Chapter 30 - The Glory of Dhanuṣkoṭi

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Note: Dhanuṣkoṭi is the place where Rāma destroyed his Setu with the tip of his bow at the request of Vibhīṣaṇa. The whole story of how and why Rāma destroyed his Setu is given in vv 69-78. Bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi saves a sinner from all hells (v. 9).

Śrī Sūta said:

1-3a. After taking the holy bath in the extremely sacred Sarvatīrtha, the man should go to Dhanuṣkoṭi¹ that is destructive of the sins of Brāhmaṇa-slaughter, etc.

Merely by remembering it, a man on the earth shall become liberated. Those who visit Dhanuṣkoṭi, take their bath in it and speak about it, never experience the tortures in the twenty-eight different Narakas (hells).

3b-8. The following are the twenty-eight Narakas:^[1] Tāmisra, Andhatāmisra, Mahāraurava, Raurava, Kuṃbhīpāka, Kālasūtra, Asipatravana, Kṛmibhakṣa, Andhakūpa, Sandaṃśa, Śālmalī, Sūrmi, Vaitaraṇī, Prāṇarodha, Viśasana, Lālābhakṣa, Avīci, Sārameyādana, Vajrakaṇaka, Kṣārakardamapātana, Rakṣogaṇāśana, Śūlaprota, Vitodana, Dandaśūkāśana, one called Paryāvartana, Tirodhāna, Sūcīmukha, Pūyaśoṇitabhakṣa and Viṣāgniparipīḍana. O Brāhmaṇas, these are the group of hells twenty-eight in number.

9-11a. By taking the holy plunge in Dhanuṣkoṭi, O Brāhmaṇas, a man can avoid falling into these Narakas.

If anyone steals others’ wealth or abducts their children or wives, he will be firmly bound by the noose of Kāla. He is cast into the dreadful Tāmisra Naraka and confined there for many years by terrible messengers of Yama.

If he takes his holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi, he is spared from being thrown into this hell.

11b-12. He who kills his master and enjoys his wealth, etc. is thrown into the hell Andhatāmisra, full of great miseries and sufferings. If he takes his holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi, he is not thrown into this hell.

13-14. One who maintains his family members by harassing all living beings, leaves them here, and is certainly thrown into Raurava, full of great poisonous serpents, by the attendants of Yama. If he takes his holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi, he is spared from being thrown into that hell.

15-20. One who maintains only his body without (caring for) wives, children and others, is thrown into the dreadful hell Mahāraurava where he eats his own flesh. If he takes his holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi he is not thrown into that hell.

He who confines (encages) birds and other living beings is worthy of being censured more than Rākṣasas, because he is devoid of the least possible compassion. The followers of Yama throw him into hot boiling oil in Kuṃbhīpāka. If he takes his holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi, he is not thrown into that hell.

A mean man who harasses his mother, father and Brāhmaṇas, is thrown into Kālasūtra hell that extends to ten thousand Yojanas. O Brāhmaṇas, he is put in copper cauldrons heated by fire from below and the sun’s rays from above. He is left there afflicted with hunger. If he takes his holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi, he is not thrown into that hell.

21-26. A man who transgresses the Vedic path and goes along a despicable path is cast into Asipatravana by the servants of Yama. But if he takes his holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi, he is not thrown therein.

If a king or a king’s servant punishes anyone who should not be punished or if he gives corporal punishment to a Brāhmaṇa, O Brāhmaṇas, he is thrown into the dreadful hell Śūkaramukha. Like a sugarcane stem he is crushed in a machine. But if he takes his holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi, he is not cast into it.

A person who violently injures living beings who dedicate all their activities to God is thrown by the servants of Yama into the highly terrible (Naraka) named Andhakūpa. He is now tormented by those creatures that were previously tormented by him. In that hell with excessive darkness, he remains awake and wanders about without any pleasure. But if he takes his holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi, he is not cast into it.

27-29. If a person sits in a different row and eats vegetable dish, pulses, etc. or if a person deludedly takes food without performing the five great Yajñas, O Brāhmaṇas, he is thrown into the hell named Kṛmibhojana by the soldiers of Yama. He will be eaten by hundreds of worms. He will himself eat masses of worms. Then he will be transformed into a worm and stay there till all the sins are destroyed. But if he takes his holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi, he is not thrown into it.

30-35a. If any one takes away the wealth of a Brāhmaṇa either by way of stealth or by force, if a king or his officer takes away the wealth of others, he is put in the iron containers of fire and is extremely tortured by means of pincers. He is thrown into the terrible Naraka named Sandaṃśa. But if he takes the holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi, he is exempted from being thrown into it.

If a base man carnally approaches a forbidden woman, O Brāhmaṇas, or if a woman carnally approaches a forbidden man, he or she has to embrace a red-hot iron statue of the woman or the man (as the case may be) and remains like that as long as the stars and the moon (shine). They are thrown into the dreadful Naraka with plenty of thorns. If he (or she) takes his (or her) bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi, he (or she) is not thrown therein.

35b-36. A man who harasses all creatures with different kinds of torturing devices, is thrown into the dreadful Śālmalī hell full of thorns. If he takes his holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi, he is not thrown therein.

37-40. If a king or his attendant with heretic leanings were to break the bounds of morality, he is thrown into Vaitaraṇī. But if he takes his holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi he is not thrown therein.

A person who is defiled by contact with a Śūdra woman, who is devoid of cleanliness and the conduct leading to it, who is shameless, who has forsaken the Vedas and who is devoted to brutish activities, is cast into the highly despicable and hideous Naraka filled with putrefying faeces, urine, blood, phlegm, bile, etc. by the servants of Yama. If he takes his holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi, he is not thrown into it.

41-42. If a hunter were to kill or harass deer by means of stones or arrows, he will be hit and pierced in the other world by the servants of Yama with volleys of arrows. He is thrown into the Naraka named Prāṇarodha by the attendants of Yama. But if he takes his holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi, he is spared from being thrown therein.

43-44. A hypocrite who kills animals in Yajña ignoring the prescribed procedure, O Brāhmaṇas, is thrown into the Naraka Vaiśasa in the other worlds by the servants of Yama. He is pierced and torn by the soldiers of Yama after being thrown into the Naraka full of misery. But if he takes his holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi, he is not thrown therein.

45-49. A person who makes his own wife of the same (his own) caste drink semen is thrown into the Retaḥkuṇḍa (‘pit of semen’) and is compelled to drink semen. If he takes his holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi, he is not thrown therein.

A person who follows the path of robbers, administers poison and burns villages and one who takes away the wealth of a merchant, O excellent Brāhmaṇas, is thrown into the Naraka called Vajradaṃṣṭrāhika and kept there for a long time. But if he takes his holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi, he is exempted from being therein. If a man takes the holy plunge in Dhanuṣkoṭi, he can prevent his own fall into the other Narakas too in the other world. By taking the holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi, one gets the benefit of a horse-sacrifice.

50. He will acquire the knowledge of soul. He will directly attain the four varieties of salvation. His intellect never indulges in sinful activities. He will never have any misery.

51-55a. By taking the holy plunge in Dhanuṣkoṭi, the intellect becomes happy and perfect. By taking the holy plunge in Dhanuṣkoṭi, persons attain that benefit which is obtained by men by means of the gift of Tulāpuruṣa.

By taking the holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi a man obtains that merit which men acquire through the charitable gift of a thousand cows.

By taking the holy plunge in Dhanuṣkoṭi, a man instantaneously obtains whatever out of virtue, wealth, pleasure and salvation he wishes to have. Whether a person is defiled by the great sins or all the sins, O Brāhmaṇas, he is instantaneously purified by taking the holy plunge in Dhanuṣkoṭi.

55b-61. By taking the holy plunge in Dhanuṣkoṭi, men obtain wisdom, fortune, renown, riches, perfect knowledge, virtue, detachment and mental purity.

Ten thousand sins of Brāhmaṇa-slaughter, ten thousand sins of imbibing liquor, ten thousand sins of carnally approaching the wife of the preceptor, ten thousand sins of theft of gold and crores of the sins of having an association with these sinners—all these perish by taking the holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi.

O believers in Vedas, all the sins on a par with Brāhmaṇa-slaughter, with drinking of liquor, those that are on a par with the sin of carnally approaching the wife of the preceptor, those that are on a par with the theft of gold and the sins similar to the sin of associating with the sinners committing such sins—all these perish by taking the holy plunge in Dhanuṣkoṭi. No doubt should be entertained in what has been said before. I will place a red-hot axe at the tip of the tongue. There is no doubt about it. One who says that this is only Arthavāda (i.e. exaggerated expression of praise) will become a dweller in Naraka.

62-65a. He should be known as one of a mixture of castes. He is excluded from all holy rites. Alas, the foolishness of the people, O excellent Brāhmaṇas! Alas, the stupidity! Alas, the mental deficiency! Even when the Tīrtha named Dhanuṣkoṭi, which is destructive of all sins, which bestows non-dualistic knowledge on men, which yields worldly pleasures and salvation, which grants desired and desirable objectives always and which is destructive of ignorance, exists, people leave it off and resort to other places. Alas, the immensity of their delusion cannot be described by me!

65b-66. One who has taken the holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi need not be afraid of the god of Death. Those men who visit Dhanuṣkoṭi, those who take their holy bath there, those who eulogize, those who adore, touch and bow down to it, O eminent Brāhmaṇas, do not drink the breast milk of mothers (i.e. are liberated).

The sages said:

67-68. How did it (Tīrtha) acquire the name Dhanuṣkoṭi, O Sūta? Describe everything truthfully and in detail, O great sage.

On being asked thus by the residents of Naimiṣa, Sūta spoke to them again:

Śrī Sūta said:

69-72. After Rāvaṇa, the oppressor of the worlds, was killed in battle by Rāma, and Vibhīṣaṇa was installed as the king in Laṅkā, Rāma, the son of Daśaratha, went to Gandhamādana accompanied by Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa and surrounded by heroic monkeys, the chief of whom was Sugrīva. His wonderful feats were eulogized by Siddhas, Cāraṇas, Gandharvas, Devas, Vidyādharas, sages and celestial damsels continuously. With his bow gracefully held aloft, he resembled Śiva who destroyed the three Puras.

73. With the palms joined in reverence, Vibhīṣaṇa who was conversant with Dharma, requested the noble-souled Rāghava, the slayer of Rāvaṇa who was staying there:

74-75a. “By this Setu of yours, O Rāma, all the kings superior in power may come to my city and harass me. Hence, O scion of the family of Raghu, break this Setu with the tip of your bow.”

75b-76. On being requested thus by the descendant of Pulastya, Rāghava, the delighter of the members of the family of Raghu, destroyed his own Setu with the tip of his bow. Hence, O Brāhmaṇas, that Tīrtha became well-known thereafter as Dhanuṣkoṭi.

77. He who sees the line drawn with the tip of the bow of Śrīrāma never experiences the stay in the womb that involves a lot of strain and pain.

78. A line was drawn in the briny sea by Rāma with the tip of his bow. By seeing it one shall attain salvation. I do not know the (greatness of the) benefit of the holy bath.

79-81. Performing penance on the banks of Narmadā is destructive of great sins. Death on the banks of Gaṅgā is conducive to salvation. Charitable gift in Kurukṣetra purifies the sins of Brāhmaṇa-slaughter, etc., O Brāhmaṇas. The penance, the charitable gift and the death which men have at Dhanuṣkoṭi can destroy great sins, give salvation and accomplish all desires, O eminent Brāhmaṇas. There is no doubt about this.

82. A creature is oppressed by sins major and minor only as long as Rāmadhanuṣkoṭi, the bestower of salvation, is not seen (by him).

83. Of the person who visits Dhanuṣkoṭi, the knot (of Avidyā) in the heart is cut, all the doubts are cleared and all the sinful activities cease.

84-85. That very same line, the line made by Rāmacandra on the Setu on the southern sea for the welfare of Vibhīṣaṇa, with the tip of his bow, is the pathway to Kailāsa, is the road to Vaikuṇṭha and the world of Brahmā and the path to the heavenly world also. No doubt need be entertained in this matter.

86. A plunge in Dhanuṣkoṭi is on a par with Yajñas in regard to the merits and benefits. It is superior in merit to all the Mantras. It bestows the benefit of all charitable gifts.

87. In regard to the person who visits Dhanuṣkoṭi of what avail are the austerities that cause physical stress and strain to men? Of what benefit are the sacrifices, the Vedas and the scriptures (to such a man).

88. If men have the opportunity to bathe in Dhanuṣkoṭi of Rāmacandra, of what use are the waters of Gaṅgā and Yamunā?

89. If a visit to Dhanuṣkoṭi of Rāmacandra can be made, why should the salvation after death at Kāśī be vainly sought by men?

90. There is no doubt about this that one will become poor by not taking a plunge in Dhanuṣkoṭi, by not observing fast for three days and by not giving away gold and cow (at Dhanuṣkoṭi).

91-92. Even by performing Agniṣṭoma and other Yajñas with plenty of monetary gifts, no man obtains that merit which one obtains by taking a bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi. It is true. I speak the truth. They know the Tīrtha named Dhanuṣkoṭi to be superior to all other Tīrthas.

93. There are ten thousand crores of Tīrthas on the earth, O excellent Brāhmaṇas; all of them are present in Dhanuṣkoṭi.

94-101a. All the following are always present in Dhanuṣkoṭi: eight Vasus, Ādityas, Rudras, Maruts, Sādhyas, Gandharvas, Siddhas, Vidyādharas and many other Devas.

In this Tīrtha Dhanuṣkoṭi, Brahmā is always present. Śiva, Viṣṇu, Umā, Lakṣmī and Sarasvatī also are always present here. By performing penance in Dhanuṣkoṭi, Devas and sages attained great Siddhis as a benefit thereof, O eminent sages.

A man who takes his holy bath there and offers libation to Pitṛs and Devas becomes liberated from all sins. He is honoured in the world of Brahmā.

A man who devoutly feeds one Brāhmaṇa here, attains infinite happiness in this world as well as in the other.

A man who does not subsist on greens, fruits and roots shall take his holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi for the purpose of achieving the benefit thereof. He who has no capacity to perform horse-sacrifice should take his holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi. Thereby he attains the benefit thereof.

101b-104. A Brāhmaṇa, a Kṣatriya, a Vaiśya or a Śūdra, O great sages, can avoid being born of despicable wombs, if he takes the holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi.

If a man takes the holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi in the month of Māgha when the Sun is in the Zodiac Capricorn, O Brāhmaṇas,

I am not competent to describe his merit.

A man who takes the holy plunge in Dhanuṣkoṭi in the month of Māgha, O great sages, has really taken his holy bath in all the Tīrthas including Gaṅgā. He shall attain eternal worlds as well as salvation.

105-106.^[2] All Che sins of a woman or a man incurred ever since her or his birth shall perish by taking the holy bath in the month of Māgha.

Just as Rāma, the scion of the family of Raghu, is the most excellent of all the Suras, so also Dhanuṣkoṭi is spoken of as the most excellent of all the Tīrthas.

107-114a. The holy bath there in the month of Māgha bestows all desired benefits. With great restraint the man should conquer his passions and take the holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi for all the thirty days in the month of Māgha for the prevention of rebirth.

One who takes only a single meal everyday, who has conquered anger and who takes the holy bath here in the month of Māgha, O eminent Brāhmaṇas, is liberated from the sin of Brāhmaṇa-slaughter.

The man should regularly take his holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi in the month of Māgha. At the end on the night of Śiva he should abstain from food and conquer his passions. He should perform the Jāgaraṇa rite at night. In every Yāma (i.e. three hours) he should perform a special worship of Rāmanātha, the great lord, in accordance with the injunctions. On the next day, at sunrise, he should take the holy plunge in Dhanuṣkoṭi. With great mental restraint he should take the holy baths in the other Tīrthas as well. He should then perform the daily round of holy rites. He should worship Rāmanātha according to his capacity, O excellent Brāhmaṇas. He should then feed Brāhmaṇas with cooked food and give them land, cows, gingelly seeds, food-grains and monetary gifts according to his capacity. On being formally permitted by the Brāhmaṇas, he should take his food silently.

114b-117. To a person who performs thus, the great Lord Rāmanātha grants worldly pleasures and salvation after liberating him from all sins. Hence, by all means, O eminent sages, men desirous of salvation should take the holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi in the month of Māgha.

O Brāhmaṇas, if a man takes the holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi in Setu at the time of the specific Yoga (astral conjunction) called Ardhodaya^[3], his sins perish instantaneously. Holy bath during the specific Yoga called Mahodaya^[4] here in also conducive to worldly pleasures and salvation.

118. If a man takes the holy bathṃ during Ardhodaya and Mahodaya in Dhanuṣkoṭi, the three Devas Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśvara come under his control.

119. The holy baṃ in Dhanuṣkoṭi during Ardhodaya and Mahodaya, O Brāhmaṇas, becomes the cause of the attainment of Sāyujya, even without the perfect knowledge of non-duality.

120. The holy bath there during Ardhodaya and Mahodaya, O Brāhmaṇas,(removes) the sins of sinners without expiatory rites. It has been spoken by Manu and other law-givers. It is true.

121-128a. If a man takes his holy bath here on the Setu in Dhanuṣkoṭi during Ardhodaya and Mahodaya, O Brāhmaṇas, he obtains the complete benefit of Yajñas without performing a Yajña. There is no doubt about it.

Even (the thousand-mouthed) Śeṣa is incompetent to recount the merits of that man who takes the holy bath here during solar and lunar eclipses.

Taking the holy plunge in Dhanuṣkoṭi during eclipses of the Sun and the Moon is mentioned as an expiatory rite for all the sins including that of Brāhmaṇa-slaughter.

The holy bath in Śrīrāmadhanuṣkoṭi during solar and lunar eclipses is said to be the bestower of Sāyujya, It yields the merit of (taking bath in) all the Tīrthas.

Men desirous of the benefit of worldly pleasures and salvation should take their holy bath here. Hence, O eminent sages, leave off everything and go to Dhanuṣkoṭi of great merit that gives the benefit of worldly pleasures and salvation. Go there and do offer rice-balls to Pitṛs.

128b-133. By offering rice-balls here Pitṛs will be contented for a period of a Kalpa.

Three places have been created by Rāma for the propitiation of Pitṛs. By offering rice-balls at Setumūla, Dhanuṣkoṭi and Gandhamādana one becomes free from indebtedness to Pitṛs.

The three holy spots Setumūla, Dhanuṣkoṭi and Gandhamādana together are called Ṛṇamokṣa. These three holy spots are made by Devas. Hence by all means let Dhanuṣkoṭi be resorted to.

The son of Droṇācārya, Aśvatthāmā, of great glory, came here, took his holy bath in Dhanuṣkoṭi with the requisite observances of restraints.^[5] Thereby he became instantly liberated from the great sin of killing the sleeping (sons of Pāṇḍavas). Thus, O Brāhmaṇas, the greatness of Dhanuṣkoṭi has been recounted to you all. It yields worldly pleasures and salvation to men. It destroys all sins.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

The number of hells varies in different Purāṇas. It is 28 here, 22 in BP 214.14. But the 28 is confirmed in this text elsewhere and also in AP 371.13, SP V.8.18. The names vary.

VV 9-49 give the list of the types of sins committed and the particular hell into which the sinner is thrown.

[2]:

VV 105-114 describe the importance of taking bath at Dhanuṣkoṭi in the month of Māgha. The observance of Śivarātra (14th day in the dark half of Māgha) is described in vv 110-114.

[3]:

When in the month of Pauṣa or Māgha, there is Amāvāsyā (New-Moon day) with Śravaṇa Nakṣatra and Vyatīpāta Yoga on Sunday, it is called Ardhodaya Yoga. (For details vide HD V, 1, pp. 261-62.)

[4]:

If one requirement from Ardhodaya (viz. Pauṣa or Māgha Amāvāsyā, Śravaṇa Nakṣatra, Vyatīpāta, Sunday) is absent, it is called Mahodaya Parva.

[5]:

Mbh, Sauptika Parva 9.48-52(?)