Pāpanāśana Tīrtha (Veṅkaṭācala)
Pāpanāśana Tīrtha is one of the six supremely sacred tīrthas (pilgrimage places) on the mountain Veṅkaṭādri that give moksha directly. It lies to the north of Svāmi Pushkariṇī. The name means “destroyer of pāpa” (sin). The tīrtha is known for removing the hold of a brahma-rākshasa and for destroying brahmahatyā and the other mahāpātakas (great pāpas).
Narratives in Chapters 14, 19 and 20 of the Veṅkaṭācala Māhātmya are set here. They tell of the śūdra Dṛḍhamati, the poor brahmin Bhadramati and his wife Kāminī, Sughosha who gave land, and the brahmin Sumatī. Its best bathing days are Āśvayuja Śukla Saptamī that falls on a Wednesday with the Uttarāshāḍhā nakshatra, and Āśvayuja Dvādaśī with the Uttarābhādra nakshatra.
Location
Pāpanāśana Tīrtha lies to the north of Svāmi Pushkariṇī on the sacred mountain Veṅkaṭādri. Chapter 27 names it as one of the six moksha-giving tīrthas of the mountain. The other five are Svāmi Pushkariṇī, Ākāśagaṅgā, Pāṇḍu Tīrtha, Kumāradhārikā and Tumburu (Ghoṇa) Tīrtha. (Veṅkaṭācala Māhātmya, Chapter 27)
The setting in the Māhātmya
Chapter 19 of the Veṅkaṭācala Māhātmya teaches the glory of Veṅkaṭādri. Sūta tells how Brahmā, Bhagavān Śiva, Indra and all the devas live on different parts of the mountain. He then teaches how a person should climb the mountain, including the prayer to be said before setting foot on its holy slopes. After that, Sūta brings in Pāpanāśana as a tīrtha of special power, to the north of Svāmi Pushkariṇī. Its name tells its work: it destroys all pāpas. (Veṅkaṭācala Māhātmya, Chapter 19)
Dṛḍhamati is freed
A śūdra devotee named Dṛḍhamati came to Veṅkaṭādri possessed by a brahma-rākshasa. The brahma-rākshasa had been a brahmin in an earlier birth and had fallen into that state through a grave wrong. Dṛḍhamati bathed at Pāpanāśana Tīrtha and was freed from the possession. The brahma-rākshasa was freed at the same time. So the power of the tīrtha reaches even those who possess a devotee, and not only the devotee himself. (Veṅkaṭācala Māhātmya, Chapters 19–20)
Bhadramati, Kāminī and the gift of land
A poor brahmin named Bhadramati lived in great hardship. His wife Kāminī was a woman of fine character and wisdom. When their poverty became very hard, she advised him. She told him to cross the Svarṇamukhī river, go to Veṅkaṭādri, bathe in Svāmi Pushkariṇī, go to Pāpanāśana Tīrtha, and give bhūdāna (a gift of land) to a worthy brahmin.
Through this act of great devotion, one Sughosha, a devotee who gave bhūdāna at Pāpanāśana, reached Vaikuṇṭha directly. The account ends with Bhagavān Veṅkaṭeśa himself appearing to Bhadramati at Pāpanāśana Tīrtha after Bhadramati had given the bhūdāna. Bhadramati then spoke a full stotra (hymn of praise) to Bhagavān Veṅkaṭeśa. (Veṅkaṭācala Māhātmya, Chapter 20)
The freeing of Sumatī
The brahmin Sumatī was followed by the brahmahatyā in the form of a terrible rākshasī. This is told in Chapter 14, in the teaching of Durvāsa. In the end Sumatī was sent to Pāpanāśana Tīrtha. A bath there removed the brahmahatyā-rākshasī completely, and Sumatī reached moksha. This account runs through Chapters 14 and 20. It shows Pāpanāśana as the best remedy for brahmahatyā, the heaviest of all the mahāpātakas. (Veṅkaṭācala Māhātmya, Chapters 14, 20)
The best time to bathe
Chapter 27 lists two occasions when all the tīrthas of the three worlds come together at Pāpanāśana:
- Āśvayuja Śukla Saptamī that falls on a Wednesday (Budha), when the Uttarāshāḍhā nakshatra is present.
- Āśvayuja Dvādaśī together with the Uttarābhādra nakshatra.
On these days, a bath here and the gift of a Śālagrāma śilā to a worthy brahmin destroys all the pāpas gathered over a hundred koṭi births. (Veṅkaṭācala Māhātmya, Chapter 27)
Sources
- Skanda Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Veṅkaṭācala Māhātmya, Chapter 14
- Skanda Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Veṅkaṭācala Māhātmya, Chapter 19
- Skanda Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Veṅkaṭācala Māhātmya, Chapter 20
- Skanda Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Veṅkaṭācala Māhātmya, Chapter 27