Shloka 5
Ārṣṭiṣeṇa’s Siddhi and the Tīrtha-Boons; Sindhudvīpa–Devāpi Brāhmaṇya; Viśvāmitra’s Tapas Begins
महता शिरसा राजन ग्रस्तजड्घो महोदर: । राक्षसस्य महाराज रामक्षिप्तस्य वै पुरा,तदनन्तर हलधारी बलराम औशनसतीर्थमें आये, जिसका दूसरा नाम कपालमोचनतीर्थ भी है। महाराज! पूर्वकालमें भगवान् श्रीरामने एक राक्षसको मारकर उसे दूर फेंक दिया था। उसका विशाल सिर महामुनि महोदरकी जाँघमें चिपक गया था। वे महामुनि इस तीर्थमें स्नान करनेपर उस कपालसे मुक्त हुए थे
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
mahatā śirasā rājan grastajaṅgho mahodaraḥ |
rākṣasasya mahārāja rāmakṣiptasya vai purā |
tad-anantaraṃ haladhārī balarāma auśanasatīrthaṃ samāyāyau, yasya dvitīyaṃ nāma kapālamocanatīrtham api |
mahārāja! pūrvakāle bhagavatā śrīrāmeṇa rākṣaso hatvā dūraṃ kṣiptaḥ; tasya viśālaṃ śiraḥ mahāmuner mahodarasya jaṅghāyāṃ saṃlagnaṃ babhūva |
sa mahāmuniḥ asmin tīrthe snātvā tasmin kapāle mokṣam avāpa |
Vaiśampāyana disse: Ó rei, o grande sábio Mahodara teve certa vez a coxa agarrada e oprimida por um crânio imenso — o crânio de um rākṣasa que, outrora, o Senhor Rāma matara e arremessara para longe. Depois, Balarāma, o portador do arado, chegou ao Auśanasa-tīrtha, também chamado Kapāla-mocana-tīrtha. Ali, ao banhar-se nesse vau sagrado, o sábio Mahodara foi libertado daquele crânio.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights tīrtha-māhātmya: sacred places and prescribed rites (especially bathing) are portrayed as means to remove inauspicious residue and ritual impurity, restoring a person to auspiciousness and dharmic order.
Vaiśampāyana recounts an earlier incident: after Rāma killed and flung a rākṣasa, the rākṣasa’s huge skull became stuck to the sage Mahodara’s thigh. Later Balarāma visits Auśanasa-tīrtha (Kapāla-mocana), and at this place Mahodara is freed from the skull through bathing.