The Glory of Shuddheshvara Tirtha, Where Shiva Was Freed of Brahmahatya

Verse 1 (skanda.5.328.1)

श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच। ततो गच्छेत्तु राजेन्द्र तीर्थं परमशोभनम् । नर्मदादक्षिणे कूले सर्वपापप्रणाशनम् ॥ १ ॥

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca| tato gacchettu rājendra tīrthaṁ paramaśobhanam | narmadādakṣiṇe kūle sarvapāpapraṇāśanam || 1 ||

Sri Markandeya said: Thereafter, O lord of kings, one should go to a most beautiful tirtha on the southern bank of the Narmada, which destroys all sin —

Verse 2 (skanda.5.328.2)

सिद्धेश्वरमिति ख्यातं महापातकनाशनम् । यत्र शुद्धिं परां प्राप्तो देवदेवो महेश्वरः । पुरा हत्यायुतः पार्थ देवदेवस्त्रिशूलधृक् ॥ २ ॥

siddheśvaramiti khyātaṁ mahāpātakanāśanam | yatra śuddhiṁ parāṁ prāpto devadevo maheśvaraḥ | purā hatyāyutaḥ pārtha devadevastriśūladhṛk || 2 ||

— known as Siddheshvara, the destroyer of great sins, where the god of gods, Maheshvara, once attained supreme purification. O son of Pritha, the trident-bearing god of gods was once beset by the sin of slaying —

Verse 3 (skanda.5.328.3)

पुरा पञ्चशिरा आसीद्ब्रह्मा लोकपितामहः । तेनानृतं वचश्चोक्तं कस्मिंश्चित्कारणान्तरे ॥ ३ ॥

purā pañcaśirā āsīdbrahmā lokapitāmahaḥ | tenānṛtaṁ vacaścoktaṁ kasmiṁścitkāraṇāntare || 3 ||

Long ago, Brahma, the grandfather of all worlds, had five heads. On some particular occasion, he spoke an untrue word.

Verse 4 (skanda.5.328.4)

तच्छ्रुत्वा सहसा तस्मै चुकोप परमेश्वरः । छेदयामास भगवान्मूर्धानं करजैस्तदा ॥ ४ ॥

tacchrutvā sahasā tasmai cukopa parameśvaraḥ | chedayāmāsa bhagavānmūrdhānaṁ karajaistadā || 4 ||

Hearing that, Parameshvara suddenly became enraged with him, and the Lord then severed that head with his nails.

Verse 5 (skanda.5.328.5)

तस्य तत्करसंलग्नं च्यवते न कदाचन । ततो हि देवदेवेशः पर्यटन् पृथिवीमिमाम् ॥ ५ ॥

tasya tatkarasaṁlagnaṁ cyavate na kadācana | tato hi devadeveśaḥ paryaṭan pṛthivīmimām || 5 ||

That head clung fast to his hand and would not fall away at all. Then the lord of the gods of gods wandered over this whole earth —

Verse 6 (skanda.5.328.6)

ततो वाराणसीं प्राप्तस्तस्यां तदपतच्छिरः । पतिते तु कपाले च ब्रह्महत्या न मुञ्चति ॥ ६ ॥

tato vārāṇasīṁ prāptastasyāṁ tadapatacchiraḥ | patite tu kapāle ca brahmahatyā na muñcati || 6 ||

— then, reaching Varanasi, that head finally fell off there. But even when the skull had fallen, the sin of brahmin-slaying still did not release him.

Verse 7 (skanda.5.328.7)

ततस्तु सागरे गत्वा पूर्वे च दक्षिणे तथा । पश्चिमे चोत्तरे पार्थ देवदेवो महेश्वरः ॥ ७ ॥

tatastu sāgare gatvā pūrve ca dakṣiṇe tathā | paścime cottare pārtha devadevo maheśvaraḥ || 7 ||

Then, O son of Pritha, the god of gods Maheshvara went to the oceans in the east, south, west, and north —

Verse 8 (skanda.5.328.8)

पर्यटन्सर्वतीर्थेषु ब्रह्महत्या न मुञ्चति । नर्मदादक्षिणे कूले सुतीर्थं प्राप्तवान् प्रभुः ॥ ८ ॥

paryaṭansarvatīrtheṣu brahmahatyā na muñcati | narmadādakṣiṇe kūle sutīrthaṁ prāptavān prabhuḥ || 8 ||

— wandering to all the tirthas, yet the brahmin-slaying sin would not release him. At last, the Lord reached a most excellent tirtha on the southern bank of the Narmada.

Verse 9 (skanda.5.328.9)

कुलकोटिं समासाद्य प्रार्थयामास चात्मवान् । प्रायश्चित्तं ततः कृत्वा बभूव गतकल्मषः ॥ ९ ॥

kulakoṭiṁ samāsādya prārthayāmāsa cātmavān | prāyaścittaṁ tataḥ kṛtvā babhūva gatakalmaṣaḥ || 9 ||

Reaching Kulakoti, the self-possessed Lord offered his prayer there; then, having performed the prescribed expiation, he became free of sin.

Verse 10 (skanda.5.328.10)

ततो निष्कल्मषो जातो देवदेवो महेश्वरः । हत्वा सुरेभ्यस्तत्स्थानं ततश्चान्तर्दधे प्रभुः ॥ १० ॥

tato niṣkalmaṣo jāto devadevo maheśvaraḥ | hatvā surebhyastatsthānaṁ tataścāntardadhe prabhuḥ || 10 ||

Then the god of gods Maheshvara became free of all stain; having thus consecrated that place for the gods, the Lord vanished from sight.

Verse 11 (skanda.5.328.11)

तदाप्रभृति तत्तीर्थं शुद्धरुद्रेति कीर्तितम् । विख्यातं त्रिषु लोके ब्रह्महत्याहरं परम् ॥ ११ ॥

tadāprabhṛti tattīrthaṁ śuddharudreti kīrtitam | vikhyātaṁ triṣu loke brahmahatyāharaṁ param || 11 ||

From that time onward, that tirtha has been proclaimed as Shuddharudra, renowned in the three worlds as the supreme remover of the sin of brahmin-slaying.

Verse 12 (skanda.5.328.12)

मासे मासे सिते पक्षेऽमावास्यायां युधिष्ठिर । स्नात्वा तत्र विधानेन तर्पयेत्पितृदेवताः ॥ १२ ॥

māse māse site pakṣe'māvāsyāyāṁ yudhiṣṭhira | snātvā tatra vidhānena tarpayetpitṛdevatāḥ || 12 ||

O Yudhishthira, every month, on the new-moon day, having bathed there according to the rites, one should offer tarpana to the ancestor-deities.

Verse 13 (skanda.5.328.13)

दद्यात्पिण्डं पित्ॄणां तु भावितेनान्तरात्मना । तस्य ते द्वादशाब्दानि सुतृप्ताः पितरो नृप ॥ १३ ॥

dadyātpiṇḍaṁ pitṝṇāṁ tu bhāvitenāntarātmanā | tasya te dvādaśābdāni sutṛptāḥ pitaro nṛpa || 13 ||

One should offer the pinda to the ancestors with a devoted inner heart. O king, thereby his ancestors remain fully satisfied for twelve years.

Verse 14 (skanda.5.328.14)

गन्धधूपप्रदीपाद्यैरभ्यर्च्य परमेश्वरम् । शुद्धेश्वराभिधानं तु शिवलोके महीयते ॥ १४ ॥

gandhadhūpapradīpādyairabhyarcya parameśvaram | śuddheśvarābhidhānaṁ tu śivaloke mahīyate || 14 ||

Having worshipped Parameshvara, known there by the name Shuddheshvara, with sandal-paste, incense, lamps and the like, one is exalted in the world of Shiva.

Verse 15 (skanda.5.328.15)

एतत्ते कथितं राजञ्छुद्धरुद्रमनुत्तमम् । मया श्रुतं यथा देवसकाशाच्छूलपाणिनः । मुच्यते सर्वपापेभ्यो रुद्रलोकं स गच्छति ॥ १५ ॥

etatte kathitaṁ rājañchuddharudramanuttamam | mayā śrutaṁ yathā devasakāśācchūlapāṇinaḥ | mucyate sarvapāpebhyo rudralokaṁ sa gacchati || 15 ||

O king, this unsurpassed tirtha Shuddharudra has thus been told to you, just as I heard it from the trident-bearing god himself. Whoever hears this account is freed from all sins and goes to the realm of Rudra.