The Rashtrakutas and their Times c20.137

c20.137

A large space in the Puranas is devoted to the purpose of describing the importance of the various Tirthas or sacred places in the different parts of India. The cult of pilgrimage had become fairly popular in our period. Muslim writers have noted how thousands of pilgrims used to visit the Sun temple at Multan and the S'iva temple at Prabhāsa, some of whom used to crawl on their bellies during the last stage of their journey.(102) For the daily ablutions of the idol at the last mentioned place, arrangements were made to provide fresh Ganges water every day.(103) The popularity of Prayāga, Vārāṇasī and Gayā must have been still greater; long sections are devoted by several Puranas(104) for the glorification of these places. Laghu-S'ankha Smriti says(105) that many sons are to be desired because then alone there would be the possibility of at least one among them going to Gaya and performing the S'rāddha there. A number of other Smriti writers(106) of our period describe the merit accruing from consigning the bones of the dead to the holy Ganges. There is epigraphical evidence to show that the cult of pilgrimage was as popular in the Deccan of our period as it was elsewhere. Dantidurga repaired to Ujjayinī when he wanted to perform the *Hiraṇya-garbha-mahā-dāna*;(107) and a number of our records state at their end, that any person interfering with the charity described therein, would incur the sin of slaughtering a thousand cows at Varanasi and Ramesvara.(108) These holy places were obviously regarded the holiest even in the distant Deccan of our period. In those days when travelling was so difficult, costly, and dangerous, all could not visit these distant Tirthas; the doctrine of acquiring merit vicariously through some one else, by requesting him to dip so many times more in the sacred pools on one's own account, was, therefore, bound to arise, and we find it mentioned in some of the Smritis of our period. (109)