तस्य चारयतःसोऽश्वः समुद्रे पूर्वदक्षिणे । वेला समीपेऽपहृतो भूमिं चैव प्रवेशितः
As he was conducting the rite, his horse was taken away near the eastern and southern sea, close to the shore, and led into the earth.
स तं देशं तदा पुत्रैः खानयामास सर्वतः । नाश्वं प्रापुस्तदातेवै खन्यमाने महार्णवे
Then, with his sons, he began to dig all around that region; but even as they dug into the great ocean, they did not find the horse.
तत्रैकमादिपुरुषं ददृशुस्ते त्वरान्विताः । तमादिपुरुषं देवं कपिलं जगतां प्रभुम्
There, in their haste, they saw the Primeval Person—Kapila, the lord of the worlds, that divine First Being.
तस्य चक्षुः समुत्पन्न वह्निना प्रतिबुध्यतः । दग्धाः षष्टि सहस्राणि चत्वारस्तेऽवशेषिताः
As he awoke, fire arose from his eyes; sixty thousand were burned, and only four remained.
हृषीकेतुः सुकेतुश्च तथा धर्मरथोपरः । शूरः पंचजनश्चैव तस्य वंशकरा द्विज
Hṛṣīketu, Suketu, Dharmarathopara, Śūra, and Pañcajana—these, O twice-born, became the progenitors of his line.
प्रादाच्च तस्मै भगवान्हरिः पंचवरान्स्वयम् । वंशं मोक्षं सुकीर्तिञ्च समुद्रं तनयं विभुः
The blessed Hari himself granted him five boons: lineage, liberation, good fame, the ocean, and a son, O mighty one.
सागरत्वं च लेभेथ कर्मणा तेन तस्य वै । तमाश्वमेधिकं सोऽश्वं समुद्रादुपलब्धवान् । आजहाराश्वमेधानां शतं स च महायशाः
By that act, he attained the state of the ocean; he recovered the horse for the sacrifice from the sea, and that illustrious one performed a hundred horse sacrifices.
महादेव उवाच-। गांगं वक्ष्यामि माहात्म्यं यथोक्तं मुनिसत्तम । यस्य श्रवणमात्रेण अघं नश्यति तत्क्षणात्
Mahādeva said: I will tell you the greatness of the Gaṅgā, as declared, O best of sages; by merely hearing it, sin is destroyed at that very moment.
गंगागंगेति योब्रूयाद्योजनानां शतैरपि । मुच्यते सर्वपापेभ्यो विष्णुलोकं स गच्छति
Whoever utters 'Gaṅgā, Gaṅgā,' even from hundreds of yojanas away, is freed from all sins and goes to the world of Viṣṇu.
चरणाब्जसमुद्भूता गंगा नामेति विश्रुता । पापानां स्थूलराशीनां नाशिनी चेति नारद
She is renowned as Gaṅgā, born from the lotus feet; she is the destroyer of great heaps of sins, O Nārada.
नर्मदा सरयूश्चैव तथा वेत्रवती नदी । तापी पयोष्णी चंद्रा च विपाशा कर्मनाशिनीम्
Likewise, the Narmadā, Sarayū, and the river Vetravatī, Tāpi, Payoṣṇī, Candrā, and Vipāśā are destroyers of karma.
पुष्या पूर्णा तथा दीपा विदीपा सूर्यतेजसा । सहस्रवृषदानात्तु यत्फलं लभते ध्रुवम्
Puṣyā, Pūrnā, Dīpā, and Vidīpā, shining with the radiance of the sun—whatever certain fruit is gained by giving a thousand cows,
तत्फलं समवाप्नोति गंगादर्शनतः क्षणात् । इयं गंगा महापुण्या ब्रह्मघ्नानां विशेषतः
That fruit is instantly obtained by merely seeing the Gaṅgā; this Gaṅgā is supremely holy, especially for those who have slain a brāhmaṇa.
तेषां निरययुक्तानां गंगा पापप्रहारिणी । चंद्र सूर्योपरागे च यत्फलं विद्यतेऽनघ
For those bound to hell, Gaṅgā destroys sin; whatever fruit is gained during a lunar or solar eclipse, O sinless one,
तत्फलं समवाप्नोति गंगादर्शनमात्रतः । यथा सूर्योदये तात तमो गच्छति दूरतः
That fruit is obtained merely by seeing the Gaṅgā; just as, at sunrise, darkness departs far away,
तथा गंगाप्रभावेन विलयं याति पातकम् । मान्येयं सर्वदा लोके पवित्रा पापनाशिनी
So, by the power of Gaṅgā, sin is dissolved; she is always to be honored in the world, pure and the destroyer of sin.
कल्याणरूपा सततं विष्णुना निर्मिता पुरा । दिव्यरूपा तु जननी दीनानां पावनी स्मृता
Ever auspicious in form, she was created long ago by Viṣṇu; the divine mother is known as the purifier of the afflicted.
देवानां च यथा विष्णुस्तथा गंगोत्तमा नदी । ये कुर्वंति नराः स्नानं माघमासे निरंतरम्
Just as Viṣṇu is supreme among the gods, so too is Gaṅgā the foremost among rivers; those men who bathe continually in the month of Māgha—
न तेषां विद्यते दुःखं कल्पानां च शतत्रयम् । यत्र गंगा च यमुना यत्र चैव सरस्वती । तत्र स्नात्वा च पीत्वा च मुक्तिभागी न संशयः
For them, there is no suffering for three hundred kalpas; where Gaṅgā, Yamunā, and Sarasvatī are found, there, by bathing and drinking, one surely attains liberation—there is no doubt.
महादेव उवाच-। त्वद्वार्तां प्रियतो ब्रवीमि यदहं सा स्तुस्तुतिस्ते प्रभो यद्भुंजे तव तन्निवेदनमथो यद्यामि सा प्रेष्यता । यच्छांतः स्वपिमि त्वदंघ्रियुगले दंडप्रणामोऽस्तु नः। स्वामिन्यच्च करोमि तेन स भवान्विश्वेश्वरः प्रीयताम्
Mahādeva said: I speak of you with affection; whatever praise I offer is your hymn, O Lord. Whatever I eat is your offering, and wherever I go, I am sent by you. When I sleep peacefully, may my obeisance be at your two feet. Whatever I do, O Lord of all, may you, Viśveśvara, be pleased by that.
दृष्टेन वंदितेनापि स्पृष्टेन च धृतेन के
By seeing, bowing to, touching, or holding—
तावद् भ्रमंति भुवने मनुजा भवोत्थ दारिद्य्र रोग मरण व्यसनाभिभूताः
So long do men wander in the world, overcome by poverty, disease, death, and misfortune arising from existence.
यत्संस्मृतिः सपदि कृंतति दुष्कृतौघं पापावलीं जयति योजन लक्षतोऽपि
The remembrance of whom at once cuts away the mass of evil deeds, conquers the multitude of sins, even from a hundred thousand yojanas away.
आलोकोत्कंठितेन प्रमुदित मनसा वर्त्म यस्याः प्रयातं सद्यस्मिन्कृत्यमेतामथ प्रथम कृती जज्ञिवान्स्वर्गसिंधुम्
With longing to behold her, with a joyful heart, one who sets out on her path—at that very moment, this act is accomplished; thus, the first doer is born into the ocean of heaven.
देवीभूत परं ब्रह्म परमानंददायिनी
Having become a goddess, she is the supreme Brahman, the bestower of the highest bliss.
साक्षाद्धर्म द्रवौघं मुररिपु चरणांभोज पीयूषसारं।। दुःखस्याब्धेस्तरित्रं सुरमनुजनुतं स्वर्गसोपान मार्गम्। । सर्वांहोहारि वारि प्रवर गुणगणंभासि या संवहंती
She is the very embodiment of dharma, a stream of nectar from the lotus feet of the enemy of Mura; the raft across the ocean of suffering, praised by gods and men, the path to the stairway of heaven; she carries water that removes all sins, shining with the best qualities.
स्वःसिंधो दुरिताब्धिमग्न जनता संतारणि प्रोल्लसत्कल्लोला। । मलकांतिनाशिततमस्तोमे जगत्पावनि
Her waves surge, rescuing people sunk in the ocean of sin from the river of heaven; her pure brilliance dispels the mass of darkness of impurity—she sanctifies the world.
हं हो मानस कंपसे किमु सखे त्रस्तोभयान्नारकात्किं ते। भीतिरिति श्रुतिर्दुरितकृत्संजायते नारकी ।। माभैषीः शृणु मे गतिं यदि मया पापाचल। स्पर्द्धिनी प्राप्ता ते निरयं कथः किमपरं किं मे न धर्मं धनम्
Alas, mind, why do you tremble? O friend, are you afraid of both hells? Fear arises, it is said, for the doer of evil; do not fear. Hear from me: if, because of my sin, the rival has reached hell before you, what else remains? What dharma or wealth is left for me?
सर्वेशादि प्रशंसा मुदमनुभवनं मज्जनं यत्र चोक्तं स्वर्नार्योवीक्ष्यहृष्टा। विबुध सुरपतिः प्राप्तिसंभावनेन देवत्वं ते लभंते स्फुटम् अशुभकृतोप्यत्र वेदाः प्रमाणम्
Where the praise of the Lord of all, the experience of joy, and bathing are declared, and noble women look on delighted; where the king of the gods, hoping for attainment, comes—there, even those who have done evil clearly attain divinity; the Vedas are authority for this.
बुद्धे सद्बुद्धिरेवं भवतु तव सखे मानस स्वस्तिते ऽस्तु वाणि प्राणप्रियेधि प्रकट गुण वपुः प्राप्नुहि प्राणि पुष्टिं यस्मात्सर्वैर्भवद्भिः
May right understanding arise in your mind, O friend, may well-being be yours; may your speech become dear to all, may you attain manifest virtues and a radiant form, may you gain vitality, for this is desired by all.