Chapter 10 - The Benefits of Bath in Narmadā

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Yudhiṣṭhira said:

1-12. O excellent Brāhmaṇa, in which Kalpa was this highly esteemable Narmadā divided by all the noble-souled sages endowed with the power of penance? Narrate this in detail, O most excellent one among eloquent persons.

What calamities have the people to face at the end of the Kalpa? O Sir, describe the arrangement as existed in the last Kalpa? O sinless one, how was this in the earlier Kalpa that preceded it?

On being requested thus in the midst of the assembly, Mārkaṇḍa spoke these words:

Mārkaṇḍeya said:

I shall narrate (it). Let this be listened to by all. This story has been successively heard from the earlier days. This is the special story of the the great Kalpa beyond this one, when Kāla (Time, god of destruction) was terrible and hideous, causing the destruction of the worlds. Even in that highly terrible situation, this (river) did not die. Hence she was divided by the delighted (sages). Listen to that story. In the three days of Pitāmaha, when the Yuga was about to come to an end, the mental sons of Brahma, excellent persons like Brahmā himself, viz. Sanaka and other noble souls, and those who were called Vaimānika Gaṇas (groups of people moving about in aerial chariots), the Guardians of the quarters, Yama, Indra, Varuṇa and others—all these remained awaiting Kāla (god of death). They were interested in the events of the world. Then, when the Kalpa came to a close, they had excellent knowledge that the life span of everyone comes to a close in accordance with the nature of the Yuga. They then left Bhūrloka (earth) and came to Bhuvaḥ world. Then they gradually (moved) to Svarloka, Mahaḥ, Jana and Tapas Lokas (regions). After all the other Lokas, they resorted to the excellent Satyaloka. For a period of a thousand Yugas, they remained in Satyaloka, accompanied by their sons and grandsons till the Cosmos was created again.

13-20a. Such of those sons of Brahmā as do not exist at the beginning of the Kalpa, leave off the three worlds and remain without any supporting base. The Brāhmaṇas who were with them and the ascetics as well, Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, Piśācas, the other Vaimānika Gaṇas, the highly esteemable sages, the different kinds of Varṇas—all these undergo suffering on the earth along with others dwelling on the surface.

A great drought extending to a hundred years happened to befall them. It was extremely terrible, bringing about the destruction of the worlds, causing trees and creepers also to perish. It brought about a great agitation in all the three worlds and dried up the seven oceans. All the people were overpowered by hunger. They began to wander in all the ten quarters. In their miserable condition, they sustained themselves with fruits and roots and bulbous roots. The rivers, wells, oceans and sacred Tīrthas as well were resorted to. These too—all the oceans and rivers, got dried up. Thereat living beings of very poor intrinsic strength got perished at the outset, being deprived of a great quantity of water.

20b-27a. When the rivers and oceans got destroyed, sixty thousand sages living in Kurukṣetra, Vaikhānasa Brāhmaṇas, Dantolūkhalins (who just bit grains with their teeth making them their threshing and pounding rods), ascetics who lived in secret caves of Himācala—all these ascetics who were distressed due to hunger and thirst approached me. With palms joined together in veneration all said: “O great sage, we are in anguish. O Brāhmaṇa, the whole universe consisting of rivers, oceans and mountains has completely dried up. Where will we all go together until the times change? O eminent Brāhmaṇa, you are long-lived. You did not die even at the close of the Yuga. Everything of the past, future and present is retained in your heart (memory). Hence you know everything. O Brāhmaṇa of great holy rites, do tell us. How long will we have to spend, O highly esteemable sage of good Vratas? All the mobile and immobile beings are distressed on being assailed by drought. Save us from utter annihilation, O highly esteemable one.”

27b-33a Thereupon, I mentally pondered and spoke thus urging those Brāhmaṇas: “All of you leave this Kurukṣetra along with your wives and sons. Leaving this northern quarter, let us go to the excellent southern region, abounding in towns, villages and milkmen’s colonies, and beautified by cities and metropolitan areas, Let us go to the banks of Narmadā resorted to by many Siddhas. Let us see that highly meritorious (river) born of Rudra’s limbs, conducive to the destruction of all sins, the highly esteemable one surrounded by Nyagrodha trees. Her waters have ripples and whirlpools; she abounds in frogs and fish. The chirping sound of different kinds of birds reverberates. Crores of sages resort to her. She is ardently attended upon by the devotees of Maheśvara, Sāṅkhyas and Siddhas. We are afraid of droughts but on both of her banks we shall build our hermitages without difficulty. We can successfully perform holy rites.”

33b-36. On being told thus they came to the banks of Narmadā accompanied by their followers. They settled there without any fear from anywhere. They remembered the common difficulties at the beginning of a Kalpa. They came to the banks of Narmadā at the very beginning of Kali Yuga.

Then for a complete period of a hundred divine years they stayed on the banks of Revā. O king, I witnessed the miracle of the stay of the sages there for a period of thirty-six thousand human years.

37-52. When (the other parts of) the world were assailed by drought, when the mobile and immobile beings became dried up, when all the reckonings of the beginning of the Yuga had been changed, when there was loss of consciousness followed by a hue and cry, when the classification of the four Varṇas became extinct, when the. order of Balis (oblations) and Homas became defunct, when the utterance of the phrases Svāhā and Vaṣaṭ ceased, when the purity of personal cleanliness and good conduct was no longer maintained, then this excellent river alone was resorted to by crores of sages. No other river was as beautiful as this in all the three worlds, O king. This region with the meritorious water shone like the city of Amarāvatī of Indra. The divine river Narmadā shone like Gaṅgā in Svarga.

The temples and shrines were splendid and the hermitages were well-planned. There were as many shrines adorning both the banks as there were trees and mountains up to the spot where she meets the ocean. When Agnihotras were performed, the sacrificial offerings and the smoke issuing forth gave the region around Narmadā the appearance of a night during rainy season.

Shining splendid with the adorations and consecrations in the many shrines, the area with many rivers blazed like the cities of Indra and of Bhāskara.

Some performed austerities in the midst of five fires. Some performed Agnihotras. Some of them were engaged in austere penance and they took in (inhaled) the columns of smoke. Some were engaged in Ātmayajña (meditation on the self). Others were engaged in devotional practices. Some followed the Vaiṣṇava tenets and others the Śaiva observances of vows.

In taking food also, they had varieties: Intake of food once in a day, once in two days, once in six days etc. Some practised Cāndrāyaṇa; some Kṛcchra and some Atikṛcchra. Thus they worshipped Lord Śaṅkara and Lord Keśava by means of these and similar kinds of austerities elaborately practised on the banks of Narmadā.

They worshipped the great Lord as a single entity or in different forms. In the extremely terrible Kali Yuga, they attained excellent Siddhi. Lord Īśa granted Siddhis to the different devotees in accordance with the nature of their devotion, extent of knowledge and the aspect of the deity adored with devotion. In accordance with the natural urge they attained Siddhi and got dissolved (in the deity?).

Those people who resort to different deities, wallow in the ocean of worldly existence. They are persons who leave the great tree of Iśāna and cling to the branches. They come back to the world and are born frequently. In the course of the four Yugas, they wander successively in various kinds of births as Devas, immobile beings etc.

53-61. Re-birth, off to Svarga and down to the terrible Raurava—that will be their lot. On the other hand, those who devoutly worship Bhava, Lord Iśāna, on the banks of Narmadā, are not born again. Some of those who had been adoring till their death had attained the greatest goal; some in twelve years; other ascetics in six years; some in three years; some in a single year. Some have become Siddhas in six months and others in three months. These sages had resorted to the Lord and Narmadā of great renown. After cutting off all the defects of the worldly existence, they have attained the eternal Brahman.

Thus in Kali Age, hundreds and thousands of sages have resorted to the banks of Narmadā and merged into Rudra. Those Brāhmaṇas who resort to the banks of Narmadā and put in effort to perform the Śaiva Vrata, devoutly take their holy bath thrice a day and adore the Lord, attain Śiva. Or those who constantly remember Nārāyaṇa along with meditations, adorations, Japas and Mahāvratas cross to the other shore of the ocean of worldly existence like royal swans with their white wings well-washed.

It is the truth. It is the truth. Again it is the truth. It is being proclaimed with raised hands. This has been excellently decided and concluded that Nārāyaṇa should be meditated upon always.

62-68. He who conquers his self, O king, resides for a month or a fortnight resorting to Revā and worships Hara, becomes a man of great esteem. He shall become identical with the Pināka-bearing Lord of Devas.

Even worms, insects and ants that die in the waters of Narmadā, attain divine forms. They are born in noble families living for a hundred years engaged in pious rites.

Those trees whose roots have been eroded by the great waves and rapid currents and fall down in due course, get their sins destroyed through the waters of Narmada. They shine refulgently and proceed to heaven.

Even senseless, deaf and mute ones having no vested interests and ardent desires or those who earnestly desire things, when they die on the banks of Revā, do go to heaven. Why should one doubt then about the Brāhmaṇas endowed with emotional fervour with Bhava as their object of worship?

The devotees who perform the worship of Śiva and direct their mental feelings towards Keśava and get their bodies purified by the waters of Revā, do attain, on being liberated from their bodies, that goal which those others who subject their limbs to desiccation through monthly fasts do not attain.

Those who resort to the banks of Narmadā and adore Śiva of immutable splendour or Nārāyaṇa with mental purity, do not taste the breast-milk of mothers again. There are other great sages who resort to the banks of Narmadā eulogized with hymns by Devas, and sustain themselves through grains of Nīvāra, Śyāmāka, Yava, Iṅguda etc.; they do not meet with death.

69-75. Those who approach the banks of the divine river and get themselves truly purified by the worship of the Lord thrice a day, do not lie down again within the belly of a young woman with faeces, urine, skin, bones and veins as their pillows. Of what avail to them are the many kinds of sacrifices and Dāna or the entire range of excellent Tīrthas resorted to by them? They resort to the northern or southern banks of Narmadā traversed previously by Rudra himself. Those men who do not resort to Revā who originated from Rudra’s body and who functions like a flight of stairs unto heaven, have been cheated, are lame, sluggish and blind and are on a par with brutes.

The eminent Brāhmaṇas who never wish to see Kaliyuga again shall approach the banks of Narmadā, eschew association with all the others and worship Śarva. In spite of being overwhelmed by innumerable obstacles those who never leave the banks of Narmadā are worthy of being honoured: They should be venerated by all the people. They do what is beneficial to all the people.

Bhṛgu, Atri, Gārgeya, Vaśiṣṭha and Kaṅka along with hundreds of other persons have taken bath in the waters (of this river have attained the greatest of Siddhis and have gone to the worlds of Maruts (Devas), not to others.

Those who are always pure in their inner thoughts and read this holy and highly meritorious narrative that yields wisdom, are really men of great esteem. They attain the greatest goal. Indeed the statement of Rudra himself is a valid testimony thereof.