Markandeya Recommends Pilgrimage to Prayaga

1-5. O you of good vows, I have thus described the holy places, the bodies of Vishnu. A man becomes liberated by contact with any one of these. To hear about the holy places is blessed; to resort to the holy places is blessed. In Kaliyuga, there is no other means for destroying the heap of sins. He who everyday says, 'I will stay at a holy place; I will bathe at a holy place', goes to the highest principle. By his merely talking about the holy places his sins perish. O you of best vows, the holy places resorted to by the blessed ones are indeed blessed. By resorting to the holy place only, Narayana, the author of the world is worshipped. There is no higher place than the holy places.

6-11. Men should always without fail worship a brahmana, tulasi (-plant), asvattha, collection of holy places, and the greatest lord Vishnu. O best sages, the seniors look upon worshipping the brahmanas especially as superior to bathing at all the sacred placesTherefore, a wise man should everyday resort to the auspicious feet of a brahmana, which are full of all sacred places. They are superior to holy places. One should circumambulate asvattha (tree), tulasi (plant) and cows. Obtaining the fruit of (visiting) all holy places he is honoured in Vishnu's world. Therefore, a man should destroy (the fruits of) his evil deeds by resorting to a holy place. Otherwise he goes to hell and becomes calm only after exhausting (the fruits of) his acts. Sinners live in hell. A meritorious person obtains (i.e. goes to) heaven. Therefore, a wise man should resort to an auspicious, holy place. The sages said:

12-13. O you of a good vow, we have heard about the holy places along with their greatness. Now we desire to hear the distinguishing features of Prayaga. O Suta, since you formerly described Prayaga in brief, (now) we desire to hear about it in detail. O Suta, please describe it to us. Suta said:

14-30. O illustrious ones of good vows, you have well asked about Prayaga. I shali gladly give you a description of Prayaga, which was formerly narrated by Markandeya to the son of Pandu. When the Bharata (war) was over, and Prtha's son (i.e. Yudhisthira) had obtained the kingdom, for some time, king Yudhisthira, Kunti's son, was tormented by the grief (i.e. the bereavement) of his (cousin-) brothers, and thought again and again: 'King Duryodhana was the lord of eleven divisions of the army. All those (Kauravas), having frequently tormented us, are dead. (We) the five Pandavas, having resorted to Vasudeva (i.e. Krishna), have survived. (How did we kill) Droria, Bhishma, very mighty Karna, and king Duryodhana with his brothers and sons? All the kings, thinking themselves to be brave, have been killed. What is the use of the pleasures or of life without the kingdom? Alas, (what a misery)!' Thinking like this the king was distressed. Motionless and devoid of energy he remained with his face a little bent down. When the king regained consciousness, he repeatedly thought:'Which course or vow should I practice? or which sacred place — bathing where a man goes to the world of Vishnu (should I resort to) by which I shall be free from the blemish due to the great sin (of killing my kinsmen)? How shall I ask Krshria who got the great thing done? How shall I ask Dhrtarastra whose hundred sons are killed? How shall I ask Vyasa whose family has met with destruction?' In this way Dharma's son Yudhisthira was distressed. All the (other) Pandavas wept due to being distressed by the grief of their brother. The noble ones who had resorted to the Pandavas and who had gathered there also (wept). KuntI, DraupadI and others that had gathered there, fell on the ground on all sides and wept. Markanda was at Varanasi. He came to know that Yudhisthira was distressed, weeping and very unhappy. In a very short time Markanda of great penance reached Hastinapura, and stood at the gate of the royal palace. The doorkeeper too, having seen him, quickly reported (his arrival) to the king. "The sage Markanda, desiring to see you, stands at the gate." The son of Dharma (i.e. Yudhisthira) quickly came to the door, and eagerly said: Yudhisthira said:

31-33a. Welcome to you, O you highly intelligent one. Welcome to you, O great sage. Today my existence is fruitful. Today my family is purified. O great sage, when you are seen today, my dead ancestors are gratified. Having seated him on the throne, the noble Yudhisthira honoured that sage with (giving water for) washing his feet, for purifying himself, and by offering worship to him.

33b-34. Then Markanda said to him: "Olord, I am honoured by you. O king, tell me quickly why you hastened. Tell me why you are distressed."

35. O great sage, knowing what occurred to us for (securing the kingdom the holy one has come here. ^ Markandeya said:

36-38. O king, of mighty arms, hear. Where Dharma (i.e. righteousness) is well-settled there no sin is seen in the case of a wise man resorting to fighting on the battlefield, especially in the case of a ksatriya (fighting) in accordance with his duty? Bearing this in mind, you should not think (that you have committed) a sin. Then king Yudhisthira, saluting the sage by (bowing down) his head (said): "O sage, I am asking you who always (directly) see the three times. Tell me in brief (that) by which I shall be free from the blemish." Markandeya said:

39-40. O illustrious king listen, since you ask me. Thus Samkhya, Yoga, and the sacred places have been narrated; O lord, again the holy brahmanas have formerly declared that going to Prayaga is best for men doing righteous deeds.

1-2. O revered sir, I desire to hear how in the former kalpa men went there to Prayaga. What is the course of (i.e. for) the dead there? What is the fruit which those who bathe there get? Tell me also the fruit which those who stay in Prayaga get. Tell me all this. I have great curiosity.

3-22. O lord, O dear, I shall tell you what is desirable, and what is (its) fruit, which I heard while being told to brahmanas and sages in olden days. From Prayaga, Pratisthana, up to DharmakI VasukI pool, there are the two nagas. This is the region of (i.e. sacred to) Prajapati, which is known in the three worlds. Having bathed here men go to heaven. Those that die here are not reborn. There gods like Brahma, having come together protect (everything). There are many other holy places which destroy all sins. O king, it is not possible to describe them even by (spending) many hundred years. I shall give you the description of Prayaga in brief. Sixty thousand bows protect the Jahnavi (i.e. Ganga). The Sun with the seven horses always protects Yamuna. Indra himself particularly protects Prayaga. Vishnu, along with the gods, protects the highly esteemed region. Mahesvara (i.e. Shiva), with the trident in his hand, always protects that (famous) Vata. The god protects the auspicious place which removes all sins. Men given to impiety do not go to that place. O king, all that sin — small or smaller — of a man who remembers Prayaga vanishes. A man, merely by seeing that holy place, or even by uttering its name, or even by taking clay from there, is free from sin. O lord of kings, there are five pools in (i.e. through) which Ganga (flows). The sin of a man goes away the moment he enters Prayaga. A man who remembers Ganga within a distance of thousands of yojanas, gets the highest position (i.e. salvation), even if he is a man of wicked deeds. By reciting (the name of Ganga) a man is free from sins. By seeing (her) he sees (i.e. gets) happiness. By bathing in and drinking (the water of Ganga) he purifies his family up to the seventh (descendant). A man who is truthful, who has conquered his anger, who has greatly resorted to harmlessness, who follows the proper course of conduct, who knows the truth, who is engaged in the well-being of cows and brahmanas, is freed from sin after bathing in between (i.e. at the confluence of) Ganga and Yamuna. He properly obtains many objects that he has thought of in his mind. Thence having gone to Prayaga, he should live there with restraint for a month and should offer oblations to gods. (Thereby) he gets his desired objects and is everywhere born in a high family. God Mahesvara is always actually present where the illustrious goddess Yamuna, the daughter of the Sun, well-known in the three worlds, goes. O Yudhisthira, the auspicious Prayaga is difficult to be reached by human beings. O lord of kings, having bathed there, gods, demons, gandharvas, sages, siddhas and caranas, are honoured in heaven.

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