The Greatness of Karkateshvara Tirtha

Verse 1 (skanda.5.292.1)

मार्कण्डेय उवाच। धर्मपुत्र ततो गच्छेत्कर्कटेश्वरमुत्तमम् । उत्तरे नर्मदाकूले सर्वपापक्षयंकरम् ॥

mārkaṇḍeya uvāca| dharmaputra tato gacchetkarkaṭeśvaramuttamam | uttare narmadākūle sarvapāpakṣayaṁkaram ||

Markandeya said: O son of Dharma, from there one should go to the supreme Karkateshvara, on the northern bank of the Narmada, the destroyer of all sins.

Verse 2 (skanda.5.292.2)

तत्र स्नात्वा विधानेन यस्तु पूजयते शिवम् । अनिवर्तिका गतिस्तस्य रुद्रलोकादसंशयम् ॥

tatra snātvā vidhānena yastu pūjayate śivam | anivartikā gatistasya rudralokādasaṁśayam ||

One who bathes there according to the prescribed rite and worships Shiva attains, without doubt, a state from which there is no return from the world of Rudra.

Verse 3 (skanda.5.292.3)

तस्य तीर्थस्य माहात्म्यं पुराणे यच्छ्रुतं मया । न तद्वर्णयितुं शक्यं संक्षेपेण वदाम्यतः ॥

tasya tīrthasya māhātmyaṁ purāṇe yacchrutaṁ mayā | na tadvarṇayituṁ śakyaṁ saṁkṣepeṇa vadāmyataḥ ||

The greatness of that tirtha which I have heard told in the Purana cannot be fully described; therefore I speak of it only in brief.

Verse 4 (skanda.5.292.4)

तत्र तीर्थे तु यः कुर्यात्किंचित्कर्म शुभाशुभम् । हर्षान्मदान्महाराज तत्सर्वं जायतेऽक्षयम् ॥

tatra tīrthe tu yaḥ kuryātkiṁcitkarma śubhāśubham | harṣānmadānmahārāja tatsarvaṁ jāyate'kṣayam ||

O great king, whatever good or bad deed a man does at that tirtha — even in joy or intoxication — all of it becomes imperishable in its fruit.

Verse 5 (skanda.5.292.5)

तत्र तीर्थे तपस्तप्त्वा वालखिल्या मरीचयः । रमन्तेऽद्यापि लोकेषु स्वेच्छया कुरुनन्दन ॥

tatra tīrthe tapastaptvā vālakhilyā marīcayaḥ | ramante'dyāpi lokeṣu svecchayā kurunandana ||

O joy of the Kurus, having performed austerities at that tirtha, the Valakhilya sages and Marichi still roam the worlds today at their own will.

Verse 6 (skanda.5.292.6)

तत्रस्थास्तन्न जानन्ति नराज्ञानबहिष्कृताः । शरीरस्थमिवात्मानमक्षयं ज्योतिरव्ययम् ॥

tatrasthāstanna jānanti narājñānabahiṣkṛtāḥ | śarīrasthamivātmānamakṣayaṁ jyotiravyayam ||

Men who dwell there yet are shut out by ignorance do not recognize that imperishable, undying light, just as one fails to recognize the Self seated within the body.

Verse 7 (skanda.5.292.7)

तत्र तीर्थे नृपश्रेष्ठ देवी नारायणी पुरा । अद्यापि तपते घोरं तपो यावत्किलार्बुदम् ॥

tatra tīrthe nṛpaśreṣṭha devī nārāyaṇī purā | adyāpi tapate ghoraṁ tapo yāvatkilārbudam ||

O best of kings, the goddess Narayani once performed terrible austerity at that tirtha, and, it is said, that austerity still continues today, extending as far as Mount Arbuda.

Verse 8 (skanda.5.292.8)

तत्र तीर्थे तु यः स्नात्वा तर्पयेत्पितृदेवताः । तस्य ते द्वादशाब्दानि तृप्तिं यान्ति पितामहाः ॥

tatra tīrthe tu yaḥ snātvā tarpayetpitṛdevatāḥ | tasya te dvādaśābdāni tṛptiṁ yānti pitāmahāḥ ||

One who bathes at that tirtha and offers libations to the ancestors and gods causes his forefathers to remain satisfied for twelve years.