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.
पापौघभूरिभारस्य दाहार्थे च प्रजापतिः । प्रयागं विदधे भूप प्रजानां च हिते स्थितः
To burn away the great burden of accumulated sins, the Lord of creatures established Prayāga, O king, for the welfare of beings.
शृणु स्थानमिदं सम्यक्सितासित जलं किल । पापरूप पशूनां च ब्रह्मणा विहितं पुरा
Hear now of this place, truly, with its white and dark waters; it was ordained long ago by Brahmā for beings of sinful nature.
सितासितजले मज्जेदपि पापशतान्वितः । मकरस्थे रवौ माघे नैव गर्भेषु मज्जति
Even one laden with hundreds of sins, if he immerses in the white and dark waters during the sun's course in Capricorn in Māgha, does not fall into the womb again.
सूनारतोऽपि यो मर्त्यः प्रयागे स्नानमाचरेत् । माघेमासि नरव्याघ्र स याति परमंपदम्
Even a man attached to his wife, if he bathes at Prayāga in Māgha, O tiger among men, attains the supreme state.
सितासिता तु या धारा सरस्वत्याविगर्भिता । तन्मार्गं विष्णुलोकस्य सृष्टिकर्ता ससर्ज वै
The stream of white and dark water, originating from Sarasvatī, was created by the Maker of the world as the path to Viṣṇu's realm.
दुस्तरा वैष्णवी माया देवैरपि सुदुर्जया । प्रयागे दह्यते सा तु माघे मासि नराधिप
The Māyā of Viṣṇu is hard to cross, unconquerable even by the gods; but at Prayāga, O king of men, it is burned away in the month of Māgha.
तेजोमयेषु लोकेषु भुक्त्वा भोगाननेकशः । पश्चाच्चक्रिणि लीयंते प्रयागे माघ मज्जनात्
After enjoying many pleasures in radiant worlds, they dissolve into the disc of Viṣṇu from bathing at Prayāga in Māgha.
उपस्पृशति यो माघे मकरार्के सितासिते । न तत्पुण्यं च संख्यातुं चित्रगुप्तोऽपि वेत्यलम्
Whoever touches the white and dark waters in Māgha, when the sun is in Capricorn, even Citragupta cannot calculate the merit of that act.
सन्निमज्जति यो माघे मकरस्थ सितासिते । तस्य पुण्यस्य माहात्म्यं वक्तुं ब्रह्मापि न क्षमः
Whoever fully immerses in the white and dark waters in Māgha, with the sun in Capricorn, even Brahmā is unable to describe the greatness of his merit.
संवत्सरशतं साग्रं निराहारस्य यत्फलम् । प्रयागे माघमासे तु त्र्यहस्नानस्य तत्फलम्
The fruit of a hundred years of fasting is obtained by bathing for three days at Prayāga during the month of Māgha.