The Greatness of Nanda-hrada Tirtha

Verse 1 (skanda.5.295.1)

मार्कण्डेय उवाच। ततो गच्छेन्महाराज नन्दाह्रदमनुत्तमम् । यत्र सिद्धा महाभागा नन्दा देवी वरप्रदा ॥

mārkaṇḍeya uvāca| tato gacchenmahārāja nandāhradamanuttamam | yatra siddhā mahābhāgā nandā devī varapradā ||

Markandeya said: O great king, from there one should go to the supreme Nanda-hrada, where the greatly fortunate boon-giving goddess Nanda attained perfection.

Verse 2 (skanda.5.295.2)

महिषासुरे महाकाये पुरा देवभयंकरे । शूलिन्या शूलभिन्नाङ्गे कृते दानवसत्तमे ॥

mahiṣāsure mahākāye purā devabhayaṁkare | śūlinyā śūlabhinnāṅge kṛte dānavasattame ||

Long ago, when the huge-bodied Mahishasura, that terror of the gods, that foremost of demons, had his body pierced and torn asunder by the trident of the trident-bearing goddess,

Verse 3 (skanda.5.295.3)

येनैकादशरुद्राश्च ह्यादित्याः समरुद्गणाः । वसवो वायुना सार्द्धं चन्द्रादित्यौ सुरेश्वर ॥

yenaikādaśarudrāśca hyādityāḥ samarudgaṇāḥ | vasavo vāyunā sārddhaṁ candrādityau sureśvara ||

O lord of the gods, that demon who had defeated the eleven Rudras, the Adityas together with the Maruts, the Vasus along with Vayu, and the moon and sun,

Verse 4 (skanda.5.295.4)

बलिना निर्जिता येन ब्रह्मविष्णुमहेश्वराः । सङ्ग्रामे सुमहाघोरे कृते देवभयंकरे ॥

balinā nirjitā yena brahmaviṣṇumaheśvarāḥ | saṅgrāme sumahāghore kṛte devabhayaṁkare ||

and who, being so mighty, had even vanquished Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheshvara in a supremely terrible battle that struck terror into the gods,

Verse 5 (skanda.5.295.5)

कृत्वा तत्कदनं घोरं नन्दा देवी सुरेश्वरी । यस्मात्स्नाता विशालाक्षी तेन नन्दाह्रदः स्मृतः ॥

kṛtvā tatkadanaṁ ghoraṁ nandā devī sureśvarī | yasmātsnātā viśālākṣī tena nandāhradaḥ smṛtaḥ ||

That demon's terrible destruction wrought, the wide-eyed goddess Nanda, sovereign of the gods, bathed there — and for that reason this pool is known as Nanda-hrada.

Verse 6 (skanda.5.295.6)

तत्र तीर्थे तु यः स्नात्वा नन्दामुद्दिश्य भारत । ददाति दानं विप्रेभ्यः सोऽश्वमेधफलं लभेत् ॥

tatra tīrthe tu yaḥ snātvā nandāmuddiśya bhārata | dadāti dānaṁ viprebhyaḥ so'śvamedhaphalaṁ labhet ||

O descendant of Bharata, one who bathes at that tirtha and gives gifts to brahmins in the name of Nanda obtains the fruit of the horse-sacrifice.

Verse 7 (skanda.5.295.7)

भैरवं चैव केदारं तथा रुद्रं महालयम् । नन्दाह्रदश्चतुर्थः स्यात्पञ्चमं भुवि दुर्लभम् ॥

bhairavaṁ caiva kedāraṁ tathā rudraṁ mahālayam | nandāhradaścaturthaḥ syātpañcamaṁ bhuvi durlabham ||

Bhairava, Kedara, and Rudra-mahalaya — these are three; Nanda-hrada is the fourth; a fifth of such kind is hard to find on earth.

Verse 8 (skanda.5.295.8)

बहवस्तं न जानन्ति कामरागसमन्विताः । नर्मदाया ह्रदं पुण्यं सर्वपातकनाशनम् ॥

bahavastaṁ na jānanti kāmarāgasamanvitāḥ | narmadāyā hradaṁ puṇyaṁ sarvapātakanāśanam ||

Many, bound by desire and attachment, do not know of this sacred pool of the Narmada that destroys all sins.

Verse 9 (skanda.5.295.9)

तत्र तीर्थे तु यः स्नात्वा नन्दां देवीं प्रपूजयेत् । किं तस्य हिमवन्मध्यगमनेन प्रयोजनम् ॥

tatra tīrthe tu yaḥ snātvā nandāṁ devīṁ prapūjayet | kiṁ tasya himavanmadhyagamanena prayojanam ||

What need has one who bathes at that tirtha and worships the goddess Nanda to go into the midst of the Himalayas?

Verse 10 (skanda.5.295.10)

परमार्थमविज्ञाय पर्यटन्ति तमोवृताः । तेषां समागमे पार्थ श्रम एव हि केवलम् ॥

paramārthamavijñāya paryaṭanti tamovṛtāḥ | teṣāṁ samāgame pārtha śrama eva hi kevalam ||

Not knowing the highest truth, those enveloped in darkness wander about; O son of Pritha, in their journeying there is only weariness, and nothing else.

Verse 11 (skanda.5.295.11)

पृथिव्यां सागरान्तायां स्नानदानेन यत्फलम् । तत्फलं समवाप्नोति स्नात्वा नन्दाह्रदे नृप ॥

pṛthivyāṁ sāgarāntāyāṁ snānadānena yatphalam | tatphalaṁ samavāpnoti snātvā nandāhrade nṛpa ||

O king, whatever fruit is obtained from bathing and giving gifts throughout the whole earth up to the ocean's edge, that same fruit is gained by bathing in Nanda-hrada.