Adhyaya 201
This chapter is framed as an instructive discourse on sacred fords (tīrthas) spoken by Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya to King Mahīpāla, with Yudhiṣṭhira invoked as the exemplar of righteous kingship. He directs the pilgrim to the unsurpassed Devatīrtha, a holy place graced by siddhas and the devas, with Indra among them. It lists the standard merit-bearing observances—snāna (ritual bathing), dāna (charity), japa (mantra-recitation), homa (fire-offering), svādhyāya (sacred study), and devatā-arcana (worship of the deities)—and declares that, by the tīrtha’s innate power, these acts yield ananta, limitless fruit. A specific sacred time is emphasized: the Kṛṣṇa-pakṣa trayodaśī of Bhādrapada, praised as foremost among tīrtha-occasions and remembered as once inhabited by the gods. The rite culminates in bathing on trayodaśī, performing śrāddha according to rule, and worshipping the deity established by the devas—Vṛṣabhadhvaja (Śiva). The promised result is purification from all sins and attainment of Rudra-loka, making the chapter both a pilgrimage guide and a soteriological assurance.
Shlokas
Verse 1
श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महीपाल देवतीर्थमनुत्तमम् । यत्र सिद्धा महाभागा देवाः सेन्द्रा युधिष्ठिर
Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: Thereafter, O protector of the earth, one should go to the unsurpassed Deva-tīrtha—where the greatly fortunate gods, together with Indra, attained perfection, O Yudhiṣṭhira.
Verse 2
स्नानं दानं जपो होमः स्वाध्यायो देवतार्चनम् । तत्र तीर्थप्रभावेन कृतमानन्त्यमश्नुते
Bathing, charity, mantra-recitation, fire-offering, Vedic study, and worship of the deity—whatever is performed there, by the power of that tīrtha, yields inexhaustible merit.
Verse 3
विशेषाद्भाद्रपदे तु कृष्णपक्षे त्रयोदशीम् । प्रधानं सर्वतीर्थानां देवैरध्यासितं पुरा
And especially in Bhādrapada, on the thirteenth day of the dark fortnight (kṛṣṇa-pakṣa trayodaśī), this Deva-tīrtha is foremost among all sacred places—once resorted to and sanctified by the gods.
Verse 4
स्नात्वा त्रयोदशीदिने श्राद्धं कृत्वा विधानतः । देवैः संस्थापितं देवं सम्पूज्य वृषभध्वजम् । सर्वपापविनिर्मुक्तो रुद्रलोकमवाप्नुयात्
Having bathed on the day of Trayodaśī and performed śrāddha according to rule, one should duly worship the god established by the devas—Vṛṣabhadhvaja (Śiva, whose banner bears the bull). Freed from all sins, he attains Rudra’s world.
Verse 201
अध्याय
“Chapter” (end-of-chapter marker).