नारायण उवाच द्वितीये च देवगणैस्तत्पश्चाद्विदुषां गणैः
Nārāyaṇa said: In the second age, by the hosts of gods, and afterwards by groups of the learned,
तथा चाश्वपतिः पूर्वं पूजयामास भारते
So also, in former times, Aśvapati worshipped her in Bhārata.
नारद उवाच सर्वपूज्या च सावित्री तन्मे व्याख्यातुमर्हसि
Nārada said: Sāvitrī, who is worthy of all worship—please explain this to me.
नारायण उवाच वैरिणां बलहर्त्ता च मित्राणां दुःखनाशनः
Nārāyaṇa said: She takes away the strength of enemies and destroys the suffering of friends.
आसीत्तस्य महाराज्ञी महिषी धर्मचारिणी
He had a chief queen, a righteous consort devoted to dharma.
सा च राज्ञी महासाध्वी वसिष्ठस्योपदेशतः
That queen, a woman of great virtue, followed the instructions of Vasiṣṭha.
प्रत्यादेशं न सा प्राप महिषी न ददर्श ताम्
Yet she did not receive any command, nor did the queen see her.
राजा तां दुःखितां दृष्ट्वा बोधयित्वा नयेन वै 2.23.
The king, seeing her distressed, consoled her with wise counsel.
तपश्चचार तत्रैव संयतः शतवत्सरम्
There itself, with self-restraint, he performed austerities for a hundred years.
शुश्रावाकाशवाणीं च नृपेन्द्रश्चाशरीरिणीम्
And the king heard a voice from the sky, bodiless.
एतस्मिन्नन्तरे तत्र प्रजगाम पराशरः
Meanwhile, at that place, Parāśara arrived.
पराशर उवाच दशधा प्रजपान्नॄणां दिवारात्र्यघमेव च
Parāśara said: By reciting ten times, a person removes the sins of day and night.
शतधा च जपाच्चैवं पापं मासार्जितं परम्
And by reciting a hundred times, the gravest sin accumulated in a month is destroyed.
करोति मुक्तिं विप्राणां जपो दशगुणस्ततः
Recitation grants liberation to brāhmaṇas, and is ten times more effective than that.
आनम्रमूर्द्धमचलं प्रजपेत्प्राङ्मुखो द्विजः
A twice-born should recite facing east, with head bowed and body steady.
तर्जनीमूलपर्य्यन्तं जपस्यैष क्रमः करे
This is the method of recitation on the hand, from the root to the tip of the index finger.
कृत्वा वा मालिकां राजञ्जपेत्तीर्थे सुरालये 2.23.
Or, O King, having made a rosary, one should recite at a sacred place or in a temple.
कृत्वा गोरोचनाक्तां च गायत्र्या स्नापयेत्सुधीः
Having smeared it with cow's yellow pigment, the wise should bathe the rosary with the Gāyatrī.
अथवा पञ्चगव्येन स्नाता माला च संस्कृता
Or, after bathing with pañcagavya, the rosary should also be properly purified.
एवं क्रमेण राजर्षे दशलक्षं जपं कुरु
In this manner, O royal sage, perform a hundred thousand recitations in sequence.
नित्यं नित्यं त्रिसन्ध्यं च करिष्यसि दिने दिने
Every day, at each of the three junctions of the day, you must do this continually.
सन्ध्याहीनोऽशुचिर्नित्यमनर्हः सर्वकर्मसु
One who neglects the sandhyā is always impure and unfit for all rites.
नोपतिष्ठति यः पूर्वां नोपास्ते यश्च पश्चिमाम्
He who does not perform the earlier rite, nor worships the later one,
यावज्जीवनपर्य्यन्तं यस्त्रिसन्ध्यां करोति च
But he who performs the three sandhyā rituals throughout his life,
तत्पादपद्मरजसा सद्यः पूता वसुन्धरा
By the dust of his lotus feet, the earth is instantly purified.
तीर्थानि च पवित्राणि तस्य स्पर्शनमात्रतः
The sacred places also become pure merely by his touch.
न गृह्णन्ति सुराः पूजां पितरः पिण्डतर्पणम् 2.23.
The gods do not accept his worship, nor do the ancestors his offerings of food and water.
विष्णुमन्त्रविहीनश्च त्रिसन्ध्यरहितो द्विजः
A twice-born who lacks the Viṣṇu mantra and neglects the three sandhyā rituals,
हरेरनैवेद्यभोजी धावको वृषवाहकः
Who eats food not offered to Hari, who runs about, or who rides a bull,
शवदाही च शूद्राणां यो विप्रो वृषलीपतिः
Who cremates corpses, who is the master of a Śūdra woman, or a Brāhmaṇa who is her husband,