39 - The Glorification of Prayāga: Yamunā and the Tirthas thereof 

Märkandeya said: 

1. Here flows along the highly blessed Yamuna, the goddess, daughter of the Sun-god, the most famous river in the three worlds. 

2. Yamuna goes along the same path through which Gangă flows, glorifying the name of which thousands of Yojanas away, is destructive of sins. 

3-4a. By taking bath and drinking water at the place where Yamuna flows, one becomes free from sins and sanctifies his family upto the seventh generation. He who abandons his life there attains the highest destination. 

4b-5. On the southern bank of Yamunā is the holy place known as Agnitirtha.¹ To the west is the sacred spot of Dharmaraja which is known as Anaraka (Non-hell). Those who take bath there go to heaven. Those who die there are not reborn. 

1. Cf. Mt. P. 108.27; Pd. P. I. 45.27. 

6. There is no doubt in this that a pure person who takes his bath there on the fourteenth day in the dark half of the lunar month and propitiates Dharmarāja, becomes free from great sins. 

7. The learned men have proclaimed thus that there are ten thousand holy places and there are ten crores of other sacred spots also abiding in Prayaga. 

8. Vayu has mentioned of three and a half crores of Tirthas in heaven, in the firmament and on the Earth. Gangå is stated to be on par with all these. 

9. The region through which the highly blessed Ganga flows is itself a penance-grove, the tract of land which resorts to the banks of Gangå is known as Siddhi-kşhetra. 

10. That is a holy place, that is the penance-grove, where god Maheśhvara, Mahadeva, the overlord of Devas resides alongwith Madhava. 

11. This truth has to be repeatedly communicated into the ears of twice-borns, of good men, of the son, of the friends as well as into the ears of the closely following (i.e. devoted) disciple: 

12. "This (Tirtha) is blissful or conducive to wealth and attainment of heaven; it is pure, meritorious, beautiful, sacred, excellent and it heightens piety. 

13. This is destructive of all sins; this is a great secret of the great sages. A Brāhmaṇa who pursues his self-study of the Vedas here shall attain purity. 

14. The pure man who always listens to this holy centre of great merit, always derives ability to recollect previous birth. He rejoices in heaven. 

15. Those Tirthas are attained by good men, who guide disciplined persons. O scion of the family of Kurus, perform ablution in the Tirthas. Do not be of crooked intellect." 

16. After saying thus, the holy and great sage Mārkandeya recounted to him the Tirthas that are on the earth. 

17. On being asked, the sage recounted to him in details the structure and the positions of Lands and the seas and the position of planets and other luminaries. After describing everything, the sage went away.

Sūta said: 

18. He who gets up early in the morning, listens to or recites this is released from all sins. He goes to Rudraloka.