you. / O evil-minded one, I will not fall into the fires of hell.

Knowing [it], I will not serve you who are born of an outcaste. / O sinner, this entire excellent place has been corrupted by you,

as well as the mansion of my father, who performs sacrifices for a year. / Therefore, go very swiftly, as long as no one knows;

otherwise, O worker of evil, you will meet with great misfortune.”

Then, when nightfall arrived, wearing only a loincloth, / having fled toward his desired direction, he vanished out of fear for his life.

Thus ends the one hundred and ninety-ninth chapter, named ‘Description of the Pre-eminence of the Eight Families of Nāgaras’, in the Māhātmya of the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra, in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, the sixth [part] of the eighty-one-thousand-verse collection of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa.