Madhuvana Tīrtha

Madhuvana (also called Madhvāraṇya or Viśrānti Tīrtha) is a supremely sacred grove within Indraprastha. Bhagavān Vishṇu himself set it up there.

The name Viśrānti means “the resting place”. It comes from the tradition that Bhagavān Vishṇu rested (viśrānta) here after his cosmic labours. Śrāddha (the offering to the ancestors) done at the Viśrānti Tīrtha frees all six generations of ancestors at once: three before and three after. This makes it the supreme place for the freedom of ancestors in the Kaliyuga.

Name and holiness

Madhuvana means the sweet forest, the forest of Madhu. It is the sacred grove where Bhagavān Vishṇu himself rested, and this gave it the other name Viśrānti, the Place of Rest. Bhagavān Vishṇu set it up within Indraprastha by his own act, when he made Indraprastha the supreme sum of all tīrthas. The Purāṇa describes the grove as filled with the peace and holiness that remain from the resting presence of Bhagavān Vishṇu. (Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 200)

Power to free the ancestors

The great virtue of Madhuvana-Viśrānti is in śrāddha. The Purāṇa says that śrāddha done at Viśrānti frees all six generations of ancestors at once. This is more than the usual claim for Gayā, which frees three generations. Even Gayā cannot free one who has died in a state as heavy with pāpa as that of a woman who lived unchastely. But Madhuvana within Indraprastha can. (Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 214)

Kuśala’s wife

The alligator had once been Kuśala’s unchaste wife. Her son did her śrāddha at the Viśrānti Tīrtha within Indraprastha. She was freed from her birth as an alligator and went up to Vaikuṇṭha. All six generations of the family were freed at the same time. Bhagavān Vishṇu appeared to the son who did the rite, and confirmed what had happened. (Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 214)

Sources

• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapters 200, 213–214