Chapter 25 - Greatness of Pindāraka Tīrtha

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Pulastya said:

1. Then the king, one has to go to the Pindāraka Tīrtha which takes away sins. A Brāhmaṇa by name Maṅki had earlier attained fulfilment here by the influence of this place of pilgrimage through penance.

2. Maṅki was a Brāhmaṇa by name only in old times. O King! as an idiot, he was ignorant of the observance of the generous activities of the Brāhmaṇas.

3. O virtuous king! he used to remain engaged in grazing the buffaloes of people in this beautiful mountain.

4. In course of time, he earned some money through that. Then once, he was carrying a pair of cows back home with great difficulty and with the little money that he made for that day.

5. Then O virtuous king! he tied a pair of cows to a camel. As a result, the cows became afraid as per the circumstances so provided to them.

6. Now with its neck region thus obstructed and pressurised out of situational force, the camel, O king! got up swiftly and stood up.

7. With the camel’s getting back into its usual (and normal) posture of long and erect neck, the pair of cows having their safe protection on that camel, got killed which the Brāhmaṇa, witnessed, O king.

8. Then O virtuous king! Maṅki embracing non-attachment left for forest giving up his village. He went and began to put up near some waterfall in the Arbuda mountain.

9. Having a bath three times in a day, he repeatedly recited the Gāyatrī Mantra well within mind with the intention that by doing so he would get rid of sins and have a divine vision while on earth.

10. In the meantime Lord Śaṃkara came along his way. He had stepped out along with Gaurī for sport in that beautiful mountain.

11. Then O king! that great soul Pindāraka, i.e., the grazer of buffaloes, having seen him, instantly paid homage to Śaṃkara.

Then Śaṃkara said:

12. Having a sight of me does not go in vain. O Brāhmaṇa! I have accepted your homage from a distance. O priest! you can ask for the thing desired in the mind, even if that may be difficult to attain.

Pindāraka said:

13-14. O God of gods! let me be your follower till the end of the three worlds. Please do accordingly. There is nothing other than this prevailing in my mind. Let this Pindāraka centre of pilgrimage here be famous after my name.

The God said:

15-16. O good Brāhmaṇa! you will remain my follower till the end of this body of yours. There will be a centre of pilgrimage by name Pindāraka here. O great mind! I shall be present here on the eighth day in each month. Those who undergo the religious activity of having a bath here on the eighth day of a month, will go to that ultimate place with myself ever present here on the same day.

Pulastya said:

17. Having said like this, the great God Mahādeva disappeared then and there. The grazer Maṅki remained engrossed day and night in penance there.

18. With passage of time that great soul went to that divine place giving up body. Becoming His follower, he went and remained there where God Rudra, i.e., Śaṃkara stays.

19. Therefore with all efforts and with incantation, there should be the observance of the religious rite of having a bath here.

20. O king! buffaloes need to be presented specially here on the eighth day of a month so that all desires wished for within, of this world as well as of the after-world get materialized.