Shloka 65
Saptasārasvata-tīrtha-prasaṅgaḥ | The Saptasārasvata Pilgrimage Account and the Maṅkaṇaka Narrative
तथाश्मकुट्टैवनियैर्मुनिभिर्बहुभिववतम् । स्वाध्यायघोषसंघुष्ट मृगयूथशताकुलम्,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
tathāśmakūṭṭaivanijair munibhir bahubhir āvṛtam | svādhyāyaghoṣasaṃghuṣṭaṃ mṛgayūthaśatākulam || tad-anantaraṃ halāyudhaḥ baladevājī saptasārasvata-nāmakaṃ tīrtham ājagāma, yat sarasvatī-tīrtheṣu śreṣṭhatamam | tatra bahavo brāhmaṇa-saṃghā nivasanty āsan | vera-iṅguda-kāśmarya (gambhārī)-pākara-pippala-bibhitaka-kaṅkola-palāśa-karīra-pīlu-karūṣa-bilva-āmrāṭaka-atimukta-pārijāta-prabhṛtibhiḥ sarasvatī-taṭodbhavaiś ca nānāvidhaiḥ vṛkṣaiḥ suśobhitam, darśanīyaṃ manoharaṃ ca tat tīrtham | tatra kadalī-vāṭikā bahvyaḥ | tatra vāyu-jala-phala-patra-bhakṣāḥ, dantair eva ulūkhalakarma-kāriṇaḥ, aśmabhir bhinnaphala-bhojinaś ca bahavo vānaprasthā munayaḥ paripūrṇāḥ | tatra vedānāṃ svādhyāyasya gambhīro dhvaniḥ pratidhvanati sma | mṛgāṇāṃ śataśo yūthāni sarvataḥ prasṛtāni | ahiṃsā-dharma-parāyaṇā manuṣyāḥ tat tīrtham adhikaṃ sevante sma | tatraiva siddho mahāmunir maṅkaṇako mahāntam tapaś caritavān iti |
Vaiśampāyana said: That sacred ford was thronged with many sages who lived by pounding and cracking fruits with stones; it resounded with the deep chant of Vedic recitation and was crowded with hundreds of herds of deer. After this, Halāyudha Baladeva came to the tīrtha called Saptasārasvata, regarded as the foremost among the holy places of the Sarasvatī. There dwelt great assemblies of brāhmaṇas. The place was charming to behold and captivating to the mind, adorned with many kinds of trees growing along the Sarasvatī’s bank—vera, iṅguda, kāśmarya (gambhārī), pākara, pippala, bibhitaka, kaṅkola, palāśa, karīra, pīlu, karūṣa, bilva, āmrāṭaka, atimukta, pārijāta, and others—and it held many groves of banana plants. It was filled with numerous vānaprastha sages who lived on air, water, fruits, and leaves, who used their teeth as a mortar, and who ate fruits split open by stones. The grave sound of Vedic study echoed there; deer-herds spread in every direction. People devoted to a non-violent, righteous way of life frequented that tīrtha greatly. In that very place the accomplished great sage Maṅkaṇaka had performed a mighty austerity.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage elevates tīrtha-life as an ethical and spiritual ideal: non-violence (ahiṃsā), disciplined learning (svādhyāya), and austerity (tapas) create a community where humans, sages, and wildlife coexist without fear, making the place ‘foremost’ not merely by geography but by conduct.
Vaiśampāyana describes a Sarasvatī pilgrimage site—Saptasārasvata—just as Baladeva arrives there. The scene is painted with hermit-sages living on simple forest fare, constant Vedic recitation, abundant deer herds, and the memory of the great sage Maṅkaṇaka’s austerities performed at that very tīrtha.