The Sacred Places of the North

Verse 1 (3.88.1)

उदीच्यां राजशार्दूल दिशि पुण्यानि यानि वै । तानि ते कीर्तयिष्यामि पुण्यान्यायतनानि च ॥

udīcyāṃ rājaśārdūla diśi puṇyāni yāni vai | tāni te kīrtayiṣyāmi puṇyānyāyatanāni ca

Now, O tiger among kings, I shall tell you of the holy places in the northern region, and of its holy shrines.

Verse 2 (3.88.2)

शृणुष्वावहितो भूत्वा मम मन्त्रयतः प्रभो । कथाप्रतिग्रहो वीर श्रद्धां जनयते शुभाम् ॥

śṛṇuṣvāvahito bhūtvā mama mantrayataḥ prabho | kathāpratigraho vīra śraddhāṃ janayate śubhām

Listen attentively as I speak, my lord; for taking such tales to heart, O hero, gives rise to auspicious faith.

Note on the text: Not in the critical edition (found in the vulgate recension); it appears in the apparatus as 3.88.1d*0465.

Verse 3 (3.88.3)

सरस्वती महापुण्या ह्रदिनी तीर्थमालिनी । समुद्रगा महावेगा यमुना यत्र पाण्डव ॥

sarasvatī mahāpuṇyā hradinī tīrthamālinī | samudragā mahāvegā yamunā yatra pāṇḍava

There, O Pandava, is the most holy Sarasvati, full of pools and garlanded with fords, and the swift Yamuna that runs to the sea.

Note on the text: महापुण्या and तीर्थमालिनी for puṇyavahā and vanamālinī are variants and are kept.

Verse 4 (3.88.4)

यत्र पुण्यतरं तीर्थं प्लक्षावतरणं शुभम् । यत्र सारस्वतैरिष्ट्वा गच्छन्त्यवभृथं द्विजाः ॥

yatra puṇyataraṃ tīrthaṃ plakṣāvataraṇaṃ śubham | yatra sārasvatairiṣṭvā gacchantyavabhṛthaṃ dvijāḥ

There is the holier ford, the auspicious Plakshavatarana, where the brahmins, having sacrificed with the Sarasvata rites, go for the closing bath.

Note on the text: Restored a missing word space (यत्रसारस्वतैरिष्ट्वा → यत्र सारस्वतैरिष्ट्वा). यत्र पुण्यतरं … शुभम् for tatra puṇyatamaṃ … śivam are variants and are kept.

Verse 5 (3.88.5)

पुण्यं चाख्यायते दिव्यं शिवमग्निशिरोऽनघ । सहदेवोऽयजद्यत्र शम्याक्षेपेण भारत ॥

puṇyaṃ cākhyāyate divyaṃ śivamagniśiro'nagha | sahadevo'yajadyatra śamyākṣepeṇa bhārata

And there is spoken of, O sinless one, the holy, divine and auspicious Agnishiras, where Sahadeva sacrificed over ground measured by the throw of a yoke-pin, O Bharata.

Note on the text: Restored a missing word space (यत्रशम्याक्षेपेण → यत्र शम्याक्षेपेण).

Verse 6 (3.88.6)

एतस्मिन्नेव चार्थेऽसौ इन्द्रगीता युधिष्ठिर । गाथा चरति लोकेऽस्मिन्गीयमाना द्विजातिभिः ॥

etasminneva cārthe'sau indragītā yudhiṣṭhira | gāthā carati loke'smingīyamānā dvijātibhiḥ

On this very matter, Yudhishthira, a verse sung by Indra goes about in this world, chanted by the twice-born:

Verse 7 (3.88.7)

अग्नयः सहदेवेन ये चिता यमुनामनु । ते तस्य कुरुशार्दूल सहस्रशतदक्षिणाः ॥

agnayaḥ sahadevena ye citā yamunāmanu | te tasya kuruśārdūla sahasraśatadakṣiṇāḥ

"The fires that Sahadeva piled along the Yamuna, O tiger of the Kurus, each brought him gifts to the priests of a hundred thousand."

Note on the text: The second line differs from the critical edition's (śataṃ śatasahasrāṇi, which Wikisource's own note records as another reading); a variant, kept.

Verse 8 (3.88.8)

तत्रैव भरतो राजा चक्रवर्ती महायशाः । विंशतिं सप्त चाष्टौ च हयमेधानुपाहरत् ॥

tatraiva bharato rājā cakravartī mahāyaśāḥ | viṃśatiṃ sapta cāṣṭau ca hayamedhānupāharat

There too King Bharata, the glorious universal emperor, performed horse sacrifices: twenty, and seven, and eight.

Note on the text: Corrected विंशतीं → विंशतिं (misprint in Wikisource; a long ī in the accusative of the i-stem विंशति; the critical edition reads viṃśatiṃ).

Verse 9 (3.88.9)

कामकृद्यो द्विजातीनां श्रुतस्तात यथा पुरा । अत्यन्तमाश्रमः पुण्यः शरभङ्गस्य विश्रुतः ॥

kāmakṛdyo dvijātīnāṃ śrutastāta yathā purā | atyantamāśramaḥ puṇyaḥ śarabhaṅgasya viśrutaḥ

There is the hermitage of Sharabhanga, most holy and renowned—he who, as has been heard of old, my son, granted the wishes of the twice-born.

Note on the text: यथा and शरभङ्गस्य for mayā and sarakas tasya are variants and are kept.

Verse 10 (3.88.10)

सरस्वती नदी सद्भिः सततं पार्थ पूजिता । वालखिल्यैर्महाराज यत्रेष्टमृषिभिः पुरा ॥

sarasvatī nadī sadbhiḥ satataṃ pārtha pūjitā | vālakhilyairmahārāja yatreṣṭamṛṣibhiḥ purā

There is the river Sarasvati, ever revered by the good, Partha, where of old, great king, the Valakhilya seers offered sacrifice.

Verse 11 (3.88.11)

दृषद्वती महापुण्या यत्र ख्याता युधिष्ठिर । न्यग्रोधाख्यस्तु पुण्याख्यः पाञ्चाल्यो द्विपदां वर । दाल्भ्यघोषश्च दाल्भ्यश्च धरणीस्थो महात्मनः ॥

dṛṣadvatī mahāpuṇyā yatra khyātā yudhiṣṭhira | nyagrodhākhyastu puṇyākhyaḥ pāñcālyo dvipadāṃ vara | dālbhyaghoṣaśca dālbhyaśca dharaṇīstho mahātmanaḥ

There the most holy Drishadvati is famed, Yudhishthira; and there, O best of men, are Nyagrodha, called the Holy, and Panchalya; and Dalbhyaghosha, and the hermitage on earth of the great-souled Dalbhya—

Note on the text: Corrected रख्याता → ख्याता (misprint in Wikisource; a stray र), the repeated पाञ्चाल्यः पाञ्चाल्यो → पुण्याख्यः पाञ्चाल्यो (misprint; a word printed twice, displacing the critical apparatus's puṇyākhyaḥ) and दाल्भ्याश् → दाल्भ्यश्च (misprint; a stray ā and a dropped च; the apparatus reads dālbhyaś ca), and restored a missing word space (पाञ्चाल्योद्विपदांवर → पाञ्चाल्यो द्विपदां वर). The first line is the critical edition's 3.88.10ab (महापुण्या यत्र for puṇyatamā tatra, a variant, kept); the other two are not in its constituted text (found in the vulgate recension; they appear in the apparatus as 3.88.10b*0466, lines 1–2). The alignment missed it.

Verse 12 (3.88.12)

कौन्तेयानन्तयशसः सुव्रतस्यामितौजसः । आश्रमः ख्यायते पुण्यस्त्रिषु लोकेषु विश्रुतः ॥

kaunteyānantayaśasaḥ suvratasyāmitaujasaḥ | āśramaḥ khyāyate puṇyastriṣu lokeṣu viśrutaḥ

—the hermitage, O Kaunteya, of that man of boundless fame, of good vows and immeasurable vigour, which is called holy and is renowned in the three worlds.

Note on the text: Not in the critical edition (found in the vulgate recension); it appears in the apparatus as 3.88.10b*0466, lines 3–4.

Verse 13 (3.88.13)

एतावर्णाववर्णौ च विश्रुतौ मनुजाधिप । ईजाते क्रतुभिर्मुख्यैः पुण्यैर्भरतसत्तम ॥

etāvarṇāvavarṇau ca viśrutau manujādhipa | ījāte kratubhirmukhyaiḥ puṇyairbharatasattama

There, O lord of men, the two renowned sages Etavarna and Avarna offered sacrifice with the foremost holy rites, O best of the Bharatas.

Note on the text: A variant of the critical edition's 3.88.10cd and 3.88.11cd (tatra vaivarṇyavarṇau ca supuṇyau … yajantau kratubhir nityaṃ); its 3.88.11ab (vedajñau vedaviditau …) is absent from Wikisource. Wikisource's own note reads एतावर्णाववर्णौ as 'the dark-hued and the hueless' and records the other reading. The alignment missed it because Wikisource divides these verses differently.

Verse 14 (3.88.14)

समेत्य बहुशो देवाः सेन्द्राः सवरुणाः पुरा । विशाखयूपेऽतप्यन्त तेन पुण्यतमश्च सः ॥

sametya bahuśo devāḥ sendrāḥ savaruṇāḥ purā | viśākhayūpe'tapyanta tena puṇyatamaśca saḥ

There, at Vishakhayupa, the gods with Indra and Varuna gathered many times of old and practised austerities; that is why it is the holiest of places.

Note on the text: Corrected ऽतप्यन् → ऽतप्यन्त (misprint in Wikisource; a dropped त leaves the quarter a syllable short; the critical edition reads 'tapyanta). तेन पुण्यतमश्च सः for tasmāt puṇyatamaḥ sa vai is a variant and is kept.

Verse 15 (3.88.15)

ऋषिर्महान्महाभागो जमदग्निर्महायशाः । पलाशकेषु पुण्येषु रम्येष्वयजत प्रभुः ॥

ṛṣirmahānmahābhāgo jamadagnirmahāyaśāḥ | palāśakeṣu puṇyeṣu ramyeṣvayajata prabhuḥ

The great and illustrious seer Jamadagni, of great fame, the mighty one, offered sacrifice at the holy and lovely Palashakas,

Verse 16 (3.88.16)

यत्र सर्वाः सरिच्छ्रेष्ठाः साक्षात्तमृषिसत्तमम् । स्वं स्वं तोयमुपादाय परिवार्योपतस्थिरे ॥

yatra sarvāḥ saricchreṣṭhāḥ sākṣāttamṛṣisattamam | svaṃ svaṃ toyamupādāya parivāryopatasthire

where all the best of rivers, in their own embodied forms, each bringing her own water, gathered round that best of seers and waited upon him.

Note on the text: Corrected सरिच्छ्रेष्टाः → सरिच्छ्रेष्ठाः (misprint in Wikisource; ट for ठ; the critical edition reads saricchreṣṭhāḥ) and restored a missing word space (यत्रसर्वाः → यत्र सर्वाः).

Verse 17 (3.88.17)

अपि चात्र महाराज स्वयं विश्वावसुर्जगौ । इमं श्लोकं तदा वीर प्रेक्ष्य दीक्षां महात्मनः ॥

api cātra mahārāja svayaṃ viśvāvasurjagau | imaṃ ślokaṃ tadā vīra prekṣya dīkṣāṃ mahātmanaḥ

And here, great king, Vishvavasu himself sang this verse, O hero, on beholding the great-souled one's consecration:

Note on the text: दीक्षां for vīryaṃ is a variant and is kept.

Verse 18 (3.88.18)

यजमानस्य वै देवाञ्जमदग्नेर्महात्मनः । आगम्य सरितो विप्रान्मधुना समतर्पयन् ॥

yajamānasya vai devāñjamadagnermahātmanaḥ | āgamya sarito viprānmadhunā samatarpayan

"When the great-souled Jamadagni sacrificed to the gods, the rivers came and regaled the brahmins with honey."

Note on the text: विप्रान् for sarvā is a variant and is kept.

Verse 19 (3.88.19)

गन्धर्वयक्षरक्षोभिरप्सरोभिश्च सेवितम् । किरातकिन्नरावासं शैलं शिखरिणां वरम् ॥

gandharvayakṣarakṣobhirapsarobhiśca sevitam | kirātakinnarāvāsaṃ śailaṃ śikhariṇāṃ varam

That mountain, frequented by Gandharvas, Yakshas, Rakshasas and Apsarases, the home of Kiratas and Kinnaras, the best of peaks—

Note on the text: Corrected रक्षोबिर् → रक्षोभिर् (misprint in Wikisource; ब for भ; the critical edition reads -rakṣobhir) and restored a missing word space (शिखरिणांवरम् → शिखरिणां वरम्). सेवितम् for śobhitam is a variant and is kept.

Verse 20 (3.88.20)

बिभेद तरसा गङ्गा गङ्गाद्वारं युधिष्ठिर । पुण्यं तत्ख्यायते राजन्ब्रह्मर्षिगणसेवितम् ॥

bibheda tarasā gaṅgā gaṅgādvāraṃ yudhiṣṭhira | puṇyaṃ tatkhyāyate rājanbrahmarṣigaṇasevitam

—the Ganga split it open with her force at Gangadvara, Yudhishthira; that place, O king, is famed as holy, frequented by hosts of brahmin seers.

Verse 21 (3.88.21)

सनत्कुमारः कौरव्य पुण्यं कनखलं तथा । पर्वतश्च पुरुर्नाम यत्र यातः पुरूरवाः ॥

sanatkumāraḥ kauravya puṇyaṃ kanakhalaṃ tathā | parvataśca pururnāma yatra yātaḥ purūravāḥ

There, O Kauravya, are Sanatkumara's holy place and likewise Kanakhala, and the mountain named Puru, to which Pururavas went.

Note on the text: Restored a missing word space (यत्रयातः → यत्र यातः). यातः for jātaḥ is a variant and is kept.

Verse 22 (3.88.22)

भृगुर्यत्र तपस्तेपे महर्षिगणसेविते । राजन्स आश्रमः ख्यातो भृगुतुङ्गो महागिरिः ॥

bhṛguryatra tapastepe maharṣigaṇasevite | rājansa āśramaḥ khyāto bhṛgutuṅgo mahāgiriḥ

Where Bhrigu practised austerities, in a place frequented by hosts of great seers—that hermitage, O king, is famed as Bhrigutunga, the great mountain.

Note on the text: Restored a missing word space (भृगुर्यत्रतपस्तेपे → भृगुर्यत्र तपस्तेपे). सेविते and राजन्स for sevitaḥ and sa rājann are variants and are kept.

Verse 23 (3.88.23)

यः स भूतं भविष्यच्च भवच्च भरतर्षभ । नारायणः प्रभुर्विष्णुः शाश्वतः पुरुषोत्तमः ॥

yaḥ sa bhūtaṃ bhaviṣyacca bhavacca bharatarṣabha | nārāyaṇaḥ prabhurviṣṇuḥ śāśvataḥ puruṣottamaḥ

He who is the past, the future and the present, O bull of the Bharatas—Narayana, the lord Vishnu, the eternal Supreme Person—

Note on the text: Corrected भवच् → भवच्च (misprint in Wikisource; a dropped च; the critical edition reads bhavac ca). यः स and भरतर्षभ for yac ca and puruṣarṣabha are variants and are kept.

Verse 24 (3.88.24)

तस्यातियशसः पुण्यां विशालां बदरीमनु । आश्रमः ख्यायते पुण्यस्त्रिषु लोकेषु विश्रुतः ॥

tasyātiyaśasaḥ puṇyāṃ viśālāṃ badarīmanu | āśramaḥ khyāyate puṇyastriṣu lokeṣu viśrutaḥ

—that greatly glorious one has his hermitage beside holy Vishala, by the Badari tree, famed as holy and renowned in the three worlds.

Verse 25 (3.88.25)

उष्णतोयवहा गङ्गा शीततोयवहा पुरा । सुवर्णसिकता राजन्विशालां बदरीमनु ॥

uṣṇatoyavahā gaṅgā śītatoyavahā purā | suvarṇasikatā rājanviśālāṃ badarīmanu

By Vishala, near the Badari, O king, flows the Ganga with its golden sands, carrying hot water and, as of old, cool water too.

Note on the text: पुरा for the critical edition's 'parā is kept as Wikisource's reading.

Verse 26 (3.88.26)

ऋषयो यत्र देवाश्च महाभागा महौजसः । प्राप्य नित्यं नमस्यन्ति देवं नारायणं प्रभुम् ॥

ṛṣayo yatra devāśca mahābhāgā mahaujasaḥ | prāpya nityaṃ namasyanti devaṃ nārāyaṇaṃ prabhum

There seers and gods, illustrious and of great might, come and ever bow to the god Narayana, the Lord.

Note on the text: Restored a missing word space (यत्रदेवाश्च → यत्र देवाश्च). प्रभुम् for vibhum is a variant and is kept.

Verse 27 (3.88.27)

यत्र नारायणो देवः परमात्मा सनातनः । तत्र कृत्स्नं जगत्सर्वं तीर्थान्यायतनानि च ॥

yatra nārāyaṇo devaḥ paramātmā sanātanaḥ | tatra kṛtsnaṃ jagatsarvaṃ tīrthānyāyatanāni ca

Where the god Narayana, the eternal Supreme Self, abides, there is the whole world entire, with all its fords and shrines.

Note on the text: Corrected नाराजणो → नारायणो (misprint in Wikisource; ज for य; the critical edition reads nārāyaṇo) and restored a missing word space (यत्रनारायणो → यत्र नारायणो). जगत्सर्वं for jagat pārtha is a variant and is kept.

Verse 28 (3.88.28)

तत्पुण्यं परमं ब्रह्म तत्तीर्थं तत्तपोवनम् । तत्परं परमं देवं भूतानां परमेश्वरम् ॥

tatpuṇyaṃ paramaṃ brahma tattīrthaṃ tattapovanam | tatparaṃ paramaṃ devaṃ bhūtānāṃ parameśvaram

That is holiness, that is the supreme Brahman, that is the sacred ford, that is the forest of austerity; he is the God supreme beyond all, the highest Lord of beings,

Note on the text: Corrected त्तपोवनम् → तत्तपोवनम् (misprint in Wikisource; a dropped त leaves the quarter a syllable short; the critical edition reads tat tapovanam). The first line is the critical edition's 3.88.26ab (परमं for tat paraṃ, a variant, kept); the second is not in its constituted text (found in the vulgate recension; it appears in the apparatus as 3.88.26b*0467, line 1, īśvareśvaram for परमेश्वरम्). The alignment missed it.

Verse 29 (3.88.29)

शाश्वतं परमं चैव धातारं परमं पदम् । यं विदित्वा न शोचन्ति विद्वांसः शास्त्रदृष्टयः ॥

śāśvataṃ paramaṃ caiva dhātāraṃ paramaṃ padam | yaṃ viditvā na śocanti vidvāṃsaḥ śāstradṛṣṭayaḥ

eternal and supreme, the Ordainer, the highest state; knowing him, the wise, whose eyes are the scriptures, grieve no more.

Note on the text: Restored a misplaced word space (विदित्वान शोचन्ति → विदित्वा न शोचन्ति). Not in the critical edition (found in the vulgate recension); it appears in the apparatus as 3.88.26b*0467, lines 2–3.

Verse 30 (3.88.30)

तत्र देवर्षयः सिद्धाः सर्वे चैव तपोधनाः । आदिदेवो महायोगी यत्रास्ते मधुसूदनः ॥

tatra devarṣayaḥ siddhāḥ sarve caiva tapodhanāḥ | ādidevo mahāyogī yatrāste madhusūdanaḥ

There dwell the divine seers, the Siddhas and all the ascetics, where the First God, the great yogi Madhusudana, abides.

Note on the text: The first line is the critical edition's 3.88.26cd, the second its 3.88.27ab; the alignment missed it because Wikisource divides these verses differently.

Verse 31 (3.88.31)

पुण्यानामपि तत्पुण्यमत्र ते संशयोऽस्तु मा । एतानि राजन्पुण्यानि पृथिव्यां पृथिवीपते । कीर्तितानि नरश्रेष्ठ तीर्थान्यायतनानि च ॥

puṇyānāmapi tatpuṇyamatra te saṃśayo'stu mā | etāni rājanpuṇyāni pṛthivyāṃ pṛthivīpate | kīrtitāni naraśreṣṭha tīrthānyāyatanāni ca

It is the holiest of holy places; let there be no doubt of this in your mind. These, O king, lord of the earth, are the holy fords and shrines on earth that I have described to you, O best of men.

Note on the text: Corrected संशयेस्तु → संशयोऽस्तु (misprint in Wikisource; े for ो and a missing avagraha; the critical edition reads saṃśayo 'stu). अत्र for tatra is a variant and is kept. The first line is the critical edition's 3.88.27cd, the other two its 3.88.28; the alignment missed it because Wikisource divides these verses differently.

Verse 32 (3.88.32)

एतानि वसुभिः साध्यैरादित्यैर्मरुदश्विभिः । ऋषिभिर्देवकल्पैश्च सेवितानि महात्मभिः ॥

etāni vasubhiḥ sādhyairādityairmarudaśvibhiḥ | ṛṣibhirdevakalpaiśca sevitāni mahātmabhiḥ

They are frequented by the Vasus, the Sadhyas, the Adityas, the Maruts and the Ashvins, and by great-souled seers who are like gods.

Note on the text: देवकल्पैः for brahmakalpaiḥ is a variant and is kept.

Verse 33 (3.88.33)

चरन्नेतानि कौन्तेय सहितो ब्राह्मणर्षभैः । भ्रातृभिश्च महाभागैरुत्कण्ठां विजयिष्यसि ॥

carannetāni kaunteya sahito brāhmaṇarṣabhaiḥ | bhrātṛbhiśca mahābhāgairutkaṇṭhāṃ vijayiṣyasi

Wandering among them, Kaunteya, with these bulls among brahmins and your illustrious brothers, you will overcome your longing.

Note on the text: विजयिष्यसि for vijahiṣyasi is a variant and is kept.