Aghamarshaṇa Tīrtha is a great tīrtha (pilgrimage place) at the foot of the Vindhya mountains, the range that divides the northern and southern parts of Bhārata. The Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa names it in the fourth chapter of the sixth Skandha. It is famous as a mahātīrtha that destroys pāpa (sin).

Here Daksha Prajāpati bathed three times a day, prayed to Bhagavān Śrī Hari with the Haṃsaguhya Stotra, and received a vara (boon) from Bhagavān Vishṇu.

The name

The name means “the one that removes agha“. Agha is pāpa (sin), and marshaṇa is removing or bearing away. The waters of the tīrtha take away pāpa.

Daksha’s tapas

Daksha Prajāpati had made devas, asuras and humans by the resolve of his mind alone (manasaṃkalpa). This creation did not grow into many children as he wished. So he decided to do hard tapas (austerity).

He went to the foot of the Vindhya mountains and came to Aghamarshaṇa Tīrtha. He bathed there three times each day (trikāla snāna). By his tapas he pleased Bhagavān Śrī Hari, who is beyond all the senses (indriyātīta). His prayer was the Haṃsaguhya Stotra, the secret of the paramahaṃsas.

Bhagavān Vishṇu appears

Bhagavān Vishṇu appeared before Daksha, seated on Garuḍa. He had eight great arms. They held the cakra, śaṅkha, khaḍga, kheṭaka, bāṇa, dhanus, pāśa and gadā. His body was dark like a rain-cloud. He wore a yellow garment (pītāmbara) and bore the Śrīvatsa and the Kaustubha. He was adorned with a crown and ornaments. Nārada, Nanda and other attendants (anucāras) stood around him, and the lokapālas (guardians of the worlds) were with him.

Daksha bowed to the ground. He was so full of ānanda (joy) that he could not speak.

Bhagavān Vishṇu then gave him a vara. He told Daksha to marry Asiknī, the daughter of Pañcajana, and to have many children through her. Then Bhagavān Vishṇu disappeared.

The Haryaśvas

The Haryaśvas, the ten thousand sons of Daksha, later did tapas at Nārāyaṇa-saras, a related sacred lake. Bathing there removed the deep impurities of the heart and gave them a firm understanding of ātma-dharma.

Sources

Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 6th Skandha, Chapter 4