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.
तेन दोषेण स मृतो ह्यभवत्कालकुंडली । सा कुंडा श्रवणस्य स्त्री बभूवोभयदोषभाक्
Because of that fault, when he died, he became a black snake; that snake, Kundā, was Shravan's wife, sharing both faults.
अतः सा स्थावरत्वं हि लब्ध्वासीदुभयाश्रया । एतत्ते कथितं भूप तद्वृत्तं पूर्वजन्मनि
Thus, she attained the state of immobility and was of dual nature; this, O king, is the account of their previous birth.
अतः परं प्रवक्ष्यामि तेषां पुण्यं यतस्त्रयः । प्रापुस्तेन पुरीं रम्यां काशीं वैश्वेश्वरीं नृप
Next, I will tell you of their merit, by which the three of them reached the delightful city of Kāśī, O king, the city of Viśveśvarī.
ग्रामांतरादेकदा तौ प्रत्यायातौ निजालयम् । कस्यचित्पथिकस्याथ कूपमग्नां पयस्विनीम्
Once, returning from another village to their own home, they saw a milk-giving cow fallen into a well, belonging to a certain traveler.
अवलोक्य तदुद्धारं चक्रतुस्तेन नोदितौ । ताभ्यांगदितमाकर्ण्य कुंडा साध्वित्यभाषत
Seeing this, they rescued her, prompted by no one; hearing their words, Kundā spoke approvingly.
ते त्रयस्तेनपुण्येन मरणं प्राप्य दुर्लभम् । इंद्रप्रस्थतटस्थायां काश्यां वैकुंठमारुहन्
By that merit, the three attained a rare death and ascended to Vaikuṇṭha in Kāśī, on the bank of Indraprastha.
इयं काशी महेशस्य पुरी यद्यपि भूपते । तथाप्यस्यां मृतं जंतुर्वैकुंठे स्यात्सुखी हरेः
This Kāśī is the city of Maheśa, O king; yet, even so, one who dies here becomes happy in Vaikuṇṭha, the abode of Hari.
एतत्ते कथितं राजन्काश्या माहात्म्यमुत्तमम् । किमन्यच्छ्रोतुमिच्छा ते विद्यते तद्वदस्व मे
Thus, O king, I have told you the supreme glory of Kāśī; what else do you wish to hear? Tell me if there is anything.
शिबिरुवाच- मुने त्वया महेशस्य क्षेत्रत्रयमुदीरितम् । काशी च शिवकांची च गोकर्णं च तथापरम्
Śibiru said: Sage, you have described three fields of Maheśa: Kāśī, Śivakāñcī, and Gokarṇa as the other.
एकस्य महिमा प्रोक्तो त्वया काश्या महामुने । गोकर्णशिवकांच्योश्च कथ्यतां यदि विद्यते
You have spoken of the greatness of one, Kāśī, O great sage; tell of Gokarṇa and Śivakāñcī, if there is anything.