Revākhaṇḍa ascribed to the Vāyupurāṇa (RKV) 44
English (machine translation) 44
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Contents
44.1
The venerable Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Hear of the supreme pilgrimage place among pilgrimage places, O lord of men, / made on the southern bank of the Revā by the Trident-holder,
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fashioned for the liberation of the lords of men, O best of kings.
44.2
Yudhiṣṭhira said: / I have heard of various duties and various pilgrimage places, / and of all the duties of gifts, by your favor, O best of the twice-born.
44.3
Now I desire to hear how worldly existence is severed, / how there is no return, and how the attainment of liberation occurs.
44.4
Tell me all this out of your favor, O best of the twice-born.
44.5
Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Having become single-minded, hear of another great pilgrimage place beyond [other] pilgrimage places, / through hearing whose majesty one is freed from a year's sin,
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vocal, mental, or bodily in particular; / by glorifying that pilgrimage place, one is freed from all sins.
44.7
That pilgrimage place measures five krośas, O king, / divine, bestowing enjoyment and liberation upon living beings who commit sins.
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On the southern bank of the Revā is the mountain named Bhṛgu; / on its summit that pilgrimage place was established by Śambhu,
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renowned in the three worlds as Śūlabheda, O king. / And the trees standing there around the pilgrimage place on all four sides,
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when fallen, go to the abode of Rudra; of this there is no doubt. / Whatever living creatures or birds on earth die right there,
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they go to the supreme realm from that pilgrimage place, without doubt. / The Gaṅgā issued from Pātāla, known as Bhogavatī,
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emerged from Śūlabheda, destroying all sins. / Another sacred great river that flows is named Gīrvāṇā.
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It fell into the middle of the pool where [the ground] was cleft by the Trident-holder; / and formerly, my dear, after bringing forth the Sarasvatī, Śambhu
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caused it to fall there, O king, releasing ancient sins, / where there is a triad with the Bhāsvatī, [and] the rock called Gīrvāṇā.
44.15
Equal to that pilgrimage place, no pilgrimage place has been nor will be. / Kedāra, Prayāga, Kurukṣetra, and Gayā,
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and other fine pilgrimage places do not equal its sixteenth part. / And the five places that are distinct pilgrimage places,
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I shall describe in brief, each one separately: / As Gayā is sacred through the navel, Cakratīrtha is equal to it;
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as the well in Dharmāraṇya [is sacred], Śūlabheda is equal to it; / as the Brahmayūpa of the river of the gods is sacred, so likewise [is this one].
44.19
Just as the head of Gayā is meritorious, and as is the stone of the gods, / and just as is the place Puṣkara, so also is the pool of Mārkaṇḍeya.
44.20
Offering rice-balls and water there yields inexhaustible [fruits] for the ancestors. / Whoever performs a śrāddha there and continually drinks its water / is freed from all sins, like a snake from its sloughs. / One should honor blameless brahmins who are free from deceit and anger.
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A gift given on the thirteenth day becomes multiplied thirteenfold. / Having beheld the honored god, the elephant-faced lord of the gaṇas,
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and having beheld Kambala, the guardian of the field, all obstacles perish.
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One should worship Maheśvara, the spear-wielder, with supreme devotion.
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In the eastern part of the deity's [abode], Umā must be worshipped with care. / Then, with devotion, one should worship Mārkaṇḍeśa dwelling in the cave.
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They are freed from all sins accumulated consciously or unconsciously. / Having entered within the cave, one should chant the three-syllable hymn.
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He obtains a sixth part of the religious merit born of the Nīla mountain. / Three men abide there, together with the Ādityas and the Maruts.
44.27
The unexcelled place containing a crore of liṅgas is composed of all the gods. / Just as all rivers and streams come to dissolution in the ocean,
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so sins perish upon the sight of Śūlabheda. / Even today, O lord of the earth, an evident sign of proof is seen:
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Sparks quiver in the middle of the liṅga due to the sacred bath. / The second sign of proof there is that a drop of oil does not spread.
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Such is the sign of proof there, arisen from the power of Śūlabheda. / Whoever remembers Śūlabheda continually at the three junctures of the day,
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he becomes visibly purified both externally and internally, O king. / It was not revealed by me to anyone, even though I was questioned by the gods.
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A pilgrimage place more secret than the secret, it was always kept hidden by me; / removing all sins, meritorious, destroying all faults, supreme.
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Śūlabheda is a pilgrimage place containing all pilgrimage places, O ruler of people. / When its power is heard, one is freed from all sins.
44.34
Śūlabheda has been told to you in brief by me, dear one. / The man who hears [of it] with devotion is freed from all sins.
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|| Thus ends the forty-fourth chapter, named 'Description of the Praise of Śūlabheda', in the Revākhaṇḍa of the fifth Avantyakhaṇḍa in the glorious Skandapurāṇa, a collection of eighty-one thousand [verses].
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RKV chapter 45
Linked texts (1)
- Revākhaṇḍa (Vāyupurāṇa) — Sanskrit