The Procedure af Worship of the Ganga

1. О leading king, on hearing the words of Vasu indicating the greatness of the Ganga, Mohini once again asked her Brahmana priest.

2. О Brahmana, everything auspicious, like the gift of a cow etc. has been heard by me. Now I wish to hear the excellent Gangavrata (holy observance pertaining to the Ganga).

3. О Brahmana, О omniscient one, tell me what is the benefit of the worship of the Ganga, etc. or its installation there? I seek refuge in you.

4. You alone are the bestower of salvation to me who am abandoned by my kinsmen. О Prominent one among the knowers or the learned, I am bereaved of my husband, nor have I any son.

5. I have sought refuge in you giving full credence and weight to the words of my father. Hence, holy sir, kindly narrate to me the way of propitiation of the deity along with the glorification of the Ganga on hearing which exery one is absolved of his sins. I have bowed down to you.

6. О king, on hearing the words of Mohini, Vasu, the dignified Brahmana, the foremost among the knowers of the Vedas, honoured Mohini and said:

7-8a. “O gentle, lady, you have asked me pertinently, with the desire for the benefit of all the worlds. (I shall tell you) the greatness of the Ganga completely. It is destructive of great sins.

8b-9a. Formerly, while residing on the bank of the Ganga this was narrated out of mercy by the bull-bannered god Shiva when he was lovingly asked by his consort goddess Parvatl.

9b-10. Food offering is taken in the forenoon by the Devas and at midday by the sages; in the afternoon by the Pitrs and at night by the Guhyakas and others. It is excellent to take food at night after going beyond all other periods of times.

11. Begging alms is more excellent than observing fast. Taking unsolicited food is better than begging for alms. Taking food at night is better than taking unsolicited food. Hence, one shall take food at night (when stars appear in the sky).

Nakta is mainly the time when the stars appear in the sky — Hemadri on Kdla, p. 114.

12. The devotee regularly practising Nakta (acceptance of food after appearance of stars in the evening) shall observe six things viz. partaking of Havisya, ablution, truthfulness, lightness of deity, holy rites in the fire, and sleeping below (on the bare ground).

13-14. The man who regularly practises this observance of Nakta shall do so in the month of Magha on the bank of the Ganga. If he takes it near a Shiva temple he shall take Krsara with ghee. He shall offer Krsaranna as Naivedya (food offering) to Shiva. Observing Kastamauna (the silence of a log of wood), he shall take food and avoid over-indulgence of the tongue.

15. He shall take food in the leafy cups of Palana tree. Conquering the sense-organs, he shall remember Shiva. He shall offer separate balls of rice to Dharmaraja and the goddess (Parvatl).

16-17. On the GaturdasI (fourteenth) day in both the fortnights, he should observe fast. On the full moon day the ablution of Shiva must be performed severally with scents, Ganga water, milk, honey, ghee and curds. So also he must offer a golden flower on the head of the Liriga.

18. Then he should offer to the extent of his capacity, baked pies cooked in ghee. Taking an Adhaka measure of gin- gelly seeds, he should put it upon the Shivalinga.

19. The devotee should worship the lord of all by means of blue lotuses and lilies. If they are not available, he should worship Нага with golden lotuses.

20-21. With devotion, one should offer to Mahesa, milk pudding soaked in honey, agallochum accompanied by ghee, lamp wherein ghee is burned and smear with sandal-paste, etc. He should offer leaves and fruits and dedicate a pair of black cows of handsome appearance.

22. At the end of a month he should feed eight Brahmanas and give them monetary gifts. For the whole of that month, he should avoid honey (wine) and flesh. He shall observe celibacy for the whole of that month.

Cf. Lihga P. 1.10-12. Hemadri on Vrata I. p. 333. Smrti-kaustubhat p. 11 quotes Gd. P.

23-24a If a person performs this holy rite even for once in the manner mentioned before, with faith and devotion, maintaining all observances and restraints, attains all the pleasures here and after death, he attains excellent salvation.

24b-27. He goes to the beautiful city of Shiva accompanied by the members of his family, in aerial chariots resembling sapphire gems, full of divine jewels. Peacocks shall be yoked to them. Means of all divine pleasures will be present there. He shall be accompanied by different friends. Until the dissolution of all living beings, he will enjoy different kinds of desired pleasures. Thereafter, he becomes the righteous-souled ruler of Jambiidvlpa. Free from all sins, he will enjoy all sorts of pleasures.

28. Endowed with comely form and good fortune, exercising royal powers and free from all ailments, he too will enjoy this fruit.

29. Or on the fourteenth day, in the bright half of Vais- akha, he who with a concentrated mind observes the Nakta- Vrata should take at night food consisting of cooked Sali rice mixed with milk.

30-31. The devotee should worship Shiva with flowers etc. and offer edibles as Naivedya. He should partake of the food with the silence of a log of wood. He should perform the rite of brushing the teeth silently with the twig of a banyan tree with purity of mind. He should sleep near the Shivalinga at night, on the banks of the river Ganga.

32. On the morning of the full-moon day (of Vai sakha) he should duly take bath in the Ganga. He should perform the Samkalpa rite (formal declaration of the intention) for fast. On that night, he should keep awake.

33-34. He should perform ablution of the Liiiga duly with ghee and worship it with flowers, scents, incense, lamps and food offerings. He should embellish a splendid bull with white flowers, cloths, etc. as well as powdered turmeric and sandal paste. He should duly dedicate it to Shiva.

35-36. He should feed Brahma^as with milk pudding in accordance with his capacity. He who performs thus with devotion and faith, even for once, undoubtedly obtains that merit which one gets after pei forming penance with due observances for one thousand seven hundred and fifty divine Yugas.

37-38a. He goes to ls'vara’s (god Shiva’s) palace along- with his ancestors by means of aerial chariots that have the luster of swans and Kunda llowers that resemble the moon- chariots that are yoked with white bulls and embellished with clusters of pearls.

38b-39a. He enjoys different kinds of pleasures through beloved ladies of divine beauty, having the fragrance of blue lotuses. He will be surrounded by them.

39b-40. He will be blessed with prosperity and power for an indefinite period of time. He is born on the Earth as a king endowed with fame and prosperity. Under his single royal umbrella, he holds sway over the Earth.

41-42a. In the end, he gains detached outlook on life and regains the Ganga. With that faith he courts death in the Ganga. He remembers the previous birth and certainly attains salvation.

42b-44. A man or a woman should observe the following holy rite with devotional feelings. On the tenth day in the bright half of the month of Jyestha when associated with the constellation Hasta, the devotee should keep vigil at night on the banks of the river Ganga; with great faith he should worship the Ganga with ten kinds of flowers and scents, ten varieties of fruits, ten different articles of Naivedyas and ten lights. He shall offer batel leaves too.

45-46a. After taking bath in the Ganga with devotion the devotee should, w.th due formality, offer ten handfuls of black gingclly seeds with ghee into the water. He should also offer balls of ground flour of fried grains as well as those of Jaggery each being ten in number.

46b-49a. On the beautiful banks of the Ganga, a mystic diagram of the lotus and Svastika should be drawn, over which a full water-pot should be placed. It must be covered with a cloth. Round the neck of the pot, a garland must be tied. An idol of the Ganga, in the form mentioned below, shall be made in gold or silver and placed over the pot. The devotee should worship the goddess (i.e. the divine Ganga) thus. If gold or silver is not available, the image shall be made of clay. If the devotee is not able to make the clay idol, he shall draw the figure on the ground by means of flour dough.

49b-51. The form of the Ganga for the idol as well as the picture is as follows: She has four arms. The eyes are beautiful. She has the lustre of ten thousand moons. She is being fanned with chowries. A white umbrella above her head embellishes her. She is delighted. Her innermost heart melts with pity. She is ready to grant boons. With nectarine juice, she has flooded the surface of the Earth. She is eulogised by the Devas and others. She is adorned with divine jewels. She has divine garlands and unguents.1

52. After meditating on the goddess in the water in the manner mentioned before, the devotee should worship her in the objects used for worship (i.e. image or picture). He should observe a special worshipping rite with the following Mantra, (vide verse 66 below).

53. During the worship, the ablution of the deity with Paficamrta is specially recommended. Just in front of the image, the ground shall be scrubbed and smeared with cow-dung.

54-55. In accordance with his capacity the devotee should worship Narayana, Mahesa, Brahma, Bhaskara the sun, Bhaglratha the king, and the king of mountains, Himavan, by means of scents, fragrant flowers etc. To ten Brahmanas he shall distribute ten Prastha measures of gingelly seeds.

56-57. Similarly, he should distribute ten Prastha measures of barley-grains to ten persons after mixing them with milk products. In accordance with his capacity, the devotee should cause the replicas of aquatic animals such as fish, tortoise, frog, (crocodiles), etc. made in gold or silver. If it is not available, he should make them out of flour dough. After worshipping these with flowers etc., the knower of the Mantras shall cast them into the Ganga reciting the Mantra (in verse 66 below) in the meanwhile.

58. On the day of Rathayatra (chariot procession), the devotee should make a replica of the Ganga facing the north.

59. Rare indeed is the vision of the Ganga going round in procession in the case of men of evil deeds. Just as there is the chariot procession ofDurga; this procession too should be conducted in the same manner.

60. After observing all the rites thus, in accordance with the injunction, the devotee should avoid stinginess in the matter of expense. Thereby he is immediately liberated from the ten kinds of sins mentioned below.

61-63. Among them there are three types of physical sins viz. a) as taking away what is not voluntarily given, b) killing, etc. without scriptural sanction and c) enjoying another man’s wife carnally. There are four types of verbal sins viz. (i) harsh words (ii) false-hood (iii) back-biting in all its modes and (iv) irrelevant speech. There are three kinds of mental sins viz. a) wistful contemplation of another man’s wealth, b) thinking ill of others mentally and c) futile ardour and yearning.

64. The devotee will be liberated from ten types of sins accumulated in the course of crores of births. There is no doubt about itsofar as the utterance of Brahma goes.

65. (The Ganga) worshipped with the following Mantra does redeem from worldly existence, forty earlier generations and forty subsequent generations.

66-67. The Mantra is “Om namo dasa-harayai Narayanyai Gangayai namah” — “Om obeisance to Dagahara (remover of tenfold ills), to Narayanl, to Ganga.” He who repeats this Mantra five thousand times within a day and a night, on the day of the chariot procession, shall attain the fruit of ten kinds of Dharmas (?). He shall redeem from the ocean of worldly existence ten earlier generations and ten subsequent generations.

68. The following hymn should be taken up for repetition on that day. The devotee should, thereafter, proceed ahead with the worship of Vishnu.

69. Om obeisance to Shiva, the Ganga, the bestower of auspicious things. Obeisance be to you. Hail be to the deity of the form of Vishnu. Obeisance, Obeisance be to you the Ganga,

70. Bow to the deity, the embodiment ofallDevas; obeisance to the deity of the form of medicine; Hail to you, О most excellent physician of all ailments of everyone.

71. Obeisance be to you; О queller of poisons originating from mobile and immobile beings; obeisance, obeisance to the destroyer of the poison of worldly existence; obeisance to the enlivener.

72. Repeated bows to the remover of the three types of miseries of human beings, to the Isvarx (controller) of vital breaths. Obeisance to you, the remover of distress, the bestower of calmness and peace; obeisance to you the omniformed one.

73. Hail to the purifier of all for liberation from sins; obeisance to the deity bestowing worldly pleasures and salvation, obeisance, obeisance to the deity possessing pleasures.

74. Bow to you, the Mandakini (i.e. heavenly Ganga); obeisance, obeisance to the bestower of heavenly pleasures; obeisance to the embodied form of the set of the three worlds; obeisance, obeisance to the divine one.

75. Hail to you stationed in Sukla (i.e. Shiva); obeisance, obeisance to the possessor of well-being; Bow to you the divinity stationed in the seats of the Devas. Hail to you the possessor of brilliance.

76. Salutations to the slow-moving river, to the bearer of the Linga, to Narayanl. Obeisance to you who are friendly to the universe. Obeisance to you, О Revati.

77. Obeisance always to you of huge size. Salutations to the support of all the worlds. Obeisance to you the clshishf one in the universe. Repeated bow to you Nandini (the delighter).

1. Here GaAga is identified with the supreme Deity. Hence, many epithets of the river Gahga remind one of Vedantic Hymns.

78. Obeisance to the large one, the auspicious one and to the immoral one; salutations to the Pure one, devoid of dust (sin); obeisance to the deity whose access is both far and near. Obeisance, obeisance to the redeeming divinity.

79. Obeisance to you who abide in the heaven; salutations to the non-different, to the unsplit divinity. Obeisance to the quiescent one; bow to you the stable foundation; obeisance, obeisance to you the bestower of these boons.

80. Obeisance to the fierce one. Obeisance to one who prattles with her mouth (?); salutations to the enlivener; obeisance to one who goes to the Brahman; obeisance to one who bestows the Brahman; obeisance, obeisance to the destroyer of sins.

81. Bow to the queller of the anguish of those who bow down; salutations to the mother of the universe; obeisance to Vilusa (one who injures (the wicked); obeisance to the remover of difficulties; repeated obeisance to the efficient one.

82-83. Obeisance to one who is antagonistic to all miseries; repeated obeisance to the auspicious deity. О greatest deity, greater than the greatest, obeisance to you, О bestower of salvation for ever. May Ganga be in front of me; may Ganga be at my sides. May Ganga be all round me; О Ganga, may my existence be in you. You are at the beginning. You arc in the end; you are in the middle, you are everything. О auspicious deity who have descended on the Earth.

84. You alone are the primordial Prakrti; you are lord Narayana. О Ganga, you are the great Atman; you are Shiva. Obeisance, obeisance to you.”

85-87. He who recites this hymn every day with devotion or listens to this with faith, is liberated from the tenfold defects, physical and verbal. The patient will be liberated from the ailment and the unlucky from miseries and mishaps. He is liberated from the enemies, from the bondage and fears. He attains all desires. After death he gets absorbed into the Brahman.

88. There is no fear from arson, larceny or sinful activities in the house where this hymn is written down and is honoured.

89-90. A person who stands in the waters of the Ganga and repeats this hymn ten times on the Dashami (tenth) day whether he is indigent or incompetent, shall after worshipping the Ganga with devotion, attain the benefit that is mentioned in case of the worship performed in accordance with the procedure laid down above.

91. Just as Gauri, so also is the Ganga. Hence the procedure laid down for the worship of Gauri should be followed in the case of the worship of the Ganga too.

92. Just as Shiva so also is Vishnu; Just as Vishnu so also Uma; just as Uma so also is the Ganga. There is no difference and distinction among them.

93. He who advocates that there is difference between Vishnu and Rudra, that there is difference between Ganga and Gauri, and that there is difference between Laksml and Gauri, is a man of confounded intellect.1

94. It is the blessed men on the Earth who cast off their body by the day-time in the bright half of a month in the Ganga during the Uttarayana (during the transit of the sun in the northern hemisphere), while Janardana is abiding in the heart meditate upon him as such.

95. О daughter of Brahma, those men who leave off their vital breaths by casting their bodies into the Ganga go to the world of Vishnu eulogised by those who are domiciled in the heaven.

96. (?) He who dies partially due to observance of fast and partially due to being drowned in the Ganga, is not reborn. He attains Sayujya (identity) with the Brahman.

97. The embodied being that casts off its vital breaths (dies by throwing himself) in the Ganga has the same salvation as that of an intelligent being endowed with Sattva guna and Yogic practice.

1. The NP, though a Vai?nava Ригаца, always advocates the oneness between Shiva and Vishnu and other deities. He emphasizes ekarh sat (Reality is one).

98. The man who takes up the vow of abstaining from taking food and dies on the banks of the Ganga, attains in fact the greatest world alongwith the Pitrs (his ancestors).

99-1 Ola. (?) If an intelligent man desires to abandon his vital breath by dying in the Ganga but many births pass by and he meets his deaths here and there and at different places but not in the Ganga, or many days elapse as he goes here and there and does not reach it (it does not matter. He will have the benefit). Even if he dies two Yojanas away, it is as beneficial as dying nearby or in the Ganga itself. No doubt need be entertained in this respect.

101b-102a. Whether with the perfect knowledge or without it, whether with desire or without desire, the man who dies in the Ganga attains heavenly pleasures and salvation.

102b-103. Whilst dying, if a man remembers the Ganga or touches it, he attains the greatest salvation even if he is a habitual sinner.

104. Those intelligent men (self-possessed ones) by whom the physical body is cast ofF after going off to the Ganga attain equality with the Devas. Hence, one shall reasoningly eschew all other means of bestowing liberation and resort to the Ganga till one’s body falls.

105. He who dies in the firmament on the Earth or in the water, attains the everlasting region worthy of being honoured by Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

106. He who is righteous, is alive, who is pure and honoured by good men and who mentally thinks of the Ganga, attains the greatest salvation.

107. Wherever one may die, if one devoutly remembers the Ganga when death is imminent, one goes to the city pertaining to Shiva or to Vishnu.

108. The Ganga came out of the cluster of the matted hair of Sambhu, that is very rough and hard. It flowed over the sons of Sagara who were sinners and led them to the heaven.

109. A man is honoured in the heavenly world as many thousands of years as the number of his bones that are cast in the Ganga.1

110. A man’s stay in the heavenly world begins from the moment when his bones are cast off into the waters of the Ganga by other men.

111. If the bones of any one of auspicious rites are taken to the Ganga water, he does not at all return from the world of Brahma.

112. If any one’s bones are cast off into the Ganga water within the ten days (from his death), he attains a benefit similar to that of the death within the Ganga.

113-115. The son (or others who perform the obsequies) should take bath and sprinkle Panchagavya on the bones. He should then place them in a basket or casket alongwith the gold, honey, ghee and gingelly seeds. Facing the quarter frequented by the groups of ghosts (i.e. the south) he shall repeat this — “Obeisance be to Dharma”. Thereafter he, should enter the water and saying “He was dear to me,” cast off the bones. He should take bath once again and visit the Aksayavata (the everlasting holy banyan tree). Then he should give away the religious monetary gifts. When this is done the dead man detained in the city of the dead, shall go to the heaven and have a position similar to Indra (the king of gods).2

116. Narayana is the lord of the place by the current of water on the one hand and a place of four Hastas away on the other hand. No one else can ever be the lord of that place.

117-118. No one shall accept Pratigraha (monetary gift) in that region (where Narayana is the lord) even if the vital breaths have reached the throat i.e. even when death is imminent.). The water level reached on the fourteenth day in the bright half of the month of Bhadrapada is called Garbha. The distance covered by Garbha is called Tlra (bank, shore). “The distance of hundred and fifty Hastas is called Garbha (or the bed of the river). Beyond that is the Tlra.”1

2. This is the procedure of costing-off bones of the deceased relative in the Ganga. Gf. the procedure described in the Brahma P. and quoted in Tfrtha-Cintdmapi, pp. 265-266.

119-121. О gentle lady, this is the opinion of some and it is approved of in the Srutis and Smrtis. The distance of a Gavyuti (six kms) around the Tlra is called Ksetra (sacred area or field). One should eschew the Tlra and reside in the Ksetra. Residence in the Tlra is not advisable. The limiting boundary of the Ksetra extends to one Yojana from either bank. All the sins never transgress the boundary of the Ganga. On seeing it, the sins run away like the forest-dwellers (or the animals) on seeing the lion.

122. О excessively blessed lady, the space of three Yojanas on either side of the Ganga should be known as Siddha- ksetra. It was here that Rama and Sambhu had their penance groves.

123. No man shall accept Pratigraha (monetary gift) in a holy centre or in the sacred temples. A man shall abstain from it under all circumstances (i.e. even when there are justifiable reasons).

124. The holy centre is of no avail (i.e. ceases to be so) to one who accepts Pratigraha in the holy centre or in sacred temples as long as that money is retained by him.

125. О gentle lady, by selling the Ganga, one becomes (guilty) of selling (god) Vishnu. When Janardana is sold, all the three worlds are sold.

126. He who applies the clay taken up from the banks of the Ganga on his head assumes the form of the sun for the destruction of darkness.

127. A man shall spread the dust particles taken from the banks of the Ganga and place the balls of rice for his Pitrs. He shall thus propitiate them and lead them to heaven.

128. О gentle lady, thus the excellent greatness of the Ganga has been recounted to you. A man who reads this or listens to this attains the greatest region of Vishnu.

129. О daughter of Brahma, this section is to be repeated every day with devotion by persons who are pure, endowed with faith and who wish for salvation leading to the region of Vishnu or Shiva.

1. О king, after hearing the excellent greatness of the Ganga, the destroyer of sins, MohinI said again to the priest.

2. О holy sir, I have been blessed with your sympathy since the holy story of the Ganga that dispels sins has been recounted.

3. О excellent Brahmana, how is the holy place Gaya Tlrtha1 well-known in the world? I wish to know it. Kindly recount it now.

4. The holy centre named Gaya is remembered as the most excellent of all Tirthas. God Brahma, the grandsire

Gaya as a sacred place has been glorified since the Mbh. times. We find Gajyd Mahatmya in the Mbh. Vana chs. 84-95, Vdyu P. chs. 105-112, Garuqla chs. 82-86, Agni chs. 114-116, MatsyaP. chs. 102-111. Padma I. 38. A no. of verses are common to these, esp in the Vayu and the NP.

1. One wonders why after glorification of the Ganga, Gaya which is away from the Ganga is given precedence to Prayaga, the King of Tirthas (‘Tirtha^rfja,) and Kasi, the sacred-most city when both of these holy places are on the Ganga itself. Possibly the author of the NP being a resident of Bengal followed a separate order of sacred places. of the world, the lord of the chief of the Devas, personally stays here.

5-6. It is here that the following verse was sung by the Pitrs who desired Yoga: “One shall seek many sons so that at least one of them may go to Gaya or perform a horsesacrifice or set a dark-coloured bull free.”1 О gental lady, the excellent greatness of Gaya is the essence of all essences. I shall recount it succinctly. Listen to it. It yields worldly pleasures as well as. liberation from Sarhsara.

7-8. Formerly, there was an exceedingly powerful demon named Gayasura. He performed a very terrible penance that scorched all living beings. The Devas being extremely afflicted by the severity of the heat of his penance went to Hari for bringing about his death.

9-11. The Devas sought refuge in Hari. Hari spoke to them “When his huge body is struck down, all of you should be auspicious-souled (pure in mind) ” The Devas said ‘‘So be it” Once (demon Gaya brought lotuses from the milk ocean for the sake of Shiva’s worship. He went to bed in a place near Hari. Since he was deluded by Vishnu’s Maya, he was killed by Vishnu with his iron club.2 Thereafter Vishnu is remembered when offering balls of rice, taking holy dip etc. (here). He shall go to the ‘Gadadhara’ (wielder of the iron club). At Gaya he is the bestower of salvation.

1. The same as Mbh. Vana. 87. 9-10. Mt. P. 22-6. Vayu 105. 10, Кйгта P. II. 35. 12, Pd. P. I. 38.17.

It may also be interpreted in view of the future events: When his huge body is felled down, you should be there (on it) with your auspicious souls.

2. The story differs in the Vdyu P. Ch. 106. There Gayasura voluntarily offers his body for the sacrifice of god Brahma and subsequently all gods stay permanently on him.

It is not known why this great sclf-sacrificer is called an ‘Asura. Apart from the reference to Gaya, the seer of two suktas in the Rgvcda (X. 63 and 64), we find a pious king Gaya, ihe son of King Samudravijaya of Rajagrha in the Svetambara Jaina work Uttaradhyayana-Sfitra and a royal sage Gaya whose hermitage the Buddha is said to have visited (in Asva gho?a’s Buddha-Carita). Even the Vayu P. which calls it Asura states that his body was purer than gods’ and his act of offering his body is too sublime to designate him as Asura.

Thus Jain, Buddhist and Brahmanical sources are unanimous about the saintly nature of the so-called «Asura Gaya.

12. Assuming the form of the Linga pure (?) Pitamaha (god Brahma) stationed himself on his body. It will be a holy centre with the vehicle of Vishnu as the delimiting boundary and guardian deity.

13. The man who performs Yajfta, Sraddha, Pinda-dana will go to heaven or the world of Brahma. That man will not go to hell.

14. Realising that the holy centre of Gaya is the greatest of all, Brahma performed Yogic rites. He worshipped the Brahmanas and the sages who came there.

15. After creating the river Sarasvati, he stood pervading the quarters and the interstices of the quarters. Then he created edibles, foodstuffs, fruits, etc. and then Kamadhenus (wish- yielding divine cows.).

16-18. He made Gayatlrtha five Krosas (15kms) in extent. He gave Brahmanas sufficient wealth. In the Yoga (sacrifice) performed by Dharma, these Brahmanas accepted wealth etc. as Pratigraha. Hence those Brahmanas who stayed at Gaya were cursed by Brahma. ‘‘May you not have any learning for three generations. To you the river shall be devoid of taste the mountain shall be a mere rock. Brahma was then requested by them. Hence the lord created holy centres and sacred rivcis.1

19. “The people in Gaya are holy ones, by means of Srad- dha they go to the world of Brahma. I am always worshipped by those persons who honour you.

20. ‘‘Liberation is of four types: (That attained through) the perfect knowledge of Brahman, (b) Sraddha rite at Gaya (c) death in a cowpen (d) residence of men in Kurukshetra.”2

21. О gentle lady, there is no doubt that all the oceans, rivers, tanks, wells and eddies go to the holy centre of Gaya tlrtha desirous of holy dips therein.

1. For the story of Brahmanas of Gaya being cursed by God Brahma for their greediness vide Vayu 106. 73-83 and AP. 114. 33-39

22. The sins of Brahmana-slaughter, imbibing liquor, stealing, outraging the modesty of the preceptor’s wife and those of coming into contact with these perish, thanks to Gayasraddha.

23. Those who are dead but not consecrated (with Vedic Mantras) well, those who are killed by animals and those who are bitten by serpents become liberated by Gayasraddha and go to the heaven.

24. The benefit that a man attains by offering balls of rice in Gaya cannot be adequately described by me even in the course of hundreds and crores of Kalpas.

25. О Gentle lady, in this connection there is a traditional mythological story. О blessed lady, listen to it with concentration of mind.

26-27a. In the Treta yuga there was a king named Visala.1 He lived in the city of Visala. He was blessed with fortitude but was devoid of a son. Hence the ruler of Visala himself asked the leading Brahmanas. The destroyer of enemies asked them about the son. The Brahmanas of excellent spiritual power and virtue spoke to him.

27b-28a. “O king, go to Gaya. Propitiate Pitrs with balls of rice in accordance with the injunctions, for the sake of a son. О heroic one, thereby you will certainly have a son who will be the donor of thousands and who will be lord of the entire Earth.”

28b-30a. On being thus spoken by the groups of Brahmanas the king, the ruler of Visala was delighted. His mind hovered round the most excellent of all holy centres. Accompanied by the Brahmanas he went to Gaya. Desirous of a son he came to the most excellent of all the holy centres. At Gayasiras he was engrossed in the sacrifice.

Vayu P. 112-7-14; Agni P. 115.54-59, Garutfa P. 84.34-39. 1. The same as Vayu 105. 13.

30b-31a. In accordance with the injunctions he made offerings of balls of rice to the Pitrs. At that time he saw three persons in the sky. They were endowed with excellent, physical forms of white, red and black complexions. He spoke to them,

“О sirs, why are you thus? How is it, that delusion is experienced by you? Tell me everything. Curiosity has been generated iri my mind.

31b-32. “O king, I am Sita (the white one), your father. My name, colour and activity expatiate upon my name Sita. (I am of pure conduct. Hence my name is ‘white’). This red-com- plexioned one is my father. He has committed ruthless acts. He has killed Brahmanas. He is a sinner. Thereafter (the person beyond that) is my grandfather. Byname, colour and activity he is Krishna (black).

33. Formerly, in the previous birth, many ancient sages had been killed by this Krishna. These two the father and the son are remembered to have fallen into the hell called Avici.

34. My father and beyond him, the other one both of them are black-faced. They were in the hell for a long time. By means of my pure karman, I attained the seat of Indra which is very difficult of access.

35. You are the knower of Mantras. By offering balls of rice at Gaya, these two who had gone inside the hell called Avici were liberated, thanks to the power of excellent holy centre.

36-37. О destroyer of your enemies, you had offered water libations saying “I shall propitiate my father, grandfather and great grandfather.” О excellent one, thanks to that statement, we all have come together at the same place and time. There is no doubt about this that we will go to the world of Pitrs, thanks to the power of holy centre.

38. By your offering the balls of rice there at Gaya your grandfather and great-grandfather had been redeemed from their sins. Their subtle bodies too are deformed but they have now attained Siddhi.

39. О son, it is for this reason that I have taken them with me in order to see you. Now I shall go away.

40. As a result of the power of holy centre, a son may, by offerings the balls of rice at Gaya uplift his father who is a Brahmana-slayer.”

41. After saying this and blessing his son vishala ith benedictions, his father Sita, immediately went to his own world alongwith those two grandfathers.

42. Going once to Gaya, offering balls of rice once^ even this is very difficult of access. What then a continuous stay therein?

43. (?) The holy rite of fallen men is sometimes observed only once in a year in the Gaya-well by the relatives with the consideration for time and space.

44-47. A certain royal ghost said to a merchant for the purpose of his own liberation; You visit the holy place called Gayatirtha. Take your holy bath and be scrupulously clean. Offer balls of rice in my name. By your offering the balls of rice there, I will be easily liberated from this state of ghost- hood. I will then attain the auspicious world of all donors.” After saying this to the merchant in the company of his attendants, the royal ghost duly but secretly narrated his name etc. After understanding these, the merchant went to the excellent holy centre of Gayasirsa.

48. He performed the rite of Pamsunirvapana (offering of balls of rice on the dust) to the ghosts in due order. He made the gift of wealth after making Pitrs go ahead.

49. This highly, intelligent person offered balls of rice for himself in accordance with the injunctions but without gingelly seeds.1 So also in the case of other members born in the family.

(the royal ghost and others) were liberated from ghosthood. They attained the status of twice-borns and went over to the world of Brahma.

51. The following things should be offered by the sons: milk puddings and the meat of rhinoceros when offered take Pitrs to their abode. The black and red ewe or ram shall be conducive to the infinite results.

This story is repeated in Vdyu P 112.16-19 Agni P. 115.60-64 Garuda P. 84.32-35.

52. Sraddha, Japa, Нота and austerities performed at Gaya are of inexhaustible merit. These rites performed by the son on the death-anniversaries of the Pitrs shall have endless benefits.

53. The Pitrs who are over whelmed by the fear of hell desire for sons, hoping thus, “The son who goes to Gaya will redeem us.”

54. Whatever is given to the Pitrs at Gaya in the following places is of everlasting benefit, viz. Dharma Prstha, the assembly of Brahma, GayaSIrsa and the Aksaya Vata.

55. After visiting Brahmaranya, Dharmaprstha and Dhenukaranya one should worship the Pitrs. He will thereby redeem twenty members of his family.

56. The sin committed in the course of great Kalpa perishes as soon as one reaches Gaya. The Sraddha offered at the ‘Bull’ and at the Grdhravafa (Banyan tree at Grdhra- kuta) yields great benefit.

57. The pada (foot-print) of sage Matanga is seen there by all men. The entire essence of Dharma has been proclaimed as an example to the people.

58. That grove of lotuses wherein Pancju had entered (?) and which is frequented by meritorious persons is holy and sacred. It is a holy centre that is a model for all.

59. On the third side at the foot of the iila in the precinct of (the lotus-pond called) Niksira. and on the bank of the deep pool of the KauSiki,1 the sraddha that is offered yields great benefit.

60. His foot was placed on the Mundaprstha hill by the intelligent Mahadeva. Penance very difficult to be performed was gone through for many hundreds of years in the holy places.

Mentioned in Mbh. Vana 84.91. The Grdhra-kuta hill is to the left of the (Preta) aila. The Grdhravafa in the NP is the same as Gfdhrak ufa-vafa in the Vdyu 108.63.

61. Here, a man devoted to Dharma casts off immediately his sins in the course of a short while, like serpent that casts off its old slough.

62. There itself to the north of Muntfaprsha (mountain) is the holy centre well-known by the name of Kanaka- nanda. It is frequented by groups of Brahmana sages.

63. By taking their holy dips therein, men go to heaven in their physical bodies. The Sraddha offered there is cited to be always of ever-lasting benefit.

64. О lady of beautiful eyes, the devotee must take a holy dip for three days in the Niksira and in the lake Manasa. He shall then perform Sraddha there.

65-66a. By going to the lake called northern Manasa one attains excellent Siddhi. He who offers Sraddha there in accordance with his influence and capacity attains all divine desires and all the means of liberation.

66b-68. Thereafter, the devotee should go to Brahmasiras that is embellished of necessity by Brahma. He shall attain the world of Brahma. Early in the morning, immediately after it had dawned, a holy sacrificial post was fixed in that lake by Brahma. By circumambulating the sacrificial post, he shall obtain the benefit of Vajapeya sacrifice. Thereafter, О blessed lady, he should go to Dhenuka well known throughout the worlds.

69. The devotee should observe fast and spend a night there. He should then offer a cow with gingelly seeds (or replica of a cow made of gingelly seeds). Liberated from all sins he shall certainly go to the world of Soma (the moon-god).

70-72. О highly blessed lady, even today highly wonderful prints are seen there. A tawny-coloured cow grazes on the mountain along with calf. О Mohini, the marks of the hoofs of that cow and calf are seen (even today). If there is any inauspicious Karman, it perishes the moment these footprints are seen by those leading men. Thereafter, he should go to the Grdhravata, the abode of the intelligent lord (Shiva).

Cf. Vdyu 111.30-33. The NP seems to have skipped over the visit to the Bodhi tree (mentioned in the Vdyu 111.26-29)

73-74. After applying Bhasman over the body the devotee should perform the Bhasmasnana (Bath in ashes) and then approach the bull-bannered lord. О gentle lady, the holy observance of the Brahmanas lasts for twelve years. In the case of all other castes, all the sins perish thereby. Thereafter, the devotee should go to the Udyana mountain reverberating with songs.

75. The Brahmana of praiseworthy holy observances should perform Sandhya prayers at the place where the highly meritorious foot-print of Savitrl is seen.

76-78. That has the benefit of (performance of) a twelve years Sandhya prayer. О daughter of Brahma, the Yonidvara hill is also there. If a person passes through it, he is liberated from the torture of vaginal passage (i.e. rebirth). The king who resides in Gaya for both the fort-nights, the bright and the dark sanctifies seven generations of his family. Thereafter, О blessed lady, he should go to Dharmaprstha that yields great benefits.

79. By going to that place where Dharma, the protector of the world of the Pitrs is himself stationed, the devotee shall attain the benefit of horse sacrifice.

80. Thereafter, the man should go to the excellent holy centre of Brahma. By approaching and worshipping Brahma there, the devotee attains the benefit of the Rajasiiya sacrifice.

81. The holy centre of Phalgu tirtha is well known. It is endowed with many roots and fruits. The Sraddha performed in the place where the river KausikI flows is remembered as yielding ever-lasting benefits.

82-83. Thereafter, he should go to the mountain (Gaya- shiras) protected by the king conversant with piety. It is beings enjoyed by the meritorious king Gaya. It is here that the sacred river Mahanadi (i.e. Phalgu) flows. The lake Gayashiras is also here. The holy lake Brahmasaras is frequented by sages and is exceedingly meritorious.

84. It was here that the holy sage Agastya went towards Vaivasvata Yama; the eternal ruler of Dharma stayed here always.

85. Here the outcome of all the rivers is seen. The Pinaka-bearing Mahadeva is continuously present here.

86-87a. There is the world-famous Aksayavata (the everlasting banyan tree).Formerly, Gaya performed a sacrifice here and worshipped the deity. The most excellent river (Phalgu) which was protected in the sacrifices of Gaya is also present there.

87b-88a. At Gaya, one must sec the Munda-Prstha, the divine mountain Raivata and the third Krauncapada. On seeing them one is liberated from sins.

88b-89a By seeing Samkara in the Shivanadi, Gadadhara at Gaya and the great Atman everywhere, one is liberated from multitudes of sins.

89b-90. The goddess at Varanasi is VisalaksI, Lalita at Prayaga; goddess named Mangala at Gaya and Saimhika (in the place called) Krta-sauca. Whatever a person gives while staying at Gaya attains infinite and ever-lasting benefits.

91. His Pitrs (forefathers) are delighted by his excellent Karman (rites). The Pitrs consider themselves really blessed with sons when they stay at Gaya and offer cooked rice-balls to the Pitrs.

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