Adhyaya 6: The Puṇḍarīkākṣapāraka Hymn and Puṣkara Tīrtha: The Account of King Vasu’s Release from Sin

Verse 1

धरण्युवाच । स वसुः संशयच्छेदं प्राप्य रैभ्यश्च सत्तमः । उभौ किं चक्रतुर्देव श्रुत्वा चाङ्गिरसं वचः ॥ ६.१ ॥

Dharaṇī said: “O deity, after Vasu and the most excellent Raibhya had their doubt cut away, what did the two do upon hearing the words of Aṅgiras?”

Verse 2

श्रीवराह उवाच । स वसुः सर्वधर्मज्ञः स्वराज्यं प्रतिपालयन् । अयजद् बहुभिर्यज्ञैर्महद्भिर्भूरिदक्षिणैः ॥ ६.२ ॥

Śrī Varāha said: That Vasu, versed in every aspect of dharma, while safeguarding his own kingdom, performed many sacrifices—great rites accompanied by abundant dakṣiṇā, the priestly gifts.

Verse 3

कर्मकाण्डेन देवेशं हरिं नारायणं प्रभुम् । तोषयामास राजेन्द्रस्तमभेदेन चिन्तयन् ॥ ६.३ ॥

By the path of ritual action (karma-kāṇḍa), the foremost of kings pleased the Lord of the gods—Hari, Nārāyaṇa, the Sovereign—while contemplating Him as non-different from the highest principle.

Verse 4

ततः कालेन महता तस्य राज्ञो मतिः किल । निवृत्तराज्यभोगस्य द्वन्द्वस्यान्तमुपेयुषी ॥ ६.४ ॥

Then, after a long passage of time, it is said that the king’s understanding turned away from the enjoyments of sovereignty and came to the end of the binding dualities (dvandva).

Verse 5

ततः पुत्रं विवस्वन्तं श्रेष्ठं भ्रातृशतस्य ह । अभिषिच्य स्वके राज्ये तपोवनमुपागमत् ॥ ६.५ ॥

Thereafter, having consecrated his son Vivasvant—indeed the foremost among a hundred brothers—to rule his own kingdom, he departed for the tapo-vana, the forest hermitage devoted to austerities.

Verse 6

पुष्करं नाम तीर्थानां प्रवरं यत्र केशवः । पुण्डरीकाक्षनामाऽस्तु पूज्यते तत्परायणैः ॥ ६.६ ॥

Puṣkara is proclaimed the foremost among pilgrimage-sites, for there Keśava—also known as Puṇḍarīkākṣa—is venerated by those devoted to Him.

Verse 7

तत्र गत्वा स राजर्षिः काश्मीराधिपतिर्वसुः । अतितीव्रेण तपसा स्वशरीरमशोषयत् ॥ ६.७ ॥

Having gone there, that royal sage Vasu, the lord of Kāśmīra, by exceedingly intense ascetic practice caused his own body to wither.

Verse 8

पुण्डरीकाक्षपारं तु स्तवं भक्त्या जपन् बुधः । आरिराधयिषुर्देवं नारायणमकल्मषम् । स्तोत्रान्ते तल्लयं प्राप्तः स राजा राजसत्तमः ॥ ६.८ ॥

But the wise man, reciting with devotion the hymn called “Puṇḍarīkākṣapāra,” intent on propitiating the god Nārāyaṇa, the stainless one—at the conclusion of the hymn, that king, best among kings, attained absorption into Him.

Verse 9

धरण्युवाच । पुण्डरीकाक्षपारं तु स्तोत्रं देव कथं स्मृतम् । कीदृशं तन्ममाचक्ष्व परमेश्वर तत्त्वतः ॥ ६.९ ॥

Dharaṇī said: “O god, how is the hymn known as the ‘Puṇḍarīkākṣa-pāra’ remembered in tradition? What is its nature? O Parameśvara, explain it to me truthfully, in accordance with its essential meaning.”

Verse 10

श्रीवराह उवाच । नमस्ते पुण्डरीकाक्ष नमस्ते मधुसूदन । नमस्ते सर्वलोकेश नमस्ते तिग्मचक्रिणे ॥ ६.१० ॥

Śrī Varāha said: “Homage to You, O Lotus-eyed One; homage to You, O slayer of Madhu. Homage to You, O Lord of all worlds; homage to You, O bearer of the sharp discus.”

Verse 11

विश्वमूर्तिं महाबाहुं वरदं सर्वतेजसम् । नमामि पुण्डरीकाक्षं विद्याऽविद्यात्मकं विभुम् ॥ ६.११ ॥

I bow to the lotus-eyed, all-pervading Lord—whose form is the universe; mighty-armed, the giver of boons, possessed of every splendor; the sovereign whose nature is both knowledge and non-knowledge.

Verse 12

आदिदेवं महादेवं वेदवेदाङ्गपारगम् । गम्भीरं सर्वदेवानां नमामि मधुसूदनम् ॥ ६.१२ ॥

I bow to Madhusūdana—the primordial Deity, the Great God, who has fully mastered the purport of the Veda and the Vedāṅgas; profound in nature, and foremost among all the gods.

Verse 13

विश्वमूर्तिं महामूर्तिं विद्यांमूर्तिं त्रिमूर्तिकम् । कवचं सर्वदेवानां नमस्ये वारिजेक्षणम् ॥ ६.१३ ॥

I bow to the lotus-eyed one who is the form of the universe—the great form, the embodiment of sacred knowledge, and the one of triple manifestation—who is the protective armor of all the gods.

Verse 14

सहस्रशीर्षिणं देवं सहस्राक्षं महाभुजम् । जगत्संव्याप्य तिष्ठन्तं नमस्ये परमेश्वरम् ॥ ६.१४ ॥

I bow to the Supreme Lord—the divine one of a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, and mighty arms—who stands pervading the entire universe.

Verse 15

शरण्यं शरणं देवं विष्णुं जिष्णुं सनातनम् । नीलमेघप्रतीकाशं नमस्ये चक्रपाणिनम् ॥ ६.१५ ॥

I bow to Viṣṇu—the refuge of those who seek protection, the true refuge; the ever-victorious (Jiṣṇu), the eternal (Sanātana), whose radiance is like a dark rain-cloud, and who bears the discus (cakra) in his hand.

Verse 16

शुद्धं सर्वगतं नित्यं व्योमरूपं सनातनम् । भावाभावविनिर्मुक्तं पश्ये सर्वगं हरिम् ॥ ६.१६ ॥

I behold Hari—pure, all-pervading, eternal, of the nature of space, primeval; freed from the dualities of being and non-being, and present everywhere.

Verse 17

नान्यत्किञ्चित्प्रपश्यामि व्यतिरिक्तं त्वयाऽच्युत । त्वन्मयं च प्रपश्यामि सर्वमेतच्चराचरम् ॥ ६.१७ ॥

O Acyuta, I do not perceive anything whatsoever as separate from you. Indeed, I perceive all of this—both the moving and the unmoving—as permeated by you.

Verse 18

एवं तु वदतस्तस्य मूर्त्तिमान् पुरुषः किल । निर्गत्य देहान्नीलाभो घनचण्डो भयंकरः ॥ ६.१८ ॥

As he was speaking thus, it is said that a personified being, embodied in form, emerged from his body—dark-blue in hue, like a dense cloud, fiercely violent, and terrifying.

Verse 19

रक्ताक्षो ह्रस्वकायस्तु दग्धस्थूणासमप्रभः । उवाच प्राञ्जलिर्भूत्वा किं करोमि नराधिप ॥ ६.१९ ॥

Red-eyed and short in stature, with a radiance like a charred pillar, he spoke with joined hands: “What shall I do, O lord of men?”

Verse 20

राजोवाच । कोऽसि किं कार्यमिह ते कस्मादागतवानसि । एतन्मे कथय व्याध एतदिच्छामि वेदितुम ॥ ६.२० ॥

The king said: “Who are you? What is your purpose here, and from where have you come? Tell me this, O hunter; I wish to know it.”

Verse 21

व्याध उवाच । पूर्वं कलियुगे राजन् राजा त्वं दक्षिणापथे । पूर्णधर्मोद्भवः श्रीमान् जनस्थाने विचक्षणः ॥ ६.२१ ॥

The hunter said: “Formerly, in the Kali age, O King, you were a king in the southern region—illustrious, born of complete dharma, and discerning in Janasthāna.”

Verse 22

स कदाचिद् भवान् वीर तुरगैः परिवारितः । अरण्यमागतो हन्तुं श्वापदानि विशेषतः ॥ ६.२२ ॥

At one time, O hero, surrounded by horses, you came to the forest to slay wild beasts—especially those that prey upon others.

Verse 23

तत्र त्वया अन्यकामेन मृगवेषधरो मुनिः । दण्डयुग्मेन दूरे तु पातितो धरणीतले ॥ ६.२३ ॥

There, driven by another desire, you struck down from afar with a pair of staffs a sage disguised in the form of a deer, and he fell upon the earth.

Verse 24

सद्यो मृतश्च विप्रेन्द्रस्त्वं च राजन् मुदा युतः । हरिणोऽयं हत इति यावत् पश्यसि पार्थिव । तावन्मृगवपुर्विप्रो मृतः प्रस्त्रवणे गिरौ ॥ ६.२४ ॥

The foremost brāhmaṇa died at once; and you too, O King, filled with joy, looked on thinking, “This deer has been slain,” O ruler. Meanwhile, that brāhmaṇa, whose form was that of a deer, lay dead at Prastravaṇa on the mountain.

Verse 25

तं दृष्ट्वा त्वं महाराज क्षुभितेन्द्रियमाणसः । गृहं गतस्ततोऽन्यस्य कस्यचित् कथितं त्वया ॥ ६.२५ ॥

Having seen him, O great king, your senses and mind were agitated; you went home, and thereafter you recounted it to someone else.

Verse 26

ततः कतिपयाहस्य त्वया रात्रौ नरेश्वर । ब्रह्महत्याभयाद्भीतचित्तेनैतद्विचिन्तितम् । कृत्यं करोमि शान्त्यर्थं मुच्यते येन पातकात् ॥ ६.२६ ॥

Then, after some days, O lord of men, in the night, with a mind terrified by fear of the sin of brahmin-slaying, you reflected thus: “I shall perform a rite of pacification, by which one is released from sin.”

Verse 27

ततस्त्वया महाराज सकृन्नारायणं प्रभुम् । संचिन्त्य द्वादशी शुद्धा त्वया राजन्नुपोषिता ॥ ६.२७ ॥

Then, O great king, having contemplated Lord Nārāyaṇa even once, you, O king, observed a pure fast on the Dvādaśī (twelfth lunar day).

Verse 28

नारायणो मे सुप्रीत इति प्रोक्त्वा शुभेऽहनि । गौर्दत्ता विधिना सद्यो मृतोऽस्युदरशूलतः ॥ ६.२८ ॥

Having declared on an auspicious day, “Nārāyaṇa is well-pleased with me,” a cow was duly given; yet he died immediately, due to pain in his abdomen.

Verse 29

अभुक्तो द्वादशीधर्मे यत् तत्रापि च कारणम् । कथयामि भवत्पत्नी नाम्ना नारायणी शुभा ॥ ६.२९ ॥

As to why he remained without eating even while observing the discipline of the Dvādaśī vow—its reason there as well—I shall explain. It concerns your auspicious wife, named Nārāyaṇī.

Verse 30

सा कण्ठगेन प्राणेन व्याहृता तेन ते गतिः । कल्पमेकं महाराज जाता विष्णुपुरे तव ॥ ६.३० ॥

Uttered with the life-breath lodged in her throat, that utterance became the cause of your destiny. O great king, for one entire kalpa your state has been established in your Viṣṇu-city (Viṣṇupura).

Verse 31

अहं च तव देहस्थः सर्वं जानामि चाक्षयम् । ब्रह्मग्रहॊ महाघोरः पीडयामीति मे मतिः ॥ ६.३१ ॥

I too, abiding within your body, know everything without diminution. Yet this is my thought: “A Brahma-graha, exceedingly dreadful, is tormenting me.”

Verse 32

तावद्विष्णोस्तु पुरुषैः किङ्करैर्मुसलैरहम् । प्रहतः सङ्क्षयं यातस्ततस्ते रोमकूपतः । स्वर्गस्थस्यापि राजेन्द्र स्थितोऽहं स्वेन तेजसा ॥ ६.३२ ॥

Then, struck down with clubs by Viṣṇu’s attendants, I was brought to destruction; thereafter, O lord of kings, I remained—by my own radiance—within the pores of your body, even while you were in heaven.

Verse 33

ततोऽहःकल्पनिर्वृत्ते रात्रिकल्पे च सत्तम । इदानीमादिसृष्टौ तु कृते नृपतिसत्तम ॥ ६.३३ ॥

Then, when the day-cycle of cosmic time had come to its completion, and likewise the night-cycle, O best of the virtuous; now, however, in the primordial creation occurring in the Kṛta age, O best of kings, (listen/consider).

Verse 34

सम्भूतस्त्वं महाराज राज्ञः सुमनसो गृहे । काश्मीरदेशाधिपतेरहं चाङ्गरुहैस्तव ॥ ६.३४ ॥

O great king, you were born in the house of King Sumanas; and I too was born as your offspring, from the lord of the land of Kāśmīra.

Verse 35

यज्ञैरिष्टं त्वयानेकैर्बहुभिश्चाप्तदक्षिणैः । न चाहं तैरपहतो विष्णुस्मरणवर्जितैः ॥ ६.३५ ॥

You have performed many sacrifices, and many were furnished with due sacrificial fees; yet I am not truly satisfied by those rites when they are devoid of the remembrance of Viṣṇu.

Verse 36

इदानीं यत् त्वया स्तोत्रं पुण्डरीकाक्षपारकम् । पठितं तत्प्रभावेन विहायाङ्गरुहाण्यहम् । एकीभूतः पुनर्जातो व्याधरूपो नृपोत्तम ॥ ६.३६ ॥

Now, O best of kings, by the very power of the hymn you recited in praise of Puṇḍarīkākṣa, I have cast off the growths upon my body; made whole again, I have been reborn once more in the form of a hunter.

Verse 37

अहं भगवतः स्तोत्रं श्रुत्वा प्राक्पापमूर्त्तिना । मुक्तोऽस्मि धर्मबुद्धिर्मे वर्त्तते साम्प्रतं विभो ॥ ६.३७ ॥

Having heard the hymn to the Blessed Lord, I—who formerly embodied past wrongdoing—have been set free; and now, O mighty one, a mind inclined toward dharma abides in me.

Verse 38

एतच्छ्रुत्वा वचो राजा परं विस्मयमागतः । वरेण चन्दयामास तं व्याधं राजसत्तमः ॥ ६.३८ ॥

Hearing these words, the king was seized with profound astonishment; then that foremost of kings sought to gratify the hunter by granting him a boon.

Verse 39

राजोवाच । स्मारितोऽस्मि यथा व्याध त्वया जन्मान्तरं गतम् । तथा त्वं मत्प्रसादेन धर्मव्याधो भविष्यसि ॥ ६.३९ ॥

The king said: “O hunter, you have reminded me of what passed in a former birth. Therefore, by my favor, you shall become a ‘dharmavyādha’—a righteous hunter.”

Verse 40

यश्चैतत् पुण्डरीकाक्षपारगं शृणुयात् परम् । तस्य पुष्करयात्रायां विधिस्नानफलं भवेत् ॥ ६.४० ॥

And whoever listens with reverent attention to this supreme account concerning Puṇḍarīkākṣa, for that person—during the pilgrimage to Puṣkara—there arises merit equal to the fruit of a properly prescribed ritual bath.

Verse 41

श्रीवराह उवाच । एवमुक्त्वा ततो राजा विमानवरमास्थितः । परेण तेजसा योगमवापाशेषधारिणि ॥ ६.४१ ॥

Śrī Varāha said: Having spoken thus, the king then mounted an excellent aerial car; and, O bearer of all without remainder, he attained union in yoga through a supreme radiance.