The Greatness of Adivaraha Tirtha

Verse 1 (skanda.5.287.1)

श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच। ततो गच्छेत्तु राजेन्द्र उत्तरे नर्मदातटे । सर्वपापहरं तीर्थं वाराहं नाम नामतः ।

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca| tato gacchet tu rājendra uttare narmadātaṭe| sarvapāpaharaṁ tīrthaṁ vārāhaṁ nāma nāmataḥ||

Shri Markandeya said: Thereafter, O king of kings, on the northern bank of the Narmada, is the all-sin-removing tirtha named Varaha.

Verse 2 (skanda.5.287.2)

तत्र देवो जगद्धाता वाराहं रूपमास्थितः । स्थितो लोकहितार्थाय संसारार्णवतारकः ।

tatra devo jagaddhātā vārāhaṁ rūpam āsthitaḥ| sthito lokahitārthāya saṁsārārṇavatārakaḥ||

There the god, upholder of the world, assumed the boar form, abiding for the welfare of the worlds, ferrying beings across the ocean of samsara.

Verse 3 (skanda.5.287.3)

तत्र तीर्थे तु यः स्नात्वा पूजयेद्धरणीधरम् । गन्धमाल्यविशेषैश्च जयशब्दादिमङ्गलैः ।

tatra tīrthe tu yaḥ snātvā pūjayed dharaṇīdharam| gandhamālyaviśeṣaiś ca jayaśabdādimaṅgalaiḥ||

Whoever bathes at that tirtha and worships the bearer of the earth with special fragrances and garlands, with shouts of victory and other auspicious sounds -

Verse 4 (skanda.5.287.4)

उपवासपरो भूत्वा द्वादश्यां नृपसत्तम । वृषलाः पापकर्माणस्तथैवान्धपिशाचिनः ।

upavāsaparo bhūtvā dvādaśyāṁ nṛpasattama| vṛṣalāḥ pāpakarmāṇas tathaivāndhapiśācinaḥ||

O best of kings, being devoted to fasting on the twelfth lunar day - outcastes, doers of sinful deeds, likewise the blind and those possessed by pishachas -

Verse 5 (skanda.5.287.5)

आलापाद्गात्रसंपर्कान्निःश्वासात्सहभोजनात् । पापं संक्रमते यस्मात्तस्मात्तान् परिवर्जयेत् ।

ālāpād gātrasaṁparkān niḥśvāsāt sahabhojanāt| pāpaṁ saṅkramate yasmāt tasmāt tān parivarjayet||

-because sin passes over through conversation, bodily contact, breath, and eating together, one should avoid them on that day.

Verse 6 (skanda.5.287.6)

ब्राह्मणान् पूजयेद्भक्त्या यथाशक्त्या यथाविधि । रात्रौ जागरणं कार्यं कथायां तत्र भारत ।

brāhmaṇān pūjayed bhaktyā yathāśaktyā yathāvidhi| rātrau jāgaraṇaṁ kāryaṁ kathāyāṁ tatra bhārata||

One should worship brahmins with devotion, according to one's means and as prescribed; O Bharata, a night-vigil should be kept there, listening to the sacred tale.

Verse 7 (skanda.5.287.7)

प्रभाते विमले स्नात्वा तत्र तीर्थे जगद्गुरुम् । ये पश्यन्ति जितक्रोधास्ते मुक्ताः सर्वपातकैः ।

prabhāte vimale snātvā tatra tīrthe jagadgurum| ye paśyanti jitakrodhās te muktāḥ sarvapātakaiḥ||

Those who, having bathed in the clear morning waters at that tirtha, behold the guru of the world with anger conquered, are freed from all sins.

Verse 8 (skanda.5.287.8)

यथा तु दृष्ट्वा भुजगाः सुपर्णं नश्यन्ति मुक्त्वा विषमुग्रतेजः । नश्यन्ति पापानि तथैव शीघ्रं दृष्ट्वा मुखं शूकररूपिणस्तु ।

yathā tu dṛṣṭvā bhujagāḥ suparṇaṁ naśyanti muktvā viṣam ugratejaḥ| naśyanti pāpāni tathaiva śīghraṁ dṛṣṭvā mukhaṁ śūkararūpiṇas tu||

Just as serpents, on seeing Garuda of terrible splendour, flee, abandoning their venom, so too sins vanish swiftly upon beholding the face of the one in boar form.

Verse 9 (skanda.5.287.9)

नभोगतं नश्यति चान्धकारं दृष्ट्वा रविं देववरं तथैव । नश्यन्ति पापानि सुदुस्तराणि दृष्ट्वा मुखं पार्थ धराधरस्य ।

nabhogataṁ naśyati cāndhakāraṁ dṛṣṭvā raviṁ devavaraṁ tathaiva| naśyanti pāpāni sudustarāṇi dṛṣṭvā mukhaṁ pārtha dharādharasya||

Just as darkness spread through the sky vanishes on seeing the sun, best of gods, so too, O Partha, even hard-to-cross sins vanish upon beholding the face of the bearer of the earth.

Verse 10 (skanda.5.287.10)

किं तस्य बहुभिर्मन्त्रैर्भक्तिर्यस्य जनार्दने । नमो नारायणायेति मन्त्रः सर्वार्थसाधकः ।

kiṁ tasya bahubhir mantrair bhaktir yasya janārdane| namo nārāyaṇāyeti mantraḥ sarvārthasādhakaḥ||

What need has one whose devotion is fixed on Janardana for many mantras? 'Namo Narayanaya' is the mantra that accomplishes all ends.

Verse 11 (skanda.5.287.11)

एकोऽपि कृष्णस्य कृतः प्रणामो दशाश्वमेधावभृथेन तुल्यः । दशाश्वमेधी पुनरेति जन्म कृष्णप्रणामी न पुनर्भवाय ।

eko 'pi kṛṣṇasya kṛtaḥ praṇāmo daśāśvamedhāvabhṛthena tulyaḥ| daśāśvamedhī punar eti janma kṛṣṇapraṇāmī na punarbhavāya||

Even a single prostration made to Krishna equals the final bath of ten horse-sacrifices. He who has performed ten horse-sacrifices is born again; he who bows to Krishna is not, for rebirth does not touch him.

Verse 12 (skanda.5.287.12)

ध्यायमाना महात्मानो रूपं नारायणं हरेः । ये त्यजन्ति स्वकं देहं तत्र तीर्थे जितेन्द्रियाः ।

dhyāyamānā mahātmāno rūpaṁ nārāyaṇaṁ hareḥ| ye tyajanti svakaṁ dehaṁ tatra tīrthe jitendriyāḥ||

Great souls, sense-controlled, who meditate on the Narayana-form of Hari and give up their own bodies at that tirtha -

Verse 13 (skanda.5.287.13)

ते गच्छन्त्यमलं स्थानं यत्सुरैरपि दुर्लभम् । क्षराक्षरविनिर्मुक्तं तद्विष्णोः परमं पदम् ।

te gacchanty amalaṁ sthānaṁ yat suraiḥ api durlabham| kṣarākṣaravinirmuktaṁ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padam||

-they go to the stainless abode, hard to attain even for the gods, freed from the perishable and imperishable, that supreme state of Vishnu.