Sacred Places of Pilgrimage - Vamana Purana Part-9

AUSHANAS TIRTHA

Describing about the greatness of Aushanas, the most sacred place of pilgrimage, Lomaharshan narrates the following tale- "During Treta Yuga, Lord Rama had killed many demons while he was in exile. Once, while he was living in Dandak forest, he had severed the head of a wicked demon with his Kshura arrow. The severed head of the demon was carried by the arrow for quite a distance and coincidentally it got stuck on the thigh of sage Rahodar. It became very difficult for him to perform his religious duties. Bad smell emanating from the severed head was unbearable. Some sages advised him to pay a visit to Aushanas to become free from his problem.

Rahodar went to Aushanas and as soon as he touched the holy water of the river, the severed head got detached and fell in the river. Delighted, he went back to his hermitage. From that day, Aushanas also came to be known as Kapalmochan.

VASHISHTHAPAVAH TIRTHA

The sages asked Lomaharshan about the origin of Vashishthapava Tirtha and about the reason why sage Vashishtha was carried along by the powerful current of Saraswati river. Lomaharshan said- "There was great rivalry between sage Vashishtha and sage Vishwamitra. In course of time, it turned into a bitter enemity. Vashishtha had his hermitage at a place called Sthanu Tirtha and Vishwamitra's hermitage was situated just towards the west of it. Vishwamitra was jealous of Vashishtha's accomplishment."

Once, Vishwamitra asked river Saraswati to bring Vashishtha to his hermitage with the help of powerful currents so that he could kill him. River Saraswati became sad and refused to obey him, which made Vishwamitra angry. He again repeated his commands. Seeing no other option, she went to Vashishtha's hermitage and narrated the whole story to him. Vashishtha agreed to be carried away by her current.

When Vishwamitra saw Vashishtha, he furiously started looking for some weapon to kill him. Saraswati became scared and carried Vashishtha to safety as she did not want to acquire the sin of collaborating in the killing of a Brahmin. Vishwamitra angrily cursed her- "May your water be mixed with blood and may the demons thrive on your banks."

This way, Saraswati flowed with her water mixed with blood for one year. All the sages, deities, Gandharvas and Apsaras were worried at this happening. But, this was not the case with the demons, who lived happily at the bank of river Saraswati thriving on the blood mixed in her water. They used to live happily- dancing and rejoicing, as if they had won the heaven from the deities.

One day, some sages arrived at the bank of river Saraswati and became distressed after seeing her water mixed with blood. They asked her about the reason. She revealed the whole story and the misdeeds of Vishwamitra. The sages then requested river Aruna- the liberator of all sins to change her course and start flowing towards river Saraswati. As soon as river Aruna submerged into river Saraswati, she (Saraswati) regained her purity once again.

KAMYAKVAN TIRTHA

The sages asked Lomaharshan about the origin of Kamyakvan Tirtha. Lomaharshan replied- "Once upon a time, the sages of Naimisharanya came to Kurukshetra to take bath in river Saraswati. But, since they were large in number, the banks of river Saraswati could not accommodate all of them. In their helplessness, they created an imaginary place of pilgrimage named Yagyopavitik Tirtha and took an imaginary dip in it. But many of the remaining sages were unable to do even this."

When Saraswati saw such a large gathering of Brahmins, desirous of having bath in her holy waters, she created a garden (Kunj) and started flowing towards west. This very garden later on developed into a dense forest and became famous as Kamyakvan.

STHANU TIRTHA

The sages then asked Lomaharshan about the origin of Sthanu Tirtha and the importance of Sthanu Vata. They also expressed their desire to know about the reservoir named Sanihitya and how Indra had filled it up with mud. Sage Lomaharshan replied- "Once, Sanatkumar upon being asked by Balkhilya and other sages the same question, narrated the following tale- During the period of final annihilation, when the whole earth was submerged in water,

 Lord Brahma manifested inside an egg. He slept there for thousands of yugas. When he woke up from his sleep, he found the world devoid of any inhabitants. Being under the influence of Rajo Guna, he planned to commence his creation. At the same time, Lord Vishnu awakened from his sleep and broke that egg after seeing that the whole world had merged inside him. 

Subsequently, Lord Brahma began his creation starting from the word- 'OMKAR'. After that, the terms- Bhur, Bhuvah and Swah respectively came into existence. The brilliant effulgence radiating from the egg had dried up the water as a result of which, the remaining water had turned into the shape of an embryo. The reservoir- Sanihitya is situated at the same place where the egg had manifested itself. Meru Mountain is nothing but the outer shell of that egg and all the other mountains are its membrane. The oceans and the rivers are the fluid inside that egg. There is a great reservoir near the navel area of Lord Brahma. A big Banyan tree is situated just in the middle of that reservoir. This tree appears like a pillar (Sthanu). 

All the three major castes (Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya) originated from that tree. Lord Brahma then created his Manasputras- Sanat, Sanandan etc. Subsequently, he created the Saptarishis and the Balkhilyas. All the Balkhilyas did a severe penance for thousands of years without having a morsel of food. They had become very weak but still Lord Shiva was not pleased with them."

Once, Lord Shiva and Uma were travelling by aerial route when suddenly Uma saw the weak Balkhilyas engaged in penance. She was saddened to see their frail bodies and requested Lord Shiva to end their miseries. Lord Shiva told her that the Balkhilyas had not attained a bit of virtuousness inspite of their severe penance. "They have still not become free from anger and desires", said Lord Shiva. But Uma was reluctant to believe his words. Lord Shiva then asked her to wait there and himself went to show their real worth to her to prove his point.

Lord Shiva then shed his apparels and became naked. As a mendicant, he visited the hermitages of all the Balkhilyas. At that time the Balkhilyas were engaged in penance and hence only womenfolk were present at the hermitages. The womenfolk, infatuated by Lord Shiva, started running after him. When the Balkhilyas came to know about this, they uprooted his private organ (Linga) and threw it on the ground. Hardly had the Linga fallen on the ground, the whole world got engulfed by the process of destruction. All the sages and learned saints became worried and went to seek Lord Brahma's help. Lord Brahma revealed to them that this destruction was due to Shiva's wrath. He also told them about the futility of their penance as they were still under the influence of anger and lust. "You cannot attain perfection until your flaws are removed", said Lord Brahma.

SAGES TAKE LORD SHIVA'S REFUGE

Ashamed, the sages requested Lord Brahma to tell them the way to pacify Lord Shiva. Lord Brahma assured them that they would be forgiven if they took Lord Shiva's refuge. Lord Brahma went to Kailash Parvat accompanied by all the sages. After reaching there, he eulogised Lord Shiva with deep devotion. The sages also worshipped Lord Shiva.

Lord Shiva was satisfied by their eulogy and devotion. He instructed the sages to establish the severed Linga at Sanihitya Sarovar. "By doing this, you would have all your desires fulfilled. The Linga would become famous by the name of Sthanu- the whole world. A devotee who pays a visit to this sacred place of pilgrimage would become liberated from all his sins", said Lord Shiva.

The sages returned to the place of Lord Shiva's fallen Linga. They tried their best to lift it but were unsuccessful in their attempt. They became worried and went to Lord Brahma for help. Lord Brahma told them- "Since Shiva's Linga had fallen on his own will, hence nobody except him can lift that Linga." All of them went back to Kailash Parvat but Lord Shiva was nowhere to be found.

Lord Brahma went into a state of deep meditation and sighted Lord Shiva in the guise of an elephant. When Brahma and the deities proceeded on their way, they found a goddess with a kamandalu in hand and offered them Amrit. After being refreshed, the sages asked whether she knew of Lord Shiva's whereabouts. She told them that Lord Shiva was presently living in the middle of Sanihitya Sarovar. After reaching the reservoir, they found Lord Shiva in the guise of an elephant. They requested him to help them, establish his Linga at the desired place. Lord Shiva agreed. All of them then went to the site of Lord Shiva's fallen Linga. He lifted it with his trunk and established it towards the west of Sanihitya Sarovar. The sages were satisfied and expressed their gratitude to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva, pleased by their eulogy and devotion, decided to make the Linga as his abode.

GREATNESS OF STHANU TIRTHA

THE GREATNESS OF SANIHITYA SAROVAR AND STHANU TIRTHA

Sanatkumar says- Describing the greatness of Sanihitya Sarovar, Lord Shiva told the sages that a devotee cannot attain salvation unless he pays a visit to this sacred place of pilgrimage. There is no other Tirtha like this one. "I would be easily accessible to a devotee who worships me with total devotion." After saying this, Lord Shiva disappeared.

In course of time, the heaven became crowded with human beings due to virtues attained by going on pilgrimages to Sthanu Tirtha. The deities became worried at this development and went to seek Lord Brahma's help. Indra said- "If things continue like this then the heaven will be dominated by mortals and we will have no option but to move out from there. Now, its your duty to protect us." Lord Brahma ordered Indra to fill up Sanihitya Sarovar with mud so that the Sthanu Linga gets concealed and devotees no longer visited that sacred place of pilgrimage.

Sanihitya Sarovar was filled up with mud as Indra created a dust storm, which lasted for several days. But still Indra's objective remained unfulfilled as Lord Shiva lifted Sthanu Linga and Tirtha Vata (Banyan tree) in his hands. There were some sages present on the bank of Sanihitya Sarovar at the time of this incident. They smeared their bodies with that mud and due to this, all of them went to Brahma loka.

Sanatkumar says- "The sacred places of pilgrimage named Shukra Tirtha and Soma Tirtha are situated towards north and south of Sthanu Vata respectively. Daksha Tirtha is situated towards its south and Skand Tirtha towards its west. The sacrosanct Sthanu Tirtha is situated just in between all these four places of pilgrimage. Near Sthanu Tirtha is a Shivalinga and Goddess Uma dwells there. There is a Maha Linga established by Takshak towards the north of Sthanu Vata while the Shivalinga constructed by Vishwakarma is established towards the east.

By the side of that Banyan tree (Vata Tirtha) is situated- Bateshwar Linga, which was established by Lord Brahma. Some other prominent Lingas established in the vicinity of Sthanu Linga are- Gokarna Maha Linga established by Ravana, Kumareshwar, Hastipadeshwar Shiva, Siddheshwar Linga, Hibhavateshwar Linga etc.

KING VENA, BIRTH OF PRITHU

Sage Markandeya then goes on to describe about the splendours of Sthanu Tirtha- Surya was Manu's father. Vena was Manu's grandson. He was wicked and always criticised the Vedas. Being displeased by his irreligious son, Vena's father left for the forest to do penance where he attained salvation.

In course of time, Vena's tyranny spread across the length and breadth of the earth. In a very short time, he became the lord of whole earth. He had strictly warned his subjects against worshipping any other deity except him. Sages became furious by his irreligious stricture and tried to change his mind but their efforts went in vain. Ultimately, Vena was killed by the angry sages. After his death, the sages churned his left hand, which resulted in the manifestation of a dwarf. The sages considered him to be unfit to become a ruler and churned Vena's right hand for the second time. This time, a divine entity manifested, who had all the auspicious signs on his body. The deities crowned this divine entity as the king and named him Prithu. Prithu proved to be a just king and his subjects were satisfied by his rule.

One day, sage Narada arrived at Prithu's court. Wanting to grab the opportunity, he asked Narada how his father could be liberated from his sins. Narada told him that his father was presently living among the Mlechchas and was suffering from diseases like consumption and leprosy. "He would be cured of his diseases if he is taken to Sthanu Tirtha and made to take a dip in the holy Sanihitya Sarovar", said Narada.

He went to the site and found his father living among the Mlechchas. After taking the Mlechchas' permission, he brought his father to Sthanu Tirtha. His effort of helping his father to take a bath was resisted by the deity- Vayu who said- "The waters of Sanihitya Sarovar would get polluted if such a lowly sinner took a bath in it. First of all, you must go on a pilgrimage and visit all the sacred places to make your father pure. Only then he will be entitled to take bath here".

Prithu accompanied by his father went on a pilgrimage and visited all the sacred places. When both of them returned to Sthanu Tirtha, his father had become pure by this time. Vena took his bath and became liberated from his sins. He worshipped Lord Sthanu and eulogised him with total devotion.

VENA ATTAINS HEAVEN

Sanatkumar says- "Lord Shiva became pleased by his devotion and blessed Vena that he would manifest from his body as Andhak in his next birth. Due to the sins acquired by criticising the Vedas, he would be born in the family of the notorious demon Hiranyaksh." Lord Shiva then asked Vena to demand any boon.

Vena requested Lord Shiva to bless his attendant who had transformed into a dog due to his sin acquired by eating divine food. Lord Shiva blessed the attendant as a result of which, he regained his original form. Right then, Prithu arrived there. After seeing him, Vena expressed his gratitude for his tremendous effort without which, he would not have been liberated from his sins. After blessing Prithu, Vena departed for heaven.

In his father's absence, Prithu continued to rule justly. He performed many religious activities and gave unlimited donations to the Brahmins. After ruling for a long period, he went to Kurukshetra where he did a severe penance and attained the supreme abode after his death.

THE ORIGIN OF BRAHMESHWAR'S FOUR HEADS

After creating all the movable and immovable living things, Lord Brahma created a beautiful lady. He was so infatuated by her beauty that he expressed his desire to procreate with her help. As a result of this grave sin committed by Lord Brahma, one of his four heads got detached and fell on the ground. He carried his severed head and went to Sanihitya Sarovar to atone for his sins. After reaching that site, he established a four-headed Shivalinga and worshipped it daily. Pleased by his devotion, Lord Shiva appeared before him. He blessed Lord Brahma and said-

"You have become free from the sin due to the virtue attained by establishing a four-headed Shivalinga at this sacred place." After blessing him, Lord Shiva disappeared.

After getting liberated from his sin, Lord Brahma worshipped the idol of four-headed Mahadeva and established another Shivalinga in the middle of a nearby lake. He also created a reservoir, which is named after him- Brahmasar. He established two other Shivalingas- one towards the east of his hermitage and another at the bank of river Saraswati. A devotee who goes on a pilgrimage to these sacred places created by Lord Brahma becomes liberated from all his sins and attains salvation.

PRITHUDAK TIRTHA

Describing the majesty of Prithudak Tirtha, Mahadeva told the deities- "All of you must pay a visit to this sacrosanct place of pilgrimage situated near Sanihitya reservoir. The day on which Moon, Sun and Jupiter unitedly come under Mrigshira Nakshatra is called Akshay Tritiya. You must go to that sacred place and perform Shradha of your ancestors."

All the deities led by Indra went to Kurukshetra where Prithudak was situated. Brihaspati was also present with them. After taking their bath, the deities requested Brihaspati (Jupiter) to enter into the Mrigshira Nakshatra as directed by Mahadeva. Brihaspati agreed to do that and entered into the Mrigshira Nakshatra along with the Sun and the Moon on Akshay Tritiya.

All the deities then worshipped their dead ancestors by offering Pind comprising of sesame seeds and honey. The ancestors were pleased and presented Mena to the deities. The deities in turn presented Mena to Himalaya. Himalaya was pleased to have Mena as his wife. In course of time, three daughters were born to them.