Adhyaya 205
This chapter gives a brief account of a sacred tīrtha in the Revā Khaṇḍa. Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya instructs the king to go to the supremely auspicious pilgrimage place called Kurkurī, famed as the destroyer of all sin (sarva-pāpa-praṇāśana). The chapter explains the site’s power through its presiding deity: Kurkurī as the tīrtha-devatā grants sought aims—such as livestock, sons, and wealth—showing the tīrtha as a place where devotion ripens into tangible and righteous outcomes. It also names a resident guardian, the kṣetrapāla Ḍhauṇḍheśa, whose worship is recommended for both women and men. In phalaśruti form it promises that even veneration lessens misfortune, removes childlessness, relieves poverty, and fulfills desires. Finally, it emphasizes that touching and beholding the tīrtha according to proper procedure (vidhi-pūrvakam) is the means by which these benefits are realized, uniting place, rite, and moral-cosmic consequence.
Shlokas
Verse 1
श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच । गच्छेत्ततः क्षोणिनाथ तीर्थं परमशोभनम् । कुर्कुरीनाम विख्यातं सर्वपापप्रणाशनम्
Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: Thereafter, O lord of the earth, one should go to the supremely beautiful sacred ford renowned as Kurkurī, the destroyer of all sins.
Verse 2
यं यं प्रार्थयते कामं पशुपुत्रधनादिकम् । तं तं ददाति देवेशी कुर्कुरी तीर्थदेवता
Whatever desire a person prays for—cattle, sons, wealth, and the like—Kurkurī, the presiding goddess of the Tīrtha, the Lady of the gods, grants that very boon.
Verse 3
क्षेत्रपालो वसेत्तत्र ढौण्ढेशो नाम नामतः । तस्य चाराधनं कृत्वा नारी वा पुरुषोऽपि वा
There, a guardian of the sacred precinct dwells, known by name as Ḍhauṇḍheśa. Having worshipped him, whether a woman or a man...
Verse 4
वन्दनादपि राजेन्द्र दौर्भाग्यं नाशमाप्नुयात् । अपुत्रो लभते पुत्रमधनो धनमुत्तमम्
O best of kings, even by salutation one’s misfortune is destroyed. The childless gains a son, and the poor obtain excellent wealth.
Verse 5
नारी नरस्तथाप्येवं लभते काममुत्तमम् । स्पर्शनाद्दर्शनात्तस्य तीर्थस्य विधिपूर्वकम्
So too, a woman or a man gains excellent desired results by duly touching and beholding that Tīrtha according to the sacred rules.
Verse 205
अध्यायः
Adhyāya — Chapter (colophon/marker).