Revākhaṇḍa ascribed to the Vāyupurāṇa (RKV) 76

English (machine translation) 76

Language: English

76.24 — 2 parts

76.1

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Then one should go, O king of kings, to the unexcelled Pāreśvara. / The great-souled Parāśara, indeed, on the auspicious bank of the Narmadā,

76.2

performed extensive asceticism for the sake of a son, O son of Pāṇḍu. / By him, the daughter of the Himālaya, Gaurī, Nārāyaṇī, O king,

76.3

was propitiated with supreme devotion on the northern bank of the Narmadā. / The Great Goddess, who bears half the body of Śaṅkara, was pleased with him [and said]:

76.4

“Hail, O best among the sages! I am pleased by your devotion. / Ask a boon of me, O twice-born Parāśara of great intellect!”

76.5

Parāśara said: / “If you are well pleased with me, O Goddess, and if a boon is to be given to me, / grant me, O Blessed Lady, a son endowed with the virtues of truth and purity,

76.6

devoted to the study of the Vedas, and skilled in all the scriptures. / And at this pilgrimage place, O Goddess, by the boon of your presence,

76.7

for the sake of the welfare of the world, please remain, O daughter of the mountain, / under the name of Parāśarā on the southern bank of the Narmadā.”

76.8

The holy Goddess said: / “So be it for you, O twice-born!” and right there she disappeared. / The great-souled Parāśara then installed Pārvatī.

76.9

He installed Śaṅkara, who is bowed to by gods and demons, / indivisible, inscrutable, and hard to attain even for the gods.

76.10

The great-souled Parāśara indeed attained his purpose, O king.

76.11

Whoever at that pilgrimage place, pure and of restrained mind with devotion, / whether a woman or a man, free from desire and anger,

76.12

in Māgha, Caitra, or Vaiśākha, in Śrāvaṇa, O son of the king, / or in the month of Mārgaśīrṣa, always during the bright fortnight,

76.13

having gone to that auspicious place on the southern bank of the Narmadā,

76.14

having fasted, performs this vow with supreme devotion, / keeping a vigil at night and giving lamps according to one's capacity,

76.15

[with] singing, dancing, and instrumental music, free from desire and anger— / when bright dawn has arrived, the twice-born are to be worshipped according to one's capacity.

76.16

Having honoured the Brāhmaṇas, O Pārtha, with gifts of wealth and gold, / with clothing, the gift of umbrellas, beds, betel, and meals,

76.17

one should gratify the Brāhmaṇas of commendable vows on the bank of the Narmadā. / An ancestral rite is to be performed, O best of kings, with raw [grain], cooked [food], and water.

76.18

An ancestral rite with raw [grains] is prescribed for women and Śūdras; / four times the raw [grain] should be given to the Brāhmaṇas, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

76.19

With the ritual enjoined by the Veda, the twice-born should be worshipped with care, / with kuśa-grass measuring a hand's length, and with sesame seeds and unbroken rice grains, O king.

76.20

The twice-born should be made to face north, while oneself faces south; / one should place the food upon darbha-grass, uttering before the twice-born:

76.21

“May the spirits of the departed go to the higher world by the power of this pilgrimage place! / May my sin be pacified, and may prosperity always increase!

76.22

May my lineage and kinsmen always flourish, O best of the twice-born!” / Having uttered this, a gift should be given to the twice-born according to one's capacity.

76.23

Cows, land, sesame, gold, food, and clothing, according to one's capacity, / should be given, O best of Pāṇḍavas, at the excellent hermitage of Pāreśvara.

76.24

Those who hear this with supreme devotion are freed from all sins.

|| Thus ends the seventy-sixth chapter, entitled ‘The Description of the Glorification of Pāreśvara Tīrtha,’ in the Revākhaṇḍa of the fifth Avantyakhaṇḍa in the glorious Skandapurāṇa, a compendium of eighty-one thousand [verses]

76.24.p2

RKV Chapter 77

Linked texts (1)

Revākhaṇḍa (Vāyupurāṇa) — Sanskrit