Kāśī-māhātmya: Avimukta Gaṅgā and the Pañcanada Tīrtha

Verse 1

वसुरुवाच । अथान्यते प्रवक्ष्यामि गंगामाहात्म्यमुत्तमम् । वाराणसीस्थितं भद्रे भुक्तिमुक्तिफलप्रदम् ॥ १ ॥

Vasu said: “Now, O auspicious one, I shall proclaim the supreme glory of the Gaṅgā, abiding in Vārāṇasī, bestowing the fruits of both worldly enjoyment and liberation.”

Verse 2

अविमुक्ते कृतं यत्तु तदेवाक्षयतां व्रजेत् । अविमुक्तगतः कश्चिन्नरकं नैति किल्बिषी ॥ २ ॥

Whatever is done in Avimukta attains imperishable merit. One who reaches Avimukta—even if stained by sin—does not go to hell.

Verse 3

अविमुक्तकृतं यत्तु पापं वज्रं भवेच्छुभे । त्रैलोक्ये यानि तीर्थानि मोक्षदानि च कृत्स्नशः ॥ ३ ॥

O auspicious one, whatever sin is committed in Avimukta becomes hard as a thunderbolt; and all the sacred fords in the three worlds that grant liberation are present there in their entirety.

Verse 4

सेवंते सततं गंगां काश्यामुत्तरवाहिनीम् । दशाश्वमेधे यः स्नात्वा दृष्ट्वा विश्वेश्वरं शिवम् ॥ ४ ॥

Those who continually revere the north-flowing Gaṅgā at Kāśī—having bathed at Daśāśvamedha and beheld Śiva as Viśveśvara—attain the supreme merit and sanctity of that holy act.

Verse 5

सद्यो निष्पातको भूत्वा मुच्यते भवबंधनात् । गंगा हि सर्वतः पुण्या ब्रह्महत्यापहारिणी ॥ ५ ॥

Instantly purified, one is freed from the bondage of worldly existence; for the Gaṅgā is holy in every way and removes even the sin of brahmahatyā, the slaying of a brāhmaṇa.

Verse 6

वाराणस्या विशेषेण यत्र चोत्तरवाहिनी । वरणायास्तथास्याश्च जाह्नव्याः संगमे नरः ॥ ६ ॥

Especially at Vārāṇasī—where the river flows northward—at the confluence of the Varaṇā and the Asi with the Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā), a person who bathes there attains a special sanctity.

Verse 7

स्नानमात्रेण सर्वेभ्यः पातकेभ्यः प्रमुच्यते । काश्यामुत्तरवाहिन्यां गंगायां कार्तिके तथा ॥ ७ ॥

By bathing alone one is freed from all sins—especially by bathing in Kāśī, in the northward-flowing Gaṅgā, and likewise during the month of Kārtika.

Verse 8

स्नात्वा माघे च मुच्यंते महापापादिपातकैः । सर्वलोकेषु तीर्थानि यानि ख्यातानि तानि च ॥ ८ ॥

By bathing in the month of Māgha, people are freed from great sins and the worst kinds of downfalls. Indeed, the full merit of all sacred tīrthas renowned throughout the worlds is thereby attained.

Verse 9

सर्वाण्येतानि सुभगे काश्यामायांति जाह्नवीम् । नित्यं पर्वसु सर्वेषु पुण्यैश्चायतनैः सह ॥ ९ ॥

O auspicious one, all these sacred powers and holy places come to the Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā) in Kāśī—always, and especially on every sacred festival day—together with their meritorious shrines and sanctuaries.

Verse 10

उत्तराभिमुखीं गंगां काश्यामायांति चान्वहम् । महापातकदोषादिदुष्टानां स्पर्शनोद्भवम् ॥ १० ॥

In Kāśī, people come day after day to the northward-flowing Gaṅgā; for those defiled by great sins and other faults, purification arises from her very touch.

Verse 11

व्यपोहितुं स्वपापं च जंतुपापविमुक्तये । जन्मांतरशतेनापि सत्कर्मनिरतस्य च ॥ ११ ॥

To drive away one’s own sins and to free living beings from sin—even for one devoted to righteous deeds—such purification may not be accomplished even through a hundred successive births.

Verse 12

अन्यत्र सुधिया भद्रे मोक्षो लभ्येत वा न वा । एकेन जन्मना त्वत्र गंगायां मरणेन च ॥ १२ ॥

Elsewhere, O good lady, even for a discerning person liberation may or may not be attained; but here, within a single lifetime—and by dying on the Gaṅgā—liberation is attained.

Verse 13

मोक्षस्तु लभ्यते काश्यां नरेणावलितात्मना । ख्यातो धर्मनदो नाम ह्रदस्तत्रैव सुंदरि ॥ १३ ॥

Liberation is indeed attained in Kāśī by a man whose inner self is steady and disciplined. There itself, O fair one, is a celebrated sacred pool known by the name Dharmanada.

Verse 14

धर्म एव स्वरूपेण महापातकनाशनः । धूली च धूतपापा सा सर्वतीर्थमयी शुभा ॥ १४ ॥

Dharma itself, by its very nature, destroys the great sins. And that sacred dust too—having shaken off sins—becomes auspicious, containing within it the merit of all pilgrimage-places.

Verse 15

हरेन्महापापसंघान्कूलजानिव पादपान् । किरणा धूतपापा च पुण्यतोया सरस्वती ॥ १५ ॥

The sacred Sarasvatī, whose waters are holy, removes great clusters of sins—just as a strong current carries away trees growing on the riverbank; and, like sunbeams, she washes away sin.

Verse 16

गंगा च यमुना चैव पंच नद्यः प्रकीर्तिताः । अतः पञ्चनदं नाम तीर्थं त्रैलोक्यविश्रुतम् ॥ १६ ॥

The Gaṅgā and the Yamunā are indeed proclaimed among the five rivers; therefore this sacred ford is called Pañcanada, a tīrtha renowned throughout the three worlds.

Verse 17

तत्राप्लुतो न गृह्णीयाद्देहितां पांचभौतिकीम् । अस्मिन्पंचनदीनां तु संगमेऽघौघभेदने ॥ १७ ॥

There, without first bathing, one should not take up the bodily state made of the five elements; for this is the confluence of the five rivers, the place that breaks apart torrents of sin.

Verse 18

स्नानमात्रान्नरो याति भित्वा ब्रह्मांडमंडपम् । प्रयागे माघमासे तु सम्यक् स्नानस्य यत्फलम् ॥ १८ ॥

By the mere act of bathing, a person passes beyond the pavilion of the cosmic egg (the bound world). Such indeed is the fruit of a proper bath at Prayāga in the month of Māgha.

Verse 19

तत्फलं स्याद्दिनैकेन काश्यां पंचनदे ध्रुवम् । स्नात्वा पंचनदे तीर्थे कृत्वा च पितृतर्पणम् ॥ १९ ॥

That same merit is surely obtained in a single day at Pañcanada in Kāśī, by bathing at the Pañcanada sacred ford and performing the libation-offering (tarpaṇa) to the ancestors.

Verse 20

विष्णुं माधवमभ्यर्च्य न भूयो जन्मभाग्भवेत् । यावत्संख्यास्तिला दत्ताः पितृभ्यो जलतर्पणे ॥ २० ॥

Having worshipped Viṣṇu—Mādhava—one does not become subject to rebirth again, for as many merits as there are sesame-seeds offered to the ancestors in the water-libation (tarpaṇa).

Verse 21

पुण्ये पञ्चनदे तीर्थे तृप्तिः स्यात्तावदाब्दिकी । श्रद्धया यैः कृतं श्राद्धं तीर्थे पञ्चनदे शुभे ॥ २१ ॥

At the meritorious Pañcanada tīrtha, when Śrāddha is performed there with faith at the auspicious Pañcanada, the ancestors’ satisfaction endures for as long as a full year.

Verse 22

तेषां पितामहा मुक्तानानायोनिगता अपि । यमलोके पितृगणैर्गार्थयं परिगीयते ॥ २२ ॥

Even their grandfathers—though already released, and even if they have entered various wombs in other births—are, in Yama’s realm, praised by the hosts of Pitṛs through ancestral gāthā songs.

Verse 23

महिमानं पांचनदं दृष्ट्वा श्राद्धविधानतः । अस्माकमपि वंश्योऽत्र कश्चिच्छ्राद्धं करिष्यति ॥ २३ ॥

Having beheld the greatness of Pañcanada and following the prescribed Śrāddha rite, some descendant of our own lineage will one day perform Śrāddha here.

Verse 24

काश्यां पञ्चनदं प्राप्य येन मुच्यामहे वयम् । तत्र पञ्चनदे तीर्थे यत्किंचिद्दीयते वसु ॥ २४ ॥

Having reached Pañcanada in Kāśī—by which we attain liberation—whatever wealth, even a little, is given there at that Pañcanada tīrtha becomes spiritually efficacious.

Verse 25

कल्पक्षयेऽपि न भवेत्तस्य पुण्यस्य संक्षयः । वंध्यापि वर्षपर्यंतं स्नात्वा पञ्चनदे ह्रदे ॥ २५ ॥

Even at the dissolution of a kalpa, there is no diminution of that merit. Even a barren woman, by bathing in the Pañcanada lake for a full year, gains enduring spiritual merit.

Verse 26

समर्च्य मंगलां गौरीं पुत्रं जनयति ध्रुवम् । जलैः पांचनदैः पुण्यैर्वाससा परिशोधितैः ॥ २६ ॥

Having duly worshipped auspicious Gaurī, one surely and unfailingly begets a son, performing the rite with the sacred waters of the five rivers and with garments purified according to ritual.

Verse 27

महाफलमवाप्नोति स्नापयित्वेह दिक्श्रुताम् । पञ्चामृतानां कलशैरष्टोत्तरशतोन्मितैः ॥ २७ ॥

Here one attains great merit by bathing the revered Deity famed in all directions, using one hundred and eight pitchers filled with pañcāmṛta, the five sacred nectars.

Verse 28

तुलितोऽधिकतां प्राप्तो बिंदुः पांचनदस्तु सः । पंचकूर्चेन पीतेन यात्र शुद्धिरुदाहृता ॥ २८ ॥

When compared, that single drop is declared to surpass even the Pañcanadā; and it is said that by drinking the Pañcakūrcha one gains the purification required for setting out on a journey.

Verse 29

सा शुद्धिः श्रद्धया प्राश्य बिन्दुं पञ्चनदांभसाम् । भवेदथ ह्रदस्नानाद्राजसूयाश्वमेधयोः ॥ २९ ॥

That same purification is gained by reverently sipping even a single drop of Pañcanadā’s water; and by bathing in the sacred lake one attains the fruit of the Rājasūya and Aśvamedha sacrifices.

Verse 30

यत्फलं तच्छतगुणं स्मृतं पञ्चनदांबुना । राजसूयाश्वमेधौ च भवेतां स्वर्गसाधने ॥ ३० ॥

Whatever spiritual merit is gained by an act elsewhere is remembered to become a hundredfold when performed with Pañcanadā’s waters; indeed, through it, even the Rājasūya and Aśvamedha sacrifices become means for attaining heaven.

Verse 31

आब्रह्मपट्टिकाद्वंद्वान्मुक्तिः पञ्चनदांबुभिः । स्वर्गनद्यभिषेकोऽपि न तथा संमतः सताम् ॥ ३१ ॥

Even liberation from the pairs of opposites—up to the realm of Brahmā—is said to arise through the waters of the Pañcanadā; yet even bathing or receiving abhiṣeka in the rivers of heaven is not regarded by the wise as of equal (supreme) worth.

Verse 32

अभिषेकः पांचनदो यथानन्यो वरप्रदः । शतं समास्तपस्तप्त्वा कृते यत्प्राप्यते फलम् ॥ ३२ ॥

The Pañcanadā abhiṣeka—ritual sacred bathing—is unequalled and bestows blessings. The fruit attained in the Kṛta age only after a hundred years of austerity is gained here through that abhiṣeka.

Verse 33

तत्कार्तिके पञ्चन्दे सकृत्स्नानेन लभ्यते । इष्टापूर्तेषु धर्मेषु यावज्जन्मकृतेषु यत् ॥ ३३ ॥

The merit gained from iṣṭa and pūrta deeds—performed throughout one’s whole life—is obtained in the month of Kārtika by a single bath taken over five days.

Verse 34

अन्यत्र स्यात्फलं तस्याधिकं पञ्चनदांबुभिः । न धूतपापसदृशं तीर्थं क्वापि महीतले ॥ ३४ ॥

Elsewhere, the fruit of pilgrimage may indeed be greater through the waters of the Pañcanadā; yet on the face of the earth there is no sacred ford anywhere comparable to Dhūtapāpa.

Verse 35

यदेकस्नानतो नश्येदघं जन्मत्रयार्जितम् । कृते धर्मंनदं नाम त्रेतायां धूतपातकम् ॥ ३५ ॥

There, by a single bath, the sin accumulated over three births is destroyed. In the Kṛta Yuga it was known as Dharmanadā, and in the Tretā Yuga as Dhūtapātaka—“the remover of sins”.

Verse 36

द्वापरे बिंदुतीर्थँ च कलौ पञ्चनदं स्मृतम् । बिंदुतीर्थे नरो दत्वा कांचनं कृष्णकलोन्मितम् ॥ ३६ ॥

In the Dvāpara age, Bindu-tīrtha is proclaimed as foremost; and in the Kali age, Pañcanada is remembered as supreme. Whoever offers gold at Bindu-tīrtha—measured by the kṛṣṇa-kalā standard—gains great dharmic merit.

Verse 37

न दरिद्रो भवेत्क्वापि न सुखेन वियुज्यते । गोभूतिलहिरण्याश्ववासोन्नस्थानभूषणम् ॥ ३७ ॥

He never becomes poor anywhere, nor is he parted from happiness. He gains cows, land, sesame, gold, horses, garments, excellent dwellings, and ornaments.

Verse 38

यत्किंचिद्बिंदुतीर्थेऽत्र दत्वाक्षयमवाप्नुयात् । एकामप्याहुतिं कृत्वा समिद्धेऽग्नौ विधानतः ॥ ३८ ॥

Whatever offering is given here at Bindu-tīrtha becomes imperishable in merit. Even by making but a single āhuti into a well-kindled fire, according to proper rite, one attains unfailing reward.

Verse 39

पुण्ये धर्मनदीतीर्थे कोटिहोमफलं लभेत् । न पंचनदतीर्थस्य महिमानमनंतकम् ॥ ३९ ॥

At the sacred ford of the Dharmanadī, one gains merit equal to performing a crore of fire-sacrifices (homa). Yet the greatness of Pañcanadā Tīrtha is truly endless.

Verse 40

कोऽपि वर्णयितुं शक्तश्चतुर्वर्गशुभौकसः । इति ते कथितं भद्रे काशीमाहात्म्यमुत्तमम् ॥ ४० ॥

Hardly anyone can fully describe Kāśī—the blessed abode that bestows the four aims of human life. Thus, O noble lady, I have narrated to you this supreme Kāśī-māhātmya.

Verse 41

सुखदं मोक्षदं नॄणां महापातकनाशनम् । ब्रह्मघ्नो मधुपः स्वर्णस्तेयी च गुरुतल्पगः ॥ ४१ ॥

It bestows happiness and mokṣa upon people and destroys the great sins. Even a slayer of a brāhmaṇa, a drunkard, a thief of gold, and one who violates the teacher’s bed are thereby freed from grievous demerit.

Verse 42

महापातकयुक्तोऽपि संयुक्तोऽप्युपपातकैः । अविमुक्तस्य माहात्म्यश्रवणाच्छुद्धिमाप्नुयात् ॥ ४२ ॥

Even one tainted by the great sins—and even one further burdened with subsidiary sins—attains purification by hearing the māhātmya, the sacred glory of Avimukta.

Verse 43

ब्राह्मणो वेदविद्वान्स्यात्क्षत्त्रियो विजयी रणे । वैश्यो धनपतिः शूद्रो विष्णुभक्तसमागमी ॥ ४३ ॥

A brāhmaṇa becomes learned in the Vedas; a kṣatriya becomes victorious in battle; a vaiśya becomes a master of wealth; and a śūdra gains the company of devotees of Viṣṇu.

Verse 44

श्रवणादस्य सुभगे भूयात्पठनतोऽपि वा । सर्वयज्ञेषु यत्पुण्यं सर्वतीर्थेषु यत्फलम् ॥ ४४ ॥

O auspicious one, merely by hearing this—or even by reciting it—one gains the merit of all sacrifices and the fruit of all sacred pilgrimage places.

Verse 45

तत्सर्वं समवाप्नोति पठनाच्छ्रवणादपि । विद्यार्थी लभते विद्यां धनार्थी लभते धनम् ॥ ४५ ॥

By reading it—and even by merely hearing it—one obtains all of that. The seeker of learning gains knowledge, and the seeker of wealth gains wealth.

Verse 46

भार्यार्थी लभते भार्यां सुतार्थी पुत्रमाप्नुयात् । अविमुक्तस्य माहात्म्यं मया ते परिकीर्तितम् ॥ ४६ ॥

One who seeks a wife obtains a wife; one who seeks a son attains a son. Thus have I fully proclaimed to you the greatness of Avimukta.

Verse 47

विष्णुभक्ताय दातव्यं शिवभक्तिरताय च । जगज्जननिभक्ताय सूर्यहेरंबसेविने ॥ ४७ ॥

It should be given as an offering to a devotee of Viṣṇu, and also to one devoted to Śiva-bhakti; to a devotee of the Mother of the Universe, and to one who worships Sūrya and Heraṃba (Gaṇeśa).

Verse 48

गुरुशुश्रूषवे दत्वा तीर्थास्नानफलं लभेत् । शठाय निंदकायापि गोविप्रसुरविद्विषे । गुरुद्रुहेऽसूयकाय दत्वा मृत्युमवाप्नुयात् ॥ ४८ ॥

By giving to one devoted to serving the Guru, one gains the merit of bathing at sacred tīrthas. But by giving to a deceitful person, a slanderer, a hater of cows, brāhmaṇas, and the gods, or to one who betrays the Guru and is envious, one incurs a grievous downfall, like death itself.

Verse 49

इति श्रीबृहन्नारदीयपुराणोत्तरभागे वसुमोहिनीसंवादे काशीमाहात्म्ये एकपञ्चाशत्तमोऽध्यायः ॥ ५१ ॥

Thus ends the Fifty-first Chapter, the “Kāśī-māhātmya,” in the dialogue between Vasu and Mohinī, in the Uttara-bhāga (later section) of the revered Bṛhannāradīya Purāṇa.