The Glory of Saraswati

Verse 1 (skanda.3.77.1)

सूत उवाच । अथान्यत्संप्रवक्ष्यामि तीर्थमाहात्म्यमुत्तमम् धर्मारण्ये यथाऽऽनीता सत्यलोकात्सरस्वती

sūta uvāca athānyat saṁpravakṣyāmi tīrthamāhātmyam uttamam dharmāraṇye yathānītā satyalokāt sarasvatī

Suta said: Now I shall relate another supreme glory of a tirtha — how Saraswati was brought to Dharmaranya from Satyaloka.

Verse 2 (skanda.3.77.2)

मार्कंडेयं सुखासीनं महामुनिनिषेवितम् तरुणादित्यसंकाशं सर्वशास्त्रविशारदम्

mārkaṇḍeyaṁ sukhāsīnaṁ mahāmuniniṣevitam taruṇādityasaṁkāśaṁ sarvaśāstraviśāradam

Markandeya, seated at ease, attended by great sages, resplendent like the youthful sun, learned in all the shastras —

Verse 3 (skanda.3.77.3)

सर्वतीर्थमयं दिव्यमृषीणां प्रवरं द्विजम् आसनस्थं समायुक्तं धन्यं पूज्यं दृढव्रतम्

sarvatīrthamayaṁ divyam ṛṣīṇāṁ pravaraṁ dvijam āsanasthaṁ samāyuktaṁ dhanyaṁ pūjyaṁ dṛḍhavratam

embodying all the sacred tirthas, divine, foremost among the sages, twice-born, seated in composure, blessed, worshipful, firm in his vows —

Verse 4 (skanda.3.77.4)

योगात्मानं परं शांतं कमडलुधरं विभुम् अक्षसूत्रधरं शांतं तथा कल्पान्तवासिनम्

yogātmānaṁ paraṁ śāntaṁ kamaṇḍaludharaṁ vibhum akṣasūtradharaṁ śāntaṁ tathā kalpāntavāsinam

his soul absorbed in yoga, supremely tranquil, bearing a water-pot, mighty, holding a rosary, peaceful, and abiding, it seemed, until the very end of the aeon —

Verse 5 (skanda.3.77.5)

अक्षोभ्यं ज्ञानिनं स्वस्थं पितामहसमुद्युतिम् एवं दृष्ट्वा समाधिस्थं प्रहर्षोत्फुल्ललोचनम्

akṣobhyaṁ jñāninaṁ svasthaṁ pitāmahasamudyutim evaṁ dṛṣṭvā samādhisthaṁ praharṣotphullalocanam

unshakeable, wise, self-composed, radiant like Brahma himself — seeing him thus absorbed in samadhi, their eyes wide with delight —

Verse 6 (skanda.3.77.6)

प्रणम्य स्तुतिभिर्युक्त्या मार्क्कंडं मुनयोऽब्रुवन् भगवन्नैमिषारण्ये सत्रे द्वादशवार्षिके

praṇamya stutibhir yuktyā mārkaṇḍaṁ munayo 'bruvan bhagavan naimiṣāraṇye satre dvādaśavārṣike

the sages bowed and, with fitting hymns of praise, addressed Markandeya: "O Lord, at the twelve-year sacrificial session in Naimisharanya —"

Verse 7 (skanda.3.77.7)

त्वयावतारिता ब्रह्मन्नदी या ब्रह्मणः सुता। तथा कृतं च तत्रैव गंगा वतरणं क्षितौ

tvayāvatāritā brahman nadī yā brahmaṇaḥ sutā tathā kṛtaṁ ca tatraiva gaṅgāvataraṇaṁ kṣitau

"— you, O brahmin, brought down that river who is Brahma's own daughter (Saraswati), and it was there too that the descent of the Ganga to earth was accomplished —"

Verse 8 (skanda.3.77.8)

गीयमाने कुलपतेः शौनकस्य मुनेः पुरः सूतेन मुनिना ख्यातमन्येषामपि शृण्वताम्

gīyamāne kulapateḥ śaunakasya muneḥ puraḥ sūtena muninā khyātam anyeṣām api śṛṇvatām

"— it was sung, before the sage Shaunaka, the head of that assembly, and declared by the sage Suta while other listeners too heard it —"

Verse 9 (skanda.3.77.9)

तच्छ्रुत्वा महदाख्यानम स्माकं हृदि संस्थितम् पापघ्नी पुण्यजननी प्राणिनां दर्शनादपि

tac chrutvā mahad ākhyānam asmākaṁ hṛdi saṁsthitam pāpaghnī puṇyajananī prāṇinām darśanād api

"— having heard that great narrative, it has remained fixed in our hearts: she who destroys sin and generates merit for all living beings even by the mere sight of her."

Verse 10 (skanda.3.77.10)

मार्कण्डेय उवाच । धर्मारण्ये मया विप्राः सत्यलोकात्सरस्वती समानीता सुरेखाद्रौ शरण्या शरणार्थिनाम्

mārkaṇḍeya uvāca dharmāraṇye mayā viprāḥ satyalokāt sarasvatī samānītā surekhādrau śaraṇyā śaraṇārthinām

Markandeya said: O brahmins, I myself brought Saraswati from Satyaloka to Dharmaranya, to Mount Surekhā, she who is the refuge of all who seek refuge.

Verse 11 (skanda.3.77.11)

भाद्रपदे सिते पक्षे द्वादशी पुण्यसंयुता तत्र द्वारावतीतीर्थे मुनिगंधर्वसेविते

bhādrapade site pakṣe dvādaśī puṇyasaṁyutā tatra dvāravatītīrthe muniganbharvasevite

On the sacred twelfth day (dvādaśī) of the bright fortnight of Bhādrapada, at the Dvāravatī tirtha there, frequented by sages and gandharvas —

Verse 12 (skanda.3.77.12)

तस्मिन्दिने च तत्तीर्थे पिंडदानादि कारयेत् तत्फलं समवाप्नोति पितॄणां दत्तमक्षयम्

tasmin dine ca tattīrthe piṇḍadānādi kārayet tatphalaṁ samavāpnoti pitṝṇāṁ dattam akṣayam

— whoever performs pinda-offerings and the like on that day at that tirtha obtains merit as if imperishable gifts had been given directly to the ancestors.

Verse 13 (skanda.3.77.13)

महदाख्यानमखिलं पापघ्नं पुण्यदं च यत् पवित्रं यत्पवित्राणां महापातकनाशनम्

mahad ākhyānam akhilaṁ pāpaghnaṁ puṇyadaṁ ca yat pavitraṁ yat pavitrāṇāṁ mahāpātakanāśanam

This entire great narrative destroys sin and bestows merit; it is the purest of pure things, and destroys even the gravest sins.

Verse 14 (skanda.3.77.14)

सर्वमंगलमांगल्यं पुण्यं सारस्वतं जलम् ऊर्ध्वं किं दिवि यत्पुण्यं प्रभासांते व्यवस्थितम्

sarvamaṅgalamāṅgalyaṁ puṇyaṁ sārasvataṁ jalam ūrdhvaṁ kiṁ divi yat puṇyaṁ prabhāsānte vyavasthitam

The sacred water of Saraswati is the most auspicious of all auspicious things; it equals whatever merit exists above in heaven, or stands established at the end of Prabhasa.

Verse 15 (skanda.3.77.15)

सारस्वतजलं नॄणां ब्रह्महत्यां व्यपोहति सरस्वत्यां नराः स्नात्वा संतर्प्य पितृदेवताः पश्चात्पिंडप्रदातारो न भवंति स्तनंधयाः

sārasvatajalaṁ nṝṇāṁ brahmahatyāṁ vyapohati sarasvatyāṁ narāḥ snātvā saṁtarpya pitṛdevatāḥ paścāt piṇḍapradātāro na bhavanti stanaṁdhayāḥ

The water of Saraswati washes away even the sin of brahmin-slaying from men. Men who bathe in the Saraswati, offer tarpaṇa to their ancestor-gods, and afterward give the pinda-offering are never again reborn as suckling infants.

Verse 16 (skanda.3.77.16)

यथा कामदुघा गावो भवन्तीष्टफलप्रदाः तथा स्वर्गापवर्गैकहैतुभूता सरस्वती इति श्रीस्कांदे महापुराण एकाशीतिसाहस्र्यां संहितायां तृतीये ब्रह्मखण्डे पूर्वभागे धर्मारण्यमाहात्म्ये सरस्वतीमाहात्म्यवर्णनं नाम पञ्चविंशोऽध्यायः

yathā kāmadughā gāvo bhavantīṣṭaphalapradāḥ tathā svargāpavargaikahetubhūtā sarasvatī iti śrīskānde mahāpurāṇa ekāśītisāhasryāṁ saṁhitāyāṁ tṛtīye brahmakhaṇḍe pūrvabhāge dharmāraṇyamāhātmye sarasvatīmāhātmyavarṇanaṁ nāma pañcaviṁśo 'dhyāyaḥ

Just as wish-fulfilling cows grant desired fruits, so Saraswati alone is the cause of both heaven and final liberation. Thus ends the twenty-fifth chapter, called "The Glory of Saraswati," within the Glory of Dharmaranya, in the earlier portion of the third Brahma Khanda, in the Skanda Mahapurana's Samhita of eighty-one thousand verses.