Adhyaya 9

Agastya sets out a sequence of tīrthas in the Ayodhyā region and prescribes their ritual application. The chapter opens with Gayākūpa (near Jaṭākuṇḍa, in the agneya direction) as a highly fruitful locus for śrāddha: one should bathe, give charity according to capacity, and perform śrāddha with piṇḍadāna—using sesame and payasa, or substitutes such as piṇyāka and guḍa—thereby satisfying the ancestors and, through them, the devas; the phalaśruti declares the ancestors’ uplift to Viṣṇuloka. A calendrical enhancer is added: amāvāsyā joined with Monday yields “endless” fruit, and Monday śrāddha there is said to remain efficacious. The discourse then maps nearby tīrthas. Piśācamocana in the eastern quarter is praised for preventing and relieving piśāca-affliction through snāna–dāna–śrāddha, with a special observance on Mārgaśīrṣa śukla caturdaśī. Mānasatīrtha is lauded as a purifier of faults of mind, body, and speech, with yātrā recommended in Prauṣṭhapadī, especially at the full moon. The narrative turns south to the Tamasā river, portrayed as a destroyer of great sins, its forested banks and ṛṣi-āśrama world (Māṇḍavya and earlier sages) described in rich devotional imagery; the ritual triad is reiterated as granting kāma-artha-siddhi, with an observance on Mārgaśīrṣa śukla pañcadaśī. Finally, further nodes are listed: Sītākuṇḍa near Śrī Dugdhēśvara with a Bhādrapada śukla caturthī yātrā; Bhairava as kṣetra-rakṣaka with an annual Mārgaśīrṣa kṛṣṇa aṣṭamī festival and offerings; Bharatakuṇḍa, where Bharata practiced Rāma-dhyāna and made an installation, emphasizing bathing and ancestor-directed śrāddha; and Jaṭākuṇḍa, where Rāma and his companions are worshipped, with an annual Caitra kṛṣṇa caturdaśī yātrā. The chapter closes with a structured itinerary: worship Rāma–Sītā, then at Bharatakuṇḍa worship Lakṣmaṇa, and proceed through the prescribed bathing rites as an ordered pilgrimage program.