अथ प्रभाते सर्वे ते चेलुः स्थानात्ततो नृप । ब्राह्मणः सोऽपि मंजूषां कंबलेन समावृताम्
At dawn, all those people set out from that place, O king, and the brāhmaṇa too took up the box, wrapping it with a blanket.
कृत्वा शिरसि राजेंद्र चचाल प्रति जाह्नवीम् । कतिभिर्वासरैः सार्थः संप्राप्तस्तीर्थगामिनाम्
Placing it on his head, O king, he proceeded toward the Gaṅgā; after a few days, the caravan reached the place of the pilgrims.
इहैव कोशलायां वै पुनीतायां महीपते । अथ शीतातुरो विप्रः कंबलं चोदघाटयत्
There, in the purified land of Kośalā, O king, the brāhmaṇa, afflicted by cold, unwrapped the blanket.
मंजूषावरणं राजन्तत्रायोध्यातटे शुभे । सोऽपि सर्पो निराहारो लब्ध्वा मारुतभोजनम्
On the auspicious bank of Ayodhyā, O king, he uncovered the box, and the serpent, having fasted, survived by consuming air.
निश्चक्राम बहिस्तस्मादुत्क्षेप्य सुशलाकिकाम् । तं निःसृतं समालोक्य सर्प्प सर्प इति क्रुधा
He emerged from it, lifting the well-barred lid; seeing him come out, people angrily shouted, 'Snake! Snake!'
व्याहरंतो जनाः सर्वे लोष्टहस्ताः समभ्ययुः । यावत्पलायते सर्पस्तावदेकेन घातितः
All the people, shouting and holding clods of earth, rushed toward him; as the serpent tried to flee, he was struck down by one of them.
तत्याज स तदा प्राणान्पश्यतां तीर्थगामिनाम् । त्यक्त्वा भुजंगदेहं स देवत्वं प्राप दुर्लभम्
There, in the sight of the pilgrims, he gave up his life; leaving the serpent's body, he attained the rare state of divinity.
दिव्यं विमानमारुह्य प्रोवाचेदं जनानि ह । सर्प उवाच- भो दाक्षिणात्याः शृणुत ब्राह्मणा वचनं मम
Ascending a divine aerial chariot, he addressed the people, saying: The serpent spoke— 'O brāhmaṇas from the south, listen to my words.'
पुरा चंडकनामाहं नापितो ब्रह्महाधमः । ब्रह्महत्याप्रदोषेण सर्पआसं मरुस्थले
'Formerly, I was a barber named Caṇḍaka, a wretched slayer of a brāhmaṇa; because of the sin of killing a brāhmaṇa, I became a serpent in the desert.'
भुक्त्वा नरकदुःखानि वर्षाणां लक्षपंचकम् । अतीतं सर्पयोनौ मे वर्षाणामयुतद्वयम्
'Having suffered the torments of hell for five hundred thousand years, I have now spent twenty thousand years in the serpent's womb.'
तीर्थस्यास्य प्रसादेन प्राप्तं देवत्वमुत्तमम् । तस्मादिदं न वै त्याज्यं तीर्थं वै कोशलाभिधम् । सर्वार्थदं यतो नाकः प्राप्तः पापीयसा मया
By the grace of this holy place, I attained the highest state of divinity; therefore, this sacred site called Kosala should never be abandoned. For it grants all desires, and even I, though sinful, have reached heaven because of it.
नारद उवाच- एवं स नापितः पापो योनिं प्राप्य विनिंदिताम् । जगाम द्यां विमानस्थस्तीर्थस्यास्य प्रसादतः
Nārada said: Thus, that sinful barber, having taken a condemned birth, ascended to heaven in a celestial chariot by the grace of this holy place.
ते दाक्षिणात्या यतयो भूत्वा तत्रैव तीर्थके । ऊषुर्गोविंदपादाब्ज मानसा दृष्टवैभवे
Those ascetics from the south, having become mendicants, remained at that very holy site, their minds fixed on the lotus feet of Govinda, beholding his glory.
माहात्म्यमस्य तीर्थस्य दृष्ट्वा स ब्राह्मणोत्तमः । तीर्थेऽत्रजातविश्रद्धः पित्रोरस्थीनि सोऽक्षिपत्
Having witnessed the greatness of this holy place, that foremost Brahmin, with unwavering faith, cast the bones of his parents into the sacred waters here.
पतितेष्वस्थिखंडेषु पितरौ तस्य तत्क्षणात् । विमानवरमारूढौ दिव्यौ तत्र समागतौ
The moment the fragments of bone were cast in, his parents immediately ascended a splendid celestial chariot and appeared there in divine form.
ऊचतुश्च स्वतनयं शृण्वानेषु जनेषु वै । वत्स जीव चिरं लोके धनधान्यसुखी भव
And, in the hearing of the assembled people, they spoke to their son: 'Dear child, may you live long in this world, blessed with wealth, grain, and happiness.'
आवयोर्मुक्तिदानाच्च मुक्तिं यास्यसि नो मृषा । गंगायां पिंडदानेन यत्फलं स्यात्सुतस्य वै । पितॄणां या गतिश्चात्र द्वयं स्यादस्थिपाततः
Because you have granted us liberation, you too shall attain release—this is no falsehood. The fruit that a son gains by offering rice-balls in the Ganges, and the destiny attained by ancestors there, both are obtained here by the casting of bones.
इति श्रीपाद्मे महापुराणे पंचपंचाशत्साहस्र्यां संहितायामुत्तरखंडे। कालिंदीमाहात्म्ये मुकुंदोपाख्यानं नामैकादशाधिकद्विशतमोध्यायः
Thus ends the two hundred and eleventh chapter, named 'The Story of Mukunda,' in the section on the Glory of the Yamunā, in the Uttara-khaṇḍa of the great Padma Purāṇa, comprising fifty-five thousand verses.
नारद उवाच- आकर्णय शिबे राजन्वर्णयामि तवाग्रतः । पुण्यं यशस्यमायुष्यं काश्या माहात्म्यमुत्तमम्
Nārada said: Hear, O Śibi, king, as I describe before you the supreme glory of Kāśī, which brings merit, fame, and long life.
इंद्रप्रस्थतटस्थायां काश्यामेकस्तु पादपः । शिंशपाख्योभवेद्राजन् पुरा पुण्ययुगे कृते
On the bank of Indraprastha, O king, there was once a single tree called Śiṃśapā, in the sacred age of Kṛta.
तत्रैको वायसो ह्यासीत्कृतनीडो वनस्पतौ । तस्याधस्तान्महासर्पं कोटरेव सति स्म ह
There, on that tree, was a single crow who had built its nest; and beneath it, in a hollow, there dwelled a great serpent.
एकदा तस्य काकस्य भार्यांडद्वयमालये । प्रतिमुच्य गता क्वापि न नीडे स्वे समागता
One day, the crow’s mate, having laid two eggs in the nest, went somewhere and did not return to her own nest.
स्वयमेव स काकस्तु पालयन्नंडकद्वयम् । तामेव शिंशपामुच्चैरध्यतिष्ठन्महीपते
The crow himself cared for the two eggs, remaining high upon that very Śiṃśapā tree, O king.
अथैकदा निशीधे तु महावात्या समागता । अभनक्शिंशपां राजन्मूलादपि दृढादपि
Then, one night, a great storm arose, O king, and struck the Śiṃśapā tree, even uprooting it from its strong base.
वात्यया पात्यमानाया शिंशपायास्तदा तले । चूर्णितौ काकसर्पौ तौ गतप्राणौ बभूवतुः
As the Śiṃśapā was being felled by the storm, both the crow and the serpent at its base were crushed and lost their lives.
दिव्यांगास्ते त्रयो भूत्वा शिंशपा वायसादयः । विमानत्रयमारूढा जग्मुः श्रीपतिकेतनम्
Those three—the Śiṃśapā tree, the crow, and the serpent—took on divine forms, ascended three celestial chariots, and went to the abode of Śrīpati.
शिबिरुवाच- देवर्षे केन पुण्येन प्राप्ता तैर्मुक्तिदा पुरी । आसंस्ते के त्रयः पूर्वं सर्वं कथय नारद
Śibi said: O divine sage, by what merit did those three attain the city that grants liberation? Who were they formerly? Tell me everything, O Nārada.
नारद उवाच-। कुरुजांगलदेशीयो ब्राह्मणः श्रवणाभिधः । तस्य भार्या कुडा नाम भ्राताभूच्च कुरंटकः
Nārada said: In the land of Kurujāṅgala there was a Brahmin named Śravaṇa; his wife was called Kuḍā, and his brother-in-law was Kuraṇṭaka.
अस्नातभोक्ता नित्यं स कवलो मिष्टभुग्रहः । श्रवणस्तेन दोषेण बभूव ग्रामवायसः
He who always eats without bathing, who takes morsels of sweet food, became, due to that fault, a village crow named Shravan.
कुरंटकस्तु तद्भ्राता नास्तिकोऽभवदुल्बणः । श्रुतिस्मृतिपथोच्छेत्ता देवतानां च निंदकः
Kurantaka, his brother, became a fierce atheist, a destroyer of the path of scripture and tradition, and a blasphemer of the gods.