Pañcatīrtha (Gautamī)

Pañcatīrtha · pañca-tīrtha, “the five tīrthas”

Pañcatīrtha has other meanings too: see all meanings of Pañcatīrtha.

Pañcatīrtha, “the five tīrthas”, is the place on the Gautamī where five rivers join the Gaṅgā: Sāvitrī, Gāyatrī, Śraddhā, Medhā and Sarasvatī, the five eldest daughters of Brahmā, who took the form of rivers. The ṛshis know these five tīrthas as very holy, and Sarasvatī is the chief of them. Brahmā himself tells Nārada their origin in the Gautamī Māhātmya of the Brahma Purāṇa, together with the tīrtha of Mṛgavyādha, where Bhagavān Śiva stood as the hunter of the stag to protect dharma. Bathing here and drinking the water releases one from all pāpas (sins), and whatever one does in these rivers yields every cherished thing and moksha through naishkarmya, freedom from action.

How the five tīrthas came to be

Brahmā tells Nārada that Sāvitrī, Gāyatrī, Śraddhā, Medhā and Sarasvatī were his eldest daughters. Then he created a maiden, the most beautiful woman in the world, the most excellent of all, and went towards her, and she fled. She took the form of a hind (mṛgī), and Brahmā took the form of a stag (mṛga). To protect dharma, Bhagavān Śambhu became Mṛgavyādha, the hunter of the stag.

Brahmā’s five daughters were afraid and went to the Gaṅgā, the great river, and Maheśvara went ahead of them to protect dharma. Then Bhagavān Hara, the hunter of the stag, took up his divine bow and arrows, and Īśa said to Brahmā: “I will slay you.” Brahmā turned back from that act and gave the maiden to Sūrya.

The five daughters, beginning with Sāvitrī, took the form of rivers and flowed together, and they came again to Brahmā in svarga. The place where these rivers joined the divine river Gaṅgā came to be called Pañcatīrtha. All its confluences are holy, and Sarasvatī is the chief of the five rivers.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 32

The rite and its phala

The Brahma Purāṇa promises:

  • By bathing at these five tīrthas and drinking their water, one is released from all pāpas.
  • A holy bath, the giving of dāna (gifts), and whatever a man does in those rivers yields all cherished things, and yields moksha through naishkarmya.
  • The tīrtha of Mṛgavyādha, named after Bhagavān Śiva as the hunter of the stag, is also there. It gives men all they seek, bears the fruit of svarga and moksha, and yields the fruit of Brahmatīrtha.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 32

Sources

  • Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 32