The Greatness of the Month of Māgha (Māgha-snāna, Harivāsara, and the Kāṣṭhīlā-Upākhyāna)

Verse 1

वसिष्ठ उवाच । तच्छ्रुत्वा वचनं तस्याः काष्ठीलायाः शुचिस्मिते । सन्ध्यावली नाम भृशं तामुवाच ह सादरम् ॥ १ ॥

Vasiṣṭha said: Hearing the words of that Kaṣṭhīlā—O one of pure smile—Sandhyāvalī by name addressed her warmly and with great earnestness.

Verse 2

त्वद्वाक्याद्विस्मयो जातः काष्ठीले सांप्रतं मम । कथं दृष्टा मया त्वं च यास्यंती कुत्सितां गतिम् ॥ २ ॥

Hearing your words, O Kāṣṭhīlā, I am now filled with wonder. How is it that I have seen you, though you are going toward a condemned and disgraceful state of existence?

Verse 3

कर्मणा केन ते मुक्तिर्भवेत्कुत्सितयोनितः । तन्मे वद विशालांगे त्वां दृष्ट्वा दुःखिता ह्यहम् ॥ ३ ॥

By what action can you attain liberation from this degraded womb? Tell me, O broad-limbed one, for upon seeing you I have truly become sorrowful.

Verse 4

मांसपिंडोपमं श्लक्ष्णं नवनीतोपमं शुभे । शरीरं तव संवीक्ष्य तया मे जायते हृदि ॥ ४ ॥

O auspicious one, seeing your body—smooth like a lump of flesh, soft like fresh butter—there arises in my heart, because of it, a powerful longing.

Verse 5

काष्ठीलोवाच । पृथिवीं दास्यसे सुभ्रु सकलामपि मत्कृते । तथापि नैव मुच्येयं सद्यः कुत्सितयोनितः ॥ ५ ॥

Kāṣṭhīlā said: “O fair-browed one, even if you were to give me the entire earth for my sake, still I would not at once be freed from this contemptible birth.”

Verse 6

येन पुण्येन सुभगे मुच्येयं कर्मबन्धनात् । तन्निर्दिशामि सुमहद्गतिदं त्वं निशामय ॥ ६ ॥

O auspicious one, by what meritorious act may I be freed from the bondage of karma? I shall point out that great means which bestows a lofty destiny—listen to it attentively.

Verse 7

यश्चायं माघमासस्तु सर्वमासोत्तमः स्मृतः । यस्मिन् क्रोंशति पापानि ब्रह्महत्यादिकानि च ॥ ७ ॥

This very month of Māgha is remembered as the best of all months; in it, sins—beginning with the grave sin of brahmin-slaying—cry out and are driven away.

Verse 8

दुर्लभो माघमासो वै दुर्ल्लभं जन्म मानुषम् । दुर्ल्लभं चोषसि स्नानं दुर्लभं कृष्णसेवनम् ॥ ८ ॥

Rare indeed is the month of Māgha; rare is birth as a human. Rare is bathing at dawn, and rare is devoted service to Kṛṣṇa.

Verse 9

दुर्लभो वासरो विष्णोर्विधिना समुपोषितः । देवैस्तेजः परिक्षिप्तं माघमासे स्वकं जले ॥ ९ ॥

Rare indeed is that day of Viṣṇu which is properly observed with the prescribed fast; in the month of Māgha, one’s own sacred bathing in water becomes encompassed with divine radiance by the gods.

Verse 10

तस्माज्जलं माघमासे पावनं हि विशेषतः । नेदृशी संगरे शूरैर्गतिः प्राप्येत सौख्यदा ॥ १० ॥

Therefore, water in the month of Māgha is especially purifying; for even heroic warriors in battle do not obtain such a happiness-giving attainment of a blessed state.

Verse 11

यादृशी प्लवने प्रातः प्राप्यते नियमस्थितैः । सरित्तडागवापीषु स्नाने सत्तममीरितम् ॥ ११ ॥

The merit that disciplined observers gain by bathing at dawn—by immersing and swimming—is declared to be of the highest order when the bath is performed in rivers, ponds, and reservoirs.

Verse 12

कूपभांडजलैर्मध्यं जघन्यं वह्नितापितैः । न सौख्यैर्लभ्यते पुण्यं दुःखैरेवाप्यते तु तत् ॥ १२ ॥

By drawing water from wells and carrying it in pots, and even by enduring harsher ordeals such as being scorched by fire, one gains only middling or even inferior merit. Merit is not obtained through comfort; it is won precisely through hardship.

Verse 13

धर्म्मसेवार्थकं स्नानं नांगनैर्मल्यहेतुकम् । होमार्थं सेवनं वह्नेर्न च शीतादिहानये ॥ १३ ॥

Bathing is to be undertaken for the sake of serving Dharma—not for mere bodily cleanliness. Likewise, tending the sacred fire is for the purpose of sacrifice (homa), and not simply to ward off cold and the like.

Verse 14

यावन्नोदयते सूर्यस्तावत्स्नानं विधीयते । आच्छादिते घनैर्व्योम्नि ह्युद्गमिष्यन्तमर्थयेत् ॥ १४ ॥

Ritual bathing is to be performed only so long as the sun has not yet risen. If the sky is covered with dense clouds, one should reverently pray for the sun that is about to rise (and proceed accordingly).

Verse 15

अभावे सरिदादीनां नवकुंभस्थितं जलम् । वायुना ताडितं रात्रौ स्नाने गंगासमं विदुः ॥ १५ ॥

When rivers and other waters are unavailable, water kept in a new pot—if exposed at night and stirred by the wind—is regarded, for bathing, as equal to the Gaṅgā.

Verse 16

माघस्नायी वरारोहे दुर्गतिं नैव पश्यति । तन्नास्ति पातकं यत्तु माघस्नानं न शोधयेत् ॥ १६ ॥

O fair-hipped lady, one who performs the Māgha bath never beholds a miserable fate. There is no sin at all which the Māgha bathing does not purify.

Verse 17

अग्निप्रवेशादधिकं माघोषस्येव मज्जनम् । जीवता भुज्यते दुःखं मृतेन बहुलं सुखम् ॥ १७ ॥

For Māghoṣa, immersion in the sacred waters was held to be even greater than entering fire. While living one endures suffering; after death one attains abundant happiness.

Verse 18

एतस्मात्कारणाद्भद्रे माघस्नानं विशिष्यते । अहन्यहनि दातव्यास्तिलाः शर्करयान्विताः ॥ १८ ॥

For this very reason, O auspicious lady, bathing in the month of Māgha is deemed especially meritorious. And day after day, one should give sesame seeds mixed with sugar as a daily gift.

Verse 19

मेघपुंष्पोपपन्नेन सहान्नेन सुमध्यमे । यावकैश्चैव होतव्या गव्यसर्पिः समन्वितैः ॥ १९ ॥

O fair-waisted lady, one should perform the homa with cooked rice mixed with the flower called “meghapuṃṣpa,” and also with yāvaka grains, accompanied by ghee obtained from cow’s milk.

Verse 20

माध्यां स्नानसमाप्तै तु दद्याद्विप्राय षड्रसम् । सूर्यो मे प्रीयतां देवो विष्णुमूर्तिर्निरञ्जनः ॥ २० ॥

After completing the midday bath, one should give a brāhmaṇa food endowed with the six tastes. (Then one should pray:) “May the god Sūrya be pleased with me—he who is the stainless form of Viṣṇu.”

Verse 21

वासांसि द्विजयुग्माय स सप्तान्नानि चार्पयेत् । त्रिंशच्च मोदका देयास्तिलान्नाः शर्करामयाः ॥ २१ ॥

He should present garments to a pair of brāhmaṇas and also offer the seven kinds of cooked foods. Further, thirty modakas should be given—sesame-based sweets prepared with sugar.

Verse 22

भागास्त्रयस्तिलानां तु चतुर्थः शर्करांशकः । तांबूलादीनि भोग्यानि भक्त्यादकद्याद्विधानवित् ॥ २२ ॥

One should offer a mixture of three parts sesame and a fourth part sugar. And, knowing the proper rite, one should also present pleasing offerings such as tāmbūla (betel) and the like, with devotion (bhakti).

Verse 23

स्रोतोमुखः सरिति चान्यत्र भास्करसंमुखः । स्नायादावाह्य तीर्थानि गंगादीन्य कर्मण्डलात् ॥ २३ ॥

In a river one should bathe facing upstream; elsewhere, one should face the Sun. One should bathe after invoking the sacred tīrtha-waters—such as the Gaṅgā and others—into one’s kamaṇḍalu (water-vessel).

Verse 24

यदनेकजनुर्जन्यं यज्ज्ञानाज्ञानतः कृतम् । त्वत्तेजसा हतं चास्तु तत्तु पापं सहस्रधा ॥ २४ ॥

May whatever sin has arisen from many births, and whatever has been committed knowingly or unknowingly, be struck down by Your divine radiance—indeed, may that sin be destroyed a thousandfold.

Verse 25

दिवाकर जगन्नाथ प्रभाकर नमोऽस्तु ते । परिपूर्णं कुरुष्वेदं माघस्नानं ममाच्युत ॥ २५ ॥

O Sun—Jagannātha, source of radiance—salutations to You. O Acyuta, please bring this Māgha-bathing observance of mine to complete fulfillment.

Verse 26

तीर्थस्नायी वरारोहे माघस्नायी फलाल्पकः । तीर्थस्नानादियात्स्वर्गं माघस्नानात्परं पदम् ॥ २६ ॥

O fair-hipped lady, the merit gained by bathing at sacred tīrthas is limited when compared to the bath taken in the month of Māgha. By bathing at a tīrtha one attains heaven, but by the Māgha-bath one reaches the supreme state.

Verse 27

माघस्य धवले पक्षे भवेदेकादशी तु या । रविवारेण संयुक्ता महापातकनाशिनी ॥ २७ ॥

That Ekādaśī which arises in the bright fortnight of Māgha, when joined with a Sunday, becomes the destroyer of great sins (mahāpātakas).

Verse 28

विनापि ऋक्षसंयोगं सा शुक्लैकादशी नृणाम् । विनिर्दहति पापानि कुनृपो विषयं यथा ॥ २८ ॥

Even without conjunction with a lunar mansion (nakṣatra), that bright-fortnight Ekādaśī burns away people’s sins—just as a wicked king ruins his realm.

Verse 29

कुपुत्रस्तु कुलं यद्वत्कुभार्या च पतिं यथा । अधर्मस्तु यथा धर्मं कुमंत्री नृपतिं यथा ॥ २९ ॥

Just as a bad son ruins a family and a bad wife ruins her husband, so does adharma ruin dharma; and an evil counsellor ruins a king.

Verse 30

अज्ञानं च यथा ज्ञानं कुशौचं शुचितां यथा । यथा हंत्यनृतं सत्यं वादस्संवादमेव च ॥ ३० ॥

Just as knowledge destroys ignorance and purity overcomes impurity, so truth slays falsehood; and true dialogue brings an end to mere contentious disputation.

Verse 31

उष्णं हिममनर्थोऽर्थं पापं कीर्तिं स्मयस्तपः । यथा रसा महारोगाञ्छ्राद्धं संकेत एव च ॥ ३१ ॥

Heat may turn into cold; misfortune into prosperity; sin into fame; and pride into austerity—just as the bodily humors (rasa) can become great diseases. So too, Śrāddha, the rite for the ancestors, is in essence a sacred “signal,” an appointed token that brings about its intended result.

Verse 32

तथा दुरितसंघं तु द्वादशी हंति साधिता । ब्रह्महत्या सुरापानं स्तेयं गुर्वंगनागमः ॥ ३२ ॥

Likewise, when duly observed, the Dvādaśī vow destroys a multitude of sins—such as slaying a brāhmaṇa, drinking intoxicants, theft, and consorting with one’s teacher’s wife.

Verse 33

महान्ति पातकान्येतान्याशु हन्ति हरेर्दिनम् । समवेतानि चैतानि न शामयति पुष्करम् ॥ ३३ ॥

These great sins are swiftly destroyed by a single day dedicated to Hari. Even when all of them have accumulated together, Puṣkara cannot pacify them so effectively.

Verse 34

न चापि नैमिषारण्यं न क्षेत्रं कुरुसंज्ञितम् । प्रभासो न गया देवि न रेवा न सरस्वती ॥ ३४ ॥

It is not Naimiṣāraṇya, nor the sacred region known as Kurukṣetra; it is not Prabhāsa, not Gayā, O Goddess; nor is it the Revā (Narmadā), nor the Sarasvatī.

Verse 35

न गगा यमुना चैव प्रयागो न च देवका । न सरांसि नदाश्चान्ये होमदानतपांसि च ॥ ३५ ॥

It is neither the Gaṅgā nor the Yamunā, neither Prayāga nor the Devikā; neither lakes nor other rivers—nor even homa, dāna, and tapas—are comparable for this purpose.

Verse 36

न चान्यत्सुकृतं सुभ्रु पुराणे पठ्यते स्फुटम् । पापसंघविनाशाय मुक्त्वैकं हरिवासरम् ॥ ३६ ॥

O fair-browed one, in the Purāṇa no other meritorious act is clearly taught for the destruction of heaps of sins—except this alone: the day of Hari (Harivāsara/Ekādaśī).

Verse 37

उपोषणात्सकृद्देवि विनश्यंत्यघराशयः । एकतः पृथिवीदानमेकतो हरिवासरम् ॥ ३७ ॥

O Goddess, by fasting even once, heaps of sins are destroyed. On one side is the gift of the earth itself; on the other side is the sacred day of Hari (Harivāsara)—such is its greatness.

Verse 38

न समं ब्रह्मणा प्रोक्तमधिकं हरिवासरम् । तस्मिन्वराहवपुषं कृत्वा देवं तु हाटकम् ॥ ३८ ॥

Brahmā has declared that nothing is equal to—indeed, nothing surpasses—the day of Hari (Harivāsara). On that day, fashioning the Lord in the form of Varāha, one should make (or install) the deity in gold.

Verse 39

घटोपरि नवे पात्रे धृत्वा ताम्रमये शुभे । सर्वबीजान्विते चैव सितवस्त्रावगुंठिते ॥ ३९ ॥

Placing it upon the pot, one should set it in a new, auspicious copper vessel—filled with all kinds of seeds—and cover it with a white cloth.

Verse 40

सहिरण्ये सुदीपाढ्ये कृतपुष्पावतंसके । विधिना पूजयित्वा चकुर्याज्जागरणं व्रती ॥ ४० ॥

The vow-observer, having duly worshipped according to the prescribed rite—with offerings together with gold, abundant bright lamps, and floral garlands—should then keep the night-long vigil (jāgaraṇa).

Verse 41

प्रातर्विप्राय दद्याच्च वैष्णवाय कुटुंबिने । तत्कुंभक्रोडसंयुक्तं सनैवेद्यपरिच्छदम् ॥ ४१ ॥

In the morning, one should give this gift to a brāhmaṇa—specifically to a Vaiṣṇava householder—together with its pot and supporting stand, and furnished with offerings of food (naivedya) and the requisite accessories.

Verse 42

पश्चाच्च पारणं कुर्याद्द्विजान्भोज्य सुहृद्वृतः । एवं कृते वरारोहे न भूयो जायते क्वचित् ॥ ४२ ॥

Afterward one should perform the pāraṇa (the concluding rite), feeding the twice-born (brāhmaṇas), surrounded by well-wishing friends. O fair-hipped lady, when this is done properly, one is not born again anywhere (one attains release).

Verse 43

बहुजन्मार्ज्जितं पापं ज्ञानाज्ञानकृतं च यत् । तत्सर्वं नाशमायाति तमः सूर्योदये यथा ॥ ४३ ॥

Sin accumulated over many births—whether committed knowingly or unknowingly—perishes entirely, just as darkness vanishes at sunrise.

Verse 44

यथाशास्त्रं मया तुभ्यं वर्णिता द्वादशी शुभे । या सा कृता त्वया पूर्वमासीद्देव्यन्यजन्मनि ॥ ४४ ॥

O auspicious lady, I have explained to you the Dvādaśī observance exactly as the scriptures prescribe. This very same vow, O goddess, you had performed before as well, in another birth.

Verse 45

यस्यास्तवातुला पुष्टिर्वर्तते वर्तयिष्यति । भर्त्तुस्तव च पुत्रस्य सर्वदा सुखदायिनी ॥ ४५ ॥

Through her grace, incomparable prosperity is present and will continue to endure—ever bestowing happiness upon your husband and your son.

Verse 46

तस्यास्त्वया तुरीयांशो देयश्चेन्मह्यमादरात् । तदा प्रीता गमिष्यामि तद्विष्णोः परमं पदम् ॥ ४६ ॥

If, with reverence, you would give me a fourth share of that, then, pleased, I shall go to the supreme abode of that Viṣṇu.

Verse 47

वित्ताह्रुतिजं पापं यद्भूतं मम सुंदरि । तस्य पावनहेतुं च तुरीयांशं प्रयच्छ मे ॥ ४७ ॥

O beautiful one, whatever sin has arisen in me from taking away wealth, grant me a fourth share of what you have, as the means for its purification.

Verse 48

जीवितेनापि वित्तेन भर्तारं वंचयेत्तु या । कृमियोनिशतं गत्वा पुल्कसी जायते तु सा ॥ ४८ ॥

A woman who deceives her husband—whether for the sake of her very life or for wealth—after passing through a hundred births in worm-wombs, is then born as a Pulkasī.

Verse 49

सुरतं याचमानाय पत्ये वित्तं च मानिनि । या न यच्छति दुर्बुद्धिः काष्ठीला जायते ध्रुवम् ॥ ४९ ॥

O proud woman, the foolish wife who does not grant her husband intimacy when he requests it, and who also withholds wealth from him, certainly becomes kāṣṭhīlā—hardened like wood—without doubt.

Verse 50

तत्पातकविशुद्ध्यर्थं देहि मे द्वादशीभवम् । तुरीयांशमितं पुण्यं यद्यस्ति मयि ते घृणा ॥ ५० ॥

For the purification of that sin, grant me the merit of Dvādaśī. If you have compassion toward me, bestow upon me that sacred merit, measured as a fourth part.

Verse 51

एतच्छ्रुत्वा वचस्तस्याः काष्ठीलायाः सुलोचने । पुण्यं दत्तवती तस्यै पाणौ वारि प्रगृह्य च ॥ ५१ ॥

Hearing the words of Kāṣṭhīlā, fair-eyed Sulocanā bestowed merit upon her, taking water in her hand and placing it into her palm as the formal rite of gifting.

Verse 52

यत्कृतं हि मया पूर्वमेकादश्यामुपोषणम् । तत्तुरीयांशपुण्येन काष्ठीलेयं विमुच्यताम् ॥ ५२ ॥

By the merit of one quarter-share of the piety from the Ekādaśī fast I formerly observed, may this affliction called Kāṣṭhīla be released and removed.

Verse 53

पूर्वजन्मकृतात्पापात्सत्यं सत्यं मयोदितम् । एवमुक्ते तु वचने मया विद्युत्समप्रभा ॥ ५३ ॥

Because of sin committed in a former birth, I spoke—truly, truly. When these words were uttered by me, she appeared, radiant like lightning.

Verse 54

दृष्टा दिव्यविमानस्था गच्छंती वैष्णवं पदम् । पतिर्हि दैवतं लोके वंचनीयो न भार्यया ॥ ५४ ॥

She was seen seated in a divine vimāna, going to the supreme abode of Viṣṇu, the Vaiṣṇava realm. For in this world the husband is regarded as a deity, and a wife should not deceive him.

Verse 55

देहेन चापि वित्तेन यदीच्छेच्छोभनां गतिम् । सा त्वं ब्रूहि प्रदास्यामि भर्तुरर्थे तवेप्सितम् ॥ ५५ ॥

If you desire an auspicious course—whether by your body or by your wealth—then tell me what you seek; for the sake of my husband, I will grant you what you wish.

Verse 56

वित्तं देहं तथा पुत्रं यच्चान्यद्वा वरानने । किमन्यद्दैवतं लोके स्त्रीणामेकं पतिं विना ॥ ५६ ॥

O fair-faced one, whether it be wealth, the body, a son, or anything else—what other deity is there in this world for a woman apart from her one husband?

Verse 57

तस्यार्थे वा त्यजेद्वित्तं जीवितं वा सुलोचने । कल्पकोटिशतं साग्रं विष्णुलोके महीयते ॥ ५७ ॥

For his sake one should give up wealth or even life, O fair-eyed one. Such a soul is honored in Vishnu's realm for countless aeons.

Verse 58

अग्न्यादिसाक्ष्ये वृतमीक्ष्य निष्ठुरा युक्तं सुधोरैर्व्यसनैर्द्विजात्मजा । पतिं ददौ नैव च याचिता धनं तेनैव पापेन बभूव कीटा ॥ ५८ ॥

Seeing the vow witnessed by Agni, the hard-hearted Brahmin's daughter, though beset by misfortune, refused the wealth her husband begged for; by that sin, she became a worm.

Verse 59

एतन्मया दुष्टमनंगयष्टि कौमारभावे पितृवेश्मवासे । ज्ञात्वा हितं तथ्यमिदं स्वभर्तुर्ददामि सर्वं च गृहाण सुभ्रु ॥ ५९ ॥

O wicked slave of Kama, while living in my father's house as a maiden, I learned what is truly beneficial for my husband. I now give everything; take it, O fair-browed one.

Verse 60

इति श्रीबृहन्नारदीयपुराणोत्तरभागे मोहिनीचरिते काष्ठीलोपाख्याने माघमाहात्म्यं नामैकत्रिंशोऽध्यायः ॥ ३१ ॥

Thus ends the thirty-first chapter, "The Greatness of Magha," in the Mohini narrative of the Kasthila episode, within the Uttara-bhaga of the Sri Brihannaradiya Purana.