Skandapurana 3.4

English (machine translation) 3.4

Language: English

3.1.53.1

Now begins the glorification of Setu, first in the Brāhmakhaṇḍa. (3-1)

1. Benediction; arrival of the Purāṇic reciter, the great sage Sūta, into the assembly of the great seers Śaunaka and others dwelling in Naimiṣāraṇya; questioning [him] by Śaunaka and the other great seers after offering hospitality out of a desire to know the glorification of sacred fields and sacred fords; commencement of the description of the glorification of the sacred field of Śrī Rāmeśvara by Sūta; therein at the outset, the narration of the glorification of the pilgrimage to the bridge constructed by Śrī Rāma situated on the southern ocean, the darśana of the bridge, the ritual ablution at Rāmasetu, and the darśana of the Rāmeśvara liṅga -- 1 1

3.1.53.4

Esoteric aspect of Setu

3.1.53.5

2. In the context of the account of building the bridge: narration of the inner Rāmāyaṇa story including the journey of Śrī Rāmacandra to the Daṇḍaka forest by his father's command, the abduction of Sītā, friendship with Sugrīva, going to the ocean shore, and meeting with Vibhīṣaṇa; then, after consecrating Vibhīṣaṇa over the entire realm of the rākṣasas, taking counsel with Sugrīva and others on the bed of darbha grass at Cakratīrtha in contemplation of the means to cross the ocean; then Rāma, contemplating the means to cross the ocean for three nights, waiting while worshipping the ocean; then, seeing the ocean's disrespect by its not coming to him, etc., when Śrī Rāma makes a vow to dry up the ocean, the terrified ocean seeks refuge with Śrī Rāma and recites a hymn of praise to Śrī Rāma; then, pleased with that hymn, when Śrī Rāma tells him it is for crossing in order to reach Laṅkā, the ocean's petition to build a bridge over him; then Śrī Rāma's construction of a bridge across the ocean through the monkey Nala, son of Viśvakarman, with the aid of all the monkeys; description of the bed of darbha grass as the root of the bridge; description of the twenty-four sacred fords situated on the bridge, beginning with Cakratīrtha 4 1

3.1.53.6

3. Now begins the account of the fame of Cakratīrtha, also known as the Root of the Setu (Setumūla): There, on the bank of the Dharmapuṣkariṇī, the Lord, pleased by the tapas of the great seer named Gālava, granted a boon to Gālava, and the account of Dharma’s gaining the state of being Hara's vehicle, the bull, obtained through the grace of Hara who was pleased by his worship; then, when the great seer Gālava, who was devoted to the worship of Hari, was seized by a certain rākṣasa in order to devour him, the slaying of the rākṣasa by the Sudarśanacakra sent by the Lord upon his praise; then Gālava, seeing the rākṣasa slain, praised the blazing Sudarśanacakra standing before him; then the Sudarśanacakra granted a boon to the great seer Gālava and established its perpetual presence in the Dharmapuṣkariṇī; therefore the Dharmapuṣkariṇī became famous as Cakratīrtha; the description of the māhātmya of Cakratīrtha, another name for Dharmatīrtha...... 62

3.1.53.7

4. The account of the rākṣasa who caused terror to the great seer Gālava: There, the great seer Vasiṣṭha, who had arrived at the reservoir of water to perform the midday rites, seeing the infatuation through lust of Durdama, the son of the gandharva Viśvāvasu, as he sported in the water without clothes together with naked women, uttered a curse; through Vasiṣṭha's curse Durdama attained the condition of a rākṣasa; Vasiṣṭha, implored by his wives, set a limit to the end of Durdama's curse; then, following the decapitation wrought by the Sudarśanacakra, Durdama attained a divine body; Durdama's praise of the Sudarśanacakra; although Cakratīrtha extends continuously from Darbhaśayana up to Devīpattana, the account of the cutting of the wings of the mountains by Śakra in explanation of why it is broken in between......... 82

3.1.53.8

5. Now, in connection with the māhātmya of Cakratīrtha, the account of the Vasu named Vidhūma and the apsaras Alaṃbusā: There, in the world of Brahmā, while Brahmā sat in his assembly together with Sāvitrī, Sanaka, and all the gods, munis, siddhas, Vasus, and gandharvas, and all the apsarases began dancing in turn before him, in due course the inner garment of the apsaras named Alaṃbusā as she danced was playfully tossed up by the wind; seeing the shamelessness of the Vasu named Vidhūma, who was tormented by the arrows of Kāma upon clearly seeing her thighs and hips, Brahmā pronounced a curse upon him to take birth as a mortal, and also a curse upon Alaṃbusā to become a human woman; through Vidhūma's plea, Brahmā set a limit for the termination of that curse; then, on the mortal earth, the Vasu Vidhūma was born to the wife of King Śatānīka by the name Sahasrānīka, and his three attendants took birth in the houses of his minister, army commander, and companion; the celestial courtesan named Alaṃbusā became the daughter of Kṛtavarman, the lord of Ayodhyā; then, when King Śatānīka died in heaven in battle with a Daitya, Sahasrānīka's coronation; thereafter, having gone to the abode of Śakra on the occasion of the joyful festival of Sanandana by invitation of Śakra, Sahasrānīka learned the details of the end of his curse from Śakra's words, returned to earth, and married Mṛgāvatī; after the wedding to Mṛgāvatī, as Sahasrānīka was setting out for the city of Kauśāmbī, he was cursed on the way by an apsaras named Tilottamā, whom he did not notice because he was meditating on the words of Śakra, that: 'For fourteen years there shall be separation between you and your wife'; then, in the course of time, when Mṛgāvatī was pregnant and immersed in a reservoir filled with safflower blossoms to satisfy her pregnancy craving, she was seized and carried away by a giant bird born of the family of Suparṇa to the summit of the Udayācala mountain; there Jamadagni consoled the grief-stricken Mṛgāvatī and settled her in his hermitage; then Jamadagni gave the name Udayana to the son born of Mṛgāvatī there; Udayana, having freed a nāga named Kinnara from a Śabara hunter by giving a bracelet given by his mother, which nāga immediately assumed human form, went with him to Pātāla and married the sister of the Kinnara nāga named Lalitā, the daughter of the nāga Dhṛtarāṣṭra; from him a son was born in Lalitā; then Lalitā's release from a curse; Udayana's return to his mother at the hermitage of Jamadagni, taking the son from Lalitā, a garland of betel leaves, and the vīṇā named Ghoṣavatī; Sahasrānīka, seeing his own signet bracelet in the possession of the Śabara hunter and hearing the account of obtaining the bracelet from the Śabara, went with his ministers to the hermitage of Jamadagni; after regaining his wife Mṛgāvatī, his son Udayana, and his grandson from Jamadagni, his return to his city; then, having placed the burden of the kingdom on his son named Udayana, in order to remove his curse he went with his wife Mṛgāvatī and his sons of ministers named Vasantaka, Rumaṇvat, Yaugandharāyaṇa, and others, to Cakratīrtha situated on the shore of the southern ocean; the account of the removal of his curse and regaining of his [divine] form by merely bathing there; then the account of all four of them regaining their original forms; the description of the māhātmya of Cakratīrtha..... 101

3.1.53.9

6. Now, the description of the account of Devīpattana situated at the place of the Nine Stones (Navapāṣāṇa): therein, the instruction given by Diti, whose sons had been slain by the gods, to her own daughter to perform austerities; the performing of terrible austerities such as practicing the five fires by her daughter, who assumed the form of a buffalo cow on Diti's order and went to a penance grove; the sage Supārśva, agitated by those austerities, reassuring her that she would obtain a son in the form of a man with a buffalo's head who would conquer the gods, taking her and returning to his own hermitage; then the birth of Mahiṣāsura from that daughter of Diti; after obtaining dominion over the entire Daitya kingdom, Mahiṣāsura waging war against the gods and defeating all the gods; then Brahmā taking the defeated gods and going to Nārāyaṇa and Śiva; upon hearing from Brahmā the account of Mahiṣāsura's harassment, the emergence of an immense splendour from the mouths of the enraged Rameśvara and Maheśvara; then the emergence of splendour from the bodies of all the gods; from the coming together of all those splendours into one mass, the manifestation of a woman named Durgā, exquisitely radiant and beautiful in all her limbs; then all the gods bestowing weapons created from their own weapons upon that Goddess Durgā; the Goddess, praised by all the gods, mounting a lion and uttering a terrible, loud roar of laughter for the purpose of slaying Mahiṣāsura; then the terribly fierce battle of the gods with the armies of Mahiṣāsura; and the description of the Goddess slaying Mahiṣāsura's army in that battle. 13 2

3.1.53.10

7. Now, after the Goddess slays the asura named Caṇḍakopa sent by Mahiṣāsura, a tumultuous battle fought with Mahiṣāsura himself, who arrived for combat; then the slaying of Mahiṣāsura by the Goddess; the gods, pleased by the slaying of Mahiṣāsura, praising the Goddess; then, when the gods returned to their respective stations of authority, the Goddess, Mother of the Universe, creating the Dharmapuṣkariṇī tīrtha and Devīpattana on the shore of the southern ocean and granting boons; the glorious Rāmacandra having the bridge constructed by Nala after installing the nine stones embodying the nine planets; the description of the boundary location where the bridge begins; the māhātmya of Hari, Lord of the Bridge; praise of Cakratīrtha; and the statement of the beginning of the pilgrimage to the bridge starting from the place of Darbhaśayana. 15 1

3.1.53.11

8. Now, the description of the account of Vetālavarada-tīrtha: therein, the Vidyādhara youth named Sudarśana, overcome with passion, seizing by the hair the daughter of the great seer Gālava, named Kāntimatī; Gālava uttering a curse upon the Vidyādhara named Sudarśana that he would become a human and then a vetāla; and his uttering a curse merely of human birth upon his younger brother named Sukarṇaka, who approved of it; then the birth of those two, Sudarśana and Sukarṇaka, as sons named Vijayadatta and Aśokadatta in the house of Govindasvāmin, who lived on the banks of the Yamunā; then Govindasvāmin, having gone to Vārāṇasī due to a famine in his own land, hearing from the mouth of an ascetic named Kapālamālābharaṇa of his future separation from his son named Vijayadatta; and the description of the account of Vijayadatta suddenly becoming a vetāla named Kapālasphoṭa. 16 2

3.1.53.12

9. Now, Govindasvāmin, distressed by grief for his son, returns to his house and laments with his wife; with the permission of King Pratāpamukuṭa, Govindasvāmin's second son named Aśokadatta throws down and slays a great champion of the Deccan; then Aśokadatta resides under the patronage of King Pratāpamukuṭa; then once, wandering in a solitary forest with the king, the resolute Aśokadatta goes to a cremation ground, seizes the sole of the foot of the illusory rākṣasī named Vidyutkeśā, takes one jeweled anklet, comes into the presence of the king, and offers the jeweled anklet to the king; then King Pratāpamukuṭa, pleased by that courage, bestows his own daughter named Madanalekhā upon Aśokadatta according to the marriage rite; then, knowing the king's desire, Aśokadatta takes human flesh and goes to the cremation ground to obtain the second anklet; there, while the spirits are being summoned with mantras, the rākṣasī named Vidyutkeśā, surrounded by rākṣasa maidens, approaches him eager to eat flesh; then the rākṣasī named Vidyutkeśā, pleased by his courage, gives the second jeweled anklet from her foot and also gives her own daughter named Vidyutprabhā to the brahmin's son named Aśokadatta; and to him, the son-in-law, she gives a golden lotus as a bridal gift; taking all that, Aśokadatta returns to King Pratāpamukuṭa; Pratāpamukuṭa praises Aśokadatta; then once in private, when Vidyutprabhā is asked about the place of origin of the golden lotus given by her mother, she narrates the account of the divine lake of the vetāla king named Kapālavisphoṭaka; then Aśokadatta goes with that Vidyutprabhā to the golden-lotus lake guarded by the vetāla Kapālavisphoṭaka; there, having slain the obstructive vetālas, Aśokadatta, wishing to slay the vetāla named Kapālavisphoṭaka, beholds the lord of the vidyādharas named Vijñaptikautuka mounted on an aerial chariot; upon merely beholding him, Aśokadatta is freed from the curse of human birth given by the great sage Gālava and attains his own true form named Sukarṇa; then, by the word of the vidyādhara lord Vijñaptikautuka, for the purpose of redeeming his own brother who had been turned into a vetāla, he goes with him to Cakratīrtha on the shore of the southern ocean and takes a ritual bath; upon merely touching a drop of water of that sacred ford, the vetāla's state of being a vetāla ceases and he regains the state of being the brahmin's son named Vijayadatta; when that Vijayadatta performs a ritual bath again with solemn resolve, he is freed from the curse of human birth and attains the state of the vidyādhara named Sudarśana; and the proclamation of that sacred ford under the name Vetālavarada, because of its freeing [one] from the state of a vetāla, is related. 18 1

3.1.53.13

10. Now, the glorification of Mount Gandhamādana situated on the southern ocean; the māhātmya of Pāpavināśanatīrtha situated on Mount Gandhamādana; therein, the account of a śūdra named Dṛḍhamati is related; in that connection, the duties of a śūdra are described; to the śūdra named Dṛḍhamati, who was ineligible for Vedic sacrifice initiation but was performing meritorious acts such as [building] temples and living by the lifestyle of a sage in order to practice austerity, a brahmin named Sumati gives instruction in Vedic rituals; through the sin of performing sacrifices for one unfit to sacrifice, that brahmin named Sumati undergoes downfall, going to hells and obtaining various wombs such as that of an ass; then after some births, when he obtains birth as a brahmin, he falls away from Vedic rites because of being possessed by a brahmarākṣasa; then his father takes him and seeks refuge with Agastya; then, upon Agastya's instruction, he is led by his father to the sacred ford named Pāpavināśana situated on the shore of the southern ocean, and upon merely taking a ritual bath with solemn resolve, he is freed from possession by the brahmarākṣasa, experiences all enjoyments, and attains liberation; and the śūdra named Dṛḍhamati, who was intent on performing the Vedic rites taught to him, goes to hell and takes birth in many animal wombs; then, in due course obtaining birth as a vulture, he attains the heavenly world from drinking the water of the sacred ford named Pāpavināśana situated on Mount Gandhamādana on the southern ocean; the power of Pāpavināśanatīrtha is described. 20 1

3.1.53.14

11. Now, the description of the māhātmya of the Sītāsaras sacred ford; in that connection, the account of Puraṃdara's release from the sin of killing a brahmin is described; therein, the battle of the rākṣasa named Kapālābharaṇa with his army against the gods headed by Śakra; in that battle, Śakra slays the rākṣasa Kapālābharaṇa; Śakra is tormented by the sin of killing a brahmin arising from slaying him; in the context of describing the reason for the brahminhood of the rākṣasa named Kapālābharaṇa, the account of Kapālābharaṇa being generated from a brahmin's semen is told, because the wife of the rākṣasa Trivakra, named Suśīlā, by her husband's order, produced a son from a brahmin named Śuci; then Śakra, afflicted by the sin of killing a brahmin, upon the instruction of Brahmā, is freed from the sin of killing a brahmin by bathing in Sītākuṇḍa situated on Mount Gandhamādana on the southern ocean, and by pleasing Sadāśiva with sacrifices; the praise of the māhātmya of Sītāsaras is described. 22 1

3.1.53.15

12. Now, description of the māhātmya of the sacred ford named Maṅgala. In that connection, account of the king named Manojava: King Manojava's arrogance, and, through the sin arising from levying taxes upon brahmins, the seizure of his kingdom by his enemy-king named Golabha, followed by his banishment from the kingdom; then, Manojava's going to the forest together with his wife and son; there, seeing his son overcome with hunger, Manojava's falling in a faint after extreme repentance in sorrow; the lamentation of his wife named Sumitrā; the weeping also of the son; then, at that moment, the arrival of the great seer Parāśara near them; Parāśara's reviving him from the faint by sprinkling water sanctified by mantras over the king; then, upon being entreated by the king, the sage Parāśara's imparting to the king the one-syllable Rāma mantra along with explaining the means of undertaking a pilgrimage to the sacred ford named Maṅgala located at Śrī Rāmasetu; upon the sage's instruction, King Manojava's going to Maṅgala-tīrtha with his wife and son and performing the observance of worship with the mantra for forty days, before whom from the Maṅgala sacred ford there manifested a bow, quivers, sword, shield, mace, pestle, conch, a chariot equipped with horses, driver, and flags, golden armor, and all other royal ornaments and appurtenances; then Manojava's presenting all those items to the sage Parāśara; then the sage Parāśara's consecrating King Manojava with mantras and giving him blessings accompanied by the transmission of weapon-lore such as the Brahmāstra; then King Manojava's returning to his city, slaying King Golabha with the Brahmāstra, regaining his kingdom, and governing righteously; finally, after reaching Maṅgala-tīrtha and casting off his body, the description of King Manojava's attainment of Śiva's world... 23 2

3.1.53.16

13. Now, description of the sacred field named Ekāntarāmanātha. Therein, the māhātmya of the Amṛtavāpikā sacred ford. In that connection, account of the younger brother of Agastya: the performance of austerity by Agastya's younger brother on Mount Himavat; upon the manifestation of Śaṃkara, who was pleased with that austerity, the singing of Śiva's praise by Agastya's younger brother; then, by the word of the gratified Śiva, Agastya's younger brother's taking a ritual ablution in the sacred ford situated in the Ekāntarāmanātha sacred field on Mount Gandhamādana by the southern ocean, and attaining liberation through the yoga of samādhi, whereby, due to [his] immortality, the renown of the name of that sacred ford as 'Amṛtavāpī' is described; then, in connection with explaining the origin of the renown of the Ekāntarāmanātha sacred field, the account of Śrī Rāmacandra's staying in solitude with Lakṣmaṇa and pondering the means of crossing the ocean; the māhātmya of Ekāntarāghava... 26 1

3.1.53.17

14. Now, description of the māhātmya of Brahmakuṇḍa situated on Gandhamādana by the southern ocean. In that connection, the māhātmya of bearing the tripuṇḍra mark with the ashes from Brahmakuṇḍa; the account of the origin of Brahmakuṇḍa: there, when a dispute arose between Brahmā and Viṣṇu concerning their superiority to each other, the manifestation between the two of the Lord's beginningless and endless liṅga; the going forth of Brahmā and Viṣṇu in the forms of a swan and a boar to explore the top and bottom extremities of it; Viṣṇu, returning to his former place without having seen the bottom extremity of the liṅga, speaking the truth that he did not see the end of the liṅga; Brahmā, though having returned without seeing the upper extremity, deceitfully and falsely claiming that he saw the end of the liṅga; then Śaṃkara, enraged by that falsehood, appearing from within the liṅga and pronouncing a curse upon Brahmā in the form of forfeiting eligibility for worship; then Śaṃkara, praised by Brahmā, instructing Brahmā to perform a sacrificial rite on Mount Gandhamādana situated by the southern ocean for the pacification of the sin of falsehood; by Śaṃkara's order, Brahmā's performing a sacrificial rite dedicated to Śiva on Mount Gandhamādana; Īśvara, manifesting there, granting Brahmā the boon of being worthy of worship in Vedic and Smārta rituals, and granting a boon to the sacred ford named Brahmakuṇḍa; the māhātmya of Brahmakuṇḍa... 27 1

3.1.53.18

15. Now, description of the māhātmya of Hanumatkuṇḍa. In that connection, description of the deeds of the king named Dharmasakha: the account of the scorpion sting of Sucandra, son of King Dharmasakha; then, the sovereign named Dharmasakha, desiring many sons, assembling sacrificial materials upon the counsel of his priests, and departing with his wives, all attendants, and priests to Hanumatkuṇḍa situated on Mount Gandhamādana on the shore of the southern ocean; there, having bathed, performed the rite for obtaining offspring, consumed the sacrificial remnants, granted villages, land endowments, and the like to brahmins, and performed the concluding ablution with his hundred wives, his returning to his capital city; there, through the power of Hanumatkuṇḍa, that Dharmasakha's obtaining a hundred sons through his hundred wives; then, at the end of his life, King Dharmasakha's coming to Hanumatkuṇḍa and performing austerity; then his attainment of the realm of Vaikuṇṭha; the performance of the father's funeral rites by his son Sucandra; description of all the sons, Sucandra and the rest, enjoying the happiness of kingship with fraternal affection; the māhātmya of Hanūmatkuṇḍa... 28 2

3.1.53.19

16. Now follows the description of the māhātmya of Agastitīrtha. In connection with that māhātmya, the account of Kakṣīvat, son of the sage Dīrghatamas, is described: there Kakṣīvat, having pursued the study of sacred lore for sixty years in the home of his guru named Udaṅka, requested the guru to return home; then the guru told him the means for his marriage; Kakṣīvat, by order of his guru, having taken a ritual ablution at Agastitīrtha, mounted a white lord of elephants with four tusks that emerged from that sacred ford, and met King Svanaya along the way, going with him to his city; then King Svanaya, wishing to give his daughter to Kakṣīvat, upon his word invited Kakṣīvat's father Dīrghatamas through the priest named Sudarśana and brought him with honor to his city; Kakṣīvat saluted his father Dīrghatamas and reported the account of his own study of sacred lore. ... [Chapters] 30–31.

3.1.53.20

17. Now follows the honoring of the sage Dīrghatamas by King Svanaya at that Agastitīrtha; right then the arrival at Agastitīrtha of the great seer Udaṅka with the assembly of his disciples to bathe; the meeting of Udaṅka and Dīrghatamas; then King Svanaya's coming to see Udaṅka and stating his intention; then Dīrghatamas's consent, together with Udaṅka, to King Svanaya's giving his daughter to Kakṣīvat; then King Svanaya, having brought the maiden from the city of Mathurā by his attendants, bestowed his daughter upon Kakṣīvat according to the marriage rite; then the gifting of vast bridal dowries of gold, cows, female slaves, villages, and the like; then the sage Dīrghatamas, taking all that, returned with his son and daughter-in-law to his own hermitage situated in Vedāraṇya; King Svanaya, having bathed at Agastitīrtha together with his harem, went to his own city. The māhātmya of Agastitīrtha. ... [Chapter] 32.

3.1.53.21

18. Now follows the description of the māhātmya of the sacred ford named Rāmakuṇḍa. In connection with that, the description of the legend of the sage Sutīkṣṇa, a disciple of Agastya: the hymn of praise to the venerable Rāmacandra by Sutīkṣṇa as he performed austerity at the sacred ford of Rāmacandrasaras; in connection with describing such extraordinary perfection in austerity of Sutīkṣṇa as he performed austerity, the description of the māhātmya of Rāmakuṇḍa; the description of the māhātmya of the venerable Śivaliṅga established by Rāma on the bank of Rāmakuṇḍa; in connection with that, the description of the account of the removal of the fault of telling an untruth by Yudhiṣṭhira, son of Dharma: there, in the Bhārata war, in order to defeat Droṇa, a false rumor was spread by Keśava through Bhīma that 'Aśvatthāman has been slain in battle'; hearing that rumor, Droṇa, hearing likewise even from Yudhiṣṭhira, believed it to be true and relinquished his own body through yoga; at that time, sin generated from a false statement attached to Yudhiṣṭhira, who was always a speaker of truth; and after the conclusion of the war, at the time of his royal consecration, a voice from the sky declared his unfitness for royal consecration due to the sin arising from speaking an untruth deceitfully; Yudhiṣṭhira felt remorse; on that occasion the great seer Vyāsa arrived and instructed Yudhiṣṭhira to bathe in the Rāmatīrtha situated on the shore of the southern ocean; then Yudhiṣṭhira, having established his youngest brother Sahadeva on the throne, set out for Rāmasetu without mounting a chariot or mount, accompanied by his preceptor Dhaumya and his younger brothers headed by Bhīma, following the prescribed rules of pilgrimage; having reached Rāmatīrtha, he performed his ritual ablution according to the path instructed by the family priest; thereby, through the power of the ritual ablution, gifts, ancestral rites, month-long fasts, and other acts at Rāmatīrtha, a voice from the sky described the removal of Yudhiṣṭhira's sin born of untruthful speech and his eligibility to ascend the throne. The māhātmya of the sacred ford named Rāmakuṇḍa. ... [Chapters] 33–34.

3.1.53.22

19. Now follows the description of the māhātmya of Lakṣmaṇatīrtha. In connection with that, the description of the account of Balabhadra's release from the sin of killing a brahmin: there Balabhadra, not wishing to see the slaughter of the Kauravas and Pāṇḍavas, went on a pilgrimage to sacred fords and came to the assembly of great seers in Naimiṣāraṇya; there, through the killing of Sūta, who was seated on the high seat of Brahmā to narrate the Purāṇas, by the tip of a kuśa grass blade hurled from his hand without reflection, Balabhadra incurred the sin of killing a brahmin; then, according to the word of the sages and desiring to perform an expiation for the welfare of the world, he entreated the sages; the sages prescribed for Balabhadra an expiation consisting of slaying the rākṣasa named Balvala and undertaking a pilgrimage to sacred fords for a whole year; then Balabhadra slew the rākṣasa named Balvala; thereafter, for a whole year, he went on a pilgrimage, taking ritual ablutions in all sacred fords throughout the earth; even though the pilgrimage to sacred fords was completed, not seeing the cessation of the sin of killing a brahmin, he went by the sages' instruction to Lakṣmaṇatīrtha situated on Mount Gandhamādana in the southern ocean; through mere ritual ablution and the darśana of the Lakṣmaṇeśvaraliṅga, his deliverance from the sin of killing a brahmin is described. The māhātmya of Lakṣmaṇatīrtha. ... [Chapters] 35–36.

3.1.53.23

20. Now follows the description of the māhātmya of Jaṭātīrtha. In connection with that, the description of the life of the teacher Śuka: there, when Śuka inquired of Vyāsa about the means for purifying the mind, Vyāsa described the māhātmya of Jaṭātīrtha situated on Rāmasetu, recounting first the legend of Bhṛgu and Varuṇa; then, having heard the instruction of Vyāsa, Śuka went to Jaṭātīrtha, and the purification of his mind by a mere ritual ablution is described. The māhātmya of Jaṭātīrtha. ... [Chapter] 37.

3.1.53.24

Jaṭātīrtha Temple

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21. Now begins the description of the māhātmya of Lakṣmītīrtha. In connection with that, the narrative of Yudhiṣṭhira is described: there, when Yudhiṣṭhira, residing in Indraprastha, questioned Śrī Kṛṣṇa concerning the dharma that brings about supreme sovereignty, Śrī Kṛṣṇa recounted to Yudhiṣṭhira, along with various ancient narratives, the māhātmya of Lakṣmītīrtha situated on Mount Gandhamādana; then, after Yudhiṣṭhira went to Lakṣmītīrtha and performed ritual ablutions according to the prescribed rules for a whole month, he returned to his own city, and by the power thereof, possessing unsurpassable wealth and sovereignty, he performed the Rājasūya sacrifice with great preparations and through the assistance of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. [Thus ends] the māhātmya of Lakṣmītīrtha. 38. 1.

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22. Now begins the description of the māhātmya of Agnitīrtha. In connection with that, the narrative of Sītā's purification is described: there, after Rāmacandra slew Rāvaṇa in Laṅkā and returned to Gandhamādana via the bridge with Indra and the other [gods], he stood on the bank of Lakṣmītīrtha and summoned Agni to examine Jānakī; then, Agni arrived there and proclaimed Sītā's purity before Rāma; upon Agni's words, Rāmacandra accepted Jānakī; the place from which Agni emerged became famous by the name of Agnitīrtha. In connection with the māhātmya of Agnitīrtha, the story of the excellent merchant named Paśumant is described: there, among the eight sons of that Paśumant, the eighth son named Duṣpaṇya, intent upon extreme evil deeds such as killing boys residing in the city, was exiled from the realm by the king in consideration of his father's virtuous character; then, though he had gone to the forest, he submerged and killed the son of the sage Ugraśravas in the water, whereupon the sage Ugraśravas cursed Duṣpaṇya, saying, 'Your death shall occur through drowning in water'; then, during the rainy season when excessive rain fell, Duṣpaṇya entered inside the body of a fallen, dead elephant; when that elephant's body was carried into the ocean by a great flood of water, Duṣpaṇya within it died; thereafter, he attained the state of a piśāca; then, in the form of a piśāca, he approached the hermitage of Agastya and loudly prayed to the great seers for his liberation; then, for his release, the great seer Agastya instructed his own pupil named Sutīkṣṇa to perform a ritual ablution in Agnitīrtha on his behalf; when Sutīkṣṇa performed the ritual ablution in Agnitīrtha for the sake of the piśāca's liberation, Duṣpaṇya was freed from the state of a piśāca, mounted a celestial aerial chariot, bowed to the great seers, and departed to the celestial realm. [Thus ends] the māhātmya of Agnitīrtha. 39. 2.

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23. Now begins the description of the māhātmya of Cakratīrtha. In connection with that, the worship of Sudarśana performed by the brahmin named Ahirbudhnya is described; the destruction, by the Sudarśana discus, of the rākṣasas who caused obstacles to that brahmin's austerity; the fame of the sacred ford as Cakratīrtha because of the presence of the Sudarśana discus; the performance of a sacrifice to Maheśvara near Cakratīrtha by all the gods who were terrified of the rākṣasas, by command of Lord Brahmā; and the narrative of the god Savitṛ—whose hand was severed at that sacrifice merely upon touching the prāśitra vessel—obtaining a golden hand merely by performing ritual ablutions in Cakratīrtha, in accordance with the words of the sage Aṣṭāvakra. [Thus ends] the māhātmya of Cakratīrtha. 42. 1.

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24. Now begins the description of the māhātmya of Śivatīrtha. In connection with that, the narrative of Kālabhairava is described: there, when a dispute arose between Brahmā and Viṣṇu concerning their mutual superiority, even though Śiva's superiority was declared by the Praṇava, Brahmā and Viṣṇu disregarded Śiva's superiority due to obstinacy, whereupon Śiva manifested his own luminous form; upon seeing Maheśvara, Brahmā addressed him with words of pride and disrespect; then Maheśvara dispatched against Brahmā the person named Kālabhairava; in the battle of Kālabhairava with Brahmā, Kālabhairava severed Brahmā's fifth head and slew him; then the Lord Maheśvara revived Brahmā; Lord Brahmā offered praise to the Lord Śaṅkara; Śaṅkara granted fearlessness to Brahmā; then, by Śiva's command, in order to cleanse the sin of killing a brahmin, Kālabhairava carried Brahmā's skull in his hand, went on pilgrimage to all the sacred fords for a whole year, and by performing a ritual ablution in Śivatīrtha situated on Mount Gandhamādana by the southern ocean, the sin of killing a brahmin was dispelled; because Kālabhairava deposited the skull right there, that Śivatīrtha is named Kapālatīrtha. [Thus ends] the māhātmya of Śivatīrtha. 43. 1.

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25. Now begins the description of the māhātmya of Śaṅkhatīrtha: The renown of that tīrtha as Śaṅkhatīrtha, because it was prepared by the sage Śaṅkha after performing austerity; in connection with the māhātmya of that tīrtha, the account of the vipra named Vatsanābha; when an anthill grew over the twice-born named Vatsanābha as he remained motionless there to perform austerity, and an affliction was caused by Vāsava through a downpour of rain to disrupt his austerity, the protection of the sage by the venerable lord Dharmadeva, who assumed the form of a great buffalo, stood upon the anthill, and received the torrents of rain upon his own back; then, having ceased from his meditative absorption of austerity, Vatsanābha, because he had failed to worship his protector Dharmadeva who stood near him in the form of a buffalo, determined that this was an unsteadiness of mind regarding his absorption, and, in order to abandon his life to remove his sin of ingratitude, made an effort to leap from a precipice of Mount Meru; then Dharmadeva, relinquishing the form of a buffalo and manifesting in his own form, restrained the twice-born Vatsanābha from his attempt at death, and instructed him to bathe in Śaṅkhatīrtha on the shore of the southern ocean for the purification of his mind, accompanied by the removal of the sin of ingratitude; by the instruction of Dharma, the twice-born Vatsanābha's attainment of becoming one with Brahman preceded by the purification of his mind immediately upon bathing in Śaṅkhatīrtha, after the removal of his sin of ingratitude; the māhātmya of Śaṅkhatīrtha. (44.2)

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26. Now begins the description of the māhātmya of the triad of tīrthas called Gaṅgā, Yamunā, and Gayā: In that connection, the description of the account of King Jānaśruti; there, the onset of skin disease in the great sage Raikva, who was lame from birth and known by the alias Sayugvan, as he performed austerity for a long time on Mount Gandhamādana situated by the southern ocean; when he summoned the triad of tīrthas by meditation preceded by the recitation of mantras, desiring to bathe in the triad of tīrthas named Yamunā, Gaṅgā, and Gayā, the immediate arrival of the triad of tīrthas named Yamunā, Gaṅgā, and Gayā into his presence; the eternal presence of that triad of tīrthas there at the word of the great sage; at that time, the arrival of great sages in the form of geese at midnight into the presence of King Jānaśruti, descendant of Putrāyaṇa, who was sitting at a palace window, in order to bestow grace; among those seers, one great sage in the form of a goose, having praised the great sage Raikva indirectly so that Jānaśruti might attain knowledge of Brahman, went to Brahmaloka along with all of them; then, when those great sages had departed, Jānaśruti's taking refuge with the great sage Raikva Sayugvan in order to obtain knowledge of Brahman; then, having bathed in the triad of tīrthas named Yamunā, Gaṅgā, and Gayā at the command of the great sage Raikva Sayugvan, following the purification of his mind, the description of King Jānaśruti's attainment of becoming one with Brahman through the instruction in knowledge of Brahman given by Raikva. (46.1)

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27. Now begins the description of the māhātmya of Koṭitīrtha: In that connection, the description of the life of the revered Rāmacandra; there, for the expiation of the murder of a brahmin that arose from the slaying of Rāvaṇa, the account of Śrī Rāmacandra installing the Śivaliṅga called Rāmanātha on Mount Gandhamādana situated by the southern ocean, remembering the Jāhnavī for its ceremonial bath, piercing the earth with the tip of his bow, and bringing the Gaṅgā from Rasātala; then the renown of that tīrtha as Koṭitīrtha; in connection with the māhātmya of Koṭitīrtha, the description of the life of Śrī Kṛṣṇa; there, after the marriage of Vasudeva, when Vasudeva departed toward his city in a chariot, the desisting from the killing of his charioteer Kaṃsa midway along the road, who was ready to slay his own sister Devakī, the future mother of his slayer, because of an incorporeal voice, after Vasudeva consoled him with the promise of surrendering his sons; then, after the transfer of the seventh embryo, Ananta, into Rohiṇī from Devakī, wife of Vasudeva, by means of Yogamāyā, the birth of the venerable lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa; the offering of praise to the venerable lord by Vasudeva; by command of the venerable lord, the carrying of Śrī Kṛṣṇa to Gokula by Vasudeva and the bringing of the daughter of Yaśodā to Mathurā; then, when Kaṃsa dashed the girl upon a stone out of fear of his own death, the departure into the sky in a splendid, divine form of that primordial Māyā having escaped from his hand; the goddess saying to Kaṃsa, 'Your death has already been born somewhere,' and rebuking him, and her obtaining worship in numerous places; the description of the childhood play of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Rāma dwelling in Gokula; then, having gone to Mathurā, having slain Kaṃsa, the consecration of Ugrasena to the kingdom; then, on one occasion, Śrī Kṛṣṇa questioning Nārada and others who had arrived to see him, concerning an expiation to remove the sin arising from the slaying of his maternal uncle; then, at the word of Nārada and others, the removal of Śrī Kṛṣṇa's sin arising from the slaying of his maternal uncle by the mere bathing in Koṭitīrtha after coming to Rāmasetu; the māhātmya of Koṭitīrtha. (48.1)

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28. Now, description of the māhātmya of Sādhyāmṛtatīrtha. In connection with that, description of the story of King Purūravas: there, King Purūravas's union with the apsaras Urvaśī; then, in the course of time, upon separation due to a breach of condition, his being consoled by Urvaśī, met at Kurukṣetra, who, seeing him overwhelmed with intense sorrow, spoke of union preceded by obtaining a son; then, after one year, the king's reunion with Urvaśī at the lotus-pond situated in Kurukṣetra; Urvaśī's handing over to the king the son named Āyus born in her from the king's seed; then, on the occasion of a single night, the depositing of seed for five conceptions in that Urvaśī; thereafter, upon her indication, Purūravas's making a request to the gandharvas in order to obtain the world of Urvaśī forever; by the gandharvas pleased with that request, giving Purūravas a vessel containing fire and instruction for sacrifice; by the king, discontented because of not obtaining Urvaśī, throwing the fire-vessel right in the middle of the forest and going to his own city; the birth of an aśvattha tree within a śamī at the place where the fire-vessel was thrown down; then, making an araṇi measuring twenty-four aṅgulas from that aśvattha, producing the three fires by churning there, performing many sacrifices, reaching the world of the gandharvas, and King Purūravas's sport with Urvaśī; then once, at the commencement of a dance before Śakra, Urvaśī and Purūravas looking at one another and intent on laughter being given a curse by Tumburu, the celestial dance-master, saying "There will be separation between the two of you!"; then Purūravas praying to Śakra, and wishing to perform the remedy told by him, coming to the earth's surface, and by merely bathing in the sacred ford named Sādhyāmṛta situated on Mount Gandhamādana on the southern ocean, being freed from the curse, going again to the world of Urvaśī, and sporting with Urvaśī. Māhātmya of Sādhyāmṛtatīrtha. 50 2.

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29. Now, description of the māhātmya of Sarvatīrtha. In connection with that, description of the life of the brahmin named Sucarita: there, by the brahmin Sucarita, incapacitated due to being afflicted by old age, wishing to bathe in all sacred fords, coming to Mount Gandhamādana situated on the southern ocean, receiving Śiva-initiation, and performing tapas; upon Śaṃkara's appearance through that tapas, the offering of praise to Śrī Śiva by the brahmin named Sucarita; by Śrī Śiva, in order to fulfill Sucarita's desire, summoning all the sacred fords near Sucarita, making a single sacred ford named Sarvatīrtha by bringing together all sacred fords in one place, and commanding Sucarita to bathe; by the sage Sucarita, bathing in Sarvatīrtha before Śiva; from performing the bath in Sarvatīrtha, the brahmin named Sucarita attaining youthfulness, beauty, and so forth preceded by freedom from old age. Māhātmya of the sacred ford named Sarvatīrtha. 52 1.

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30. Now, description of the māhātmya of Dhanuṣkoṭitīrtha; description of the capacity of Dhanuṣkoṭitīrtha to destroy many kinds of sins; in connection with the māhātmya of Dhanuṣkoṭitīrtha, description of Śrī Rāmacandra's breaking of his own causeway by drawing a line with the tip of his bow at the request of Vibhīṣaṇa, so that other people would not go to Laṅkā; description of the presence of all deities at Dhanuṣkoṭitīrtha; description of the māhātmya of bathing in Dhanuṣkoṭitīrtha during times such as the month of Māgha. 53 2.

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31. Now, in connection with the māhātmya of Dhanuṣkoṭitīrtha, description of the story of Aśvatthāman: there, by Aśvatthāman, having made a vow to slay all the hidden valiant heroes stationed in the Pāṇḍava camp, reaching the entrance of the camp at night along with Kṛtavarman and Kṛpa, worshipping Mahādeva, obtaining the sword of victory from him when he was pleased, entering first the camp of Dhṛṣṭadyumna, the slayer of his father, slaying Dhṛṣṭadyumna first, and afterwards slaying the sons of Draupadī and all the army stationed throughout the camp; the slaying by Kṛtavarman and Kṛpācārya of the troops coming out from the entrance of the camp; then Aśvatthāman and the others departing from the camp and fleeing to different countries; then, when fallen status was pronounced by the brahmins upon Aśvatthāman who had entered among the great seers on the bank of the Narmadā, Aśvatthāman departing from there in shame and undertaking a pilgrimage to sacred fords; then going for refuge to Vyāsa residing in Badarikāśrama; then, on Vyāsa's instruction, Aśvatthāman reaching Rāmasetu to appease the sin of slaying sleeping persons, performing a bath in Dhanuṣkoṭitīrtha, and rendering service to Rāmanātha-Śiva; then offering praise to Śiva who had appeared; then Mahādeva, being pleased, granting a boon to Aśvatthāman. Māhātmya of Dhanuṣkoṭitīrtha. 56 1.

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32. Now, again in connection with the description of the māhātmya of the Dhanuṣkoṭi tīrtha, the description of the deeds of Dharmagupta, the son of the king named Nanda born in the lunar dynasty: There, when King Nanda went to the forest for austerity, Dharmagupta, having been consecrated in the kingdom, once entered the forest for hunting; in the night, out of fear of beasts of prey such as lions, he climbed a tree; right there, a certain bear, pursued by a lion, came near the king who was in the tree in order to preserve its own life; then, having produced mutual trust through conversation, an arrangement of alternating sleep and watchfulness divided into two watches of the night was made by the king and the bear; now, while the king was asleep first, although told by the lion to the bear, 'Throw down the king,' that bear, in order to preserve the duty of trustworthiness, without throwing down the king, spoke to the lion on the consequences of the sin of betraying a friend; then, when the king had awakened and that bear had gone to sleep, when told by the lion to the king, 'Throw down the bear,' the bear was thrown down by the king; on that occasion, that bear, clinging to the tree with its claws, climbed back up the tree, and having first revealed its sagehood under the name of the sage Dhyānakāṣṭha and explained its assumption of the form of a bear at will, gave a curse to the king: 'Become insane!'; and to the lion it recounted its past history consisting of its attainment of the state of a lion due to a curse given by Gautama; upon hearing the words of the sage Dhyānakāṣṭha, that lion immediately recovered its original nature in the form of a yakṣa, mounted an aerial chariot, and went to the world of the yakṣas; then the sage Dhyānakāṣṭha, who had assumed the form of a bear of his own accord, went to another forest at his own will; after the attainment of insanity by Dharmagupta due to the curse of the sage Dhyānakāṣṭha, his return to his own city; then, seeing Dharmagupta insane, the bringing of that Dharmagupta by his ministers to his father King Nanda, who resided on the bank of the Narmadā; now, the making of a supplication to the great seer Jaimini by his father Nanda for the pacification of the affliction of his son's insanity; then, by order of the great seer Jaimini, the king Nanda, taking his son Dharmagupta, came to the Dhanuṣkoṭi tīrtha situated on Rāmasetu and performed a ritual ablution; through mere ritual ablution at the Dhanuṣkoṭi tīrtha, the cessation of Dharmagupta's insanity; then the return of Nanda to the penance grove again for the sake of austerity; Dharmagupta's worship of Rāmanātha with donations of vast wealth and his return to his own city with his ministers; the māhātmya of the Dhanuṣkoṭi tīrtha. 58.

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33. Now, again in connection with the description of the māhātmya of the Dhanuṣkoṭi tīrtha, the narration of the release from the killing of a brahmin of the brahmin named Parāvasu: There, of the two sons of the great seer Raibhya named Arvāvasu and Parāvasu who had gone for sacrificial rites at the sacrificial session of Emperor Bṛhaddyumna, between them Parāvasu, at the end of the third pressing of the sacrificial rite, returned to his own hermitage to inspect household affairs; then, in the middle of the road, his own father, who was wandering in the night wearing a deer-skin, was killed by Parāvasu in the suspicion that he was a predatory beast; now, having approached him, Parāvasu, seeing his own father himself killed by him, grieved greatly, completed the funeral rites for his father, returned to the king's sacrificial session, and disclosed the event of the killing of their father and the rest to his younger brother Arvāvasu; then, having commanded his younger brother to perform an expiation for the cessation of the guilt of father-killing, Parāvasu himself performed the sacrificial work at the sacrificial session of King Bṛhaddyumna; then, when Arvāvasu, having performed a vow accompanied by expiation for twelve years for the removal of the killing of a brahmin, arrived at the sacrificial session, his elder brother Parāvasu, having falsely imputed the guilt of the killing of a brahmin onto that very younger brother of his, Arvāvasu, caused Arvāvasu to be expelled from the hall of the sacrificial session by King Bṛhaddyumna; then, as Arvāvasu was truly innocent, having no other recourse, he departed from the sacrificial session, went to the forest, and performed austerity; from the gods beginning with Āditya and Indra who were pleased by that austerity, Arvāvasu requested the boon consisting of the revival of his own father, and requested the boon consisting of the pacification of his brother's sin of the killing of a father who was a brahmin; then, having heard the means spoken by the gods, Arvāvasu the younger brother, for the removal of the guilt of the killing of a brahmin of his elder brother Parāvasu, took Parāvasu and performed a ritual ablution at the Dhanuṣkoṭi tīrtha situated on the southern ocean; by the power of that ritual ablution, the removal of Parāvasu's guilt of the killing of a father who was a brahmin; then, when those two, Arvāvasu and Parāvasu, returned to their own home, the rising of their father the sage Raibhya restored to life; the māhātmya of the Dhanuṣkoṭi tīrtha, destroyer of all sins beginning with the killing of a brahmin. 59.

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34. Now again, in connection with the māhātmya of the Dhanuṣkoṭi sacred ford, the account of the dialogue between the jackal and the monkey is described: Therein, a certain jackal and monkey who remembered their previous lives, in a mutual dialogue, relate the deeds of each other's past births; as the jackal and the monkey were thus conversing together, the sage named Sindhudvīpa arrived near them; then, being asked by the jackal and the monkey about the means to their own liberation, the great seer Sindhudvīpa, while instructing them to bathe in the sacred ford of Dhanuṣkoṭi, narrates the story of the deliverance of the brahmin named Sumati, who frequented a Kirāta woman and drank liquor; therein, through association with a Kirāta woman and lustful craving, Sumati, the son of the twice-born Yajñadeva living in Mahārāṣṭra, set out upon theft to acquire wealth, and by his hand a brahmin was murdered, whereby he incurred the sin of slaying a brahmin; then, afflicted by that terrible sin of slaying a brahmin, having wandered the entire earth, he returned to his own village and took refuge with his father; the sin of slaying a brahmin forbade his father from protecting him; and in front of his father and others, as Sumati was struck by that sin of slaying a brahmin, his father and all the rest wept in grief; then, at that very moment, the great seer Durvāsas having arrived there, the father Yajñadeva made a prayer for the removal of his son's sin; thereupon, for the sake of removing the guilt of slaying a brahmin, Durvāsas instructed him to bathe in the holy Rāmadhanuṣkoṭi sacred ford; and in connection with the māhātmya of the Dhanuṣkoṭi sacred ford, the account of the cessation of the sin of having sex with the Guru's wife committed by the brahmin named Durvinīta is described. 61 2

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35. Now, upon Yajñadeva's question to Durvāsas out of a desire to know the life-story of the brahmin Durvinīta, Durvāsas narrates the story of the twice-born named Durvinīta to Yajñadeva: Therein, Durvinīta, the son of the brahmin named Idhmavāha living in the Pāṇḍya country, performed the post-funerary rites of his father after his father's death, and due to a famine in his own region, went with his widowed mother to Gokarṇa and made his dwelling there; while living there for a long time, that foolish-minded Durvinīta, through the fruition of previous evil deeds, was suddenly struck by the arrows of love, and forcibly dragged his own widowed mother, who cried out "Do not!", and had sexual intercourse [with her]; then, after discharging his semen, Durvinīta, feeling intense remorse, prayed to the great seers for an expiation to purify his body; though all the great seers drove him out with rebuke as a great sinner, the supremely compassionate great seer Vyāsa instructed him to bathe at Dhanuṣkoṭi in order to remove the sin of violating the Guru's bed; hearing the instruction from Vyāsa, Durvinīta, having bathed with solemn intention along with his mother at the Dhanuṣkoṭi sacred ford, broke his fast at the end of a month of fasting, came again before Vyāsa, and prayed for instruction on his duty thereafter; thereupon Vyāsa gave him good instruction on the duty incumbent upon all virtuous people; then, by observing the rules spoken by Vyāsa, taking a wife, and performing the duties of righteousness through the practice of householder duties, Durvinīta's ultimate liberation is described; having heard the māhātmya of the Dhanuṣkoṭi sacred ford thus spoken by Durvāsas, the brahmin Yajñadeva took his own son, who was afflicted by the sin of slaying a brahmin, went to the Dhanuṣkoṭi sacred ford, and bathed; through its power, by a voice from the sky there, the removal of all sins including the slaying of a brahmin was granted to the son of the twice-born Yajñadeva, named Sumati; having thus heard the māhātmya of the Dhanuṣkoṭi sacred ford spoken by Sindhudvīpa, the jackal and the monkey went to the Dhanuṣkoṭi sacred ford and bathed; through its power, the attainment of liberation by the jackal and the monkey is described; [thus ends] the Dhanuṣkoṭimāhātmya. 63 1

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