Chapter 42 - Ṛṇamocana and Other Tīrthas

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Note: This Ṛṇamocana-Tīrtha is near Thangachimadana near Ekānta Rāma Temple.

Śrī Sūta said:

1-6. Henceforth, O eminent sages, I shall recount the glory of all the Tīrthas situated in the middle of the Setu, but not described so far.

There is a Tīrtha of great merit named Ṛṇamocana. If men take their holy plunge here, all their three debts become cleared. As soon as a Brāhmaṇa is born, he incurs three debts, viz. (the debt) to the Sages, to the Devas and to the Pitṛs, O excellent Brāhmaṇas.

If he does not practise the vow of celibacy (and study the Vedas), he gets into debt to the Sages. If he does not perform Yajña, etc. he becomes a debtor to the Devas. If he does not beget sons, he is in debt to the Pitṛs.

Without (observing) the vow of celibacy, without performing Yajña and without begetting any son, men shall attain liberation from indebtedness to the Sages, the Devas and the Pitṛs by merely taking the holy bath in the Tīrtha named Ṛṇamokṣa (‘Release from debts’).

7-13. The Sages, the Devas and the Pitṛs are not so much pleased with the vow of celibacy, Yajña and the birth of a son, as they attain matchless pleasure by the holy bath in the (Tīrtha named) Ṛṇamokṣa.

Further, by taking the holy bath here, poor persons and persons who are in debt become free of all debts and rich (also). There is no doubt about it.

Since the men who take their holy plunge here are liberated from indebtedness, this Tīrtha is known by the name Ṛṇamocana. Hence all persons in debt should take their holy bath here for extricating themselves from the same. There has never been a Tīrtha on a par with this, nor will there ever be one.

There is another great Tīrtha here created by Pāṇḍavas.^[1] Here the five Pāṇḍavas including the eldest Dharmaputra performed a Yajña formerly with this Tīrtha in view, (as) it yields both worldly pleasures and salvation. Ten thousand crores of excellent Tīrthas are always present in this Tīrtha of the five Pāṇḍavas.

14. Ādityas, Vasus, Rudras, Sādhyas and groups of Maruts are always present in the great Tīrtha of the Pāṇḍavas.

15. He who takes the holy bath here and offers libations to the Pitṛs and the Devas, shall be rid of all sins. He is honoured in the world of Brahmā.

16. If anyone feeds at least one Brāhmaṇa on the banks of this Tīrtha devoid of impurities, he rejoices here and hereafter on account of this holy act.

17. A Brāhmaṇa, a Kṣatriya, a Vaiśya or a Śūdra or anyone else who takes his holy bath in this excellent Tīrtha, does not take a debased birth.

18. The man who takes his holy bath in the great Tīrtha of Pāṇḍavas during auspicious conjunctions (of stars, etc.) becomes the most excellent of all men. He never sees Naraka.

19. If a person remembers the great Tīrtha of Pāṇḍavas in the morning and in the evening, it is as good as if he had taken his holy bath in Gaṅgā and all other Tīrthas. There is no doubt about it.

20. There is another Tīrtha on Gandhamādana named Devatīrtha, where Indra and other Devas performed Yajñas for the purpose of subduing Daityas.

21. By taking the holy bath in Devatīrtha a man is liberated from all sins. He shall attain eternal worlds and all his desires.

22. The sin committed by a man or a woman ever since his birth, perishes immediately after taking the holy bath in this Devakuṇḍa.

23. Just as the Slayer of Madhu is the first and foremost among all the Suras, so also the excellent Devakuṇḍa is the first and foremost among all Tīrthas.

24-28. If a man performed Agnihotra for full hundred years and if another man takes the holy bath in this Devakuṇḍa casually once, their merits are on a par with each other. There is no reason why anyone should doubt this.

Charitable gifts and residence in this Devakuṇḍa are rarely obtained. Going to Devatīrtha and taking holy bath therein, are very rare achievements. One who goes to Devatīrtha and propitiates the Devas, the Sages and the Pitṛs, obtains the merit of a horse-sacrifice. He goes to the world of Viṣṇu. If a person stays on the banks of Devakuṇḍa, destructive of Naraka, for two, three, five or six days, he no longer stays in the womb of any mother. He attains the excellent Siddhi.

29-33. By taking the holy bath here for three days, one gets the merit of the Vājapeya sacrifice. By remembering Devatīrtha a man is immediately liberated from sins.

By worshipping the Devas and the Pitṛs on the banks of this Tīrtha, a man shall fully attain all his desires and (also) the benefit of all the Yajñas.

There has never been a meritorious Tīrtha on a par with this Tīrtha nor will there ever be one. Hence those desirous of salvation should of necessity take their holy bath in Devatīrtha.

Similarly those men who are desirous of achieving the benefit of this and the next world, should take their bath in Devatīrtha. The glory of Devatīrtha has been succinctly recounted, O Brāhmaṇas. It is impossible for me to describe it in detail.

I shall (now) describe Sugrīvatīrtha^[2] on Rāmasetu that bestows salvation.

34-40. By devoutly taking the holy bath here a man obtains the world of the Sun. By taking the holy bath in Sugrīvatīrtha, one shall get the merit of a horse-sacrifice. Expiation for Brāhmaṇa-slaughter and other sins is caused hereby. By proceeding towards Sugrīvatīrtha, one shall get the merit (of the gift) of a thousand cows.

By remembering it one shall get the merit of reciting the Vedas. By merely observing a fast for a day on the banks of this Tīrtha, O Brāhmaṇas, great sins will be destroyed even without a (formal) expiatory rite. One who takes the holy bath there, should offer libations to the Pitṛs and the Devas. He will get eight times the merit of the Yajña (named) Āptoryāma. By taking the holy bath in Sugrīvatīrtha one shall obtain the merit of human sacrifice.

By taking the holy bath in Sugrīvatīrtha, a man will be able to remember (events of the past) births. O Brāhmaṇas, go to Sugrīvatīrtha for the attainment of what is desired. Thus, O Brāhmaṇas, the glory of Sugrīvatīrtha has been recounted to you.

Now I shall recount the glory of Nalatīrtha^[3] to you.

41-46a. By taking the holy bath in Nalatīrtha a man obtains the heavenly world. By taking the holy bath once in Nalatīrtha, one shall be liberated from all sins and shall obtain the excellent merit of the sacrifices Agniṣṭoma, Atirātra, etc.

One who stays there for three days and offers libations to the Pitṛs and the Devas, O Brāhmaṇas, shines like the Sun and obtains the merit of a horse-sacrifice.

I shall now recount Nīlatīrtha^[4] which is destructive of great sins. It has been made by Nīla, the son of Agni, on the Setu. It yields salvation. By taking the holy bath in Nīlatīrtha, a man shall be released from all sins and he obtains hundred times the merit of the Yāga named Bahuvarṇya.

By taking the holy bath in Nīlatīrtha that bestows all desires, a man attains the world of Agni. He shall amply realize all his desires.

46b-50. There is a Tīrtha on the Gandhamādana mountain, made by Gavākṣa.^[5] By taking the holy bath in it, one can avoid falling into a hell.

There is a Tīrtha on the Setu made by Aṅgada.^[6] It bestows salvation. By taking his holy bath here a man attains the status of Devendra.

There are other Tīrthas made by Gaja, Gavaya,^[7] Śarabha of great prowess, Kumuda, Hara and Panasa, the strong one. There are Tīrthas made by other monkeys also on the exceedingly meritorious Rāmasetu on the Gandhamādana mountain. He who takes his holy bath in those Tīrthas attains immortality.

51-55a. There is a Tīrtha made by Bibhīṣaṇa (Vibhīṣaṇa). It liberates one from sins. It subdues great miseries. It dispels great ailments. It is excellent. It is like fire unto the heaps of great sins. It is the destroyer of the torture of Kuṃbhīpāka and other Narakas. It destroys evil dreams. It is conducive to wealth. It removes great poverty. One who takes his holy bath there never incurs any sin. He attains Vaikuṇṭha from where no one returns (to the earth).

There are four Tīrthas made by Vibhīṣaṇa’s ministers. By taking his holy bath there a man is liberated from all sins.

55b-60a. The river Sarayū, O Brāhmaṇas, (comes to and) remains on the Gandhamādana mountain always to serve Rāmanātha, the great lord. By taking their holy bath there, all men become relieved of all sins. They shall attain the merit of resorting to all Tīrthas and performing all penances.

Ten thousand crores of Tīrthas reside on this extremely meritorious Gandhamādana mountain, O excellent Brāhmaṇas. Similarly the rivers including Gaṅgā, the seven oceans, the meritorious hermitages of the sages, the meritorious forests and excellent holy spots of Hari and Śaṅkara are always present on the Gandhamādana mountain.

60b-61. The Four-faced Lord has spoken of another Tīrtha called Upavītāntara (?).

At the bidding of Lord Rāmacandra the thirty-three crores of Devas reside on the Setu along with groups of Pitṛs, all the sages, Yakṣas, Siddhas and the Kinnaras.

Śrī Sūta said:

62-63. Thus, O excellent Brāhmaṇas, the glory of the Tīrthas has been recounted by me. He who reads or listens to this, is liberated from a host of miseries. He attains salvation from which there is no return (to worldly existence).

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Pāṇḍava Tīrtha is not one Tīrtha called Dharma Tīrtha, but a group of five Tīrthas named after the five Pāṇḍava brothers Dharma, Bhīma, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. They are near Gandhamādana Parvata. Mbh does not support this act of Pāṇḍavas. Gandhamādana mentioned here is on the southern ocean, while Gandhamādana mentioned in Mbh, Vana Chs. 144, 155, 158 is a part of the Himalayas.

[2]:

This Tīrtha is on the way to the Gandhamādana Parvata.

[3]:

This is (now) a well in the compound of Mādhava Shrine (3rd Prākāra—West) in the Rameśvara Temple premises.

[4]:

This Tīrtha is near Nalatīrtha in the same premises.

[5]:

This Tīrtha is in the same premises as the Nala- and Nīla-tīrthas.

[6]:

This is on the way to Gandhamādana Parvata, outside the Rāmeśvara Temple.

[7]:

This Tīrtha is near Nala-, Nīla-tīrthas in the same premise (compound of Mādhava Shrine).