Kurma Purana

सर्वपापविशुद्धात्मा रुद्रलोके महीयते

One whose soul is purified of all sins is honored in the realm of Rudra.

महाभैरवमित्युक्तं महापातकनाशनम्

It is called Mahābhairava, destroyer of great sins.

सर्वपापहरा पुण्या स्वयमेव गिरीन्द्रजा

It is holy, remover of all sins, and is herself the daughter of the mountain king.

यत्र देवादिदेवेन चक्रार्थं पूजितो भवः

There, Bhava was worshipped by the Lord of gods and others for the sake of the discus.

मृतस्तत्रापि नियमाद् ब्रह्मलोके महीयते

Even if one dies there with proper observance, one is honored in the world of Brahmā.

यत्र माहेश्वरा धर्मा मुनिभिः संप्रवर्तिताः

There, the Śaiva duties were established by the sages.

परित्यजति यः प्राणान् रुद्रलोकं स गच्छति

Whoever gives up his life there goes to the realm of Rudra.

तत्र गत्वा त्यजेत् प्राणांल्लोकान् प्राप्नोति शाश्वतान्

Going there and giving up one's life, one attains eternal worlds.

तत्र स्नात्वा तीर्थ वरे गोसहस्रफलं लभेत्

Bathing there at that supreme ford, one obtains the merit of gifting a thousand cows.

गत्वा प्राणान् परित्यज्य गाणपत्यमवाप्नुयात्

Going there and relinquishing one's life, one attains the state of Ganesha.

तत्र सन्निहितः श्रीमान् भगवान् नकुलीश्वरः

There, the illustrious Lord Nakulīśvara is present.

देव्या सह महादेवो नित्यं शिष्यैश्च संवृतः

Great Shiva, together with the goddess and always surrounded by disciples, is there.

सर्वपापैर्विमुच्येत मृतस्तज्ज्ञानमाप्नुयात्

One is freed from all sins, and dying there, attains that knowledge.

भीमेश्वरमिति ख्यातं गत्वा मुञ्चति पातकम्

Going to the place known as Bhīmeśvara, one is freed from sin.

तत्र स्नात्वा च पीत्वा च मुच्यते ब्रह्महत्यया

Bathing and drinking there, one is released even from the sin of killing a Brahmin.

नाम्नावाराणसी दिव्या कोटिकोट्ययुताधिका

Its name is the divine Vārāṇasī, surpassing tens of millions of crores.

नान्यत्र लभ्यते मुक्तिर्योगिनाप्येकजन्मना

Nowhere else is liberation obtained, even by yogis, in a single birth.

गत्वा संक्षालयेत् पापं जन्मान्तरशतैः कृतम्

Going there, one washes away sins committed over hundreds of lifetimes.

न तस्य फलते तीर्थमहि लोके परत्र च

For him, the merit of the sacred ford does not bear fruit in this world or the next.

प्रकुर्यात् तीर्थसंसेवां ये चान्ये तादृशा जनाः

Those others who likewise perform service at the sacred ford—

सर्वपापविनिर्मुक्तो यथोक्तां गतिमाप्नुयात्

Freed from all sins, he attains the state as described.

विधाय वृत्तिं पुत्राणां भार्यां तेषु निधाय च

Having arranged the livelihood of his sons and entrusted his wife to them—

यः पठेच्छृणुयाद् वापि मुच्यते सर्वपातकैः

Whoever recites or even listens to this is freed from all sins.

कूर्मरूपधरं देवं पप्रच्छुर्मुनयः प्रभुम्

The sages questioned the Lord, who had assumed the form of a tortoise.

लोकानां सर्गविस्तारं वंशमन्वन्तराणि च

They asked about the creation and expansion of worlds, the lineages, and the Manvantaras.

भूतानां भूतभव्येश यथा पूर्वं त्वयोदितम्

O Lord of past and future beings, as you have previously declared,

व्याजहार महायोगी भूतानां प्रतिसंचरम्

the great yogi spoke of the dissolution of beings.

चतुर्धायं पुराणे ऽस्मिन् प्रोच्यते प्रतिसंचरः

In this Purāṇa, the dissolution is described as fourfold.

नित्यः संकीर्त्यते नाम्ना मुनिभिः प्रतिसंचरः

The dissolution is called eternal by the sages, known by that name.