Varaha Purana 155.3: Adhyaya 155, Shloka 3
The Efficacy and Sacred Merit of Akrūra Tīrtha
Uttara Bhāga · Tīrtha-māhātmya (Auspicious Times and Purificatory Effect)
अयने विषुवे चैव तथा विष्णुपदीषु च ॥ अनन्तं तं समासाद्य मुच्यते सर्वपातकैः ॥
ayane viṣuve caiva tathā viṣṇupadīṣu ca || anantaṃ taṃ samāsādya mucyate sarvapātakaiḥ ||
ayane viShuve chaiva tathA viShNupadIShu cha || anantaM taM samAsAdya muchyate sarvapAtakaiH
संक्रांति और इक्विनॉक्स के दिन, और विष्णुपदी के दिन भी। अनंत तीर्थ में जाके सब पाप से छुट जाते हो। कोई भी पाप नहीं रहता।
Sandhi Notes
- चैव = च + एव
- विष्णुपदीषु = विष्णुपदी + षु (loc. pl.)
Varāha
Curious and receptive (being instructed on tīrtha-kāla and pāpa-kṣaya)
Which times (kāla) and observances make access to Ananta-tīrtha especially sin-destroying?
Merit and purification arise when right action (snāna/saṅgama) is performed in right place (tīrtha) at right time (kāla-viśeṣa).
Plan pilgrimage/bathing to coincide with ayana/viṣuva/Viṣṇupadī; treat calendrical junctions as spiritual ‘gateways’ for intensified sādhana.
Varāha instructs Bhū-devī about auspicious calendrical junctions (ayana, viṣuva, Viṣṇupadī) and the sin-destroying access to Ananta-tīrtha.
The teaching ties cosmic time-joints (ayana/viṣuva) to tīrtha-access, reflecting the Yajña-Varāha idea that cosmic order (ṛta) is upheld through ritually aligned action in sacred space.
Implicit mapping: ayana/viṣuva as ‘cosmic hinges’ where Viṣṇu’s stride/pada is ritually ‘touched’ via tīrtha-snāna.
Kāla as a manifestation of Īśvara’s order: aligning one’s karma with auspicious kāla and tīrtha becomes a practical upāya for antaḥkaraṇa-śuddhi (purification).
Bathed/visited Ananta-tīrtha at ayana, viṣuva, and Viṣṇupadī days, one attains sarva-pātaka-kṣaya (release from all sins).
Following: comprehensive pāpa-kṣaya; neglecting: loss of a rare, time-sensitive expiatory opportunity (kāla-viśeṣa-phala).
Ayana (uttarāyaṇa/dakṣiṇāyana saṅkrānti), Viṣuva (equinox), and Viṣṇupadī days (Viṣṇu-pada-saṅkrānti markers)
Mucyate sarva-pātakaiḥ—release from all sins through reaching/visiting Ananta-tīrtha at these junctions.
Indirect Vaiṣṇava framing: Viṣṇupadī days and Ananta name anticipate later Kṛṣṇa-bhakti tīrtha-culture in Mathurā, though Kṛṣṇa is not named here.
Varāha Purāṇa Mathurā-māhātmya sections on tīrtha-kāla and pāpa-kṣaya (adjacent verses in adhyāya 155)
FAQs
It preserves calendrical framing of pilgrimage (solstice/equinox observances), useful for reconstructing ritual timekeeping and festival cycles in Purāṇic culture.
The site is Ananta/Ākrūra-tīrtha, within the Mathurā–Yamunā pilgrimage landscape.
It promotes periodic self-audit and purification—ritual time is used as a cultural mechanism for ethical renewal.
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