चतुर्विधानि तीर्थानि स्वर्गे मर्त्ये रसातले दैवानि मुनिशार्दूल आसुराण्य् आरुषाणि च
There are four kinds of sacred places in heaven, on earth, and in the netherworld: divine, O best of sages, demonic, and those of the reddish hue.
मानुषाणि त्रिलोकेषु विख्यातानि सुरादिभिः मानुषेभ्यश् च तीर्थेभ्य आर्षं तीर्थम् अनुत्तमम्
Among the three worlds, the human sacred places are renowned by the gods and others; and among the human sacred places, the sage-founded one is unsurpassed.
आर्षेभ्यश् चैव तीर्थेभ्य आसुरं बहुपुण्यदम् आसुरेभ्यस् तथा पुण्यं दैवं तत् सार्वकामिकम्
From the sages and from the sacred fords arise the demonic ones, which bestow much merit; and from the demonic, the divine, which is all-desire-fulfilling.
ब्रह्मविष्णुशिवैश् चैव निर्मितं दैवम् उच्यते त्रिभ्यो यद् एकं जायेत तस्मान् नातः परं विदुः
That which is established by Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva is called divine; whatever is born from these three together, nothing is known beyond that.
त्रयाणाम् अपि लोकानां तीर्थं मेध्यम् उदाहृतम् तत्रापि जाम्बवं द्वीपं तीर्थं बहुगुणोदयम्
Among all the three worlds, the sacred ford is declared pure; and among them, the Jambudvipa ford is renowned for its many virtues.
जाम्बवे भारतं वर्षं तीर्थं त्रैलोक्यविश्रुतम् कर्मभूमिर् यतः पुत्र तस्मात् तीर्थं तद् उच्यते
In Jambudvipa, the land of Bharata is the sacred ford, famed throughout the three worlds, for, my son, it is the field of action; therefore, it is called the sacred ford.
तत्रैव यानि तीर्थानि यान्य् उक्तानि मया तव हिमवद्विन्ध्ययोर् मध्ये षण्नद्यो देवसंभवाः
There, the sacred fords which I have mentioned to you, situated between the Himalayas and the Vindhyas, and the six rivers of divine origin—
तथैव देवजा ब्रह्मन् दक्षिणार्णवविन्ध्ययोः एता द्वादश नद्यस् तु प्राधान्येन प्रकीर्तिताः
Likewise, O Brahman, the rivers born of the gods between the southern ocean and the Vindhyas—these twelve rivers are proclaimed as foremost.
अभिसंपूजितं यस्माद् भारतं बहुपुण्यदम् कर्मभूमिर् अतो देवैर् वर्षं तस्मात् प्रकीर्तितम्
Because Bharata, the land of great merit, is honored and is the field of action by the gods, therefore it is renowned as the land.
आर्षाणि चैव तीर्थानि देवजानि क्वचित् क्वचित् आसुरैर् आवृतान्य् आसंस् तद् एवासुरम् उच्यते
The sacred fords of the sages and those born of the gods, in some places, were overtaken by the demons; those are called demonic.
दैवेष्व् एव प्रदेशेषु तपस् तप्त्वा महर्षयः दैवप्रभावात् तपस आर्षाण्य् अपि च तान्य् अपि
In the regions of the divine, the great sages performed austerities; by the power of the divine and their penance, even the sage-born fords became so.
आत्मनः श्रेयसे मुक्त्यै पूजायै भूतये ऽथवा आत्मनः फलभूत्यर्थं यशसो ऽवाप्तये पुनः
For one's own welfare, for liberation, for worship, for prosperity, or for the sake of personal gain, or again for the attainment of fame—
मानुषैः कारितान्य् आहुर् मानुषाणीति नारद एवं चतुर्विधो भेदस् तीर्थानां मुनिसत्तम
Those established by humans are called human fords, O Narada; thus, O best of sages, there is a fourfold division of sacred fords.
भेदं न कश्चिज् जानाति श्रोतुं युक्तो ऽसि नारद बहवः पण्डितंमन्याः शृण्वन्ति कथयन्ति च सुकृती को ऽपि जानाति वक्तुं श्रोतुं निजैर् गुणैः
No one knows the distinction; you are fit to hear, O Narada. Many who consider themselves learned listen and speak, but only a virtuous one knows how to speak or hear by their own qualities.
तेषां स्वरूपं भेदं च श्रोतुम् इच्छामि तत्त्वतः यच् छ्रुत्वा सर्वपापेभ्यो मुच्यते नात्र संशयः
I wish to hear, in truth, their nature and distinctions; by hearing this, one is freed from all sins—of this there is no doubt.
ब्रह्मन् कृतयुगादौ तु उपायो ऽन्यो न विद्यते तीर्थसेवां विना स्वल्पायासेनाभीष्टदायिनीम्
O Brahman, at the beginning of the Krita age, there was no other means except service to the sacred fords, which grants the desired result with little effort.
न त्वया सदृशो धातर् वक्ता ज्ञाताथवा क्वचित् त्वं नाभिकमले विष्णोः संजातो ऽखिलपूर्वजः
There is no one like you, O Creator, as a speaker or knower; you were born in the lotus of Vishnu's navel, the eldest of all.
गोदावरी भीमरथी तुङ्गभद्रा च वेणिका तापी पयोउष्णी विन्ध्यस्य दक्षिणे तु प्रकीर्तिताः
The Godavari, Bhimarathi, Tungabhadra, Venika, Tapi, and Payoshni are proclaimed to the south of the Vindhya.
भागीरथी नर्मदा तु यमुना च सरस्वती विशोका च वितस्ता च हिमवत्पर्वताश्रिताः
The Bhagirathi, Narmada, Yamuna, Sarasvati, Vishoka, and Vitasta are situated on the Himalaya mountains.
एता नद्यः पुण्यतमा देवतीर्थान्य् उदाहृताः गयः कोल्लासुरो वृत्रस् त्रिपुरो ह्य् अन्धकस् तथा
These rivers are most holy, declared as divine fords: Gaya, Kollasura, Vritra, Tripura, and likewise Andhaka.
हयमूर्धा च लवणो नमुचिः शृङ्गकस् तथा यमः पातालकेतुश् च मयः पुष्कर एव च
Hayamūrdhā, Lavaṇa, Namuci, Śṛṅgaka, Yama, Pātālaketu, Maya, and Puṣkara—
एतैर् आवृततीर्थानि आसुराणि शुभानि च प्रभासो भार्गवो ऽगस्तिर् नरनारायणौ तथा
By these, the tīrthas belonging to the Asuras, both auspicious and otherwise, are surrounded; Prabhāsa, Bhārgava, Agastya, and likewise Nara-Nārāyaṇa—
वसिष्ठश् च भरद्वाजो गोतमः कश्यपो मनुः इत्यादिमुनिजुष्टानि ऋषितीर्थानि नारद
Vasiṣṭha, Bharadvāja, Gotama, Kaśyapa, Manu—these and other sages, O Nārada, have sanctified the tīrthas of the seers.
अम्बरीषो हरिश्चन्द्रो मान्धाता मनुर् एव च कुरुः कनखलश् चैव भद्राश्वः सगरस् तथा
Ambarīṣa, Hariścandra, Māndhātṛ, Manu, Kuru, Kanakhala, Bhadrāśva, and likewise Sagara—
अश्वयूपो नाचिकेता वृषाकपिर् अरिंदमः इत्यादिमानुषैर् विप्र निर्मितानि शुभानि च
Aśvayūpa, Naciketas, Vṛṣākapi, Ariṃdama—these and other men, O sage, have established auspicious tīrthas.
यशसः फलभूत्यर्थं निर्मितानीह नारद स्वतोउद्भूतानि दैवानि यत्र क्वापि जगत्त्रये पुण्यतीर्थानि तान्य् आहुस् तीर्थभेदो मयोदितः
For the sake of fame, fruit, and prosperity, these have been established here, O Nārada; and the divine tīrthas, self-manifested in various places throughout the three worlds, are called the sacred tīrthas. This, the distinction of tīrthas, has been declared by me.
त्रिदैवत्यं तु यत् तीर्थं सर्वेभ्यो ह्य् उक्तम् उत्तमम् तस्य स्वरूपभेदं च विस्तरेण ब्रवीतु मे
Now, that tīrtha which is dedicated to the Three Deities is said to be the highest of all; tell me in detail its various forms.
तावद् अन्यानि तीर्थानि तावत् ताः पुण्यभूमयः तावद् यज्ञादयो यावत् त्रिदैवत्यं न दृश्यते
So long as the tīrthas are other than this, so long as those holy places exist, so long as sacrifices and the like are performed, until the Threefold Divinity is perceived.
गङ्गेयं सरितां श्रेष्ठा सर्वकामप्रदायिनी त्रिदैवत्या मुनिश्रेष्ठ तदुत्पत्तिम् अतः शृणु
The Gaṅgā is the best of rivers, fulfilling all desires; it is of the Threefold Divinity, O best of sages—therefore, listen to its origin.
वर्षाणाम् अयुतात् पूर्वं देवकार्य उपस्थिते तारको बलवान् आसीन् मद्वराद् अतिगर्वितः
Ten thousand years ago, when the work of the gods was at hand, Tāraka, empowered by my boon, became exceedingly arrogant.