तस्य मूले स्थितो ब्रह्मा मध्ये देवो जनार्दनः । मंजर्यां वसते रुद्रः तुलसी तेन पावनी
At her root resides Brahma, in the middle dwells the god Janardana, and in the flower Rudra abides; thus Tulasi is purifying.
विना यस्तुलसीं कुर्यात्संध्याकाले तु मार्जनम् । तत्सर्वं राक्षसहृतं नरकं च प्रयच्छति
Whoever, at twilight, performs purification without Tulasi, all that is taken by demons and leads to hell.
तुलसीपत्रगलितं तोयं यः शिरसावहेत् । गंगाफलमवाप्नोति शतधेनुफलं लभेत्
Whoever carries on his head water in which Tulasi leaves have fallen attains the merit of bathing in the Ganga and receives the fruit of giving a hundred cows.
शिवालये विशेषेण रोपयेत्तुलसीं यदि । बीजसंख्या वसेत्स्वर्गे प्रत्येकं युगसंख्यया
If one especially plants Tulasi in a shrine of Shiva, for each seed sown, one dwells in heaven for as many ages.
उमया तु पुरा देवि शंकरार्थं हिमालये । रोपिताः शतवृक्षास्तु तुलस्याः प्रणतोऽस्म्यहम्
Long ago, O goddess, Uma planted a hundred Tulasi trees in the Himalayas for the sake of Shankara; I bow to her.
पर्वण्यवसरे यस्तु श्रावणे चाथ रोपयेत् । संक्रांतिदिवसे चैव तुलसी चातिपुण्यदा
Whoever plants Tulasi on festival occasions, or in the month of Shravana, or on the day of the sun's transit, receives great merit from Tulasi.
तुलसीं पूजयेन्नित्यं दरिद्र ईश्वरो भवेत् । सर्वसिद्धिकरामूर्तिः कृष्णः कीर्तिं ददाति च
One who worships Tulasi daily, even if poor, becomes lordly; Krishna, the giver of all attainments, grants him fame.
शालग्रामशिला यत्र तत्र संनिहितो हरिः । तत्र स्नानं च दानं च वाराणस्यां शताधिकम्
Wherever there is a Shalagrama stone, Hari is present there; bathing and giving gifts at that place yields a hundred times the merit of Varanasi.
कुरुक्षेत्रं प्रयागं च नैमिषारण्यमेव च । तस्य कोटिगुणं पुण्यं शालग्रामशिलार्चनात्
Kurukshetra, Prayaga, and Naimisharanya—worship of the Shalagrama stone gives merit a crore times greater than these holy places.
शालग्राममयी मुद्रा संस्थिता यत्र हि क्वचित् । वाराणस्यां च यत्पुण्यं सर्वं तत्रैव तद्भवेत्
Wherever a ring made of Shalagrama is kept, all the merit found in Varanasi is present there.
ब्रह्महत्यादिकं पापं यत्किंचित्कुरुते नरः । तत्सर्वं नाशयेदाशु शालग्रामशिलार्चनात्
Whatever sin a person commits, even as grave as killing a Brahmin, all that is quickly destroyed by worship of the Shalagrama stone.
महादेवउवाच- प्रयागतीर्थमाहात्म्यं प्रवक्ष्यामि यथा श्रुतम् । महादानपराः पुण्यकर्माणो यत्र संति हि
Mahadeva said: I will now declare, as I have heard, the greatness of the holy place Prayaga, where those devoted to great gifts and virtuous deeds are found.
यत्र गंगा च यमुना यत्र चैव सरस्वती । तं देवतीर्थप्रवरं देवानामपि दुर्लभम्
Where the Ganga, Yamuna, and Sarasvati meet—that foremost of sacred fords, rare even for the gods—
ईदृशं त्रिषु लोकेषु भूतं न च भविष्यति । ग्रहाणां च यथा सूर्यो नक्षत्राणां यथा शशी
Such a place has never existed in the three worlds, nor will it ever be; as the sun is among planets, as the moon among stars—
तीर्थानामुत्तमं तीर्थं प्रयागाख्यमनुत्तमम् । प्रातःकाले तु भो विद्वन्प्रयागे स्नानमाचरेत्
Among all sacred fords, Prayaga is the supreme, unrivaled ford; O wise one, one should bathe at Prayaga in the morning.
महापापाद्विनिर्मुक्तः स याति परमं पदम् । देयं किंचिद्यथाशक्ति दारिद्र्याभावमिच्छता
Freed from great sins, he attains the highest state; one who desires freedom from poverty should give something according to his ability.
यो नरस्तत्र गत्वा वै प्रयागे स्नानमाचरेत् । धनिको दीर्घजीवी च जायते नात्र संशयः
The man who, having gone there, bathes at Prayaga, becomes wealthy and long-lived—of this there is no doubt.
यत्र वटस्याक्षयस्य दर्शनं कुरुते नरः । तेन दर्शनमात्रेण ब्रह्महत्या विनश्यति
Where a man beholds the imperishable banyan tree, by that very sight, the sin of killing a Brahmin is destroyed.
स चाक्षयवटः ख्यातः कल्पांतेपि च दृश्यते । शेते विष्णुर्यस्य पत्रे अतोयमव्ययः स्मृतः
That imperishable banyan is renowned, and is seen even at the end of an age; Vishnu, imperishable and waterless, is said to rest upon its leaf.
तत्र पूजां प्रकुर्वंति मानवा विष्णुवल्लभाः । सूत्रेणाच्छादितं कृत्वा पूजां चैव तु कारयेत्
There, devotees of Vishnu perform worship; covering it with a thread, they should indeed conduct the worship.
माधवाख्यस्तत्र देवः सुखं तिष्ठति नित्यशः । तस्य वै दर्शनं कार्यं महापापैः प्रमुच्यते
There, the god called Madhava abides happily forever; one should seek his audience, for by it, one is freed from great sins.
यत्र देवाश्च ऋषयो मनुष्याश्चापि सर्वशः । स्वस्वस्थानं समाश्रित्य तत्र तिष्ठंति नित्यशः
There, gods, seers, and all humans, each established in their own place, dwell eternally.
गोघ्नो वापि च चांडालो दुष्टो वा दुष्टचेतनः । बालघाती तथाऽविद्वान्म्रियते तत्र वै तदा
Even a killer of cows, an outcaste, a wicked or evil-minded man, a slayer of children, or an ignorant one—if he dies there at that time—
स वै चतुर्भुजो भूत्वा वैकुंठे वसते चिरम् । प्रयागे तु नरो यस्तु माघस्नानं करोति च
He indeed, becoming four-armed, dwells long in Vaikuntha; and the man who bathes at Prayaga during Magha—
न तस्य फलसंख्यास्ति शृणु देवर्षिसत्तम । आपो नारा इति प्रोक्ता सर्वलोकेषु शुश्रुम
His merit cannot be counted, O best of divine sages; we have heard in all worlds that waters are called 'nara.'
तेन नारायणः प्रोक्तः स्नातानां भुक्तिमुक्तिदः । ग्रहाणां च यथा सूर्यो नक्षत्राणां यथा शशी
Therefore, he is called Narayana, the giver of enjoyment and liberation to those who bathe; as the sun among planets, as the moon among stars—
मासानां हि तथा माघः श्रेष्ठः सर्वेषु कर्मसु । मकरस्थे रवौ माघे प्रातःकाले तथामले
So too, among months, Magha is the best of all rites; when the sun is in Capricorn, in the pure morning of Magha—
गोःपदेऽपि जले स्नानं स्वर्गदं पापिनामपि । योगोऽयं दुर्लभो विद्वन्त्रैलोक्ये सचराचरे
Even bathing in the water of a cow's hoofprint grants heaven, even to sinners; this conjunction is rare, O wise one, in the three worlds, moving and unmoving.
अस्मिन्यो यत्नमापन्नः स्नायादपि दिनत्रयम् । पंच वा सप्त वाप्यत्र स्नानं कुर्वन्प्रयागजम्
Whoever, making effort here, bathes even for three days, or five, or seven, performing the Prayaga bath—
चंद्रवद्वर्द्धते सोऽपि कुले वाडवसत्तम । चराचराश्च ये जीवास्तथैव मनुजादयः
He too increases like the moon in his lineage, O best of the Bharatas; and all living beings, both moving and unmoving, as well as men—