Revākhaṇḍa ascribed to the Vāyupurāṇa (RKV) 118
English (machine translation) 118
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Contents
- 118.41 — 2 parts
118.1
The venerable Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Then one should go, O king of kings, to the supremely auspicious pilgrimage place / known as Indratīrtha on the southern bank of the Narmadā.
118.2
Yudhiṣṭhira said: / How did Indratīrtha come to be on the southern bank of the Narmadā? / I desire to hear, O best of vipras, with details of its beginning, middle, and end.
118.3
Having heard this statement of the wise son of Dharma, / he narrated to him that ancient historical account as it happened.
118.4
Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said:
After inspiring trust for a long time in that mighty enemy of righteousness, / having conquered and killed Vṛtra, as the lord of Śacī was departing,
118.5
as he was leaving along the road, the dreadful guilt of brāhmaṇa-murder, / unceasing day and night, pursued him throughout the three worlds.
118.6
Wherever the slayer of a brāhmaṇa went in his splendid chariot, / to whatever quarter along with the gods, the murder did not leave him.
118.7
"Killing a brāhmaṇa, drinking liquor, theft, violation of the guru's bed: / an expiation is seen for [these] sins, but none for betrayers of trust.
118.8
Having looked upon the face of sinful action, a woman or a man / is purified by sacred baths and gifts, but never betrayers of trust."
118.9
Hearing these and other words, spoken by those knowledgeable in such matters, / the king of the gods fell into utter despair.
118.10
Abandoning his kingdom together with the gods, he set out for supreme asceticism. / Sons, wives, home, kingdom, and various riches—
118.11
these fruits of righteousness adorn a ruler of men; / let friends, kin, and relatives enjoy the fruit of righteousness.
118.12
Before the eyes of all these, sin is experienced by the person alone. / Indeed, renouncing supreme happiness and emaciating his body,
118.13
that king of the gods went to pilgrimage places and sanctuaries: / to all the pilgrimage places on the Gaṅgā, and likewise to those on the Yamunā,
118.14
to all those on the Sarasvatī, and one by one to those by the sea, / to rivers, holy excavations made by gods, ponds, and lakes.
118.15
The sin did not release him at all, following closely behind as the gods assembled. / At the pilgrimage places originating from the Revā on both banks,
118.16
worshipping Mahādeva, he reached Skandatīrtha. / Staying there with fasts and with penances such as Kṛcchra and Cāndrāyaṇa,
118.17
emaciating his own body, he found no peace whatsoever. / Standing amidst five fires in the summer, lying on bare ground during the rains,
118.18
and clad in wet garments during the winter, he performed severe asceticism. / While Indra, whose self was disciplined, was thus performing asceticism,
118.19
ten thousand years passed by, O descendant of Bharata. / Then, when the eleventh year arrived, O best of kings,
118.20
suddenly the blessed god, the supreme lord, was pleased, / as were the brāhmaṇa seers, the perfected ones, led by Brahmā and Viṣṇu.
118.21
All the gods came there where the god Śatakratu was. / Having seen the gods and the seers assembled, the wise one,
118.22
the priest of all the gods, bowed down and spoke: / "It is known to all of them how the slaying of Vṛtra was done,
118.23
and previously by your command, O Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara! / Even so, regarding him as the slayer of a brāhmaṇa, the committer of sin,
118.24
wandering through all pilgrimage places, the guilt of brāhmaṇa-murder does not leave him. / The entire world, the three worlds with the moving and unmoving, does not rejoice.
118.25
As a realm without sun and moon, so is a kingdom without a leader. / Therefore, O best of the gods, this is my supplication now:
118.26
let all the great seers make Śakra free from fault!" / Hearing that auspicious speech poured forth from the mouth of Bṛhaspati,
118.27
then the blessed Brahmā, the grandfather of the worlds, said: / "This exceedingly dreadful sin born of brāhmaṇa-murder,
118.28
I divide into four parts among deities and creatures." / Having spoken thus, the wise one cast a part of the sin upon the water.
118.29
Therefore, water must be drunk by the wise only after bathing in it, not otherwise. / The lotus-born one cast the second part onto the earth;
118.30
because of this, the earth has become unfit to eat for all time. / Then half of that he placed upon women on the second day, O Yudhiṣṭhira;
118.31
having placed it, the blessed god spoke further: / "Because of this, a menstruating woman has become untouchable, truly untouchable
118.32
for four days, according to the wise, on account of this great sin." / Then, having divided the fourth part, the supreme lord [cast it]
118.33
upon the twice-born who engages in agriculture, cattle-rearing, trade, or service to śūdras. / Thereupon all the gods and great seers congratulated
118.34
the king of the gods standing in the waters of the Narmadā with pleasant words. / Then pleased, Maheśvara offered him a boon:
118.35
"I will grant a boon, O lord of the gods; choose a boon as you desire!"
118.36
Indra said:
"If you are pleased, O lord of the gods, if a boon is to be given to me: / I shall establish [a liṅga] here; be ever present in it!"
118.37
Saying "So be it" to him, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara, / praised by the great seers, entered the sky and departed.
118.38
When the gods of gods had departed, the king of the gods, Śatakratu, / having established Mahādeva, went to the abode of the gods.
118.39
Whoever bathes at Indratīrtha and offers libations to ancestors and deities, / even if afflicted with great sins, is freed from all sins.
118.40
Whoever bathes at Indratīrtha and worships the supreme lord / obtains the abundant fruit of a horse sacrifice.
118.41
All this supreme glorification of the pilgrimage place has been related to you, / by merely hearing which mortals are freed from sins.
118.41.p1
|| Thus ends the one hundred and eighteenth chapter, titled 'The Description of the Glorification of Indratīrtha', in the Revākhaṇḍa of the Avantyakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.
118.41.p2
RKV Chapter 119
Linked texts (1)
- Revākhaṇḍa (Vāyupurāṇa) — Sanskrit