द्वारपालो ऽपि तं दृष्ट्वा राज्ञः कथितवान्द्रुतम् त्वां द्रष्टुकामो मार्कण्डेयो द्वारि तिष्ठत्यसौ मुनिः त्वरितो धर्मपुत्रस्तु द्वारमागादतः परम्
The gatekeeper, seeing him, quickly informed the king: 'Markandeya wishes to see you; the sage stands at the door.' Hastily, Dharmaputra went to the gate thereafter.
स्वागतं ते महाभाग स्वागतं ते महामुने अद्य मे सफलं जन्म अद्य मे तारितं कुलम्
Welcome to you, O highly fortunate one! Welcome to you, O great sage! Today my birth is fruitful; today my lineage is saved.
अद्य मे पितरस्तुष्टास् त्वयि दृष्टे महामुने अद्याहं पूतदेहो ऽस्मि यत्त्वया सह दर्शनम्
Today my ancestors are pleased, having seen you, O great sage. Today I am purified in body, for I have beheld you.
सिंहासने समास्थाप्य पादशौचार्चनादिभिः युधिष्ठिरो महात्मा वै पूजयामास तं मुनिम्
Yudhishthira, the great soul, seated the sage upon the throne and honored him with foot-washing and other rites.
ततः स तुष्टो मार्कण्डः पूजितश्चाह तं नृपम् आख्याहि त्वरितं राजन् किमर्थं रुदितं त्वया केन वा विक्लवीभूतः का बाधा ते किमप्रियम्
Then Markandeya, pleased and worshipped, spoke to the king: 'Tell me quickly, O king, why you are weeping, by what cause you are distressed, what afflicts you, and what displeases you?'
अस्माकं चैव यद्वृत्तं राज्यस्यार्थे महामुने एतत्सर्वं विदित्वा तु चिन्तावशमुपागतः
O great sage, having learned all that has happened to us for the sake of the kingdom, I have fallen under the sway of anxiety.
शृणु राजन्महाबाहो क्षत्रधर्मव्यवस्थितम् नैव दृष्टं रणे पापं युध्यमानस्य धीमतः
Hear, O king of mighty arms, the established law of warriors: No sin is seen in battle for the wise who fight.
किं पुना राजधर्मेण क्षत्रियस्य विशेषतः तदेवं हृदयं कृत्वा तस्मात्पापं न चिन्तयेत्
What then, especially for a king, for a Kshatriya? Thus, keeping your heart firm, you should not grieve over sin.
ततो युधिष्ठिरो राजा प्रणम्य शिरसा मुनिम् पप्रच्छ विनयोपेतः सर्वपातकनाशनम्
Then King Yudhishthira, bowing his head to the sage, asked with humility about the destruction of all sins.
पृच्छामि त्वां महाप्राज्ञ नित्यं त्रैलोक्यदर्शिनम् कथय त्वं समासेन येन मुच्येत किल्बिषात्
I ask you, O great wise one, who always sees the three worlds: tell me briefly by what means one is freed from sin.
शृणु राजन्महाबाहो सर्वपातकनाशनम् प्रयागगमनं श्रेष्ठं नराणां पुण्यकर्मणाम्
Hear, O king of mighty arms, the destruction of all sins: the best journey to Prayaga for men of virtuous deeds.
भगवञ्छ्रोतुमिच्छामि पुरा कल्पे यथास्थितम् ब्रह्मणा देवमुख्येन यथावत्कथितं मुने
O Lord, I wish to hear as it was in the ancient cycle, as spoken by Brahma, chief among the gods, and narrated properly by you, O sage.
कथं प्रयागगमनं नराणां तत्र कीदृशम् मृतानां का गतिस्तत्र स्नातानां तत्र किं फलम्
How is it that people go to Prayāga? What is the fate of those who die there? What is the result for those who bathe there?
ये वसन्ति प्रयागे तु ब्रूहि तेषां च किं फलम् एतन्मे सर्वमाख्याहि परं कौतूहलं हि मे
Tell me, what is the result for those who dwell in Prayāga? Explain all this to me, for I have great curiosity about it.
कथयिष्यामि ते वत्स यच्छ्रेष्ठं तत्र यत्फलम् पुरा हि सर्वविप्राणां कथ्यमानं मया श्रुतम्
I shall tell you, dear one, the supreme result there, as I once heard it recited among all the Brahmins in ancient times.
आ प्रयागप्रतिष्ठानाद् आपुराद्वासुकेर्ह्रदात् कम्बलाश्वतरौ नागौ नागश्च बहुमूलकः एतत्प्रजापतेः क्षेत्रं त्रिषु लोकेषु विश्रुतम्
From Prayāga to Pratiṣṭhāna, from the city to Vāsuki’s lake, and between Kambala and Aśvatara, and the serpent Bahumūlaka—this is the field of Prajāpati, renowned in the three worlds.
तत्र स्नात्वा दिवं यान्ति ये मृतास्ते ऽपुनर्भवाः ततो ब्रह्मादयो देवा रक्षां कुर्वन्ति संगताः
Those who bathe there ascend to heaven; those who die there do not return to birth. Therefore, Brahmā and the other gods gather to protect it.
अन्ये च बहवस्तीर्थाः सर्वपापहराः शुभाः न शक्याः कथितुं राजन् बहुवर्षशतैरपि संक्षेपेण प्रवक्ष्यामि प्रयागस्य तु कीर्तनम्
There are many other holy places, auspicious and destroyers of all sins, O king, but they cannot be described even in hundreds of years. I shall briefly recount the glory of Prayāga.
षष्टिर्धनुःसहस्राणि यानि रक्षन्ति जाह्नवीम् यमुनां रक्षति सदा सविता सप्तवाहनः
Sixty thousand bows guard the Ganges, and the Sun, with his seven steeds, always protects the Yamunā.
प्रयागं तु विशेषेण सदा रक्षति वासवः मण्डलं रक्षति हरिर् दैवतैः सह संगतः
Indra especially always protects Prayāga, and Hari, together with the gods, guards the sacred precinct.
तं वटं रक्षति सदा शूलपाणिर्महेश्वरः स्थानं रक्षन्ति वै देवाः सर्वपापहरं शुभम्
Śiva, the wielder of the trident, always protects that banyan tree; the gods protect that place, which is auspicious and destroys all sins.
अधर्मेणावृतो लोको नैव गच्छति तत्पदम् स्वल्पमल्पतरं पापं यदा ते स्यान्नराधिप प्रयागं स्मरमाणस्य सर्वमायाति संक्षयम्
The world, enveloped in unrighteousness, does not attain that state; but even the smallest sin of one who remembers Prayāga, O king, is entirely destroyed.
दर्शनात्तस्य तीर्थस्य नामसंकीर्तनादपि मृत्तिकालम्भनाद्वापि नरः पापात्प्रमुच्यते
By seeing that holy place, by merely uttering its name, or by taking up its earth, a person is freed from sin.
पञ्च कुण्डानि राजेन्द्र तेषां मध्ये तु जाह्नवी प्रयागस्य प्रवेशे तु पापं नश्यति तत्क्षणात्
O king, among the five pools there, the Ganges is in the middle; at the entrance to Prayāga, sin is destroyed instantly.
योजनानां सहस्रेषु गङ्गायाः स्मरणान्नरः अपि दुष्कृतकर्मा तु लभते परमां गतिम्
Even at a thousand leagues’ distance, by remembering the Ganges, a person—even one who has committed evil deeds—attains the highest state.
कीर्तनान्मुच्यते पापाद् दृष्ट्वा भद्राणि पश्यति अवगाह्य च पीत्वा तु पुनात्यासप्तमं कुलम्
By praising her, one is freed from sin; by seeing her, one beholds auspicious things; by bathing and drinking, one purifies up to the seventh generation of one’s family.
सत्यवादी जितक्रोधो ह्य् अहिंसायां व्यवस्थितः धर्मानुसारी तत्त्वज्ञो गोब्राह्मणहिते रतः
One who speaks truth, has conquered anger, is established in nonviolence, follows righteousness, knows reality, and delights in the welfare of cows and Brahmins—
गङ्गायमुनयोर्मध्ये स्नातो मुच्येत किल्बिषात् मनसा चिन्तयन्कामान् अवाप्नोति सुपुष्कलान्
Bathing between the Ganges and Yamunā, one is freed from sin; whatever desires one contemplates in mind, one obtains them in abundance.
ततो गत्वा प्रयागं तु सर्वदेवाभिरक्षितम् ब्रह्मचारी वसेन्मासं पितॄन्देवांश्च तर्पयेत् ईप्सितांल्लभते कामान् यत्र यत्राभिजायते
Then, going to Prayāga, protected by all the gods, a celibate should dwell there for a month and offer oblations to ancestors and gods; wherever he is born, he attains his desired wishes.
तपनस्य सुता देवी त्रिषु लोकेषु विश्रुता समागता महाभागा यमुना तत्र निम्नगा तत्र संनिहितो नित्यं साक्षाद्देवो महेश्वरः
The goddess, daughter of the Sun, renowned in the three worlds, the blessed Yamunā, flows there; and there, Lord Maheśvara is always present in person.