Setu Māhātmya of the Skanda Purāṇa: Chapter Guide

Setu Māhātmya, “the glory of the bridge”

The Setu Māhātmya, “the glory of the Setu”, is a section of the Brahma Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Purāṇa. Its twenty-two chapters describe the spiritual greatness of Rāmasetu, the bridge Śrī Rāma built across the ocean to Laṅkā, and of the sacred tīrthas (holy bathing places) along the Gandhamādana mountain in the Setu-kshetra (the holy region of the Setu).

Each chapter deals with one or more tīrthas. It tells the story of how each tīrtha came to be (its māhātmya) and the phala (spiritual fruit) given to pilgrims who bathe there, give dāna (gifts) there or offer pūjā there. Sūta tells the whole text to the munis gathered at Naimishāraṇya.

Overview

The Setu Māhātmya moves step by step, like a pilgrimage, through the tīrthas of Rāmasetu and the Gandhamādana mountain. Bhagavān Rāma himself built this setu and made many of the tīrthas along it holy. The text praises Rāmasetu as a supremely purifying kshetra. Even darśana (the sight) of the setu destroys pāpa (wrongdoing), and snāna (bathing), dāna, tapas (austerity) and śrāddha (rites for the ancestors) done here bring akshaya-phala, fruit that never runs out.

Chapter by Chapter

Chapter 1: The Glory of Rāmasetu

Sūta describes the supreme spiritual power of Rāmasetu. Even animals and insects that cross the setu have their pāpa destroyed. Darśana of Rāmeśvara at the setu grants amṛtatva (immortality). All snāna, dāna, tapas and śrāddha done here bring akshaya-phala. Even thinking of Rāmasetu purifies a person.

Chapter 2: Building the Setu, and the Twenty-Four Tīrthas

Rāma gathers the vānara (monkey) army at Devīpattana and gives Nala the task of building the setu across the ocean to Laṅkā. Twenty-four tīrthas of the Setu-kshetra are listed, starting with Cakratīrtha and ending with Dhanushkoṭi.

Chapter 3: How Cakratīrtha and the Dharma Pushkariṇī Began

Gālava Ṛshi does hard tapas on Gandhamādana and finds the Dharma Pushkariṇī, a sacred lake split into two parts. Vishṇu appears and explains that his Sudarśana cakra (discus) struck the mountain range to kill the asura Durgama, and this made the split tīrtha. The chapter contains Gālava’s stotra (hymn of praise) to Vishṇu, the stotra to Śiva sung by Dharma in person, and Gālava’s stotra to the Sudarśana.

Chapter 4: Durgama and the Origin of Cakratīrtha

This chapter tells the earlier story of Durgama. He was a gandharva who was cursed by Vasishṭha Ṛshi and became an asura who terrorised the tīrtha. The story explains how Indra’s vajra (thunderbolt) cut off the wings of the mountains, splitting the mountain range. The Sudarśana cakra comes down and destroys Durgama.

Chapter 5: Vidhūma, Alambushā, Sahasrānīka, and Liberation at Cakratīrtha

A vasu named Vidhūma is cursed by Brahmā and reborn as Sahasrānīka, king of Kauśāmbī. The apsarā Alambushā is reborn as Mṛgāvatī, his queen. Their son Udayana is born through the fragrance of sandalwood incense. All three reach liberation by bathing at Cakratīrtha.

Chapter 6: Devīpattana and the Birth of Mahishāsura

This chapter tells how Devīpattana began. A daughter of Diti does tapas, and Mahishāsura is born. He conquers all three worlds, and the devas flee to Brahmā. The chapter describes how the tejas (radiant power) of each deity was joined together to form Śrī Devī.

Chapter 7: The Slaying of Mahishāsura, and Rāma Builds from Devīpattana

Devī kills Mahishāsura at the place of the Dharma Pushkariṇī, and the place becomes Devīpattana. Rāma begins building the setu from Devīpattana. During the building, Nala sets nine special floating stones (nava-pāshāṇa) in place.

Chapter 8: How the Vetāla Varada Tīrtha Began

Kāntimatī, Gālava’s daughter, is part of a story of a curse. The vidyādhara Sudarśana is cursed by Gālava and becomes a vetāla (a restless spirit), also known as Kapālasphoṭa.

Chapter 9: Sudarśana Is Freed at the Vetāla Varada Tīrtha

The vetāla Sudarśana (Kapālasphoṭa) meets Aśokadatta, a devoted young man. After a series of wondrous adventures, Sudarśana is at last freed from his vetāla form by bathing at the Vetāla Varada Tīrtha.

Chapter 10: The Pāpavināśana Tīrtha

This tīrtha at Gandhamādana has the special power to destroy even the pāpa of brahmahatyā (killing a brāhmaṇa). The chapter tells the story of Dṛḍhamati, a śūdra, and Sumati, a brāhmaṇa, and how Agastya Muni sends the brāhmaṇa’s son to this tīrtha to free him from the form of a brahmarākshasa (the restless spirit of a fallen brāhmaṇa).

Chapter 11: Sītā Kuṇḍa

Indra kills the rākshasa Kapālābharaṇa, who was really a brāhmaṇa under a curse, and so takes on brahmahatyā. Sītā herself sets up a tīrtha at the setu. Indra bathes there and is freed from brahmahatyā.

Chapter 12: Maṅgalatīrtha

King Manojava rules by dharma, but pride takes hold of him and he loses his kingdom. Parāśara Ṛshi guides him to Maṅgalatīrtha. By bathing there Manojava gets back what he lost, and in the end he reaches Śivaloka.

Chapter 13: Amṛtavāpī and Ekāntarāmanātha

Agastya’s brother does tapas. Śiva appears and sends him to the Ekāntarāmanātha tīrtha. The tīrtha has this name because Rāma held counsel there in private (ekānta) before the battle. An Amṛtavāpī (well of nectar) is also found in this area.

Chapter 14: Brahma Kuṇḍa and the Story of the Liṅgodbhava

Brahmā and Vishṇu quarrel over who is greater. An endless, towering Śivaliṅga appears. Vishṇu honestly admits that he could not find its base. Brahmā falsely claims that he found its top, and the ketakī flower gives false witness for him. Śiva curses Brahmā, that he will receive no pūjā, and also curses the ketakī flower. Brahmā performs yajñas (fire rituals) at Gandhamādana for 80,000 years and is at last forgiven at Brahma Kuṇḍa.

Chapter 15: Hanumat Kuṇḍa

King Dharmanakha of the Kekaya line has a hundred wives but no sons. By bathing at Hanumat Kuṇḍa he gains a hundred sons.

Chapter 16: Agastya Tīrtha and Kakshīvān’s Journey

Kakshīvān Ṛshi, the son of Dīrghatamas, travels to the Agastya Tīrtha at the setu. A magnificent white elephant with four tusks rises out of the tīrtha. Kakshīvān climbs onto it and is carried to the court of King Svanayana.

Chapter 17: Kakshīvān Marries Manoramā

The story of the Agastya Tīrtha continues. Kakshīvān is presented to King Svanayana. Svanayana’s daughter Manoramā places the garland on Kakshīvān at her svayaṃvara (the ceremony where a bride chooses her husband). Uttaṅka Ṛshi performs the wedding. Both families return, blessing the Agastya Tīrtha.

Chapter 18: Rāma Tīrtha, and Yudhishṭhira Is Freed from Pāpa

Sutīkshṇa Ṛshi does intense tapas at Rāmatīrtha, chanting the six-syllable (shaḍakshara) Rāma mantra five thousand times a day. He gains all yogic powers. The chapter contains the full Sutīkshṇa-Rāma-stotra.

During the Kurukshetra war, Yudhishṭhira told the lie “Aśvatthāmā is dead” to make Droṇa put down his weapons. After the war, an aśarīravāṇī (a voice without a body) denies him the right to rule. Vyāsa sends him to Rāmatīrtha. Yudhishṭhira bathes there for a month and is purified.

Chapter 19: Lakshmaṇatīrtha and Balarāma Is Freed

At Naimishāraṇya, Balarāma kills a Sūta in anger, because the Sūta had been given a seat of honour and did not rise to greet him. Balarāma takes on brahmahatyā. He goes on a year-long tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage), but is not fully purified. The ṛshis of Naimisha send him to Lakshmaṇatīrtha at the setu. He bathes there and is fully purified. The chapter also tells how Balarāma killed the rākshasa Balvala, who was defiling the yajñas at Naimishāraṇya.

Chapter 20: Jaṭātīrtha and Śuka’s Purity of Mind

Śuka asks Vyāsa how to gain citta-śuddhi (purity of mind), since Vedānta alone has not purified his mind. Vyāsa explains that Jaṭātīrtha, where Rāma washed his jaṭās (matted locks) after killing Rāvaṇa, grants citta-śuddhi through bathing alone. Bhṛgu gained advaita-vijñāna (the knowledge of non-duality) here on the advice of Varuṇa. Durvāsā and Dattātreya were also purified here. Śuka bathes at Jaṭātīrtha and realises the Self.

Chapter 21: Lakshmī Tīrtha and Yudhishṭhira’s Rājasūya

Yudhishṭhira asks Kṛshṇa how to gain great aiśvarya (wealth and power). Kṛshṇa sends him to Lakshmītīrtha on Gandhamādana. Yudhishṭhira bathes there for a month and then performs the Rājasūya yajña with immense wealth. Kubera gained lordship over the treasures (nidhi-nāyakatva), and a king of Avadha won Rambhā, by bathing here.

Chapter 22: Agnitīrtha and Sītā’s Purity

After killing Rāvaṇa and returning with Sītā, Rāma calls on Agni to bear witness to Sītā’s purity. Agni rises from the ocean at the setu and declares that Sītā is Lakshmī herself and that her purity is complete. The spot where Agni came out of the sea becomes Agnitīrtha. The chapter also tells the story of Paśumān, a merchant of Pāṭaliputra, and his family.

The Main Tīrthas of the Setu-Kshetra

Sources

• Skanda Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Setu Māhātmya, Chapters 1 to 22