The Glory of the Sarasvati Confluence

Verse 1 (skanda.7.204.1)

देव्युवाच। भगवन्देवदेवेश संसारार्णवतारक। सरस्वत्याश्च माहात्म्यं विस्तरात्कथयस्व मे

devyuvāca| bhagavandevadeveśa saṁsārārṇavatāraka| sarasvatyāśca māhātmyaṁ vistarātkathayasva me

The Goddess said: O Lord, O god of gods, O deliverer from the ocean of worldly existence, tell me at length the glory of the Sarasvati.

Verse 2 (skanda.7.204.2)

यात्रागतानां देवेशि पुरुषाणां जितात्मनाम्। मुखद्वारे तु किं पुण्यं स्नानदाने च शंकर

yātrāgatānāṁ deveśi puruṣāṇāṁ jitātmanām| mukhadvāre tu kiṁ puṇyaṁ snānadāne ca śaṅkara

O lord of the gods, for self-controlled men who come on pilgrimage, O Shankara, what merit is gained by bathing and giving gifts at the river's mouth?

Verse 3 (skanda.7.204.3)

अवगाहनेन चान्यत्र फलं किंस्वित्प्रजायते। श्राद्धस्य किं विधानं तु के मंत्रास्तत्र के द्विजाः

avagāhanena cānyatra phalaṁ kiṁsvitprajāyate| śrāddhasya kiṁ vidhānaṁ tu ke maṁtrāstatra ke dvijāḥ

What fruit is produced by bathing elsewhere? What is the procedure for the ancestral rite there? What mantras apply, and which Brahmins are fit for it?

Verse 4 (skanda.7.204.4)

किं ग्राह्यं किञ्च भोक्तव्यं ब्राह्मणैः श्राद्धकर्मणि। कानि दानानि देयानि नृभिर्यात्राफलेप्सुभिः

kiṁ grāhyaṁ kiñca bhoktavyaṁ brāhmaṇaiḥ śrāddhakarmaṇi| kāni dānāni deyāni nṛbhiryātrāphalepsubhiḥ

What should Brahmins accept and be fed in the ancestral rite? What gifts should men desiring the fruit of pilgrimage give?

Verse 5 (skanda.7.204.5)

ईश्वर उवाच। शृणु देवि प्रवक्ष्यामि दानश्राद्धविधिक्रमम्। सरस्वत्याश्च माहात्म्यं कीर्त्यमानं निबोध मे

īśvara uvāca| śṛṇu devi pravakṣyāmi dānaśrāddhavidhikramam| sarasvatyāśca māhātmyaṁ kīrtyamānaṁ nibodha me

Ishvara said: Listen, O Goddess, I shall explain the order of the rites of giving and the ancestral rite; and understand from me the glory of the Sarasvati as it is now proclaimed.

Verse 6 (skanda.7.204.6)

पुण्यं सारस्वतं तोयं यत्र तत्रावगाह्यते। सागरेण तु संमिश्रं देवानामपि दुर्लभम्

puṇyaṁ sārasvataṁ toyaṁ yatra tatrāvagāhyate| sāgareṇa tu saṁmiśraṁ devānāmapi durlabham

Wherever the holy waters of the Sarasvati may be found, one should bathe there; but that water mingled with the ocean is difficult to attain even for the gods.

Verse 7 (skanda.7.204.7)

सरस्वती सर्वनदीषु पुण्या सरस्वती लोकसुखावगाहा। सरस्वतीं प्राप्य न दुःखिता नराः सदा न शोचंति परत्र चेह वा

sarasvatī sarvanadīṣu puṇyā sarasvatī lokasukhāvagāhā| sarasvatīṁ prāpya na duḥkhitā narāḥ sadā na śocaṁti paratra ceha vā

Among all rivers, the Sarasvati is the most sacred, joyously bathed in by all the worlds; men who attain the Sarasvati never become sorrowful — they grieve neither in this world nor in the next.

Verse 8 (skanda.7.204.8)

पुण्यं सारस्वतं तीर्थं पुण्यकृल्लभते नरः। दुर्लभं त्रिषु लोकेषु वैशाख्या सोमपर्वणि

puṇyaṁ sārasvataṁ tīrthaṁ puṇyakṛllabhate naraḥ| durlabhaṁ triṣu lokeṣu vaiśākhyā somaparvaṇi

Only a man of meritorious deeds attains that sacred Sarasvata ford, which is held rare in all three worlds at the lunar conjunction festival in the month of Vaishakha.

Verse 9 (skanda.7.204.9)

अमा सोमेन संयुक्ता यदि तत्रैव लभ्यते। तत्र किं क्रियते देवि पर्वकोटिशतैरपि

amā somena saṁyuktā yadi tatraiva labhyate| tatra kiṁ kriyate devi parvakoṭiśatairapi

If the new-moon day conjoined with the moon should be obtained there, then, O Goddess, what is achieved there surpasses what even hundreds of crores of ordinary festival days could achieve!

Verse 10 (skanda.7.204.10)

चान्द्रायणानि कृच्छ्राणि महासां तपनानि च। प्रायश्चित्तानि दीयन्ते यत्र नास्ति सरस्वती

cāndrāyaṇāni kṛcchrāṇi mahāsāṁ tapanāni ca| prāyaścittāni dīyaṁte yatra nāsti sarasvatī

Where the Sarasvati is not to be found, expiations such as the Chandrayana, the Krichchhra, and the great Tapana penances are prescribed instead.

Verse 11 (skanda.7.204.11)

यावदस्थि शरीरस्य तिष्ठेत्सारस्वते जले। तावद्वर्षसहस्राणि विष्णुलोके वसेन्नरः। जात्यन्धैस्ते समा ज्ञेया मृतैः पंगुभिरेव च

yāvadasthi śarīrasya tiṣṭhetsārasvate jale| tāvadvarṣasahasrāṇi viṣṇuloke vasennaraḥ| jātyandhaiste samā jñeyā mṛtaiḥ paṁgubhireva ca

For as many thousands of years as the bones of the body remain in the Sarasvata waters, so long shall a man dwell in the world of Vishnu. Those who, though capable, do not go to see the Sarasvati at Prabhasa are to be reckoned equal to the born-blind, to the dead, and to the lame.

Verse 12 (skanda.7.204.12)

समर्था ये न पश्यन्ति प्रभासस्थां सरस्वतीम्। ते देशास्तानि तीर्थानि आश्रमास्ते च पर्वताः

samarthā ye na paśyanti prabhāsasthāṁ sarasvatīm| te deśāstāni tīrthāni āśramāste ca parvatāḥ

Those lands, those sacred fords, those hermitages, and those mountains are in vain, from which men, though capable, fail to go and behold the Sarasvati established at Prabhasa.

Verse 13 (skanda.7.204.13)

येषां सरस्वती देवी मध्ये याति सरिद्वरा। त्रैलोक्यपावनीं पुण्यां संश्रिता ये सरस्वतीम्। संसारकर्दमामोदमाजिघ्रन्ति न ते पुनः

yeṣāṁ sarasvatī devī madhye yāti saridvarā| saṁśritā ye sarasvatīṁ trailokyapāvanīṁ puṇyām| saṁsārakardamāmodamājighraṁti na te punaḥ

Those in whose midst flows that most excellent river-goddess Sarasvati, and those who take refuge in that sacred Sarasvati who purifies the three worlds, never again inhale the foul stench of the mire of worldly existence.

Verse 14 (skanda.7.204.14)

शब्दविद्येव विस्तीर्णा मतैव जगतः प्रिया। सतां मतिरिव स्वच्छा रमणीया सरस्वती

śabdavidyeva vistīrṇā mataiva jagataḥ priyā| satāṁ matiriva svacchā ramaṇīyā sarasvatī

Vast as the science of grammar, dear to the world as one's own cherished view, and pure as the mind of the virtuous — such is the lovely Sarasvati.

Verse 15 (skanda.7.204.15)

त्रैलोक्यशोभितां देवीं दिव्यतोयां सुनिर्मलाम्। स नीचो यः पुमानेतां न वन्देत सरस्वतीम्

trailokyaśobhitāṁ devīṁ divyatoyāṁ sunirmalām| sa nīco yaḥ pumānetāṁ na vandeta sarasvatīm

That man is base indeed who does not offer reverence to this goddess Sarasvati, adorning the three worlds, of divine waters, utterly pure.

Verse 16 (skanda.7.204.16)

स्वर्गनिश्रेणिसंभूता प्रभासे तु सरस्वती। नापुण्यवद्भिः संप्राप्तुं पुंभिः शक्या महानदी

svarganiśreṇisaṁbhūtā prabhāse tu sarasvatī| nāpuṇyavadbhiḥ saṁprāptuṁ puṁbhiḥ śakyā mahānadī

The Sarasvati, arising at Prabhasa as though a ladder to heaven, is a great river that cannot be attained by men devoid of merit.

Verse 17 (skanda.7.204.17)

चन्द्रभागा च गंगा च तथा यत्र सरस्वती। देवास्ते न मनुष्यास्ते तिस्रो नद्यः पिबन्ति ये

candrabhāgā ca gaṅgā ca tathā yatra sarasvatī| devāste na manuṣyāste tisro nadyaḥ pibanti ye

Where the Chandrabhaga, the Ganga, and the Sarasvati flow together, those who drink of these three rivers are gods, not mere mortals.

Verse 18 (skanda.7.204.18)

सत्यमेव मया देवि जाह्नवी शिरसा धृता। याः काश्चित्सरितो लोके तासां पुण्या सरस्वती

satyameva mayā devi jāhnavī śirasā dhṛtā| yāḥ kāścitsarito loke tāsāṁ puṇyā sarasvatī

It is true indeed, O Goddess, that I bear the Jahnavi upon my head; yet of all the rivers that exist in the world, the Sarasvati is the most sacred.

Verse 19 (skanda.7.204.19)

दर्शनेन सरस्वत्या राजसूयो न राजते। गंडूषश्चाश्वमेधाद्वै सर्वक्रतुवरं पयः

darśanena sarasvatyā rājasūyo na rājate| gaṇḍūṣaścāśvamedhādvai sarvakratuvaraṁ payaḥ

Beside the sight of Sarasvati, even the Rajasuya sacrifice pales; a single mouthful of her water surpasses the Ashvamedha — this water is the very best of all sacrifices.

Verse 20 (skanda.7.204.20)

भस्मास्थिचर्मतोयानि नखकेशादिकानि च। वातैरपि धुतान्येव तथा सारस्वते जले

bhasmāsthicarmatoyāni nakhakeśādikāni ca| vātairapi dhutānyeva tathā sārasvate jale

Ash, bones, skin, the remains of water, nails, hair and the like — even those merely stirred by the wind, when they are likewise borne along in the Sarasvata waters —

Verse 21 (skanda.7.204.21)

वहन्ति येषां कालेन ते न कालवशा नराः। देवि किं बहुनोक्तेन वर्णितेन पुनःपुनः। सरस्वत्याः परं तीर्थं न भूतं न भविष्यति

vahaṁti yeṣāṁ kālena te na kālavaśā narāḥ| devi kiṁ bahunoktena varṇitena punaḥpunaḥ| sarasvatyāḥ paraṁ tīrthaṁ na bhūtaṁ na bhaviṣyati

—those men, whose remains are thus carried along in the course of time, are no longer subject to time's dominion. O Goddess, what use is it to say this again and again at length? There has never been, nor shall there ever be, a sacred ford greater than the Sarasvati.

Verse 22 (skanda.7.204.22)

तत्रैव दुर्लभं स्नानं यत्र सागरसंगमः। तत्र स्नानेन दानेन कोटियज्ञफलं लभेत्

tatraiva durlabhaṁ snānaṁ yatra sāgarasaṁgamaḥ| tatra snānena dānena koṭiyajñaphalaṁ labhet

Rarest of all is bathing at that very spot where she meets the ocean; by bathing and giving gifts there, one obtains the fruit of a crore sacrifices.

Verse 23 (skanda.7.204.23)

यत्र सारस्वतं तोयं सागरोर्मिसमाकुलम्। तत्र स्नास्यंति ये मर्त्या भाग्यवन्तो युगेयुगे

yatra sārasvataṁ toyaṁ sāgarormisamākulam| tatra snāsyaṁti ye martyā bhāgyavaṁto yugeyuge

Where the Sarasvata waters mingle with the waves of the ocean — those fortunate mortals who go there to bathe, age after age —

Verse 24 (skanda.7.204.24)

ते धन्यास्ते नमस्कार्यास्तेषां स्फीततरं यशः। येषां कलेवरं नॄणां सिक्तं सारस्वतैर्जलैः

te dhanyāste namaskāryāsteṣāṁ sphītataraṁ yaśaḥ| yeṣāṁ kalevaraṁ nṝṇāṁ siktaṁ sārasvatairjalaiḥ

—they are blessed, they are worthy of homage, their fame grows ever more abundant; blessed are those men whose bodies have been bathed in the waters of the Sarasvati.