इति श्रीपाद्मेमहापुराणे पंचपंचाशत्ससहस्रसंहितायामुत्तरखंडे कार्तिकमाहात्म्ये। द्वाविंशत्यधिकशततमोऽध्यायः
Thus ends the one hundred and twenty-second chapter in the section on the greatness of Kārtika, in the Uttarakhaṇḍa of the glorious Padma Mahāpurāṇa, comprising fifty-five thousand verses.
कार्तवीर्य उवाच। हेतुना केन विप्रर्षे माघस्नाने महाद्भुतः । प्रभावो वर्ण्यते नूनं तन्मे कथय सुव्रत
Kārtavīrya said: By what reason, O best of sages, is such wondrous power described in the Māgha bath? Tell me this, O virtuous one.
गतपापो यदेकेन द्वितीयेन दिवं गतः । वैश्योऽसौ माघपुण्येन ब्रूहि मे तत्कुतूहलम्
How did a merchant, freed from sin by one act and attaining heaven by another, gain such merit through the Māgha observance? Tell me, for I am curious.
दत्तात्रेय उवाच। निसर्गात्सलिलं मेध्यं निर्मलं शुचिपांडुरम् । मलहं पुरुषव्याघ्र द्रावकं दाहनाशनम् । तारकं सर्वभूतानां पोषणं जीवनं च यत्
Dattātreya said: By nature, water is pure, clear, and white for the pure; it removes impurity, dissolves, destroys burning, saves all beings, nourishes, and gives life.
आपो नारायणोदेवः सर्ववेदेषु पठ्यते । ग्रहाणां च यथा सूर्यो नक्षत्राणां यथा शशी । मासानां च तथा माघः श्रेष्ठः सर्वेषु कर्मसु
Water is called Nārāyaṇa in all the Vedas; as the sun is chief among planets, as the moon among stars, so Māgha is the best among months for all rites.
मकरस्थे रवौ माघे प्रातः काले तथाऽमले । गोष्पदेऽपि जले स्नानं स्वर्गदं पापिनामपि
When the sun is in Capricorn during Māgha, bathing even in a cow's hoofprint of pure water at dawn grants heaven, even to sinners.
योगोऽयं दुर्लभो राजंस्त्रैलोक्ये सचराचरे । अस्मिन्योगे त्वशक्तोऽपि स्नायाद्यदि दिनत्रयम्
O King, this yoga is rare among all beings in the three worlds; even if one is unable to perform this yoga, if he bathes for three days,
दद्यात्किंचिदशक्तोऽपि दरिद्राभाववांच्छया । त्रिस्नानेनापि माघस्य धनिनो दीर्घजीविनः
or if, being unable, he gives even a little out of a desire to remove poverty, then by bathing thrice in Māgha, even the wealthy and long-lived benefit.
पंच वा सप्त वाहानि चंद्रवद्वर्धते फलम् । संप्राप्ते मकरादित्ये पुण्ये पुण्यप्रदे नृणाम्
Whether for five or seven days, the result increases like the moon; when the sun enters Capricorn, it brings merit and bestows virtue upon people.
सत्कार्यास्तिथयः सर्वा स्नानदानादि कर्मसु । कर्तारं दापयंतीह ह्यक्षयं शाश्वतं पदम्
All good deeds and guests, in acts such as bathing and giving, grant the doer here an imperishable and eternal state.
तस्मान्माघे बहिः स्नायादात्मनो हितकाम्यया । अथातः संप्रवक्ष्यामि माघस्नानविधिं परम्
Therefore, one should bathe outside during Māgha, desiring one's own welfare; now I shall explain the supreme rule for bathing in Māgha.
कर्तव्यो नियमः कश्चिद्व्रतरूपी नरोत्तमैः । फलातिशयहेतोर्वै किंचिद्भोज्यं त्यजेद्बुधः
The best of men should undertake some discipline in the form of a vow; for the sake of greater results, the wise should give up some food.
भूमौ शयीत होतव्यमाज्यं तिलविमिश्रितम् । त्रिकालं चार्चयेद्विष्णुं वासुदेवं सनातनम्
One should sleep on the ground, offer oblations of ghee mixed with sesame, and worship Viṣṇu, the eternal Vāsudeva, three times a day.
दातव्यो दीपकोऽखंडो देवमुद्दिश्य माधवम् । इंधनं कंबलं वस्त्रमुपानत्कुंकुमं घृतम्
An unbroken lamp should be given, dedicated to Mādhava; fuel, blankets, garments, sandals, saffron, and ghee as well.
तैलं कार्पासकोष्ठं च तूलीं तूलवटीं पटीम् । अन्नं चैव यथाशक्ति देयं माघे नराधिप
Oil, cotton, wicks, cotton pads, cloth, and food should be given according to one's ability during Māgha, O king.
सुवर्णं रत्तिकामात्रं दद्याद्वेदविदे तथा । तद्दानमक्षयं राजन्समुद्र इव सर्वदा
One should give a measure of gold equal to a barleycorn to a knower of the Veda; that gift, O king, is imperishable, like the ocean, always.
परस्याग्निं न सेवेत त्यजेच्चैव प्रतिग्रहम् । माघांते भोजयेद्विप्रान्यथाशक्ति नराधिप
One should not use another's fire nor accept gifts; at the end of Māgha, the king should feed Brāhmaṇas according to his ability.
देया च दक्षिणा तेभ्य आत्मनः श्रेय इच्छता । एकादशीविधानेन माघस्योद्यापनं तथा
One who desires his own welfare should give them a fee; and the completion of Māgha should be performed as on Ekādaśī.
कर्तव्यं श्रद्दधानेन ह्यक्षय्य स्वर्गवांछया । अनंतपुण्यावाप्त्यर्थं विष्णुसंप्रीतिहेतवे
One who is faithful should perform this, desiring inexhaustible heaven, for the attainment of endless merit and to please Viṣṇu.
मकरस्थे रवौ माघे गोविंदाच्युतमाधव । स्नानेनानेन भो देव यथोक्तफलदो भव
When the sun is in Capricorn during Māgha, O Lord, Govinda, Acyuta, Mādhava, by this bath, grant the result as declared.
इति मंत्रं समुच्चार्य स्नायान्मौनी समाहितः । वासुदेवं हरिं कृष्णं माधवं च स्मरेत्पुनः
Reciting this mantra, one should bathe in silence with concentration, and again remember Vāsudeva, Hari, Kṛṣṇa, and Mādhava.
गृहेऽपि सजलं कुंभं वायुना निशिपीडितम् । तत्स्नानं तीर्थसदृशं सर्वकामफलप्रदम्
Even at home, a water pot filled with water and pressed by the wind at night—such a bath is like that at a sacred place and grants all desired results.
तत्र व्रतेन दातव्यं सान्नं चोपस्करान्वितम् । तत्स्नानस्य प्रभावेण नरो न निरयं व्रजेत्
There, with a vow, one should give food with accompaniments; by the power of that bath, a man does not go to hell.
तप्तेन वारिणा स्नानं यद्गृहे क्रियते नरैः । षडब्दफलदं तद्धि मकरस्थे दिवाकरे
If a bath is performed at home with heated water when the sun is in Capricorn, its fruit lasts for six years.
बहिः स्नानं तु वाप्यादौ द्वादशाब्दफलं स्मृतम् । तडागे द्विगुणं राजन्नद्यां चैव चतुर्गुणम्
Bathing outside, in a pond, is said to yield the fruit of twelve years; in a tank, O King, it is double, and in a river, four times as much.
शतधा देवखातेषु शतधा तु महानदे । शतं चतुर्गुणं राजन्महानद्याश्च संगमे
In a divine reservoir, the merit is a hundredfold; in a great river, also a hundredfold; and at the confluence of great rivers, O King, it is four hundred times.
सहस्रगुणितं सर्वं तत्फलं मकरे रवौ । गंगायां स्नानमात्रेण लभते मानवो नृप
All that merit is multiplied a thousandfold when the sun is in Capricorn; and a person, O King, attains it merely by bathing in the Ganges.
गंगायां येऽवगाहंति माघमासे नृपोत्तम । चतुर्युगसहस्रं तु न पतंति सुरालयात्
Those who immerse themselves in the Ganges during the month of Māgha, O best of kings, do not fall from the abode of the gods for four thousand ages.
दिनेदिने सहस्रं तु सुवर्णानां विशांपते । तेन दत्तं तु गंगायां यो माघे स्नाति मानवः
Every day, O lord of men, it is as if a thousand pieces of gold are given by one who bathes in the Ganges during Māgha.
शतेन गुणितं माघे सहस्रं राजसत्तम । निर्दिष्टमृषिभिः स्नानं गंगायामुनसंगमे
In Māgha, O best of kings, a thousand is multiplied a hundredfold—such is the bath at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamunā, as declared by the sages.