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.
गृध्रयोरामिषं गृध्न्वोः परस्परजयैषिणोः
Desiring flesh, two vultures, each seeking to defeat the other, contended with one another.
तस्य वाहीक विप्रस्य व्याघ्रव्यापादितस्य ह
That Brāhmaṇa from Vāhīka, having been killed by a tiger,
यदैव हतवान्द्वीपी तं वाहीकमरण्यगम्
at the very moment the leopard slew that Vāhīka who had gone into the forest,
कशाभिर्घातितोत्यंतमाराभिः परितोदितः
he was struck repeatedly with whips and pierced all around with goads.
आपृच्छि धर्मराजेन चित्रगुप्तोथ मापते
He was questioned by Dharmarāja and by Citragupta, O ruler of men.
वैवस्वतेन पृष्टोथ चित्रगुप्तो विचित्रधीः
Then, questioned by Vaivasvata, Citragupta, of wondrous intellect,
जगाद यमुनाबंधुं वाहीकस्य द्विजन्मनः 4.1.28.
spoke to the friend of Yamunā about the Vāhīka Brāhmaṇa.
चित्रगुप्त उवाच गर्भाधानादिकं कर्म प्राक्कृतं नास्य केनचित्
Citragupta said: No one performed for him the rites beginning with conception and the other prescribed acts.
गर्भैनः शमने हेतुः समस्तायुः सुखप्रदम्
The means for removing the sin of the womb, which grants happiness for the entire span of life,
ख्यातः स्याद्येन विधिना सर्वत्र विधिपावनम्
by whatever rite it is performed, is renowned everywhere as purifying according to rule.