Bhāvatīrtha

Bhāvatīrtha · bhāva-tīrtha, “the tīrtha of Bhava (Śiva)”

Bhāvatīrtha, also written Bhavatīrtha, is a tīrtha on the bank of the Gautamī where Bhava, Bhagavān Śiva, is himself present: the indwelling ātmā of the whole universe and of every living being, whose nature is existence and knowledge. Here, by the grace of Bhava, a son named Mahiman was born to King Prācīnabarhis from the splendour of Śiva’s third eye. Brahmā tells Nārada its account in the Gautamī Māhātmya of the Brahma Purāṇa. A holy bath and dāna (gifts) at Bhāvatīrtha give every desirable thing, and seventy sacred tīrthas are there.

King Prācīnabarhis

There was a glorious king, chief among kshatriyas, who carried on the Sūrya-vaṃśa, the line of the Sun. His name was Prācīnabarhis. He was master of every holy rite, and he ruled his kingdom for three and a half crores of years. His vow was this: “When I cease to be young, or when I am parted from my beloved wife, my dear sons and my other loved ones, I will give up my kingdom.” While he ruled, no one anywhere was parted from those they loved. There was no grief of mind and no illness of body, no famine and no quarrel among kinsmen.

The birth of Mahiman

For the sake of a son the wise king performed a yajña, and he stayed on the bank of the Gautamī. There Maheśvara granted him varas as he wished. The king, with his wife, said to Bhava: “Give me a son.” Bhava said to him with love: “Look at my third eye.” When the king looked into that eye, a son was born from its dazzling splendour. He is well known as Mahiman. It was Mahiman who composed the famous sacred stotra called Mahimnaḥ.

Brahmā says: what cannot be gained when Tripurāntaka, the destroyer of the three cities, is pleased? Hari, Brahmā and the other devas always follow him.

The king’s request

Having gained a son, the king asked for an excellent tīrtha which, by its power, would fulfil the wishes of people worn down by many kinds of adversity, and of those overwhelmed by great pāpas (sins), great illnesses and harmful habits. Bhava granted it and gave the first place to the tīrtha called Bhāvatīrtha. Because a son named Mahiman was born to Prācīnabarhis on the bank of the Gautamī by the grace of Bhava, the tīrtha is called Bhavatīrtha.

The phala

• A holy bath (snāna) and dāna at Bhāvatīrtha give every desirable thing.
• There are seventy tīrthas there. They are sacred and give everything.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 83

Sources

• Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 83