Chapter 273 - Greatness of Śaṇḍa Tīrtha

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Īśvara said:

1-3. Thereafter, O great goddess, a pilgrim should go to the excellent Śaṇḍa Tīrtha (Śaṇḍa—a bull) which eradicates all sins and bestows all desired benefits.

O my beloved, I shall narrate its origin. Listen with mental concentration.

Formerly Brahmā, the grandfather of the worlds was five-headed. In a certain context for some reason, his head was cut off by me. There (the river) incurred the smell (of blood) due to the blood drops of Brahmā.

4. Huge Tāla (Palm) trees grew there. Hence it is remembered as Tālavana. The skull of Brahmā got stuck to my palm.

5. My body as well as that of my bull turned black. With suspected sins, I visited many Tīrthas.

6. Nowhere did the sin go away. Then I came to Prabhāsa. In the Kṣetra (holy region) there the divine river Prācīsarasvatī was seen by me.

7. There my bull entered into the water to have a bath. Instantly he turned white in colour. I was also rid of (sin of) slaughter.

8. The skull that had stuck to the middle of my hand fell then. The deity Kapālamocana stood there in the form of a Liṅga.

9. If anyone performs a Śrāddha there, in the vicinity of goddess Prācī, his maternal and paternal families upto a hundred generations become contented.

10. His satisfaction shall endure for seventy Kalpas. O goddess, in the month of Aśvayuj, during the fourteenth lunar day in the dark half, a pilgrim should resort to Dakṣiṇāmūrti and perform Śrāddha.

11. The Śrāddha should be offered to a deserving person with services in proportion to the wealth owned. His grandfathers will remain pleased for many thousand Yugas.

12. In order to purify oneself from all sins one should offer gifts of cooked food, gold, curds, blankets etc. in accordance with the injunctions,

13. Since the black-coloured bull attained whiteness, it is called Śaṇḍa Tīrtha. It is adored by all the three world.