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History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c74: Section IV

History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c74

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Section IV

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TĪRTHAYĀTRĀ (pilgrimages to holy places)

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All religions have laid great emphasis on the sacredness of certain localities and have either enjoined or recommended with great insistence pilgrimages to them. Among the five incumbent practical religious duties¹²³⁷ of a Moslem, pilgrimage at least once in his life to Mecca and Medina, the birth place and burial place of the prophet Mohammad, is one. The four places of pilgrimage for Buddhists have been the place of the birth of Buddha (Lumbinī or Rummindei), the place where he attained perfect enlightenment (Bodh Gayā), the place where he set in motion the wheel of *dharma* by delivering his first sermon (at Sārnāth near Benares) and the place where he passed away into the state of *nirvāṇa* (Kusinārā). Vide Mahāparinibbānasutta (S B. E vol. XI. p 90). For Christians Jerusalem has been the holiest place and no religious community except the Christians undertook in historic times several great military pilgrimages. The crusades were launched to free the Holy Land of Christians from the domination of Moslems. In spite of what Gibbon says¹²³⁸ somewhat cynically about those who joined the crusades, it must be admitted that there were thousands among the crusaders who risked their lives and fortunes in the pursuit of an ideal. In India holy places have played a very important part. Large rivers, mountains and forests have always been venerated as sacred¹²³⁹ and as the abodes of gods. In ancient and medieval India pilgrimages brought many advantages to the community as well as to the pilgrims themselves. Though India was divided into many kingdoms and the people of India followed several cults and sub-cults, pilgrimages tended to foster the idea of the essential and fundamental unity of Indian culture and of India also. Benares and Rāmeśvara were held sacred by all Hindus, whether they hailed from the north of India or from the peninsula. Though the Hindu community was broken up into numerous castes and suffered from caste exclusiveness, pilgrimages tended to level up all men by bringing them together to the same holy rivers or shrines. The traditions associated with holy places, the discipline through which the pilgrims passed, association with holy and philosophic men and the whole atmosphere and environment at *tīrthas* made it easy for pilgrims to remain at a high spiritual level and inculcated in them a mood of reverence that lasted long even after they returned from the pilgrimage. Pilgrimages supplied the much needed stimulus to draw ordinary men away from selfish pursuits and to make them think of the higher and more enduring moral and spiritual values. These obvious benefits and the belief that a holy place was the abode of some divinity led ancient dharmaśāstra writers to lay emphasis on visits to tīrthas. The Viṣṇu Dh. S. provides ¹²⁴⁰ that the *dharma* common to all men comprises the following: forbearance, truthfulness, restraint of the mind, cleanliness, charity, control of the senses, *ahiṁsā*, obedience to elders, *visiting holy places*, compassion, straightforwardness, freedom from avarice, honouring gods and brāhmanas and freedom from jealousy. Modern men whose faith in some of the aspects of the religious beliefs of our forefathers has been weakened or altogether sapped by the sight of the professional ministrants at the tīrthas and their rapacity and ignorance should not judge the ancient attitude towards tīrthas harshly.

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¹²³⁷ Vide S B E vol. VI, Introduction LXXI, for the five duties. The pilgrimage is called *Hāj* and the Moslem who performs it is entitled to be called *Hāji*

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¹²³⁸ Gibbon remarks 'At the voice of their pastor, the robber, the incendiary, the homicide arose by thousands to redeem their souls by repeating on the infidels the same deeds which they had exercised against their christian brethren and the terms of atonement were eagerly embraced by offenders of every rank and denomination' Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. VII (ed of 1862) p 188.

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¹²³⁹ Tagore in his 'Sādhanā' (p 9) remarks 'India chose her places of pilgrimage wherever there was in nature some special grandeur or (*Continued on the next page*) beauty so that her mind could come out of its world of narrow necessities and realize its place in the Infinite. This was the reason why in India a whole people who once were meat-eaters gave up taking animal food to cultivate the sentiment of universal sympathy for life, an event unique in the history of mankind.' There is a fundamental difference in the outlook of modern Westerners and that of ancient and medieval Indians (which persists to a large extent even now). If there is a beauty spot anywhere most men in the West would think of building a hotel there for tourists, while ancient and medieval Indians would have thought of erecting a shrine there.

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¹²⁴⁰ क्षमा सत्यं दमः शौचं दानमिन्द्रियसंयमः । अहिंसा गुरुशुश्रूषा तीर्थानुसरणं दया । आर्जवं लोभशून्यत्वं देवब्राह्मणपूजनम् । अनभ्यसूया च तथा धर्मः सामान्य उच्यते ॥ विष्णुधर्मसूत्र II. 16-17. Vide विष्णुधर्मोत्तर II. 80. 1-4 for a list of सामान्यधर्मs such as अहिंसा, सत्यवचन, तीर्थानुसरण and H. of Dh. vol. II. p. 11 notes 28-30 for quotations about सामान्यधर्मs from शान्तिपर्व, वामनपुराण, ब्रह्मपुराण and other sources.

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The word tīrtha occurs frequently in the Ṛgveda and other Vedic saṁhitās. In several passages of the Ṛgveda tīrtha appears to mean a road or a way (e. g. in Ṛg. I. 169 6 'tīrthe nāryaḥ paumsyāni tasthuḥ', Ṛg I. 173 11 'tīrthe nācchā tātsānām-oko', Ṛg IV. 29. 3 'karan-na Indraḥ sutīrthābhayam ca.' In some places tīrtha may be taken to mean a ford in a river, as in Ṛg VIII. 47. 11 ' 'sutīrtham-arvato yathānu no neṣathā sugam &c.', Ṛg. I. 46. 8 'aritram vām divas-pṛthu tīrthe sindhūnām rathaḥ'. In Ṛg. X 31 3 'tīrthe na dasmam-upa yantyūmāḥ', tīrtha probably means 'a holy place'. On Ṛg VIII. 19. 37 'Suvāstvā adhi tugvani' the Nirukta IV. 15 explains that Suvāstu is a river and tugvan means 'tīrtha' (either a ford or a holy spot) In the Tai. S. VI 1. 1. 1-2¹²⁴¹ it is said that the sacrificer is to bathe at a tīrtha (probably a holy river). The Rudras are said to prowl about tīrthas (ye tīrthāni pracaranto sṛkāvanto niṣaṅgiṇaḥ) in Tai S IV.5.11.1-2 and Vāj S. 16. 61 (reads 'sṛkāhastā'). In the Śāṅkhāyana Br.¹²⁴² it is said that Day and Night are the sea that absorbs everything and the twilights are the unfathomable tīrthas (of the sea). Tīrtha also means the way between the 'utkara' and 'cātvāla' pit for going to or coming from the sacrificial ground (the *vihāra*).1242a Vide H of Dh vol II. p. 984.

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¹²⁴¹ अप्सु स्नाति साक्षादेव दीक्षातपसी अवदन्धे तीर्ये स्नाति। तै. सं VI. 1.1.1-2 Vide जैमिनि III. 4. 14-16 for a discussion on the purpose of this passage

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¹²⁴² समुद्रो वा एष सर्वहरो यदहोरात्रे तस्य हैते अगाधे तीर्थे यत्संध्ये तयथा अगाधाभ्यां तीर्थाभ्यां समुद्रमतीयात्तादृक् तत्। शां. बा. II 9.

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1242a ते अन्तरेण चात्वालोत्करा उपनिष्क्रामन्ति तद्धि यज्ञस्य तीर्थनामानं नाम । शां. बा 18 9

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It is said that, just as some parts of the human body (e. g. the right hand or ear) are held to be purer (than others), so some localities on the earth are held to be very holy. Tīrthas are held to be holy (on three grounds, viz.) on account of some wonderful natural characteristic of the locality or on account of the peculiar strikingness (or grandeur) of some watery place or on account of the fact that some (holy) sages resorted to them (for bathing, austerities &c.). Tīrtha, therefore, means a locality or spot or expanse of water which gives rise to the accumulation of righteousness (merit) owing to its own peculiar nature without any adventitious circumstance (such as the presence of Śālagrāma near it).¹²⁴³ Or it is better to say that those localities that have been technically spoken of by wise and great sages as tīrthas are tīrthas, just as Pāṇini employs such technical terms as Nadī and Vṛddhi in his grammar. The Skandapurāṇa¹²⁴⁴ says that a spot of the earth resorted to by ancient good men for the collection of merit is called tīrtha and that the main thing is to go to (i. e associate with holy) men and pilgrimage is only a secondary object.

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¹²⁴³ यथा शरीरस्योद्देशाः केचिन्मेध्यतमाः स्मृताः । तथा पृथिव्या उद्देशाः केचित् पुण्यतमा स्मृता ॥ प्रभावादद्भुताद्भूमे सलिलस्य च तेजसा। परिग्रहान्मुनीनां च तीर्थानां पुण्यता स्मृता॥ पद्मपुराण (उत्तरखण्ड) 237 25-27. स्कन्द, काशीखण्ड 6 43-44, नारदीयपुराण II 62. 46-47 These verses are quoted by कल्पतरु on तीर्थ pp 7-8 (ascribes them to महाभारत) and by तीर्थप्र p 10 Similar verses occur in अनुशासनपर्व 108 16-18 'शरीरस्य यथोद्देशा शुचय परिकीर्तिता । तथा पृथिव्या भागाश्च पुण्यानि सलिलानि च । ...परिग्रहाच्च साधूना पृथिव्याश्चैव तेजसा । अतीव पुण्यभागास्ते सलिलस्य च तेजसा॥'.

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¹²⁴⁴ मुख्या पुरुषयात्रा हि तीर्थयात्रानुषङ्गत । सद्भिः समाश्रितो भूप भूमिभागस्तथोच्यते॥ स्कन्द I 2. 13 10, यद्धि पूर्वतमै सद्भि सेवितं धर्मसिद्धये। तद्धि पुण्यतमं लोके सन्तस्तीर्थं प्रचक्षते॥ स्कन्दपुराण q. by पृथ्वीच० folio 135 b

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In the Ṛgveda waters, rivers in general and certain named rivers¹²⁴⁵ are referred to with great reverence as holy and are deified. In Ṛg VII. 49 the refrain of all four verses is 'may the divine waters protect me' (tā āpo devīr-iha māmavantu). In Ṛg. VII. 49. 1 waters are spoken of as purifying (punānāḥ). Ṛg. VII. 47, X. 9, X. 30¹²⁴⁶ are hymns addressed to waters as divinities. They are said to purify a man not only physically but are also invoked to rid a man of all sins and lapses from the right path. The Tai S. II. 6. 8. 3 asserts that all deities are centred in waters (āpo vai sarvā devatāḥ). In the Atharvaveda¹²⁴⁷ (I. 33.1) waters are described as holy and purifying and are invoked to confer happiness. About twenty rivers in all An empty or blank page is shown. There is no text or furniture to transcribe.

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¹²⁴⁵ Vide H of Dh vol II. p. 12 for the rivers mentioned in the Ṛg

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¹²⁴⁶ इदमापः प्रवह्त यत्किं च दुरितं मयि। यद्वाहमभिदुद्रोह यद्वा शेप उतानृतम् ॥ ऋ X 9.8.

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¹²⁴⁷ हिरण्यवर्णाः शुचय पावका यासु जात सविता यास्वग्निः। या अग्निं गर्भं दधिरे सुवर्णास्ता न आप शं स्योना भवन्तु॥ अथर्व० I. 33. 1,

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flood of the Sarasvatī impinging by its powerful waves against the tops of hills is referred to in Ṛg. VI. 61. 2 and 8¹²⁵⁰. In VII. 96. 1, Sarasvatī is spoken of as *asuryā* (of divine origin) among rivers. Sacrifices are said to have been performed on the Dṛṣadvatī, the Āpayā and Sarasvatī (Ṛg. III. 23. 4). In Ṛg. II. 41. 16 Sarasvatī is called the best of rivers and goddesses (ambitame nadītame devitame Sarasvatī). Ṛg. I. 3. 11-12 praise¹²⁵¹ Sarasvatī as a river and a deity, as a purifier (*pāvaka*), as the impeller of sweet but truthful words and the inspirer of good thoughts and as bringing to notice its great flood of waters. From Ṛg. VII. 95. 2, VII. 49. 2 and I. 71. 7 it is obvious that the Ṛgvedic sages knew that the seven rivers fell into the sea. It would be proper to hold that the seven rivers are Sindhu (Indus), the five rivers of the Panjab and the Sarasvatī. Though from the Ṛgveda passages cited above it appears that in the times of the hymns of the Ṛgveda Sarasvatī was a big river with abundant waters, that it flowed between the Yamunā and Śutudrī (X. 75. 5), in the times of the Brāhmaṇas it disappeared in the sands It is now generally identified with the modern Sarsuti which is lost in the desert at Bhatnair. The Vāj. S. 34. 11 says that five rivers together with their tributary streams fall into Sarasvatī.¹²⁵² There were three *sattras* called Sārasvata, viz the first in honour of Mitra and Varuṇa, the 2nd for Indra and Agni and the third for Aryaman The *dīkṣā* (consecration ceremony) was to be performed on the south bank of the dry bed of the Sarasvatī where it disappeared underground¹²⁵³. Vide Tāṇḍya Br.

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¹²⁵⁰ इयं शुष्मेभिर्बिसखा इवारुजत्सानु गिरीणां तविषेभिरूर्मिभिः। ऋ. VI. 61.2; यस्या अनन्तो अह्रुतस्त्वेषश्चरिष्णुरर्णवः। अमश्चरति रोरुवत् ॥ ऋ VI. 61 8 The निरुक्त II. 23 remarks 'तत्र सरस्वती इत्येतस्य नदीवद् देवतावाच्च निगमा भवन्ति' and explains Ṛg VI 61.2 as a verse where सरस्वती is described as a river.

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¹²⁵¹ चोदयित्री सूनृतानां चेतन्ती सुमतीनाम्। यज्ञं दधे सरस्वती॥ महो अर्णः सरस्वती प्र चेतयति केतुना। ऋ. I. 3. 11-12. For this last, vide निरुक्त XI. 27.

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¹²⁵² पञ्च नद्य सरस्वतीमपि यन्ति सस्रोतस.। सरस्वती तु पञ्चधा सो देशेऽभवत्सरित्॥ वाज सं. 34. 11.

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¹²⁵³ सरस्वत्या विनशने दीक्षन्ते। ..दृषद्वत्या अप्ययेऽपोवभृथीथं यन्नं निरूप्याथाति-यन्ति। चतुरश्चत्वारिंशदाश्वीनानि सरस्वत्या विनशनात् प्लक्षः प्रास्रवणः तावदितः स्वर्गो लोकः सरस्वतीसंमितेनाध्वना स्वर्गलोकं यन्ति। ... यदा प्लक्षं प्रास्रवणमागच्छन्त्यथोत्यानम् । . कार-पचवं प्रति यमुनायमवभृथमभ्यवयन्ति। ताण्ड्य 25 10 1, 15, 16, 21, 23. मनु II 17 de-fines ब्रह्मावर्त as the country between the divine rivers सरस्वती and दृषद्वती and (II 21) मध्यदेश as the country between the Himālaya and Vindhya mount- (Continued from the last page) ains, which is to the east of विनशन and west of Prayāga For the mention of विनशन in the Baud. Dh. S, Vanaparva and Śalyaparva, vide H of Dh vol. II p. 14 note 35. Dr. D. R. Patil in his thesis 'Cultural History of Vāyupurāṇa' (p. 334) remarks that the institution of pilgrimage was first started by Buddhists and Jains and that later on it became common to all faiths in India. This is quite wrong The Brāhmaṇa and Śrautasūtra passages clearly show that there were holy places in the comparatively small part of India up to the Yamunā where the Sārasvata sattras had to be carried on The importance of holy places, visiting them and performing religious rites there were known in the Brāhmaṇa period at least a thousand years before Buddhism and Jainism began to spread.

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25. 10 for the first Sārasvata-sattra, 25. 11 for the 2nd and 25.12 for the third. The land between Vinaśana and Plakṣa Prāsravaṇa (which was the source of the Sarasvatī) was the proper locality for Sārasvata `sattra. At the confluence of Sarasvatī and Dṛṣadvatī an *iṣṭi* to Apām Napāt was performed wherein boiled rice (*caru*) was the offering. From the place where the Sarasvatī disappeared up to Plakṣa-Prāsravaṇa the distance was a journey on horse-back for forty days and nights When the sacrificers (in the sattra) reach Plakṣa Prāsravaṇa they should stop the performance of the items of the sattra and undergo the Avabhṛtha bath near the river Yamunā (modern Jumna) which flows through the country called Kārapacava (and not in the Sarasvatī even if it had water) For details, vide Kātyāyana Śrautasūtra (10. 15-19) which mentions (in 10. 19. 1) a spot called Parīṇaḥ in Kurukṣetra where the Vedic fires were to be kindled, the Āśv. Ś. S 12 6 1-28 which adds that at the distance of each throw of the Śamyā from the Vinaśana one day is to be spent by the sacrificers, the Kātyāyana Śrauta-sūtra (24. 5-6) which states that the iṣṭi at the confluence of the Dṛṣadvatī and Sarasvatī is to be offered to Agni Kāma, Āp. Ś. S 23. 12-13 (which gives more details than any one of the other three sūtras) In the Ait. Br.

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a story is narrated that the sages performed a sattra on the Sarasvatī and Kavaṣa who was sitting amongst them was driven out by them as not a brāhmaṇa but the son of a female slave and left in a sandy desert with the idea that he would die of thirst, but he praised the waters or *Apām napāt* with the hymn, Ṛg. X. 30 ('pra devatrā brahmaṇe') called 'Aponaptriya' and Sarasvatī came rushing towards the place where Kavaṣa stood and surrounded it, which (spot) thenceforward came to be called¹²⁵⁴ 'Parisaraka'. This shows that in the times of the Ait. Br. and long before it the bed of the Sarasvatī was dry. Devala¹²⁵⁵ mentions several places as Sārasvata tīrthas. The Ṛgveda¹²⁵⁶ VIII. 6.28 appears to hold that the valleys of mountains and the confluences of rivers are sacred. Mountains have been held by most ancient peoples to be the abodes of gods. Mount Parnassus north of Delphi was one of the most holy mountains in classical Greece and Olympus was supposed to be the home of the gods. In the Ṛgveda Parvata is a dual deity with Indra 'O, Indra and Parvata! may you two sharpen (or purify) us (our intellects)' Ṛg I 122 3¹²⁵⁷; O, Indra and Parvata! May you two, being in the forefront of battle, kill with the thunderbolt every one who desires to attack us with an army' Ṛg. I. 132. 6. In Ṛg. VI. 49. 14 a prayer is addressed to Parvata separately 'May the god Ahirbudhnya, may Parvata and may Savitṛ bestow on us food together with the waters on account of our prayers'. In Ṛg III.

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33 1 the two great rivers Vipāś (modern Beas) and Śutudrī are described as issuing from the lap of mountains. Here the word 'Parvata' is used in its ordinary sense. The Atharvaveda¹²⁵⁸ speaks of a salve (āñjana) from Traikakuda peaks of the Himālaya mountain 'May that salve which comes off the Himālaya from Traikakuda (peaks) destroy all wizards and all witches'. The Hira. Gṛ. I. 3 11.5 (S. B. E. vol. 30 p. 168) also refers to this salve. Gaut., Baud Dh S. and Vas. Dh. S. have the same sūtra ¹²⁵⁹ stating that the '*deśas* (localities) that are holy and hence destroyers of sin are all mountains, all rivers, holy lakes, places of pilgrimage, the dwellings of sages (ṛṣis), cowpens and temples of the gods' The Vāyupurāṇa ¹²⁶⁰ and Kūrma state that all parts of the Himālaya are holy, the Ganges is holy everywhere, all rivers falling into the sea and all seas are holy. The Padmapurāṇa (Bhūmikhaṇḍa 39. 46-47) says that all rivers, whether flowing through a village or a forest, are holy and that where no name of a tīrtha on rivers is known it should be called Viṣṇutīrtha. Kālidāsa speaks of the Himālaya as *devatātmā* (as vivified by the presence of gods) in the Kumārasambhava (I. 1). The Bhāgavata V. 19.16 names 27 holy mountains while the Brahmāṇḍa (II. 16. 20-23) names thirty.

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The grandeur and sublimity of snow-capped mountains, of large life-sustaining rivers and of great forests easily impress the minds of almost all people and induce them to think that there is something divine about them, that the Supreme Being is partially revealed in such surroundings. In Protestant Europe and the U. S. A. hardly anyone performs a pilgrimage to a holy place in these days. Instead, they tour different countries for rest, health and in search of natural beauty and a respite from humdrum existence But pilgrimage to a place supposed to be holy for the curing of disease is not rare even now. When one reads a work like that of Louis Carell, a great surgeon and a winner of the Nobel prize, on the miracles worked at Lourdes in France (in 'a Journey to Lourdes') one sees that pilgrimage has taken on a new motive in the West. Similarly, pilgrimage to the tombs of unknown warriors has become common owing to the two world wars.

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¹²⁵⁴ ऋषयो वै सरस्वत्यां सत्रमासत। ऐ ब्रा 8 1. माध्यमाः सरस्वत्यां सत्रमासत तद्धापि कवषो मध्ये निषसाद। तं हेम उपोदुद्वास्या वै त्वं पुत्रोऽसि न वयं त्वया सह भक्षयिष्याम इति। स ह क्रुद्धः प्रद्रवत्सरस्वतीमेतेन सूक्तेन तुष्टाव तं हेयमन्विवाय। शां. ब्रा. XII. 3. It may be noted that the Vanaparva chap 83 when enumerating the numerous tīrthas on the Sarasvatī and in कुरुक्षेत्र mentions a famous tīrtha called Saraka which is said to contain in it the sanctity of three crores of tīrthas (verses 75-76) This सरक appears to be the same as the परिसरक tīrtha of सरस्वती.

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¹²⁵⁵ प्लक्षप्रस्रवणं वृद्धकन्याकं सारस्वतमादित्यतीर्थं कौबेरं वैजयन्तं पृथूदकं नैमिशं विनशनं वंशोद्भेदं प्रभासमिति सारस्वतानि। देवल q by तीर्थकल्पतरु p. 250.

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¹²⁵⁶ उपह्वरे गिरीणां सङ्गथे च नदीनाम्। धिया विप्रो अजायत॥ ऋ. VIII. 6. 28 =वाज सं 26. 15 (which reads सङ्गमे)

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¹²⁵⁷ शिशीतमित्तापर्वता युवं नस्तन्नो विश्वे वरिवस्यन्तु देवाः॥ ऋ. I. 122. 3 (सायण explains पर्वतः पर्ववान् वृष्ट्यादिपूरणवान् पर्जन्यः); युवं तमिन्द्रापर्वता पुरोयुधा यो नः पृतन्यादप तंतमिद्धतं वज्रेण तंतमिद्धतम्। ऋ. I. 132 6 (सायण explains पर्वत' पर्वतान्वेयः। तदभिमानी देवः). तन्नोऽहिर्बुध्न्यो अद्भिरर्कैस्तत्पर्वतस्तत्सविता चनो धात्। ऋ VI. 49. 14.

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¹²⁵⁸ यदाञ्जनं त्रैककुदं जातं हिमवतस्परि। यातुंश्च सर्वाञ्जम्भयत्सर्वाश्च यातुधान्यः॥ अथर्व० IV. 9.9. vide also Śat. Br. in SBE vol. 26 p. 15.

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¹²⁵⁹ सर्वे शिलोञ्चयाः सर्वाः स्रवन्त्यः पुण्या ह्रदास्तीर्थन्युषिनिवासा गोष्ठपरिरुन्धा इति देशाः। गौ 19. 14 = वसिष्ठ 22 12 = बौ ध सू III. 10 12 (which reads ऋषि-निकेतनानि गोष्ठक्षेत्रपरिरुन्धा इति०)

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¹²⁶⁰ सर्वं पुण्यं हिमवतो गङ्गा पुण्या च सर्वत । समुद्रगाः समुद्राश्च सर्वे पुण्याः समन्ततः ॥ वायुपुराण 77. 117, सर्वत्र हिमवान् पुण्यो गङ्गा ० न्ततः । नद्यः समुद्रगाः पुण्याः समुद्रश्च विशेषत ॥ कूर्म II 37 49-50, 'राजा समस्ततीर्थानां सागर सरितां पतिः।' नारदीय (उत्तर) chap 58 19; सर्वे प्रस्रवणा पुण्या सर्वे पुण्या शिलोच्चया । नद्य पुण्या सदा सर्वा जाह्नवी तु विशेषत ॥ शङ्ख 8 14 (reads सरांसि च शिलोच्चया ) q by तीर्थप्रकाश p 14, सर्वाः समुद्रगा पुण्या सर्वे पुण्या, नगोत्तमा । सर्वमायतनं पुण्यं सर्वे पुण्या वनाश्रमा ॥ श्लोक q by तीर्थकल्प० p 250, पद्म IV. 93 46 has almost the same words (reads वराश्रमा) The great mountains (called कुलपर्वतs) generally enumerated are. महेन्द्रो मलय सह्य' शुक्तिमानृक्षपर्वत । विन्ध्यश्च पारियात्रश्च सप्तात्र कुलपर्वता ॥ कूर्म I. 47 23-24, वामन 13. 14-15, वायु I 85, मत्स्य 113 10-12. ब्रह्म 18 16 enumerate them somewhat differently. The बार्हस्पत्यसूत्र III. 81 says 'तत्रापि रैवतकविन्ध्यसह्यकुमारमलयश्रीपर्वतपारियात्रा सप्त कुलाचला।' The नीलमतपुराण 57 reads 'महेन्द्रो ।.. ऋक्षवानपि। विन्ध्यश्च पारियात्रश्च न विनश्यन्ति पर्वता ॥ , The ब्रह्माण्डपुराण (II 16 39) and वायु (45 108) observe about rivers falling into the sea तास्तु नद्यः सरस्वत्य सर्वा गङ्गाः समुद्रगा । विश्वस्य मातर सर्वा जगत्पापहरा' स्मृता ॥ In some Purāṇas certain great rivers are said to be specially holy at certain times For example, देवीपुराण quoted by कल्प० (on तीर्थ) p 242 states 'कार्तिके ग्रहणं श्रेष्ठं गङ्गायामुनसङ्गमे। मार्गे तु ग्रहणं पुण्यं देविकाया महामुने॥ पौषे तु नर्मदा पुण्या माघे सन्निहिता शुभा। फाल्गुने वरणा ख्याता चैत्रे पुण्या सरस्वती॥ वैशाखे तु महापुण्या चन्द्रभागा सरिद्वरा। ज्येष्ठे तु कौशिकी पुण्या आषाढे तापिका नदी। श्रावणे सिन्धु-नामा च भाद्रमासे च गण्डकी। आश्विने सरयूश्चैव भूय पुण्या तु नर्मदा॥ गोदावरी महापुण्या चन्द्रे राहुसमन्विते॥, 'एवमादिष्वन्येषु तीर्थेषु सरिद्वरासु सर्वेष्वपि स्वभावेषु पुलिनेषु प्रस्रवणेषु पर्वतेषु निकुञ्जेषु वनेषूपवनेषु गोमयलिप्तेषु मनोज्ञेषु। विष्णुधर्मसूत्र 85.

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In Rg X. 146 a large forest¹²⁶¹ (Araṇyānī) is invoked as a deity. The Vāmanapurāṇa mentions¹²⁶² seven forests in Kurukṣetra as holy and as removers of sin, viz. Kāmyaka, Aditivana, Vyāsavana, Phalakīvana, Sūryavana, Madhuvana and Puṇyaśītavana.

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¹²⁶¹ अरण्यान्यरण्यान्यसौ या प्रेव नश्यसि। कथा ग्रामं न पृच्छसि न त्वां भीरिव विन्दती३ँ॥ ऋ. X 146 1. The निरुक्त 9.30 explains this verse and says अरण्यानी means अरण्यस्य पत्नी, while the वार्तिक 'हिमारण्योर्महत्त्वे' on पा IV. 1. 49 holds that अरण्यानी is formed from अरण्य in the sense of महत्त्व

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¹²⁶² शृणु सप्त वनानीह कुरुक्षेत्रस्य मध्यत । येषां नामानि पुण्यानि सर्वपापहराणि च॥ काम्यक च वनं पुण्यं०। वामनपुराण 34. 3-5.

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In the Sūtras and ancient smṛtis like those of Manu and Yājñavalkya tīrthas do not occupy a very prominent position. But in the Mahābhārata and the Purāṇas they are highly lauded and placed even above sacrifices. In the Vanaparva¹²⁶³ a comparison is made between sacrifices to gods and pilgrimages. Sacrifices require numerous implements, collection of materials, the co-operation of priests and the presence of a wife and so they can be performed only by princes or rich men. They cannot be performed by poor men, who are devoid of wealth, who are without a wife and without friends, who are helpless. The reward that a man gets by visiting holy places cannot be secured by performing such sacrifices as Agniṣṭoma in which large fees are paid (to priests); therefore visiting holy places is superior to sacrifices. But the Mahābhārata (Vanaparva 82. 9-12 and Anuśāsana 108. 3-4) lays the greatest emphasis on the cultivation of high moral and spiritual qualities if the full reward of pilgrimages is to be reaped. It says¹²⁶⁴ 'He whose hands, feet and mind are well controlled and who possesses knowledge, austerities and a good reputation derives the (full) reward of pilgrimages. He who turns his face away from receiving gifts and is content with what little he gets and is free from vanity obtains the rewards of pilgrimages.

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He, who is free from hypocrisy (or deceit), is not engaged in various undertakings (for earning money), is not a heavy eater, has subdued his senses and is (therefore) free from all sins; so also he who does not fly into a rage, who always speaks the truth, who is firm in his observances, and acts towards all beings by treating them like himself, obtains the full reward of pilgrimages'. The idea seems to be that pilgrimages may help to remove the sins of men who are not possessed of the above characteristics, while those who possess these acquire a great store of merit in addition. The Skanda (Kāśīkhaṇḍa 6.3) asserts 'snāna cannot be predicated of a man whose body alone is flooded with water; that man who is plunged in restraint of senses, who is pure, relieved of all taint and is stainless, is alone to be called snāta' (as having had a bath). The Anuśāsana has almost the same words (108.9). The Vāyupurāṇa states¹²⁶⁵ 'A steadfast (or wise) man visiting tīrthas with faith and controlling his senses would be purified even if he has been guilty of sins; what need is there to say about him whose actions have been pure? One who has no faith, who is full of sins, whose mind is not free from doubts (about the rewards of pilgrimages and the rites there), who is an atheist and who is bent on bad reasoning—these five do not reap the rewards of pilgrimages'. The Skandapurāṇa (I. 1. 31.

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37) remarks that all holy places, sacrifices and various gifts are meant for cleansing the mind (of its sins and sinful proclivities, manaḥ-śuddhi). The Padmapurāṇa (IV. 80. 9) remarks· sacrifices, *vratas*, *tapas* and *dāna* cannot be carried out fully in the Kali age; but bathing in the Ganges and taking the name of Hari are free from all defects. The Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa¹²⁶⁶ puts the matter very clearly when it says 'When resort is made to a tīrtha, it removes the sins of the sinful and tends to the increase of merit in the case of the good and that a holy place yields fruit to men of all varṇas and āśramas.' Some of the Purāṇas (such as Skandapurāṇa, Kāśīkhaṇḍa 6, Padma, Uttarakhaṇḍa, 237) say that in addition to the holy places on land (*bhauma*) there are certain virtues that may be called mental tīrthas (in a figurative sense). According to them 'truthfulness, forbearance, restraint of the senses, compassion for all beings, straight-forwardness, charity, self-control, contentment, celibacy (brahmacarya), sweet speech, knowledge, patience, austerity, are tīrthas and the highest tīrtha is purity of mind.' They further state that a man who is avaricious, wicked, cruel, hypocritical and immersed in pleasures of senses is still sinful and impure even if he bathes in all *tīrthas* and that fish are born and die in holy waters but they do not go to heaven because their minds are not purified and that even charity, sacrifices, austerity,

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¹²⁶³ ऋषिभिः क्रतव प्रोक्ता देवेष्विह यथाक्रमम्। फलं चैव यथातथ्यं प्रेत्य चेह च सर्वश ॥ न ते शक्या दरिद्रेण यज्ञाः प्राप्तु महीपते । बहूपकरणा यज्ञा नानासम्भारविस्तराः॥ प्राप्यन्ते पार्थिवैरेते समृद्धैर्वा नरै क्वचित् । नार्थन्यूनैर्नावगणैरेकात्मभिरसाधनै.॥ यो दरिद्रैरपि विधि शक्यः प्राप्तु नरेश्वर। तुल्यो यज्ञफलै पुण्यैस्तं निबोध युधां वर॥ ऋषीणां परमं गुह्यमिदं भरतसत्तम ! तीर्थाभिगमन पुण्यं यज्ञैरपि विशिष्यते॥ महाभारत, वनपर्व 82. 13-17, q by तीर्थकल्पतरु p 37, तीर्थप्र p 12 (which explains अवगणै. तक्षादिसहायराहितै., यज्ञस्य कुण्डमण्डपादिसाम्पत्यात्, एकात्माभिः पत्नीरहितैः, असंहतैः ऋत्विगादिसङ्घातरहितै '। The अनुशासनपर्व (107 2-4) has almost the same verses as न ते शक्या ..शक्यः प्राप्तुं सदा भवेत्; मत्स्यपुराण (chap 112. 12-15) has these verses (except the half verse नार्थन्यूनै. साधनैः and पद्मपुराण, आदिखण्ड 11. 14-17, 49. 12-15, vide विष्णुधर्मोत्तर III. 273. 4-5 for the same ideas in almost the same words.

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¹²⁶⁴ यस्य हस्तौ च पादौ च मनश्चैव सुसंयतम् । विद्या तपश्च कीर्तिश्च स तीर्थफलमश्नुते ॥ प्रतिग्रहादुपावृत्त सन्तुष्टो येन केनचित् । अहङ्कारनिवृत्तश्च स तीर्थफलमश्नुते ॥ अकल्कको निरारम्भो लघ्वाहारो जितेन्द्रियः । विमुक्तः सर्वपापेभ्यः स तीर्थफलमश्नुते ॥ अक्रोधनश्च राजेन्द्र सत्यशीलो दृढव्रतः । आत्मोपमश्च भूतेषु स तीर्थफलमश्नुते ॥ वनपर्व 82 9-12 q. by the तीर्थकल्पतरु pp. 4-5, तीर्थप्र p. 13 (only 9 and 12) 'हस्तयोः संयमः परपीडाचौर्यादिनिवृत्त्या, पादयो. संयमः अगम्यदेशगमनपरताडनादिनिवृत्त्या । मनस. संयमः कुत्सितसङ्कल्पादिविनिवृत्त्या । विद्या अत्र तत्तत्तीर्थगुणज्ञानम्, तप. तीर्थोपवासादि, कीर्तिः सदाचरितत्वेन प्रसिद्धिः' तीर्थप्र. p. 13. 'अकल्ककः दम्भरहितः, निरारम्भोऽत्रार्थार्जनादिव्यापाररहितः' तीर्थकल्पतरु p. 5. Vide also वनपर्व 92.11, 93. 20-23. The above verses of the वनपर्व occur in पद्म, आदिखण्ड 11. 9-12 and the first two in पद्म, उत्तरखण्ड 237. 30-32; all occur in स्कन्द, काशीखण्ड 6. 48-51, वायु 110. 4-5 are the same as the first two, the verse यस्य हस्तौ च is शङ्खस्मृति 8. 15, महा 25 2, अग्नि 109 1-2, the स्कन्द (I 2.2 5-6) says that Aṅgiras sang the gāthā यस्य... संयतम् । निर्विकारा क्रियाः सर्वा स . इशुते

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¹²⁶⁵ तीर्थान्यनुसरन् धीरः श्रद्दधानो जितेन्द्रियः । कृतपापो विशुद्ध्येत किं पुनः शुभकर्मकृत्॥ अश्रद्दधानाः पाप्मानो नास्तिका स्थितसंशयाः। हेतुद्वष्टा च पञ्चैते न तीर्थफलभागिन ॥ वायु 77. 125 and 127 q by तीर्थकल्प० pp. 5-6, ती. चि. p 4 (which explains पापात्मा बहुपापग्रस्तस्तस्य पापशमन तीर्थे भवति न तु यथोक्तफलम्) These verses occur also in स्कन्द, काशीखण्ड 56 52-53.

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¹²⁶⁶ पापानां पापशमनं धर्मवृद्धिश्चतथा सताम् । विज्ञेयं सेवितं तीर्थे तस्मात्तीर्थपरो भवेत्॥ सर्वेषामेव वर्णाना सर्वाश्रमनिवासिनाम्। तीर्थं फलप्रदं ज्ञेयं नात्र कार्या विचारणा॥ विष्णुधर्मोत्तर III. 273. 7 and 9.

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[^1264 a]: नोदकक्लिन्नगात्रस्तु स्नात इत्यभिधीयते । स स्नातो यो दमस्नातः सबाह्याभ्यन्तरः शुचिः॥ अनुशासन 108 9.

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cleanliness, frequenting sacred places, learning—all these are not tīrthas, if the mind is not pure¹²⁶⁷ The Brahmapurāṇa (25.4-6) states 'a heart that is wicked is not purified by baths at holy places, just as a vessel in which *surā* (liquor) was carried remains impure even after being washed with water hundreds of times, that tīrthas, gifts, *vratas*, or (residence in) hermitages do not purify a man whose heart is wicked, who resorts to hypocrisy and whose senses run away (are uncontrolled). Wherever a man who has his senses under control may dwell, there are present Kurukṣetra, Prayāga and Puṣkara'. The Vāmanapurāṇa has a fine1267a *Rūpaka* about the soul being a river full of the water of control, flowing with truth and having character as the bank and the waves of compassion (for all beings) and states that the soul cannot be purified by water. The Padmapurāṇa (II. 39. 56-61) extends the meaning and scope of tīrthas by remarking that places where Agnihotra and śrāddha are performed, a temple, a house where Veda is being studied, a cowpen, the place where a soma drinker dwells, parks, a place where the Aśvattha exists, a place where Purāṇa is being recited or where one's teacher stands or where a chaste housewife dwells, or where a father and a worthy son dwell are all holy.

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¹²⁶⁷ सत्यं तीर्थं क्षमा तीर्थं .. तीर्थानामुत्तमं तीर्थं विशुद्धिमैनसः पुन' । जायन्ते च म्रियन्तेच जलेष्वेव जलौकस । न च गच्छन्ति ते स्वर्गमविशुद्धमनोमलाः॥ दानामिज्या तप शौचं तीर्थसेवा श्रुतं तथा। सर्वाण्येतान्यतीर्थानि यदि भावो न निर्मल ॥ स्कन्द, काशी० 6. 28-45, पद्म, उत्तरखण्ड 237. 11-28, compare मत्स्य 22 80 (सत्य तीर्थ दया तीर्थ०).

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1267a आत्मा नदी संयमतोयपूर्णा सत्यावहा शीलतटा दयोर्मि । तत्राभिषेकं कुरु पाण्डुपुत्र न वारिणा शुध्यति चान्तरात्मा॥ वामनपुराण 43. 25

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Numberless tīrthas and holy shrines have been mentioned from ancient times. The Matsyapurāṇa states¹²⁶⁸ that Vāyu declared that there are 35 millions of tīrthas in the sky, in the ærial regions and on the earth and all of them are centred in the Ganges; while the Vāmanapurāṇa 46. 53 states that there are 35 millions of Liṅgas. The Brahmapurāṇa says that the number of tīrthas and shrines is so large that they cannot be enumerated in detail even in hundreds of years. The Vanaparva¹²⁶⁹ remarks that Naimiṣa is the (best) tīrtha on the earth and Puṣkara in the ærial region, while Kurukṣetra is the most distinguished in all the three worlds and that all the ten thousand crores of tīrthas are present in Puṣkara (chap 82.21) New tīrthas were added from time to time and the monetary benefits derived by the permanent residents and particularly by the tīrtha priests led them to prepare numerous māhātmyas of an apocryphal character and father them on Vyāsa, the reputed author of the Mahābhārata and the Purāṇas. Most of the writers of digests on tīrthas follow a process of selection. The Tīrthakalpataru of Lakṣmīdhara, one of the earliest digests (about 1110-1120 AD), devotes more than half the work to Vārāṇasī and Prayāga alone, assigns only two or three pages to such famous tīrthas as Puṣkara, Pṛthūdaka, Kokāmukha, Badarikāśrama, Kedāra.

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The Nṛsiṁhaprasāda (Tīrthasāra) mostly deals with tīrthas in the Deccan and southern India such as Setubandha, Puṇḍarīka (modern Pandharpur), Godāvarī, Kṛṣṇā-veṇyā, Narmadā. The Tristhalīsetu of Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa devotes two-thirds of it to Benares and its sub-tīrthas and the rest to Prayāga and Gayā. This unequal treatment arose from various causes, such as the localities where the authors lived, their familiarity with the holy places and their predilections. There was also another tendency among the authors of Purāṇas, Māhātmyas and digests viz. that of great exaggeration and over-statement which is often repellent. If a man reads the description of one tīrtha and does not discount much as sheer hollow laudation, he is likely to feel that a pilgrimage to a certain tīrtha will yield all the desires in this life as well in the next and that after visiting a holy tīrtha like Kāśī or Prayāga he need not go to any other tīrtha, nor need he perform any *yajña* or act of charity and the like. A few striking passages may be cited here. The Vanaparva remarks that¹²⁷⁰ even gods and sages secured perfection at Puṣkara and that whoever takes a bath there and devoutly worships gods and his pitṛs secures rewards ten times of what the performance of Aśvamedha might give. About this very tīrtha viz. Puṣkara, the Padmapurāṇa says that there is no holier tīrtha in this world. The Vanaparva (83.

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145) in its eulogy of Pṛthūdaka asserts that Kurukṣetra is holy, that Sarasvatī is holier than Kurukṣetra and that Pṛthūdaka is holier than all other tīrthas The Matsyapurāṇa puts the ¹²⁷¹ comparative holiness of several tīrthas thus 'the waters of the Sarasvatī purify after (one bathes for) three days, those of Yamunā in seven days, those of the Ganges at once, while the water of the Narmadā purifies a man at sight of it.' In its eulogy of Vārāṇasī the Kūrma-purāṇa states 'there is no place higher than Vārāṇasī nor will there be one' (I. 31 64). The inveterate habit of exaggeration goes so far that it is said that by merely residing in Kāśī till one's death not only does a man become free from the great sin of brāhmaṇa murder but from the never-ending cycle of births and deaths and is not born again.¹²⁷² The Liṅgapurāṇa says the same thing. The Vāmanapurāṇa remarks ¹²⁷³ that *mukti* (release from *saṃsāra*) can be secured in four ways, viz. by knowledge of Brahman, by śrāddha at Gayā, by loss of life in repelling the carrying away of cows and by residence in Kurukṣetra and that those who die in Kurukṣetra never come down (to the earth) Mere residence in Kāśī was so much lauded that the Matsya (181 23), the Agni (112. 3) and other Purāṇas say that after repairing to Kāśī one should smash one's feet with a stone (in order that one may not be induced to visit another tīrtha)¹²⁷⁴ and stay in Kāśī forever.

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¹²⁶⁸ तिस्रः कोट्योऽर्धकोटिश्च तीर्थानां वायुरब्रवीत्। दिवि भुव्यन्तरिक्षे च तत्सर्वं जाह्नवी स्मृता॥ मत्स्यपुराण 110 7, नारदीय (उत्तर) 63. 53-54, and पद्म IV. 89. 16-17 and V. 20 150 (last पाद is तानि ते सन्ति जाह्नवी); वराह 159 6-7 षष्टिकोटिसहस्राणि षष्टिकोटिशतानि च । तीर्थान्येतानि देवाश्व तारकाश्च नभस्तले। गणितानि समस्तानि वायुना जगदायुषा॥, तिस्रः कोट्योऽर्धकोटी च तीर्थानि भुवनत्रये । तानि स्नातुं समायान्ति गङ्गायां सिंहगे गुरौ॥ ब्रह्माण्ड. 175 83; तस्माच्छृणुष्व वक्ष्यामि तीर्थान्यान्यतमानि च । विस्तरेण न शक्यन्ते वक्तुं वर्षशतैरपि॥ ब्रह्मपुराण 25 7-8.

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¹²⁶⁹ पृथिव्यां नैमिषं तीर्थमन्तरिक्षे च पुष्करम्। त्रयाणामपि लोकानां कुरुक्षेत्रं विशिष्यते॥ वनपर्व 83 202, q. by तीर्थप्र p 19 and तीर्थकल्पतरु p 178 ; नीलकण्ठ explains: नैमिषारण्ये कृतं पुण्यं पृथिव्यामेव सन्ततिसपत्तिसार्वभौमादिपदप्राप्तिहेतुरित्यर्थः, अन्तरिक्षे सूर्यचन्द्रादिमार्गे नक्षत्रादिचक्रेषु पुष्कर मापयतीत्यर्थः। The same verse occurs in मत्स्य 109.3, पद्म (आदिखण्ड 27.87) and the first half in वामन 7. 37.

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¹²⁷⁰ पुष्करेषु महाभाग देवाः सर्पिगणा पुरा। सिद्धिं समभिसंप्राप्ताः पुण्येन महतान्विताः॥ तत्राभिषेकं यः कुर्यात्पितृदेवार्थने रतः । अश्वमेधाद्दशगुणं फलं प्राहुर्मनीषिण ॥ वनपर्व 82. 26-27 ; नास्मात्परतरं तीर्थं लोकेऽस्मिन्परिणश्यते। पद्म (5th खण्ड, 27 78).

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¹²⁷¹ त्रिभिः सारस्वतं तोयं सप्ताहेन तु यामुनम्। सद्यः पुनाति गाङ्गेयं दर्शनादेव नार्मदम्॥ पद्म, आदिखण्ड 13.7, मत्स्य० 186.11. The अभिलषितार्थचिन्तामणि (Mysore ed.) I. 1.130 has a very similar verse 'सरस्वती त्रिभिः स्नाने पञ्चाभिर्यमुनापहृत्। जाह्नवी स्नानमात्रेण दर्शनेनैव नर्मदा' ॥

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¹²⁷² आ देहपतनाद्यावत्तत्क्षेत्रं यो न मुञ्चति। न केवलं ब्रह्महत्या प्राकृतं च निवर्तते । प्राप्य विश्वेश्वरं देवं न स भूयोऽभिजायते । मत्स्य 182 16-17, q. by तीर्थकल्प० p. 17 (which reads प्राकृतश्च that is explained as संसारबन्ध) and तीर्थचि p. 345 which quotes the passage from लिङ्गपुराण, but those verses are not found in chap 92 of the लिङ्गपुराण (Veṅk. ed.) which deals with वाराणसीमाहात्म्य लिङ्गपुराण I. 92 63 is विषयासक्तचित्तोऽपि त्यक्तधर्मरतिर्नरः । इह क्षेत्रे मृतः सोपि संसारे न पुनर्भवत्। काश्यां छात्र मृतो देवि जन्तुर्मोक्षाय कल्पते॥ लिङ्ग० 1.92 94. The verse आ देहपतनात् occurs in स्कन्द, काशीखण्ड 25. 67.

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¹²⁷³ ब्रह्मज्ञानं गयाश्राद्धं गोग्रहे मरणं ध्रुवम्। वासः पुंसां कुरुक्षेत्रे मुक्तिरुक्ता चतुर्विधा ॥ ग्रहनक्षत्रताराणां कालेन पतनाद्भयम् । कुरुक्षेत्रमृतानां च पतनं नैव विद्यते॥ वामनपुराण 33.8 and 16; the first occurs in वायु० 105 16, अग्नि 115. 5-6.

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¹²⁷⁴ अश्मना चरणौ हत्वा वसेत्काशीं न हि त्यजेत्। अग्नि 112.3; अविमुक्तं यदा गच्छेत् कदाचित्कालपर्ययात् । अश्मना चरणौ भित्त्वा तत्रैव निधनं व्रजेत् ॥ मत्स्य 181.23, which last is quoted in तीर्थकल्प० p. 16, अश्मना चरणौ हत्वा वाराणस्यां वसेन्नरः। कूर्म I 31 35 q by तीर्थप्र p 140.

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The Brahmapurāṇa classifies tīrthas into four divisions¹²⁷⁵ viz. daiva (created by gods), āsura (those associated with such asuras as Gaya), ārṣa (those established by sages) such as Prabhāsa, Naranārāyaṇa and mānuṣa (created by kings like Ambarīṣa, Manu, Kuru) and provides that each preceding one is superior to each succeeding one. It enumerates six rivers to the south of the Vindhya and six rivers having their sources in the Himālayas as most holy and as devatīrthas, viz. Godāvarī, Bhīmarathī, Tungabhadrā, Veṇikā, Tāpī, Payoṣṇī, Bhāgīrathī, Narmadā, Yamunā, Sarasvatī, Visokā, and Vitastā. Similarly, Kāśī, Puṣkara and Prabhāsa are devatīrthas (Tīrthapr. p 18). The Brahmapurāṇa (175. 31-32) assigns daiva, āsura, ārṣa and mānuṣa tīrthas respectively to the Kṛta, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali yugas.

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¹²⁷⁵ चतुर्विधानि तीर्थानि स्वर्गे मर्त्ये रसातले। दैव्वानि मुनिशार्दूल आसुराण्यारुषाणि च । मानुषाणि त्रिलोकेषु विख्यातानि सुराद्रिभिः । ..ब्रह्मविष्णुशिवैर्देवैर्निर्मितं दैवमुच्यते । ब्रह्मपुराण 70 16-19 q by तीर्थप्रकाश p. 18, which also quotes the verses from ब्रह्मपुराण 70 33-35 about the twelve rivers (देवतीर्थs) आरुष stands for आर्ष. Vide ब्रह्म 70 33-40 for examples of the four kinds of तीर्थs

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There is a good deal of discussion in the Purāṇas and digests about those who are entitled or have the eligibility or capacity (*adhikāra*) for tīrthayātrā. The Vanaparva¹²⁷⁶ provides that brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras, when they have bathed in holy places, are not born again. The same work further states that whatever sin a man or a woman may have committed from birth, the moment a person takes a bath in the holy Puṣkara all that sin vanishes¹²⁷⁷ Therefore not only men but women also had the right to undertake tīrthayātrā. The Matsyapurāṇa¹²⁷⁸ goes further and asserts that 'Avimukta (Vārānasī) is the highest cure for men of numerous castes, for men not (recognized as) belonging to any particular *varṇa*, for cāṇḍālas who are abhorred (by people) and for persons whose bodies are full of diseases and of aggravated sins'. It is stated in the Vāmanapurāna:¹²⁷⁹ persons of all the four *āśramas* (i. e. brahmacārins, householders, forest hermits and *sannyāsins*) by bathing in the tīrtha (mentioned by it) save seven generations in their families and that persons belonging to the four varnas and women, when they bathe in tirthas with devotion, see the highest goal. It was provided by the Brahmapurāna that a brahmacārin can undertake a pilgrimage only if ordered or directed by his guru, and that a householder whose wife is alive and is chaste must go on a pilgrimage with her; otherwise he would not reap the fruit of pilgrimage The Padmapurāna (Bhūmikhanda chap. 59-60) narrates the story of a vaiśya called Kṛkala who went on a pilgrimage without his virtuous wife and did not reap the fruits of a long pilgrimage (bhāryām vinā yo dharmaḥ sa eva viphalo bhavet, 59. 33). The Tīrthacintāmani and Tīrthaprakāśa quote a passage (from the Kūrmapurāna) which glorifies Vārānasī (called Avimukta there) as follows:¹²⁸⁰ 'brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, śūdras, persons of mixed castes (varṇasaṅkara), women, mlecchas and others who are born in evil forms and are of mixed blood, worms, ants, birds and beasts when they die in Avimukta are born as human beings in Benares and no one guilty of sins dying in Avimukta goes to Hell'. As regards women and śūdras, a smṛti verse provided¹²⁸¹ '*Japa*, *tapas*, pilgrimage to holy places, becoming an ascetic (sannyāsin), efforts to attain mastery over mantras and worshipping deities (as a priest)--these six lead to sinfulness in the case of women and śūdras.' This was explained away by stating that this text refers to undertaking pilgrimage without the husband's permission (in the case of a woman) and as to a śūdra in such a way as to be opposed to the primary duty of a śūdra to wait upon learned brāhmaṇas (as laid down in Manu X. 123). Kātyāyana¹²⁸² as quoted in the Vyavahāramayūkha provides 'whatever a woman does that relates to (benefit in) a future state (i. e. state after death) without the permission of her (husband's) father, husband or son, would become fruitless ' It is clear therefore that it was recognized early that *tīrthayātrā* was a popular way for redemption of sins in the case of all classes of men and women. Though a Hindu woman succeeding as heir to her husband's estate has only a limited and qualified ownership over it, judicial decisions have recognized that she can alienate a small portion of her husband's estate for the expenses of a pilgrimage to Gayā for performing her husband's śrāddha for the latter's spiritual benefit or of a pilgrimage to Pandharpur. Vide *Muteeram v. Gopal* 11 Beng. L. R. 416; *Darbari Lal v. Gobind* 46 All. 822; *Ganpat v. Tulsiram* 36 Bom. 88 (pilgrimage to Pandharpur).¹²⁸³ It was also provided that there was no question of untouchability¹²⁸⁴ when bathing in holy waters.

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¹²⁷⁶ ब्राह्मणा क्षत्रिया वैश्याः शूद्रा वा राजसत्तम। न वै योनों प्रजायन्ते स्नातास्तीर्थे महात्मन । वनपर्व 82 30-31 q by तीर्थप्र p 19 (which reads न वियोनिं व्रजन्त्येते, meaning 'are not born in a condemned or low body')

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¹²⁷⁷ जन्मप्रभृति यत्पापं स्त्रिया वा पुरुषेण वा। पुष्करे स्नातमात्रस्य सर्वमेव प्रणश्यति॥ वनपर्व 82 33-34 q. by तीर्थप्र p 23.

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¹²⁷⁸ नानावर्णा विवर्णाश्च चण्डाला ये जुगुप्सिताः। किल्बिषैः पूर्णदेहाश्च प्रकृष्टैः पातकैस्तथा। भेषजं परमं तेषामविमुक्तं विदुर्बुधाः। मत्स्यपुराण 184. 66-67, कूर्मपु. I. 31. 42-43 q. by तीर्थकल्पतरु p 26, तीर्थप्र. (on p. 140), तीर्थचि p. 140.

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¹²⁷⁹ ब्रह्मचारी गृहस्थश्च बानप्रस्थो यतिस्तथा। कुलानि तारयेत्स्नात सप्त सप्त च सप्त च॥ ब्राह्मणा. क्षत्रिया.वैश्याः स्त्रिया शूद्राश्च तत्परा । तीर्थस्नाता भक्तियुता पश्यन्ति परम पदम्॥ वामनपुराण 36 78-79.

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¹²⁸⁰ ब्राह्मणा क्षत्रिया वैश्या शूद्रा ये वर्णसङ्कराः । स्त्रियो म्लेच्छाश्च ये चान्ये सङ्कीर्णाः पापयोनय ॥ कीटा पिपीलिकाश्चैव ये चान्ये मृगपक्षिणः । कालेन निधनं प्राप्ता अविमुक्ते वरा-नने। ...शिवे मम पुरे देवि जायन्ते तत्र मानवा । नाविमुक्ते मृत कश्चिन्नरकं याति किल्विषी। कूर्म I 31. 32-34, मत्स्यपुराण 181. 19-21 q. by तीर्थचि p. 346, तीर्थप्र p. 139 (which quotes from कूर्मपुराण and adds नाविमुक्ते मृत कश्चिन्नरकं याति किल्बिषी). ईश्वरामुगृहीता हि सर्वे यान्ति परा गतिम्। नाविमुक्ते मृत कश्चिन्नरकं याति किल्विषी। कूर्म I. 31 31-34 q by तीर्थचि p. 346, तीर्थप्र p 139 The same verses occur in पद्म I 33. 18-21

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¹²⁸¹ जपस्तपस्तीर्थयात्रा प्रब्रज्या मन्त्रसाधनम् । देवताराधन चेति स्त्रीशूद्रपतना-नि षट् ॥ q. by तीर्थप्र p 21, ascribed to मनु by भट्टोजि in त्रिस्यलीसेतुसारसंग्रह p 2.

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¹²⁸² नारी खल्वननुज्ञाता पित्रा भर्त्रा सुतेन वा । विफलं तद्भवेत्तस्या यत्करोत्यौर्ध्वदेहिकम् ॥ कात्या q. by व्य. म ; p. 113, this verse is quoted by चतुर्वर्ग० on व्रत I. p. 327 as from आदित्यपुराण and और्ध्वदेहिकं is explained as व्रतानि.

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¹²⁸³ Strangely enough, the Calcutta High court has held that a widow cannot validly alienate a part of her husband's property inherited by her as heir for a pilgrimage to Benares; vide *Hari v. Bajrand* 13 C. W N. 544 at p. 547. But a gift to the temple of Jagannātha at Purī for *bhog* (offerings of cooked food) to the deity and for the maintenance of the priests there for the salvation of the husband and the members of his family and for the widow's own salvation was upheld by the Privy Council in *Sardar Singh v. Kunj Behari* 49 I. A. 383. As seen in note 1294 below, a person on returning from a pilgrimage had to honour and feed brāhmaṇas In *Dinanath v. Hrishikesh* 18 C. W. N. 1303, 1306, where a widow on returning from a pilgrimage to Gayā for the benefit of her husband's soul incurred a debt for feeding brāhmanas and her husband's relatives and alienated a portion of her husband's property, it was held that the debt was one for a spiritual purpose and was binding on the reversioners after the death of the widow.

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¹²⁸⁴ तीर्थे विवाहे यात्रायां संग्रामे देशविप्लवे। नगरग्रामदाहे च स्पृष्टास्पृष्टिर्न दुष्यति॥ वृद्ध q by कल्पतरु on शुद्धि p 169, स्मृतिच. I p 122 This is variously explained. The तीर्थप्र. p 41 says 'तीर्थे विवाह इत्यनेनानिवार्य-तीर्थाद्यधिकरणकारणस्पृश्यस्पर्शो न दोषावेत्यभिधानात् । स्पृष्टास्पृष्टिर्न दुष्यतीति वचनं पक्वान्नशुद्धौ कल्पतरुकृता लिखितं तीर्थे पक्वान्नस्पर्शे न दोष इति । अत एव पुरुषोत्तमक्षेत्रादौ तथैव शिष्टाचार इति।' Vide above note 750 for the same quotation The शुद्धिम. p. 130 explains तीर्थादौ अस्पृश्यस्पर्शने नाचमनस्नानादि

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There is a verse of Bṛhaspati: 'At holy places, in marriages, in a religious festival (or procession), in a battle, when there is an invasion of the country and when a town or village is on fire, no blame attaches on the ground of incurring contact with untouchable persons or things.'

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In order to guard against the facile assumption that without a change of heart or change in one's sinful mode of life a mere physical act of pilgrimage and bath in holy waters would be enough, some of the texts in the Mahābhārata and Purāṇas adopted two propositions: viz the one noted above that it is the pure mind that is a real tīrtha and further emphasized that it is better to stay at home and perform all the duties of a householder including the performance of vedic sacrifices than to go on a pilgrimage. The Śāntiparva ¹²⁸⁵ in the dialogue between Tulādhāra and Jājali (a brāhmaṇa proud of his *tapas*) asserts that puroḍāśa is the holiest of offerings, that all rivers are (holy like) Sarasvatī and all hillocks (and not merely Himālaya and the like) are holy, that one's soul is a tīrtha and advises Jājali not to be a guest (i. e. to be wandering in quest of tīrthas) to several countries. The Tīrthacintāmaṇi and Tīrthaprakāśa quote passages from the Brahmapurāṇa that a brāhmaṇa should wander about tīrthas after his capacity to perform sacrifices has come to an end, that it is better for a man to stay at home and perform the duties of an householder when he has the capacity and authority to perform *iṣṭis* and *yajñas*, and that all the tīrthas do not come up (in their rewards) to the performance of *agnihotra*.¹²⁸⁶ The Kūrmapurāṇa ¹²⁸⁷ has the following remarkable verses on this point. 'That person who abandoning his proper duties¹²⁸⁷ resorts to tīrthas does not reap the fruits of pilgrimage in this world as well as in the next. A person who has to undergo an expiation (for a sin), or who is a widower or who is a householder of the yāyāvara¹²⁸⁸ type or similar persons may resort to pilgrimages. One may go to holy places with his vedic fires or with his wife; he becomes free from all sins and secures the best goal as stated above. One who wants to go on pilgrimages should pay off the three debts, should provide means of maintenance for his sons and should consign his wife to their care.'

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¹²⁸⁵ पुरोडाशो हि सर्वेषां पशूनां मेध्य उच्यते। सर्वा नद्यः सरस्वत्यः सर्वे पुण्याः शिलोञ्चयाः। जाजले तीर्थमात्मैव मा स्म देशातिथीर्भव। एतानीदृशकान् धर्मानारचरंश्चिह जाजले। कारणैर्धर्ममन्विच्छन् स लोकानाप्नुते शुभान्। शान्तिपर्व 263. 40-42. नीलकण्ठ explains 'यत्रैवात्मसमाधानं तत्रैव सर्वाणि तीर्थानि सन्तीत्यर्थः'।

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¹²⁸⁶ यज्ञाधिकारोप्यथवा निवृत्ते विप्रस्तु तीर्थानि परिभ्रमेत।...यस्येष्टियज्ञेष्वाधिकारितास्ति वरं गृहं गृहधर्माश्च सर्वे। एवं गृहस्थाश्रमसंस्थितस्य तीर्ये गतिः पूर्वतरैर्निषिद्धा। सराणि तीर्थान्यपि चाग्निहोत्रतुल्यानि नैवेति वयं वदामः। ब्रह्मपुराण q by तीर्थकल्पतरु p 9, तीर्थचि pp. 5-6 and तीर्थप्र p. 19. *Vide* नारदीय (उत्तर) 62 22 for the first verse.

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¹²⁸⁷ यः स्वधर्मान् परित्यज्य तीर्थसेवा करोति हि। न तस्य फलते तीर्थमिह लोके परत्र च॥ प्रायश्चित्ती च विधुरस्तथा यायावरो गृही। मकुर्यात्तीर्थसेवेया यश्चान्यस्तद्गृहार्ह जनः॥ सङ्घार्यैर्वा सपत्नीको गच्छेत्तीर्थानि यत्नतः । सर्वपापविनिर्मुक्तो यथोक्तां गतिमाप्नुयात्॥ ऋणानि त्रीण्यपाकुर्वन्कुर्वन्वा तीर्थसेवनम्। विधाय वृत्तिं पुत्राणा भार्या तेषु निधाय च॥ कूर्म II. 44. 20-23.

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¹²⁸⁸ A householder is said to be of two sorts, śālīna and yāyāvara. The latter is one who subsists by picking up grains that fall down when the corn that is reaped is taken from the fields to the house or threshing floor or who does not accumulate wealth or who does not earn his livelihood by officiating as a priest or by teaching or by accepting gifts. Vide H. of Dh. vol II. pp. 641-642 and notes 1501-1504. For the three debts to Gods, Manes and sages, vide. H of Dh. vol II. pp. 270 and 425

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