असिपत्रवने ये च कुंभीपाके च ये गताः
Those who have gone to the sword-leaf forest and to the Kumbhipaka hell,
जात्यंतरसहस्रेषु भ्राम्यंते ये स्वकर्मभिः
Those who wander through thousands of different births because of their own actions,
योनिं गतास्त्वसंख्याताः संख्यातानामशोभनाः
Those who have entered countless wombs, and those whose births are known and inauspicious,
येऽबांधवा बांधवा वा येऽन्यजन्मनि बांधवाः
Those who are without kin, or who are kin, or who were kin in another life,
विषेण च मृता वै ये ये वै शृंगिभिराहताः
Those who have died by poison, and those struck by horned animals,
स्त्री बालघातका ये च ये च विश्वासघातकाः
Those who have killed women or children, and those who have betrayed trust,
अश्वविक्रयिणो ये च परद्रव्यहराश्च ये 4.1.28.
Those who sold horses, and those who have taken the wealth of others,
तर्पिता जाह्नवीतोयैर्नरेण विधिना सकृत्
All these, when satisfied by the waters of Jahnavi by a man, according to the rite, even once,
एतान्मंत्रान्समुच्चार्य यः कुर्यात्पितृतर्पणम्
Whoever, reciting these mantras, performs the ancestral offering—
कामप्रदानि तीर्थानि त्रैलोक्ये यानि कानिचित्
Whatever sacred fords there are in the three worlds that grant desires—
स्वःसिंधुः सर्वतः पुण्या ब्रह्महत्यापहारिणी
The heavenly river is holy everywhere and removes the sin of killing a Brahmin.
गायंति गाथामेतां वै दैवर्षिपितरोगणाः
Indeed, the hosts of gods, sages, and ancestors sing this very verse.
यत्रत्यामृतसंतृप्तास्तापत्रितयवर्जिताः
There, satisfied as if with nectar, they are free from the threefold afflictions.
गंगैव केवला मुक्त्यै निर्णीता परितो हरे
O Hari, only the Ganga has been determined as the sole means of liberation everywhere.
ज्ञात्वा कलियुगं घोरं गंगाभक्तिः सुगोपिता
Knowing the dreadful Kali age, devotion to Ganga has been carefully concealed.
अनेकजन्मनियुतं भ्राम्यमाणस्तु योनिषु
One who wanders through countless thousands of births in various wombs,
नराणामल्पबुद्धीनामेनो विक्षिप्तचेतसाम् 4.1.28.
Among men of little understanding and minds disturbed by sin,
खंडस्फुटितसंस्कारं गंगातीरे करोति यः
Whoever performs the funeral rites, even if incomplete or broken, on the bank of the Ganga,
गंतुमुद्दिश्य यो गंगां परार्थस्वार्थमेव वा
Whoever approaches the Ganga with the intention to go, whether for another or for oneself,
सर्वाणि येषां गांगेयैस्तोयैः कृत्यानि देहिनाम्
For those whose rites for embodied beings are performed with Ganga water,
चरमेपि वयोभागे स्वःसिंधुं यो निषेवते
Even at the very end of life, whoever serves the heavenly river,
यावदस्थि मनुष्याणां गंगातोयेषु तिष्ठति
As long as the bones of humans remain in the waters of the Ganga,
विष्णुरुवाच देवदेवजगन्नाथ जगतां हितकृत्प्रभो
Viṣṇu said: O god of gods, lord of the world, benefactor of all beings,
जले द्युनद्या निष्पापे कथं तस्य परा गतिः
How does one attain the highest state, having become pure in the water of the celestial river?
शृणुष्वैकमना विष्णो वाहीकस्य द्विजन्मनः
Listen with one-pointed mind, O Viṣṇu, to the story of the twice-born Vāhīka.
पुरा कलिंगविषये द्विजो लवणविक्रयी
Long ago, in the land of Kaliṅga, there was a Brahmin who sold salt.
वाहीको नामतो यज्ञसूत्रमात्रपरिग्रहः 4.1.28.
He was called Vāhīka by name, possessing only the sacred thread of sacrifice.
दुर्भिक्षपीडितेनाथ वृषलीपतिना विना
Afflicted by famine, and bereft of his wife, the daughter of a low-caste man,
मध्येऽथ दंडकारण्यं क्षुत्क्षामः संगवर्जितः
Then, in the midst of the Daṇḍaka forest, exhausted by hunger and thirst, and bereft of companions,
तस्य वामपदं गृध्रो गृहीत्वोदपतत्ततः
a vulture seized his left foot and flew up with it.