The Fruit of Visiting Prayaga

1. O sage, as you have narrated the greatness of Prayaga, I am undoubtedly being freed from sins.

2. O revered one, in what manner should people of religious resolve go (there)? O great sage, tell me about the rite which is declared (to be performed) at Prayaga. Markaijdeya said:

3-27. O dear, I shall tell you the entire sequence of the religious rites to be performed during the pilgrimage. O best of Kurus, I will tell you the fruit accruing to him who mounted upon a bull goes to Prayaga united with gods. Due to the anger of bull he lives in a terrible hell. From such a man his dead ancestors do not accept water (offered by him); but he who would bathe his sons and all children and would make them drink (water at the holy place) like himself and would cause gifts to be given to brahmanas (is liberated). A man who, due to his desire for (showing off) his affluence or to delusion, would go (to a holy place) in a vehicle, his (visit to the) holy place is fruitless. Therefore, a man should avoid (going in) a vehicle. He who (in the region) between Ganga and Yamuna, gives his daughter (in marriage) according to the Arsa form of marriage and according to his wealth, does not see (i.e. go to) a terrible hell due to that deed. Having gone to UttaraKuru he rejoices for an inexhaustible period. He obtains sons and wife that are pious and endowed with righteousness. There he should give gifts in accordance with his wealth. There is no doubt that due to the fruit of (the visit to) the holy place only, he prospers. O lord of kings, he stays in heaven till deluge. He who having resorted to the root of the Vata (tree), would cast his life, goes to Rudra's world after having crossed all (other) worlds. There the twelve suns resorting to Rudra shine. They completely burn the entire world. (Only) the root of the Vata (tree), where, when the world is (but) one ocean, when the moon, the sun, and the wind have perished, Vishnu born again and again, sleeps, is not burnt. Gods, demons, gandharvas, sages, siddhas, caranas always resort to that holy place on the confluence of Ganga and Yamuna. O lord of kings, they go there. It is united with Prayaga. There gods like Brahma, quarters and lords of quarters, regents of quarters, sadhyas, the manes liked by people, and also great sages led by Sanatkumara, and other brahmanic sages like Angiras, also nagas, siddhas, suparnas, those moving in the sky, rivers, oceans, mountains, nagas and also vidyadharas (stay). The revered Vishnu led by Prajapati (i.e. Brahma) also stays there. O best of kings, Prayaga well-known in the three worlds and (lying) between Ganga and Yamuna is said to be the hip and the loin of the earth. O descendant of Bharata, there is nothing more sacred than it in the three worlds. By hearing (the description) of that holy place, even by mentioning its name, or securing the clay from that place, a man is freed from sins. He who, of a severe vow, bathes there at the confluence, obtains the same fruit as Rajasuya and Asvamedha (sacrifices) (give). O dear one, even you should not change your mind to go to Prayaga even by (i.e. depending upon) the words of the Vedas, or of the people. O descendant of Kuru, the presence of ten thousand holy places and sixty crore others is here only. He who casts his life at the confluence of Ganga and Yamuna follows the same course, as a wise man endowed with abstract meditation and born of good parents follows. O Yudhisthira, those who have not visited Prayaga, well-known in the three worlds, do not (really) live in the world. Thus seeing that holy place — the highest place — Prayaga, a man is free from all sins as the Moon is from Rahu.

28-46a. On the right bank of Yamuna, there are the two Nagas, Kambala and Asvatara. By bathing there and drinking (water) there, a man is freed from all sins. Having gone to that (holy) place of the wise Mahadeva, a man liberates ten preceding and ten succeeding (generations). Having bathed there, the man would obtain the fruit of a horse sacrifice. He obtains (i.e. lives in) heaven till deluge. O descendant of Bharata, in the eastern side of Ganga, in the ocean there is a pool (known as) Pratisthana, well-known in the three worlds. If a chaste man, with his anger controlled, lives there for three nights, he is freed from all sins, and would obtain the fruit of a horse sacrifice. To the north of Pratisthana, and to the east of Bhaglrathi, there is the holy place (called) Harhsaprapatana, well-known in the three worlds. O descendant of Bharata, a man, merely by bathing there, gets the fruit of a horse sacrifice. He is honoured in heaven as long as the moon and the sun (last). A man free from jealousy, who would offer oblations of water to his dead ancestors at the large sandy bank called Urvasipulina, white like swans, enjoys heaven with manes, O king, for sixty hundred years. There he is always worshipped by sages, gandharvas and kinnaras. Then having been deprived of heaven and having fallen from there due to the exhaustion of (the fruit of) his acts, he obtains a hundred maidens like Urvasi. O king, he becomes an enjoyer (i.e. a master) of a hundred thousand cows. He is awakened by the sound of a girdle and anklets. Having enjoyed many pleasures, he gets (i.e. goes) to that holy place again. He who has the seat of the Kusha grass, who is always restrained and has his senses controlled, would become master of pleasures by eating once a day for a month (at the holy place). He obtains a hundred women adorned with (ornaments of) gold. He would also be the great master of pleasures on the earth up to the ocean. He, the king, becomes the enjoyer of ten thousand villages. Possessing wealth and grains he is always a donor. Having enjoyed many pleasures he again remembers that holy place. A chaste man with his senses conquered and endowed with abstract meditation, having fasted at that charming Vata, would obtain the knowledge of Brahman. He who having secured a holy bath, would cast his life, is honoured in heaven for a crore years. Then deprived of heaven, and dropped from there due to the exhaustion of (the fruit of) his acts, he is born as a handsome (child) in a family rich with gold, jewels and pearls.

46b-57. Thence he should go to Bhogavati, to the north of Vasuki. There is another great holy place called Dasasvamedhaka. Having bathed there a man would obtain the fruit of a horse sacrifice. He becomes rich with wealth, handsome and diligent. By merely going there he would obtain that religious merit which is there in (i.e. which is obtained by the recital of) the four Vedas, which is the fruit in (i.e. obtained by) those who speak the truth, and the piety that exists in harmlessness. Ganga is like Kuruksetra wherever a bath is taken in her (stream). She has tenfold virtue of Kuruksetra (at a place) where she is joined by Sindhu. That place where the glorious Ganga, having many sacred places and the wealth of penance (flows) should be known as a perfect (holy place). No doubt should be raised about it. She liberates the mortals on the earth, nagas below, and she liberates gods in heaven. Therefore she is said to be Tripathaga (i.e. flowing in three streams). As long as the bones of a man remain in Ganga, till that time — for thousands of years — he is honoured in heaven. She is the greatest holy place among places, and the best river among rivers. She gives salvation to all creatures, even to great sinners. Ganga is easily accessible everywhere. She is inaccessible at three places: at Gangadvara, Prayaga and at the confluence of Gagna and the ocean. Those, who, having bathed there, go to heaven, are not reborn. There is no other recourse like Ganga for all beings whose minds are smitten with sins and who desire a refuge. She who is the (most) pure of the pure (objects), the most auspicious of the auspicious (objects), has fallen from the head of Shiva, removes all sins, and is holy.

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