The Greatness of Punkhila Tirtha

Verse 1 (skanda.5.365.1)

श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच। तस्यैवानन्तरं तात पुङ्खिलं तीर्थमुत्तमम्। तत्र तीर्थे पुरा पुङ्खः पार्थ सिद्धिमुपागतः।

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca| tasyaivānantaraṁ tāta puṅkhilaṁ tīrthamuttamam| tatra tīrthe purā puṅkhaḥ pārtha siddhimupāgataḥ|||

Shri Markandeya said: O son, immediately after that lies the excellent tirtha named Punkhila. O Partha, at that tirtha, in ancient times, Punkha attained perfection.

Verse 2 (skanda.5.365.2)

जामदग्न्यो महातेजाः क्षत्रियान्तकरः प्रभुः। तपः कृत्वा सुविपुलं नर्मदोत्तरतीरभाक्।

jāmadagnyo mahātejāḥ kṣatriyāntakaraḥ prabhuḥ| tapaḥ kṛtvā suvipulaṁ narmadottaratīrabhāk|||

The mighty Jamadagnya (Parashurama), of great splendor, the destroyer of the kshatriyas, performed vast austerities while dwelling upon the northern bank of the Narmada.

Verse 3 (skanda.5.365.3)

ततः प्रभृति विख्यातं पुङ्खतीर्थं नरेश्वर। तत्र तीर्थे तु यः स्नात्वा ह्याराध्य परमेश्वरम्।

tataḥ prabhṛti vikhyātaṁ puṅkhatīrthaṁ nareśvara| tatra tīrthe tu yaḥ snātvā hyārādhya parameśvaram|||

O lord of men, from that time onward, that tirtha became known as Punkha-tirtha. He who, having bathed there, worships the supreme Lord,

Verse 4 (skanda.5.365.4)

इहलोके बलैर्युक्तः परे मोक्षमवाप्नुयात्। देवान् पितॄन् समभ्यर्च्य पितॄणामनृणी भवेत्।

ihaloke balairyuktaḥ pare mokṣamavāpnuyāt| devān pitṝn samabhyarcya pitṝṇāmanṛṇī bhavet|||

becomes endowed with strength in this world and attains liberation in the next. Having worshipped the gods and the ancestors, he becomes free from the debt owed to the ancestors.

Verse 5 (skanda.5.365.5)

तत्र तीर्थे नरो यस्तु प्राणत्यागं करोति वै। अनिवर्तिका गतिस्तस्य रुद्रलोकादसंशयम्।

tatra tīrthe naro yastu prāṇatyāgaṁ karoti vai| anivartikā gatistasya rudralokādasaṁśayam|||

That man who gives up his life at that tirtha attains, without doubt, a state of non-return from the world of Rudra.

Verse 6 (skanda.5.365.6)

तत्र तीर्थे नरः स्नात्वा हयमेधफलं लभेत्।

tatra tīrthe naraḥ snātvā hayamedhaphalaṁ labhet|||

Bathing at that tirtha, a man obtains the fruit of the horse-sacrifice.

Verse 7 (skanda.5.365.7)

तत्र तीर्थे नरो यस्तु ब्राह्मणान् भोजयेन्नृप। एकस्मिन् भोजिते विप्रे कोटिर्भवति भोजिता।

tatra tīrthe naro yastu brāhmaṇān bhojayennṛpa| ekasmin bhojite vipre koṭirbhavati bhojitā|||

O king, that man who feeds brahmins at that tirtha - by feeding a single brahmin, the merit of feeding ten million is obtained.

Verse 8 (skanda.5.365.8)

तत्र तीर्थे तु यः कश्चित्पूजयेद्वृषभध्वजम्। वाजपेयस्य यज्ञस्य फलं प्राप्नोत्यसंशयम्।

tatra tīrthe tu yaḥ kaścitpūjayedvṛṣabhadhvajam| vājapeyasya yajñasya phalaṁ prāpnotyasaṁśayam|||

Whoever worships the Lord of the Bull-banner (Shiva) at that tirtha obtains, without doubt, the fruit of the Vajapeya sacrifice.