Verses 101-200101. Having reached
there, that king of the serpents saw his father, pressed his feet and saluted
him after announcing his own name.
102. The father
smelled his forehead and honoured him in the proper manner. Directed then
by him (the father), he sat on the matting made of Kusa grass.
103. 0 king,
listen to what the seated Naga communicated respectfully to the father Kasyapa, the abode of all penances.
104. 'Having
heard that you - lover of Dharma (piety) - are visiting the sacred places,
I, with a desire to serve, have immediately approached your honour.
105. O Brahman,
all the sacred places in the eastern, the southern and the western (part
of the) country have been seen by you. Let us go now to the northern direction.
106. O honour-giver,
there are holy places of pilgrimage in Madra country and on the Himalaya
- the best of the mountains.
107-8. (There
is) the auspicious Vipasa, the pacifier of sins and giver of eternal bliss,
the river Devahrada, a bath in which gives the heaven, the sin-removing
god Hara Haririsvara and the holy confluence near Karavirapura.
109. At that
place the Devahrada joins the Vipasa, the best of the rivers. In Ihe Vipasa,
there is the perpetually holy Kalikasrama.
110-11. (There
is) the holy Iravati, the destroyer of all Sins. Sixty thousand sacred
places dwell in single Iravati, specially in Revati (Naksatra) and on the
eighth day (of a fortnight ).
112-13. (There
are) Kumbhavasunda possessed of holy water, the river Devika possessed
of holy water, the great river Visvamitra which is sacred always, (the
river) called Udda which is highly sacred and the various confluences (of
the rivers). The religious merit (lies) in the Iravati and also in the Devika.
114-118. Brought
downby your honour for doing favour to the Madras, it is the goddess Uma
who is famous on the earth as Devika and by seeing whom a man certainly
becomes purified in this world. (There are) Indramarga, Somatirtha, tbe
holy Ambujana, Suvarnabindu, the auspicious abode of Hara, the sin-destroying
abode of Skanda, the highly sacred lord of Uma at Rudratirtha, Durgadvara,
possessed of holy water, Kotitirtha, the sacred place of Rudra, Kamakhya
and Puspanyasa. 0 honour-giver, (there is) Hamsapada pronounced as holy
and so also Rsirupa.
119. In the
area extending over four krosas, there is Devikatirtha at all the places
where every well and pool is holy in all respects.
120. (There
is) the sacred river Apaga and the holy Tausi which pleases the sun. There
is the Candrabhaga the best of the rivers - whose water is cool like the
rays of the moon.
121. Vaivatitlamukha
is the meritorious holy place of the Candrabhaga and so also is the sin-destroying
Sankhamardala.
122. (There
are) Guhyesvara, Satamukha, Istikapatha, the holy Kadambesa and the area
around it.
123. The area
extending from the holy Satamukhaupto the holy place Guhyesvara, is equal,
in holiness, to Varanasi or is even higher than that.
124. The great
river Candrabhaga is always holy everywhere but is specially so on the
thirteenth of the bright half of Magha in conjlmction with Pusya.
125. All the
sacred places on the earth, includiug the seas and the lakes, shall go
to the Candrabhaga, on the thirteenth of the bright half of Magha.
126. Vastrapatha
is stated to be holy and so also the god Chagales'vara, the second Bhaumi
and also her birth place.
127. The sacred
place of the lake which is an incarnation of the body of Sati, is the lake
Visnupada famous Kramasara, the destroyer of all the sins.
128. O sage,
please visit immediately these and other holy places by bathing at which,
even the evil-minded human beings are freed (from the sins).'
129. Brhadasva
(said): Addressed thus he whose desire had already been aroused, said "Let
it be so" and went to those holy places in the company of Nila.
130. Having
crossed the river-goddesses Yamuna and Sarasvati, he visited Kuruksetra
where Sanniti is famous.
131-132. O
sinless, a multitude of the holy places is called Sanniti on the earth.
It is, verily, the spot to which all the tirthas including the seas and
the lakes always go in the end of the dark half of the month.
133. He, who
performs Sraddha there at the time when the sun is eclipsed by Rahu, obtains
the best award of (performing) a thousand horse-sacrifices.
134. Having
seen that Sanniti, (he saw) Cakratirtha also about which a verse sung by
Narada is current on the earth.
135. "Oh !
the persistence of the people for the sun-eclipse ! The religious merit
obtained at Cakratirtha is ten times more than the eclipse.
136. Having
visited thc sacred places called Cakra and Prthudaka, he saw the holy Visnupada
and Amaraparpata.
137. Afterwards,
having crossed the rivers gatadru and Ganga, the sage reached Arjuna's
hermitage and Devasunda.
138. Having
crossed the illustrious and sin-destroying Vipas'a, Kas'yapa saw the whole
country desolate at that time.
139-140, Seeing
the country of the Madras as desolate, he spoke to the Naga, '~O Nila,
tell me - the inquirer - as to why this country of the Madras has been
deserted ? This has always been charming, devoid of the calamity of famine
and full of the wealth of grains !"
141. Nila said:
"O venerable one, all this is known to you that formerly a demon-child
named Jalodbhava - the son of Sangraha - was reared up by me.
142-143. Now
that impudent Sellow, who obtained boons from Brahma of imperceptible birth,
ignores me like anything and I am incapable of keeping him under control
due to the boon of the lord of three worlds.
144. By that
villain of evil intellect - eater of human flesh - this whole country of
the Madras has been depopulated.
145-146. O
lord, the countries rendered desolate by him are mainly Darvabhisara, Gandhara,
Juhundara, Antargiri, Bahirgiri and those of the Sakas, the Khasas, the
Tanganas and the Mandavas. O venerable one, make up your mind to check
him for the welfare of the world.
147. Brhadasva
(spoke): Addressed thus he said "Be it so" and after taking bath in the
holy places all around, he came to that best limpid lake in the country
of Sati.
148. O king,
after taking bath there, he gave up walking on foot and went to the eternal
world of Brahma, merely by his own power.
149-150. He
went along with Nila, the high-souled king of the Nagas. O controller of
the enemies, both of them reached the abode of Brahma and made obeisance
to the lotus-born god and the gods Vasudeva, Is'vara and highly intelligent
Ananta, who were present there by chance.
151-152. Honoured
by them, these two told the activities of Jalodbhava (Water-born) . Then
the god Pitamaha said to this Naga-lord and the sage of unparalleled valour,
"we shall go to Naubandhana to subdue him.
153. Then the
god Kesava will undoubtedly kill him. "Having heard this, Hari, the killer
of the strong enemies, went (mounted on) Tarksya.
154. O sinless,
after him went Hara, mounted on the bull, along with his wife. Brahma went
mounted on the swan and the two Nagas mounted on the cloud.
155. Kas'yapa
went by his supernatural power. Indra heard that and, in the company of
the hosts of gods, went to that place where Kes'ava had gone.
156-158. Yama, Agni, Varuna, Vayu, Kubera, Nirrti,
Adityas, Vasus, Rudras, Vis'vedevas
and the hosts of Maruts; Agvins, Bhrgus, Sadhyas, the sons of Angiras,
the illustrious sages, Gandharvas, the hosts of heavenly maidens; all the
wives of the gods, the mothers of the gods, the hosts of Vidyadharas, Yaksas,
seas and rivers (all went there ).
159. Ganga
went mounted on crocodile, Yamuna on tortoise, Satadru on bull and Sarasvati
on buffalo.
160. 0 King
! Vipas'a (went) mounted on horse, Iravati on elephant, Candrabhaga= and
Sindhu on tiger.
161. Devika
(went) mounted on wild ox, Sarayu on deer, Mandakini on man and Payosni
on goat.
162. O king,
Narmada (went) mounted on peacock, Gomati on Saranga deer, Godavari on
sbeep and Kampana on swan.
163. O king,
Gandaki (went) mounted on he crane, Kaveri on camel, the holy Iksumati
on crocodile and the holy Sita on she crane.
164. Lauhitya
( went ) mounted on Camara deer, Vanksu - the fast going one - on Kroda
(hog), Hladini on partridge and Hradini on cock.
165. Pavani
(went) mounted on a horse, Sona on a segpent, Krsnaveni on cloud and Bhuvena
on hare.
166. These
and other rivers also went mounted on their respective mounts. All these,
with a desire to see fight, followed the lord of the world.
167. Having
reached Naubandhana, Kesava, verily, took a firm stand.
168. Hearing
the sound of the retinue of the gods, the evil-minded demon, knowing himself
to be imperishable in the water, did not come out.
169. Having
come to know that he would not come out, the pleased Madhusudana entered
Naubandhana, in the company of the gods.
170. Rudra
(took stand) on Naubandhana peak, Hari on the Soulhern peak, Brahma on
the Northern peak and the gods and the Asuras followed them.
171. Thus,
they entered the mountain. Then the pious- minded god Janardana, with a
view to kill the demon, said to Ananta:
172. "Breaking
forth Himalaya today with the plough, make soon this lake devoid of water."
173. Brhadasva (sadi): Then Ananta, resembling a mountain and possessed of lustre equal
to that of the full moon, expanded himself, covering the earth and the
heaven and terrifying the hosts of demons all around.
174. Dressed
in blue, wearing diadem fastened with gold, worshipped by all the gods,
he, broke forth Himalaya, the best of the mountains on earth, with plough.
175-180. When
the king of the best mountains had been broken, the water flowed forth
hurriedly with force, terrifying all the beings with its violent rush and
sound and overflowing the tops of the mountains with curved waves like
Himalaya touching the sky. When the water of the lake was disappearing,
Water-born practised magic. He created darkness all around. O hero among
men, the world became quite invisible.
Then the god
S'iva held the sun and the moon in his two hands. In a twinkling of the
eye, the world was brought to light and all the darkness was destroyed.
When the darkness
had vanished, unfathomable Hari, assuming another body with the power of
Yoga, fought with the demon and witnessed that fight through a different
body.
There was a
terrible fight between Visnu and the demon, with trees and peaks of mountains.
All those hosts of gods ......
( Hari) cut
off, forcibly, the head of the demon and then Brahma obtained gratification.
181. Brahma,
Visnu and S'ambhu gave their own names to the peaks on which they had taken
their stand, on the earth.
182-183. O
best among men, they said to the high peaks of the high-souled king of
the mountains: "Whoever shall see you after taking bath in this lake called
Kramasara, shall see three of us on the mountain and will go to heaven."
184. Brhada¤va
(said): See, O king, these are those peak - Brahma, Visnu, and Mahesvar.
That which is Naubandhana peak is S'ankara.
185. The one
on its right side is celebrated as Hari and the left one as Brahma. Even
the evil-doers are freed by seeing these (peaks)
186-187. To
the north of that which is proclaimed as Visnupada in Kramasara, Brahma
- the best of the gods - himself erected a hermitage. The venerable sage
Kasyapa constructed a hermitage in the western half.
188. Mighty
Mahadeva himself erected a hermitage at the spot where Visnu stood and
obtained victory at that time.
189. In the
other part of that place, the honourable plough-holder Ananta, abiding
by the instructions of Vasudeva, constructed a great hermitage.
190. On the
western side of Mahadeva's hermitage, the sun and the moon, honoured by
the gods, constructed their beautiful and holy hermitages.
191. At a distance
of one Yojana lessened by one-fourth of a Yojana from Mahadeva's hermitage,
Hari erected his hermitage celebrated as Narasimha.
192-193. Afterwards,
other gods erected their hermitages, each one separately, in the lake or
on the waterless place. The sages whose wealth is penance erected hermitages,
and the rivers created several places of pilgrimage. So did the Gandharvas,
the Apasaras, the Yaksas and the mountain-kings along with the Guhyakas.
194. Visnu
and Rudra - the prominent ones in the world - made their abodes there along
with the lotus-born (Brahma). The whole world has made its abode there.
The country is meritorious and the holiest.
195. Then,
the Sudarsana wheel - intoxicated with the blood of Jalodbhava - wandered
in that deserted land and was caught by gankara.
196. With discus
in his hand, he went where (stood) the god Janardana. Then laughing heartily,
Hari said to that god S'ankara.
197. "O divme
one, hand over the discus - destroyer of the hosts of the Daityas to me."
S'ankara (too) said in a joke to Hari who was laughing.
198. "Wandering
at its will it has been found by me by chance. O Janardana, I shall return
your discuss on the receipt of a gift."
199-200. "Be
it so", said the destroyer of Mahdu and received the discus. O king, this
is the place you stand on now, where Hari - the best of the gods - made
a joke and got erected his own statue in that pose.
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