Shloka 67
Saptasārasvata-tīrtha-prasaṅgaḥ | The Saptasārasvata Pilgrimage Account and the Maṅkaṇaka Narrative
यत्र मड़कणक: सिद्धस्तपस्तेपे महामुनि:,तदनन्तर हलायुध बलदेवजी सप्तसारस्वत नामक तीर्थमें आये जो सरस्वतीके तीथॉमें सबसे श्रेष्ठ हैं। वहाँ अनेकानेक ब्राह्मणोंके समुदाय निवास करते थे। वेर, इंगुद, काश्मर्य (गम्भारी), पाकर, पीपल, बहेड़े, कंकोल, पलाश, करीर, पीलु, करूष, बिल्व, अमड़ा, अतिमुक्त, पारिजात तथा सरस्वतीके तटपर उगे हुए अन्य नाना प्रकारके वृक्षोंसे सुशोभित वह तीर्थ देखनेमें कमनीय और मनको मोह लेनेवाला है। वहाँ केलेके बहुत-से बगीचे हैं। उस तीर्थमें वायु, जल, फल और पत्ते चबाकर रहनेवाले, दाँतोंस ही ओखलीका काम लेनेवाले और पत्थरसे फोड़े हुए फल खानेवाले बहुतेरे वानप्रस्थ मुनि भरे हुए थे। वहाँ वेदोंके स्वाध्यायकी गम्भीर ध्वनि गूँज रही थी। मृगोंके सैकड़ों यूथ सब ओर फैले हुए थे। हिंसारहित धर्मपरायण मनुष्य उस तीर्थका अधिक सेवन करते थे। वहीं सिद्ध महामुनि मंकणकने बड़ी भारी तपस्या की थी
yatra maṅkaṇakaḥ siddhas tapaḥ tepe mahāmuniḥ, tadanantaraṃ halāyudhaḥ baladevaḥ saptasārasvata-nāmakaṃ tīrtham āyayau, yat sarasvatī-tīrthānāṃ sarvaśreṣṭham. tatra anekānekā brāhmaṇa-samudāyāḥ nyavasan. vera, iṅguda, kāśmarya (gambhārī), pākara, pippala, baheḍā, kaṅkola, palāśa, karīra, pīlu, karūṣa, bilva, āmaḍā, atimukta, pārijāta tathā sarasvatī-taṭe jātaiḥ anyaiś ca nānāvidhaiḥ vṛkṣaiḥ suśobhitaṃ tat tīrthaṃ darśanīyaṃ manoharaṃ ca. tatra bahūni kadalī-vāṭikāni santi. tasmin tīrthe vāyu-jala-phala-patra-bhakṣaṇajīvinaḥ, dantair eva ulūkhalakarma-kāriṇaḥ, aśmabhir bhinnāni phalāni bhakṣayantaḥ bahavaḥ vānaprastha-munayaḥ paripūrṇāḥ. tatra vedānāṃ svādhyāyasya gambhīrā dhvaniḥ pratidhvanati. mṛgāṇāṃ śatāni yūthāni sarvataḥ prasṛtāni. ahiṃsā-dharma-parāyaṇā manuṣyāḥ tasya tīrthasya bahu sevāṃ kurvanti. tatraiva siddhaḥ mahāmuniḥ maṅkaṇakaḥ mahattapaḥ cakāra.
Vaiśampāyana said: In that place the accomplished great sage Maṅkaṇaka had performed severe austerities. After that, Halāyudha Baladeva came to the sacred ford called Saptasārasvata, regarded as the foremost among the holy places of the Sarasvatī. There lived many communities of brāhmaṇas. The tīrtha was adorned with diverse trees—vera, iṅguda, kāśmarya (gambhārī), pākara, pippala, baheḍā, kaṅkola, palāśa, karīra, pīlu, karūṣa, bilva, āmaḍā, atimukta, pārijāta, and many others growing along the Sarasvatī’s bank—making it delightful to behold and captivating to the mind. It had many banana groves. It was filled with numerous forest-dwelling sages who lived on air, water, fruits, and chewed leaves; who used their teeth as a mortar; and who ate fruits split open with stones. The deep sound of Vedic recitation resounded there. Herds of deer spread out in every direction. People devoted to the non-violent dharma frequented that holy place. It was there that the perfected sage Maṅkaṇaka had undertaken great penance.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage elevates tīrtha-sevā (reverent engagement with sacred places) as an ethical and spiritual practice: a landscape shaped by Vedic study, austerity, and ahiṃsā becomes a living model of dharma, contrasting with violence and disorder.
Vaiśampāyana describes Baladeva’s arrival at the renowned Sarasvatī tīrtha Saptasārasvata, portraying its brāhmaṇa settlements, abundant sacred flora, ascetic residents, resonant Vedic recitation, and non-violent atmosphere, and noting that the sage Maṅkaṇaka performed great austerities there.