Puṇyā (River)

Puṇyā, “the holy one”

Puṇyā is a holy river that joins the Gaṅgā, the Gautamī. Brahmā tells Nārada, in the Gautamī Māhātmya of the Brahma Purāṇa, that when Indra was bathed to free him from the pāpa of brahmahatyā, Brahmā poured over him the water of his own kamaṇḍalu, and from that water two rivers arose, the Puṇyā and the Siktā, and joined the Gaṅgā. Their confluences are well known and frequented by ṛshis. The tīrtha where the Puṇyā joins the Gaṅgā has since then been called the Puṇyasaṅgama tīrtha.

Indra and the brahmahatyā

When Vṛtra had been slain, brahmahatyā pursued Indra, and Indra was afraid at the very thought of it. The slayer of Vṛtra ran here and there, and wherever he went the brahmahatyā followed. At last he entered a great lake, went into a lotus stalk and made his home there in the form of a fibre. The brahmahatyā stood watching on the bank of the lake for a thousand divine years, and all that time the devas were without Indra.

The devas took counsel calmly: how could Indra be regained? Brahmā told them: “Let Indra be bathed with the waters of the Gautamī. After a holy bath he will be pure in his ātmā and will be Indra once again.” So the devas and ṛshis went to the Gautamī, wishing to perform Indra’s abhisheka after he had bathed. But as he was about to be bathed, Gautama Maharshi said: “I will burn to ashes all who pour water over Indra, who defiled the bed of his guru. Let the devas go away quickly.”

Māṇḍavya and Mālava

The devas left the Gautamī and hurried to the Narmadā, taking Indra with them. On the northern bank of the Narmadā they stood ready to bathe him, but the holy ṛshi Māṇḍavya said: “If the abhisheka is performed, I will burn you to ashes.” The devas honoured Māṇḍavya with stotras and persuaded him: “O ṛshi, wherever the thousand-eyed Indra is about to be bathed, a terrible obstacle arises. Perform a śānti rite to quell it and be gracious to us. We shall give you a place for a yajña and many other good things. The land where Indra’s abhisheka takes place shall be full of grain, trees and fruit; it will give men all they desire, and there will never be drought or famine there.” Māṇḍavya, honoured by the world, agreed, and the abhisheka and the rites of purification were performed there with all ceremony. The devas and ṛshis then named that land Mālava.

The birth of the Puṇyā

Then they brought the Gautamī Gaṅgā and bathed Indra again, for the increase of puṇya. The devas, the ṛshis, Brahmā, Vishṇu, Vasishṭha, Gautama, Agastya, Atri, Kaśyapa, the yakshas, the nāgas and others performed the abhisheka with that sacred water. Then Brahmā bathed Indra with the water from his kamaṇḍalu. From it two rivers arose, the Puṇyā and the Siktā, and they joined the Gaṅgā.

Their confluences are well known and frequented by ṛshis. From then on the tīrtha where the Puṇyā joins the Gaṅgā has been called the Puṇyasaṅgama tīrtha, and the tīrtha at the confluence of the Siktā is called the Aindra tīrtha. Seven thousand splendid tīrthas arose there.

Rites and their phala

  • Snāna (holy bath) and dāna at the confluence give akshaya (unending) fruit. “This must be known. No doubt need be felt about it.”
  • The tīrtha of Indra destroys the pāpa of brahmahatyā. Even when it is only remembered, it destroys heaps of pāpas and masses of suffering.
  • One who reads or hears this holy account is freed from all pāpas of thought, word and deed.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 26

Sources

  • Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 26