Bāṇatīrtha (Lakshmaṇa’s Arrow)
Bāṇatīrtha · bāṇa-tīrtha, “the tīrtha of the arrow”
Bāṇatīrtha has other meanings too: see all meanings of Bāṇatīrtha.
Bāṇatīrtha, “the tīrtha of the arrow”, is a tīrtha on the Gautamī (the Godāvarī), one of the tīrthas that arose around Rāmatīrtha. It is the place where the arrow fell from the hand of the merciful Lakshmaṇa when King Daśaratha, drawn out of naraka, came in his body of torment to his sons Śrī Rāma and Lakshmaṇa and to Sītā on the bank of the river. Brahmā tells Nārada the account in the Gautamī Māhātmya of the Brahma Purāṇa. Bāṇatīrtha dispels all adversities.
Daśaratha comes to the Gautamī
Brahmā tells Nārada that King Daśaratha of Ayodhyā, of the line of Ikshvāku, had fallen into naraka for the deaths of brāhmaṇas that happened at his hand. While Śrī Rāma went slowly through the forest, Yama, the lord of the southern quarter, told his servants that the king must not be tormented in naraka while his son Rāma was within five yojanas of the Gautamī, for the Gautamī is the great Śakti joined to Śiva, and if even the son of one laden with pāpa thinks of the Gaṅgā, the father is freed. The servants drew the king out of naraka and told him that if Rāma and Lakshmaṇa bathed in the Gautamī, remembered him and offered piṇḍas (rice-balls for the departed), he would be freed of all pāpas and go to svarga. With their leave, the king went to his sons.
He came in the body that is given for undergoing torment (yātanā-śarīra), an awful body, sighing and ashamed as he remembered his deeds. Rāma, Lakshmaṇa and Jānakī (Sītā) had reached the banks of the Gautamī and bathed. That day the people on the banks had nothing to eat, and Rāma was teaching Lakshmaṇa that hunger is the fruit of not honouring brāhmaṇas, and that after bathing and honouring the devas one must light the fire and offer homa.
Lakshmaṇa’s bow
While the brothers spoke of the way of karma, King Daśaratha came slowly towards them. The moment he saw him, Lakshmaṇa drew his bow and called out: “Stop! Stop! Are you a rākshasa or a dānava?” As the figure came nearer, Lakshmaṇa said: “Go away! The virtuous king Rāma, son of Daśaratha, stays here, devoted to his guru, truthful, serving the devas and the brāhmaṇas, able to protect the three worlds. Those laden with pāpa, like you, have no entry where Rāma stays. If you enter, you will be killed.”
Hearing his son’s words, the king joined his palms and, with his face bent down, called gently to his sons and his daughter-in-law: “I am King Daśaratha, dear sons. I am surrounded by three pāpas of brahma-hatyā. See my body, split and cooked in the narakas.” Rāma, Sītā and Lakshmaṇa bowed to the ground before him. Then followed his account of his deeds, Sītā’s offer to take on the first pāpa, and the offering of the piṇḍa of iṅgudī by which Daśaratha was freed and rose to svarga.
The tīrtha and its phala
The place where the arrow fell from the hand of the merciful Lakshmaṇa became the tīrtha Bāṇatīrtha. It dispels all adversities. Brahmā names it with the other tīrthas of that account: Rāmatīrtha, where Śrī Rāma bathed and installed Maheśvara; Śavatīrtha, where the body fell; Lakshmaṇatīrtha, where Lakshmaṇa bathed and worshipped Śaṅkara; and Sītātīrtha.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 53
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 53