Chapter XII. The Ganges

Volume IV pp. 585–617

Chapter XII. The Ganges

# THE GANGES

Since the Ganges is the holiest of rivers and since such highly esteemed tīrthas as Kanakhala, Haridvāra, Prayāga and Kāśī are situated on it, it would be most proper to begin the treatment of individual tīrthas with the Gangeṣ

It has been already seen (p. 556) how the Ganges is the first among the many rivers invoked in the famous Nādistutī hymn (Rg X. 75-6). In Rg ¹ VI 45 31 we have the word ‘Gāngyah’ which most probably means ‘growing on the Ganges’. In the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa XIII, 5 4 11 and 13 and Ait Br. 39. 9 the victories and sacrifices of Bharata Daussanti on the Gangā and Yamunā are mentioneḍ In Śat. Br XIII. 5 4 11 and 13 an ancient gāthā is quoted ‘At Nādapīt the Apsaras Śakuntalā conceived Bharata who after conquering the whole earth brought to Indra more than 1000 horses meet for sacrifice.’ The Mahābhārata (Anuśāsana 26. 26-103) and the Purāṇas (such as Nāradīya, Uttarārdha, chap 38-45 and 51. 1-18, Padma V. 60. 1-127, Agni chap 110, Matsya chap. 180-185, Padma, Ādikhanda chap 33-37) contain hundreds of verses eulogising the greatness and the sanctifying activity of the Gangeṣ The Skandapurāṇa, Kāśīkhaṇḍa, chap 29 (verses 17–168) contains one thousand names of the Gangeṣ It is not possible to reproduce here even a small fraction of what is said in these works about the Ganges To most men in India great rivers like the Ganges, great mountains like the Himālaya present a double aspect, viz the physical aspect and the spiritual aspect A great river apart from its volume of water is deemed to have a spiri-tual or divine life which animates it. Tylor (in ‘Primitive Culture’, 2nd eḍ p 477) observes ‘What we call inanimate objects-rivers, stones, trees, weapons and so forth-are treated as living intelligent beings, talked to, propitiated, punished for the harm they do. There are separate treatises devoted to the glorification of the Ganges and the pilgrimage to it such as the Gaṅgāpattalaka of Gaṇeśvara (1350 A. D.), Gaṅgāvakyāvali of Viśvādevī, queen of king Padmasimha of Mithilā, the Gaṅgābhakti-taraṅgiṇī of Gaṇapati, the Gaṅgākṛtyaviveka of Vardhamāna. Vide H. of Dh. vol. I p. 538 for the dates of some of these workṣ

The Vanaparva, chap 85, has a grand eulogy of Gaṅgā in verses 88-97, some of which may be translated here¹³²⁴. “The Gaṅges is equal to Kurukṣetra wherever one may take a bath in it, but there is a speciality about Kaṇakhala and in Prayāga there is the greatest and highest (holiness). If a person, after committing a hundred bad deeds, sprinkles himself with Ganges (water), the waters of the Ganges burn all of them as fire burns fuel. In the Kṛta age all (places) were holy, in Tretā age Puskara was (the holiest place), in Dvāpara Kurukṣetra and in the Kali age the Gangeṣ The Ganges, when its name is uttered, purifies a sinner, when seen it yields good fortune, when a bath is taken in it or its water is drunk it sanctifies the family up to the seventh ancestor. As long as (a particle of) the bones of a man touches Ganges water (i. e. lies inside it), so long does the man remain happy (or honoured) in heaveṇ There is no holy place equal to the Ganges, there is no god higher than Keśava. That country and that penance-grove where the Ganges flows should be known as the sacred spot of success (or perfection) since it attaches itself to the Gangeṣ” The Anuśāsana (26,26, 30-31) asserts ‘those districts and countries, those hermiatges and mountains, in the midst of which the Ganges flows are pre-eminent in puṇya (religious merit) Even those men who, after committing sinful acts in the first part of their lives, resort afterwards to the Ganges reach the highest world (or goal). That increase (in merit) which comes to men that bathe in the holy waters of the Ganges and that then become pure in spirit, cannot be secured even by the performance of hundreds of solemn Vedic sacrificeṣ³

In the Bhagavadgītā (X. 31) Lord Kṛṣṇa says that among streams he is the Ganges (srotasāsmasmi Jāhnavī). The Manusmṛti setting out an exordium to a witness to tell the truth indicates that the Ganges and Kurukṣetra were the most sacred spots in the age of the Manusmṛti.⁴ Some of the Purāṇas describe the Ganges as flowing in Heaven (as Mandākinī, on the earth (as Gaṅgā) and in the nether regions or Pātāla (as Bhogavatī). Vide Padma VI. 267. 47. The Viṣṇupurāṇa⁵ and other Purāṇas state that the Ganges springs from the toe-nail of the left foot of Viṣṇu. In some Purāṇas it is said that Śiva let off from his matted hair the Ganges in seven streams, three flowing towards the east (Nalinī, Hlādinī, Pāvanī), three to the west (Sītā, Cakṣus and Sindhu) and Bhāgīrathī (vide Matsya 121, 38-41, Brahmāṇḍa II. 18 39-41, Padma I. 3, 65-66). The Kūrmapurāṇa (I 46.30-31) and Varāha (chap. 82 in prose) state that the Ganges flows first in four different streams, Sītā, Alakanandā, Sucaksu and Bhadrā and that the Alakanandā flows towards the south, comes to Bhāratavarṣa and falls into the sea with seven mouthṣ⁶ In the Brahmapurāṇa (73. 68-69) the Ganges is described as sprung from the foot of Viṣṇu and as established in the matted hair of Maheśvara (Śiva).

The Viṣṇupurāṇa eulogises⁷ the Ganges as follows: The Ganges purifies all beings from day to day when its name is heard, when one desires to see (it), when it is seen or touched or when its waters are drunk or when one plunges into it or when one takes (or sings) its name; when people utter the name ‘Ganges’ even though living at a distance of hundreds of yojanas, their sins accumulated in three births are destroyeḍ The Bhavisyapurāna⁸ has a similar verse ‘one becomes free from sins at once by seeing the Ganges or touching it or drinking its water and by uttering the name Gangā and also by remembering it.’⁹ The Matsya, Kūrma, Garuda and Padma remark that the Ganges is easy of access everywhere but is difficult to reach at three places viz at Gangādvāra (Haridvāra), at Prayāga and where it joins the sea and that those who bathe therein reach heaven and that those who die there are not born agaiṇ The Nāradīyapurāna, on the other hand, says that the Ganges is difficult of access everywhere, but much more so at three placeṣ The man, whether desiring it or not, who draws near the Ganges and dies (near it) secures heaven and does not see hell (Matsya 107.4).¹⁰ The Kūrmapurāṇa represents that the Ganges¹¹ is equal to all the 35 millions of holy places declared by Vāyu in the heaven, in mid region and on the earth and that all of them are represented by the Gangeṣ The Padmapurāṇa asks ‘what is the use of sacrifices rich in large wealth, what is the use of very difficult austerities, what is the use of a Ganges honoured easily and gracefully that yields Heaven and mokṣa’? A similar verse occurs in the Nāradīya-purāṇa ‘what is the use of Yoga with its eight angas, of austerities, of solemn (Vedic) sacrifices? Residence on the Ganges alone is superior to all these¹². Two verses of the Matsya-purāṇa¹³ deserve mention here 'even a man of sinful deeds, on remembering the Ganges ever at a distance of thousands of yojanas, attains the highest goal. A person is delivered from sin by uttering the name (of the Ganges), on seeing it a person sees happiness; by bathing in the Ganges and drinking its water he purifies his family up to the seventh ancestor'. It is stated in the Kāśikhanda that on the banks of the glorious Ganges all times are auspicious as well as all countries, and all men are fit for receiving gifts In the Varāhapurāṇa (chap. 82) the name 'Gaṅgā' is derived as 'gām gatā' (that has gone to the earth). The Padma-purāṇa (Srstikhanda 60. 64-65) specifies the mūlamantra about the Ganges as follows: ‘Om namo Gaṅgāyai, viśvarūpiṇyai nārāyaṇyai namo namaḥ'. The Padmapurāṇa (srsti 60 35) holds that Viṣṇu represents all the gods and the Ganges represents Viṣṇu. It eulogises the Ganges as follows: Sons abandon their fathers, wives their husbands, friends and relatives abandon a friend or a rela-tive if any one of these is adulterous, or patita, or wicked or becomes a cāndāla or kills his guru, or is full of all kinds of sins and hatreds, but the Ganges does not forsake such persons¹⁴. The extent of the holy region of the Ganges is laid down in some purāṇaṣ The Nāradīya¹⁵ states the region within one gavyūti from the banks of the Ganges is called kṣetra; one should reside within the kṣetra limits, but not on the bank itself; residence on the (of the Ganges) is not desireḍ The limits of the kṣetra are of the extent of one yojana between both the banks' i. e. the kṣetra extends for two krośas from each bank. The general rule is stated by Yama that forests, mountains, holy rivers and tīrthas are without an owner, these cannot be possessed (by a person as owner). The Brahmapurāṇa ¹⁶ says that measuring from the flowing waters for a distance of four hastas, God Nārāyaṇa is the Lord (or owner) and no one should accept a gift in that strip even if he be on the point of death. A differ ence is made between the garbha (the inner circle) of the Gaṅgākṣetra, the tīra and the kṣetra. ‘Garbha’ extends up to that portion of the river stream which is reached on the 14th of the dark half of Bhādrapada; beyond that is the tīra (bank), which extends upto 150 hastas from garbha and kṣetra extends up to two krośas from each bank. Let us suppose that the pilgrim has come to the Ganges, Then the question is, how is he to proceed about a bath in the Gangeṣ Many of the digests contain several alternate forms of the saṅkalpa to be made at the time of Gaṅgā-snāna. For example, the Prāyaścittatattva (pp. 497-498) contains a very elaborate saṅkalpa. A simple one is quoted below from the Gangāvākyāvalī.¹⁷ The mode of bathing prescribed in the Matsyapurāṇa 102 is common to people of all varṇas and students of all the different recensions of the Veda. The Matsyapurāṇa, chap. 102, which contains one of the earliest procedure of a religious bath, and which has been taken over by several digests such as the Gangāvākyāvalī (pp. 148–152) is summarised here. Cleanliness (of the body) and clean thoughts do not exist therefore bathing is first prescribed for making the mind pure. One may bathe with water drawn (in a vessel from a well or stream) or with water not so drawṇ A wise man should fix upon a holy spot after repeating the fundamental mantra ‘namo Nārāyaṇāya’ (reverent bow to Nārāyaṇa). A man holding darbha grass in his hand and being clean and pure should perform ācamana (ceremonial sipping of water). He should select a spot four hastas square on all sides and invoke the Ganges (to come or be present there) with the following mantras ‘you are sprung from the foot of Viṣṇu, you are a devotee of Viṣṇu, you worship Viṣṇu; therefore save us from sins committed from birth to death. Vāyu declared that there are three and a half crores (35 millions) of holy places in heaven, on the earth and in mid air; all these, O Ganges (daughter of Jahnu), belong to you. Your name among the gods is Nandinī (the joy-giving) and also Nalinī and there are other names of yours viz. Dakṣā, Pṛthvī, Vihagā, Viśva-kāyā, Amṛtā, Śivā, Vidyādharī, Suprasāntā, Viśva-prasādinī, Kṣemā, Jāhnavī, Śāntā, Śāntipradāyinī.¹⁷ One should utter these holy names at the time of bathing; then the Ganges flowing in the three worlds would be near (even if a man bathed at home). He should, after folding his hands, cast on his head thrice, four times, five times or seven times water on which he has muttered the mantras seven timeṣ After having invoked the clay ( in the river bed ) with the mantras ‘O earth! Oh clay! you are crossed over by horses and chariots, by Viṣṇu, remove my sin which I may have committed by my evil deeds; you were brought up (from the depths of the sea) by the Boar incarnation of Kṛṣṇa with his hundred handṣ O clay! you are given (to the world) by Brahmā and you had mantras repeated over you by Kāśyapa. Occupying my limbs may you drive away all my sin! Oh clay! Give us prosperity; everything is centered in you; a bow to you, that are virtuous and the source of all worlds'. Having thus bathed and having sipped water (ācamana) according to the procedure prescribed, he should get out of the Ganges and should put on two white and pure garmentṣ Then he should perform tarpana¹⁸ for the satisfaction of the three worldṣ (He should say) 'This water is being offered by me for satiating gods, yaksas, nāgas, gandharvas, apsarases, asuras, cruel snakes, eagles, trees, jackals, birds, creatures that sustain themselves on air and water or that move in the sky, all beings that are without support and those that are devoted to the dictates of dharma'. The person (performing tarpana) should wear the sacred thread in the upavīta form (when satiating gods) and then wear it in the IV] nivita¹⁹ form (when satiating men). He should devotedly satiate men, the sages who were sons of Brahmā; he should say 'May Sanaka, Sananda and Sanatana, Kapila, Asuri, Vodhu, Pañcaśikha—may all these reach satiety by the water offered by me.' Then he should satiate with water and akṣata grains (the sages) Marīci, Atri, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Pracetas, Vasiṣṭha, Bhṛgu, Nārada; he should satiate all these devarṣis, and brahmarṣis,²⁰ and ṛṣis with water and akṣataṣ Then wearing the sacred thread in the apasavya mode, bending his left knee on the ground, he satiates with water mixed with sesame and sandal-wood paste pitṛs called Agniṣvātta²¹, Saumya, Haviṣmat, Ūṣmapa, Sukālin, Barhiṣad and others called Āyapa. He should make a bow to Yama, Dharmarāja, Mṛtyu, Antaka, Vaivasvata, kāla, destroyer of all beings, Audumbara, Dadḥna, Nīla, Parameṣṭhin, Vṛkodara, Citra and Citragupta. With darbhas in his hand a wise man should satiate his pitṛṣ He should satiate with devotion his father and the rest by uttering their names and gotra and his maternal grandfather and others in the same way and should recite the following mantra 'May those who are my bandhus or not my bandhus or were my bandhus in some previous life reach satisfaction and also whoever desires satisfaction from me.' Then he should sip water (perform ācamana) in the prescribed way and draw the figure of a lotus in front of himself and offer thereon to the Sun arghya (respectful offering of water) with water mixed with red sandal-wood paste, flowers and akṣatas (grains of rice) and repeat the names of Sūrya (the Sun) 'Bow to thee! that are Viṣṇu in another form, that art the face of Viṣṇu, that hast thousand rays and that art all refulgence. Bow to thee that art beneficent, the lord of the worlḍ Bow to thee that art adorned with divine sandalwood, that art seated on a lotus, adorned with ear-rings and armlets, the lord of people; that awakenest (or enlightenest) the whole world, that guest everywhere and markest the good and evil deeds; a bow to thee who art a god to all. O Bhāskara (Sun), be well disposed to me A bow to thee, Divākara (maker of day). A bow to thee, Prabhākara (source of refulgence)'. Having thus bowed to the Sun and having circumambulated thrice (the lotus drawn for representing the sun) and touching a brāhmaṇa, gold and a cow, the person (bather) should go to a temple of Viṣṇu (or to his own house, according to another reading). ²²

It may be noted that the verses of the Matsyapurāṇa (102. 2–31) summarised above occur (with slight variations of a word here and there) in Padma (Pātāla-khaṇḍa 89. 12–42) and Sṛṣṭi-khaṇḍa, chap. 20. 145–176.

The Sṃ C. and Raghunandana in his Prāyaścittatattva (p. 502) lay down two mantras to be recited at the time of taking a bath in the Ganges ²³ ‘O Ganges, daughter of Jahnu! That lowest in three worlds, that art sprung from the lotus-like feet of Viṣṇu, that are far-famed as devoted to Bhagīrathi! purify with your immortal waters me who am full of faith and devotion'. The mantra to be repeated at the time of the bath at the place where the Ganges falls into the ocean according to the same two works is "O god that art the lord of rivers! O goddess that art the best among rivers! Having bathed at the confluence of both I shall cast off my sins"

On pp. 243–244 above it has been stated that the Viṣṇu Dh. S. and other works recommend the casting of the ashes or charred bones of a cremated body in the Ganges at Prayāga, Kāśī or other holy place and the rites accompanying the casting of ashes have been there set out. A few words are added here. The same verse ²⁴ (with slight variations) about casting ashes in the Ganges occurs in several workṣ The Agaipurāṇa observes 'the deceased man benefits if his bones are thrown into the Ganges; a man stays in heaven as long as (even a particle of) his bone remains in the waters of the Gangeṣ No rites for the dead are performed for those who commit suicide or who are patita; but even in their case the fall of their bones in Ganges water is beneficial to theṃ' The Tir. C and Tir. Pr. quote two verses and a half from the Brahma- purāṇa ²⁵ which set out a briefer rite of throwing ashes than the one in the Nirnayasindhu. The verses mean: "The man carrying the ashes should take a bath, sprinkle pañcagavya over the ashes, should place on them a piece of gold, honey, ghee and sesame; then he should deposit them in an earthen vessel; he should then look in the southern direction, say 'salutation to Dharma,' enter the waters (of the Ganges), utter, 'may he (Dharma or Viṣṇu ?) be pleased with me' and then cast the ashes in the water; then he should bathe in the river, come out of it, cast a look at the Sun and then give a present (daksinā) to a brāhmaṇa; if he does so, then the state of the deceased person will be like Indra.' Vide Skanda, Kāśī-khanda 30, 42-46 where a little more elaborate procedure is prescribeḍ The importance of casting ashes in the Ganges probably owes its origin to the story of King Sagara’s sons who were reduced to ashes by the wrath of the sage Kapila and who were saved by the ashes being washed in the waters of the Ganges brought down from heaven by Bhagiratha. Vide Vanaparva chap. 107– 109, Viṣṇupurāṇa II, 8–10 for the story. The Naradiya makes not only the throwing of calcined bones a source of benefit to the departed but even his nails and hair when cast in the Ganges confer the same benefit. It is stated in the Kāṣikhanda that those who, while standing on the banks of the Ganges, praise another tīrtha or do not think very highly of the Ganges go to hell.²⁵ The Kāṣikhanda further provides that there is special and excessive merit in Gaṅgāsnāna on special days e. g. the merit of bath on New Moon has one hundred times as much merit as on an ordinary day, a thousand times on a saṅkrānti, one hundred thousand on the eclipse of the sun or moon and un- limited times when a bath is taken on moon eclipse on a Monday and on sun eclipse on Sunday.²⁶

TRISTHALĪ

The three great tīrthas of Prayāga, Kāśī and Gayā are referred to as Tristhalī and the great scholar, Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa (born in 1513 A. D.), wrote (about 1580 A. D.) in Benares a famous work called Tristhalisetu (a bridge to the Tristhalī) wherein he gives a thorough and exhaustive treatment of the pilgrimage to these three holy places ²⁷ alone. Prayāga is assigned pp. 1-72, Kāśī pp. 72-316 and Gayā pp. 316-379 (of the Ānandāśrama edition). Following with all humility the footsteps of such an illustrious and venerable scholar I shall deal with the three tīrthas in the same order.

PRAYĀGA

One of the most ancient reference to the greatness of the confluence of the Ganges and the Yamunā occurs in a khila²⁸ verse which is usually placed in Rg. X. 75 and may be rendered as follows: “Those who take a bath at the place where the IV] Two rivers, white and dark, meet together, rise up (fly up) to heaven; those determined men who abandon their body there (i. e. commit suicide by drowning themselves) secure immortality (or mokṣa)". This must have been a comparatively early verse. The Skandapurāṇa refers to it as śruti. The greatness of Prayāga is dwelt upon in the Mahābhārata (Vanaparva 85. 69–97, 87. 18–20, Anuśāsana 25. 36–38)²⁹ and in many purāṇas such as the Matsya (chapters 103–112, in all 260 verses), Kūrma I. 36–39 (verses 121), Padma (I. chap. 40–49), Skanda, Kāśī-Khaṇḍa, chap. 7. 45–65). Only a few out of the hundreds of verses on Prayāga can be cited here by way of sample. One remarkable fact is that the Rāmāyaṇa does not say much about Prayāga. The confluence of the two rivers is no doubt referred to (Rāṃ II. 54.6) but from the description it appears that there was a forest at what is now Prayāga. Prayāga is called Tīrtharāja (the prince among tīrthas) in the Matsya 109. 15, Skanda (Kāśī 7. 45), Padma VI. 23. 27–35 (where the refrain at the end of each verse is 'sa tīrtharājo jayati prayāgaḥ) and elsewhere. The legend runs that Prajāpati or Pitāmaha (Brahmā) performed a sacrifice here and Prayāga is the middle one of the vedis of Brahmā, the others being Kurukṣetra in the north (uttaravedī) and Gayā in the east. It is believed that three rivers meet at Prayāga viz. Gaṅgā, Yamunā and Sarasvatī (underground between the two). It is said in the Matsya³⁰, Kūrma and other Purāṇas that at the very sight of Prayāga, even by taking its name or by applying its clay to one’s body a man becomes free from siṇ The Kūrmapurāṇa³¹ proclaims “it is the sacred spot of Prajāpati; those who bathe here go to heaven and those who die here are not born agaiṇ” That sacred spot is known as tīrtharāja; it is dear to Keśava The same is known as Triveṇī. The word Prayāga is employed in the neuter when connected with such words as tīrtha or kṣetra, as in Matsya (III. 14 prajāpater-idam kṣetram prayāgam-iti viśrutam), but when employed along with words (in the masculine gender) such as tirtharāja, it takes the masculine gender.

The word Prayāga is derived in various wayṣ The Vana-parva ³² appears to suggest that the word Prayāga is derived from the root 'yaj' when it says 'Brahma who is the soul of all beings performed formerly a sacrifice here; therefore it became known as Prayāga'. In the Skanda ³³ purāṇa also it appears to be explained by taking the two parts pra and yāga separately. “It is mentioned as Prayāga because it is superior to all sacrifices; Prayāga was the name given to it by the gods Hari, Hara and others seeing that it is superior to all sacrifices though the latter be enriched with fees and the like.” The Matsyapurāṇa ³⁴ appears to lay emphasis on the part 'pra' when it says 'on account of its efficacy (or power) as compared with all other tīrthas it prevails (or is useful) far more'. The Brahmapurāṇa ³⁵ affirms “It is called prayāga on account of its eminence and it has the word 'rāja' (in Tīrtharāja) applied to it on account of its being the chief”.

We must distinguish between Prayāga-mandala, Prayāga and Veṇī or Triveṇī, each subsequent one being smaller and holier than each preceding one. The Matsya ³⁶ states that the sphere of Prayāga is five yojanas in circumference and that the moment a man enters inside this strip of land, there is an Asva-medha at every step. This has been explained by the Tristhalīsetu (p. 15) as followṣ Regarding Brahmayūpa (the sacrificial post of Brahmā) as the spike or peg, if one measures with a rope one and one half yojana long all round, that would be the Prayāgamandala of five yojanas in circumference. The boundaries of Prayāga itself are defined by Vanaparva,³⁷ the Matsyapurāṇa (104 5 and 106. 30) and otherṣ 'Prayāga extends from Pratisthāna up to the pool of Vāsuki and upto the two nāgas Kambala and Aśvatara and the nāga Bahumūlaka; this is known in the three worlds as the sacred spot of Prajāpati' (Matsya 104. 5), while Matsya 106. 30 provides that to the east the Samudrakūpa, which is the same as Pratisthāna. This is explained by the Tristhālisetu as followṣ The eastern boundary is the kūpa called Pratisthāna³⁸; the northern one is the Vāsuki pool, the western limit is formed by Kambala and Aśvatara, the southern boundary is Bahumūlaka. This would be a four-cornered space which is included within Prayāga-maṇḍala. According to the Matsyapurāṇa as quoted by the Kalpataru on tīrtha p. 143 the two Nāgas are on the south bank of Yamunā while the printed text has 'vipule Yamunātate' (106 27)³⁹ The printed text of Padma 1 43. 27 supports the Kalpataru reading ('Yamunā-dakṣiṇe taṭe) Venī-kṣetra is within the limits of Prayāga itself and is twenty bow lengths in extent, as stated in the Padma. There are three kūpas viz. Prayāga, Pratisthāna and Alarkapura. The Matsya and Agni say 'there are three fire kundas and the Ganges flows in their midst' It should be noted that except where special reference is made in the Purāṇas to the subtirthas, the reference to a bath at Prayāga in general means bath in the Veṇī i. e the confluence of the two rivers, as e. g in Vanaparva 85 81 and 85 and Matsya 104 16-17.⁴⁰ The Vanaparva⁴¹ and some of the Purāṇas represent that the country between the Ganges and the Yamunā is (like) the hips and loins of the earth (i e. it is the most prosperous and plentiful part of the earth) and that Prayāga is like the inmost part of the hipṣ

The Narasimha-purāṇa says that Viṣṇu is in the form of Yogamūrti in Prayāga (65 17). It is said in the Matsya-purāṇa⁴² (111. 4–10) that when Rudra dissolves the world at the end of the Kalpa, the holy place of Prayāga is not destroyed, that Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśvara (Śiva) stay in Prayāga, that to the north of Pratiṣṭhāna Brahmā stays in it under guise, that Viṣṇu stays there as Veṇī-Mādhava, that Śiva stays there as the Vaṭa (banyan tree) and that therefore the gods with the Gandharvas, the Siddhas and great sages always protect the sphere (maṇḍala) of Prayāga by guarding it against evil actionṣ The Matsyapurāṇa, therefore, recommends that a pilgrim should go to Prayāga which is protected by all the gods, stay there for a month, avoid sexual intercourse, worship gods and pitṛs and thereby secure his desired objects (104. 18). The same Purāṇa highly eulogises the gift at Prayāga of a kapilā cow properly decked (105. 16–22) with clothes, ornaments and jewelṣ The Padmapurāṇa (Ādi 42 17–24) has the same verses as the Matsya on this subject. Similarly, the marriage of a daughter in the Prayāga is highly spoken of in Matsya (106. 8-9). The Matsya (105. 13-14 and 106. 10) says generally that if a man makes a gift of a cow, of gold, of precious stones, of pearls and of other things that he owns his pilgrimage becomes fruit-ful (saphala) and he collects religious merit (puṇya) and that when a man makes gifts according to his ability and wealth, the fruit of his pilgrimage increases and he remains in heaven till the end of the worlḍ The Brahmāṇḍa⁴³ assures pilgrims that whatever gifts are made according to one’s ability at Kurukṣetra, Prayāga, at the mouth of the Ganges where it falls into the sea, on the Ganges, at Puṣkara, at Setubandha, at Gaṅgādvāra and in Naimiṣa tends to confer inexhaustible rewardṣ In the Vanaparva ⁴⁴ it is stated that this sacrificial ground (of Brahmā) is honoured even by the gods, that even a small thing donated here assumes greatness (i. e. produces the rewards of large gifts).

The confluence of the three rivers came to be associated with omkāra, ⁴⁵ the mystic syllable that stands for Brahma. It is said in a purāṇa passage (probably Brahmapurāṇa) that the three parts of om (a u m) respectively are Sarasvati, Yamunā and Gaṅgā and that the waters of three rivers represent Pradyumna, Aniruddha and Saṅkarṣaṇa Hari.

It may be noted, that, in spite of the fact that the Matsya, Kūrma (I. 36-39), Padma (Ādi chapters 41-49), Agni III and other Purāṇas contain several hundred verses on Prayāga, the Kalpataru (on tīrtha), the earliest extant digest on tīrthas, quotes only the Matsya (104. 1-13 and 16-20, 105. 1-22, 106. 1-48, 107. 2-21, 108. 3-5, 8-17 and 23-34, 109. 10-12, 110. 1-11, 111. 8-11, in all about 151 verses) and Vanaparva chap. 85. 79-87 and 97 and does not add a single word of explanation or discussioṇ But the other digests profusely quoting mostly from Purāṇas discuss at some length several topics and a few words must be devoted to some of those topicṣ

One such topic is tonsure at Prayāga. It is stated by the Gaṅgāvākyāvali (p. 293) and the Tīr Pr. (p. 335) that, though the author of the Kalpataru says nothing about tonsure at Prayāga, yet as śistas (respectable and learned people) and the writers of digests accept it as necessary, certain autho- rities would be set out. The two verses quoted by most ⁴⁶ writers are ‘one should tonsure the head at Prayāga, offer piṇḍas at Gayā, make gifts in Kurukṣetra and should commit (religious) suicide at Benareṣ What is the use (or necessity) of pinda offerings at Gayā or death in Kāśī, or gifts at Kurukṣetra, if one has tonsured one's head at Prayāga?". Elaborate discussions are held by all these works about the exact inten tion of the verses, about the application of the maxim of rātrisattra⁴⁷ to them and about the results derived from ton sure. They have to be passed over here from considerations of space. The Tristhali-setu (p. 17) holds that the verse only prai ses the rite of tonsure at Prayāga and the fruit thereof is simply the removal of siṇ The Tri. S. refutes (p. 17) the application of rātrisattra-nyāya to these verses, while Tir. C (p. 32) applies it. Some of the conclusions drawn by the Tri S. are that in one and the same yātrā at Prayāga (even if a man stays there for some days) ceremonial tonsure takes place only once, that widows have to tonsure their heads, that in the case of women whose husbands are living only two or three finger-breadths of tresses are to be cut and offered at the Triveṇī, that even⁴⁸ boys whose upanayana has not been performed have to undergo tonsure provided the cūḍā rite has already been performed, The Tristhalisetu (p. 22) notes that certain traditionalists,⁴⁹ relying on passages that aver that all sins cling to the roots of a person’s hair, say that cutting two or three tresses would be merely kartana and not vapana (tonsure), that even women whose husbands are alive must shave themselves at Prayāga, that such women should make a braid of all their hair, should deck the braid with saffron and other auspicious materials, bow to their husbands and with the husband’s permission have the head tonsured, that then they should place the cut hair in their joined hands, place thereon a golden or silver veṇī and pearls and coral and should cast all these into the confluence (Veṇī) of the Ganges and Jumnā after repeating the mantra ‘May all my sins be destroyed by this offering of my braided hair into the Veṇī’ may my blessedness (the auspicious state of wifehood) always increase in the lives to come’. The Tri. S. states that women do not tonsure their head at any tīrtha except at Prayāga and the only reason for this is that it is the practice of śistas. Vide above pp 122–124 for tonsure as expiation for sinṣ The Nāradīya (Uttara) 63. 106 provides the same rule as Parāśara (in note 278 above) for womeṇ The Prāyaścittatattva of Raghunandana prescribes the complete tonsure of the head for women at Prayāga.

It appears probable that the provision for the casting of veṇī (braided hair) on the part of women whose husbands were alive was suggested by the word Veṇī applied to the confluence of the two rivers, where the river Ganges appears to make a bend or curve for some distance.⁵⁰

One important question that very much exercised the minds of ancient and medieval Indian writers was whether and when suicide, particularly at sacred spots like the confluence of the Ganges and Jumnā or at the foot of the Akṣaya Vaṭa at Prayāga, would involve no siṇ⁵¹ This matter has already been dealt with at length in H. of Dh. vol. II, pp 924-928 and vol. III, pp. 939, 948-949. Only a brief treatment by way of a summary of the pages and a few notes will be added here. The general sentiment of Dharmaśāstra works is to condemn suicide or an attempt to commit suicide as a great sin (vide H of Dh vol II, page 924 for texts). The Āp. Dh. S. (I 10 28 15-17) mentions the view of Hārita which condemns suicide even as prāyaścitta for committing a mahāpātaka (like incest) and puts killing another or killing oneself on the same footing Manu V. 89 and Yāj. III, 154 condemn suicide by denying after-death rites to those who commit it, but Manu allowed suicide in various ways as prāyaścitta for mahāpātakas (vide Manu XI, 73, 90-91, 103-104). But exceptions to the condemnation of suicide are found in the smṛtis, epics and purāṇaṣ They may be grouped under several headṣ (1) Suicide as an exception in various ways by those guilty of mahāpātakas (viz. brāhmaṇa murder, drinking of surā, theft of brāhmaṇa's gold and incest), vide H. of Dh. vol. II, pp. 924-925 for smṛti and other textṣ (2) Starting on the Great Journey (mahāprasthāna-gamana or mahāpathayātrā) by a forest hermit (Manu VI, 31, Yāj. III, 55) suffering from incurable diseases and unable to perform the duties of his order (3) An old man or one who cannot observe the rules of bodily purification or who is so ill as to be beyond medical skill may kill himself by throwing himself from a precipice or by fire or by drowning or fasting or start on the Great Journey into the Himālaya or by jumping from the branches of the Vaṭa tree at Prayāga (Aparārka p 877 quoting Adi-purāṇa and Atri-smṛti verses 218-219 q. by Medhātithi on Manu V. 88 and Mit. on Yāj III, 6) (4) Even a householder, otherwise all right, may resort to suicide by the means stated (in No. 3) if his life's work is done, if he has no desire for the pleasures of the world and does not desire to live, or if he is a Vedāntin⁵² and convinced of the ephemeral nature of life and may kill himself by fast in Himālaya. (5) Religious suicide was allowed at the confluence of the two great rivers Gaṅgā and Yamunā, at the Vaṭa there and at some other tīrthas (6) A wife dying by sahagamana or anumarana. As to Satī, the Nāradīya (pūrvārdha 7. 52-53) provides that a woman should not burn herself on the funeral pyre of her husband if she has a young child or young children, if she is pregnant or if she has not attained puberty, or if she is in her monthly illness at the time. Not only did common men believe in the pro-mise of the Purāṇas that those who killed themselves at Prayāga (at the saṅgama or near Vaṭa) secured mokṣa (freedom from the everlasting cycle of births and deaths) which was the highest of the four puruṣārathas (goals of human existence), but even great poets like Kālidāsa held the view that, though mokṣa or kaivalya or apavarga requires correct knowledge and realisation of the Supreme Spirit according to the Vedānta, Sāṅkhya and Nyāya systems, death at the sacred saṅgama led to mokṣa even without 'tattvajñāna.' In H. of Dh. vol. II pp. 925-927, historical examples of kings such as Yaśaḥ-karṇadeva, Candella Dhaṅgadev and Cālukya Someśvara committing suicide at Prayāga or the Tuṅgabhadra have been giveṇ The king Kumāragupta of Magadha is said to have entered the fire of dry cowdung cakeṣ This is in accordance with the prescriptions in the Matsya purāṇa 107. 9-10 (=Padma, Ādi-khaṇḍa 44.3) which states ⁵³ 'the man who, suffering from no diseases, having no deficiency as to his limbs and being in full possession of his five senses, encompasses (his death) in cowdung fire remains honoured in heaven for as many years as there are pores on the whole of his body.' ⁵⁴ The Rājātaraṅginī VI. 14 refers to officers entrusted with the duty of supervising suicide by fast (prāyopaveśa). The important verse on which reliance is placed for sanctioning religious suicide at Prayāga may be translated⁵⁵ as followṣ ‘You should not set aside (pass over) your wish about dying at Prayāga on account of the words of the Veda or 3 (=Īśāvāsyopaniṣad 3) which literally translated means ‘there are worlds of Asuras enveloped in blinding darkness, those who have killed themselves repair after death to those worlds’ This verse does not in the context appear to refer to a person committing suicide, but rather to a person who kills his soul by remaining in ignorance of the true Self. But even learned writers and poets took it to refer to suicide (vide Uttara- rāmacarita, Act IV after verse 3). Another passage of the Veda on which reliance may be placed is the one in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa X. 2. 6. 7 ‘one ought not to yield to his own desire and pass away before the full extent of life, for it (such shortening of full life) does not make for the (heavenly) world’ By ‘the words of the people’ are meant smṛti passages condemning suicide such as Gaut. 14, 12, Vās ⁵⁶ 23. 14–15, Manu V. 88 (which says that no water is to be offered to those who kill themselves), Viṣṇu Dh S 22, 56 (ātmatyāginah patitāś-ca naśaucōdakabhājah ) There is no doubt that some of the smṛtis, the Mahābhārata⁵⁷ itself and some purāṇas do recommend (or at least do not condemn) suicide in certain circumstanceṣ A few purāṇa passages may be quoted here. Two verses of the Kūrma state ‘That goal (or state), which a wise man that is devoted to Yoga and that has become an ascetic (or has forsaken all actions) reaches, is secured by him who gives up life at the confluence of the Gaṅgā and Yamunā. Whoever dies in the Gaṅgā whether wilfully or unintentionally is born after death in heaven and does not see hell'.⁵⁸ The Kūrma is quite clear ‘Mokṣa may be secured or not after a thousand births elsewhere but in Benares mokṣa can be secured in a single birth' (1. 32. 22) The Padma⁵⁹ is quite emphatic 'a man who, knowingly or unknowingly, wilfully or unintenionally, dies in the Ganges secures on death heaven and 'mokṣa'. A verse of the Skanda asserts ‘He who abandons his life in this sacred place in some way or other does not incur the sin of suicide but secures his desired objectṣ' The Kūrma (1. 38 3–12) refers to four modes of suicide and promises residence in heaven and various other rewards for thousands of years, viz. by (1) burning oneself in the slow fire of dry cowdung cakes, (2) by entering the water at the confluence of Gaṅgā and Yamunā, (3) by hanging with head down in the stream and feet up and drinking The waters of the Ganges, (4) by cutting off his own flesh and giving it as food to birdṣ The famous Chinese traveller Hiouen Thsang (about 629–645 A. D.) clearly refers to this practice of religious suicide (vide Beal’s ‘Buddhist Records of the Western world,’ vol. I, pp. 232–234). The Kalpataru on tīrtha (composed about 1110–1120 A. D.) devotes a special section to Mahāpathayātrā (pp. 258–265). Gradually, the idea of securing heaven and mokṣa by committing suicide at Prayāga or Benāres appears to have spread to other tirthaṣ Vanaparva⁶⁰ speaks of suicide at Pṛthūdaka (Pehova in the Karnal district of Punjab, 14 miles from Thanesar) The Brahmapurāṇa⁶¹ calls upon dvijas who are intent on securing mokṣa to commit suicide at Puruṣottama-kṣetra. The Lingapurāṇa⁶² says ‘if a brāhmaṇa kills himself on Śrīśaila he destroys his sins and attains mokṣa as at Avimukta (Benāres); there is no doubt about this’. The Padma promises⁶³ a similar reward for suicide by fire or by fast at the confluence of Narmadā and Kāverī (a small river, not the great South Indian river).

Gradually there was a revulsion of feeling against suicide at Prayāga or Kāśī or starting on the Great Journey. Among the actions forbidden in the Kali age are included ‘starting on the Great Journey’ and ‘suicide of old people jumping from a precipice or by fire’ (vide H. of Dh., vol. III, pp. 939, 958–59). Some of the later mediæval writers try very hard to combat the view that religious suicide is permitted⁶⁴. Nīlakaṇṭha, the commentator of the Mahābhārata, holds that Vanaparva 85. 83 (na vedavacanañāt &c ) refers to natural death at Prayāga and not to wilful death and that the Khila verse (‘Sītāsite’ quoted above on p. 596) has the same meaning. Then he propounds two alternative interpretations of Vanaparva 85. IV] 83, viz, that this passage allows those who are suffering from an incurable disease to commit suicide at Prayāga instead of dying by falling from a precipice and the like or that this verse does not apply to brāhmaṇas but only to the other three varṇaṣ⁶⁵ Both the Gangāvākyāvali (pp. 304-310) and the Tir. C (pp. 47-52) hold that all varṇas have the authority to resort to suicide at Prayāga. The Tir. Pr holds a long, learned and highly polemic discussion on the subject of religious suicide at Prayāga (pp. 346-355). Its own view appears to be that a brāhmaṇa should not commit this suicide at Prayāga on account of the prohibition contained in Kalivarjya verses and that members of the other varṇas may do so. The Tristhalisetu also enters upon a long discussion (pp. 47-55) and its conclu- sions are that in suicide at Prayāga for the attainment of mokṣa or other rewards (such as heaven) there is no sin, that thus suicide at Prayāga is not forbidden ⁶⁶ to brāhmaṇas as some think (since Agni 111 8 reads ‘na vedavacanād viṣa’, that persons whether seriously ill or in good health ⁶⁷ may resort to suicide at Prayāga, that no one has authority to commit suicide at Prayāga after abandoning to their fate one's old parents, young wife and children that require support, nor should a woman who is pregnant or who has young children or who has no permission from her husband, commit suicide at Prayāga.⁶⁹ It is refreshing to find Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa, perhaps the most learned and renowned Pandit of his age steeped in all the lore of ancient India, make, in spite of the overwhelming weight of śāstric authority in favour of suicide at Prayāga, exceptions that surely appeal to reason, sentiment and common sense,⁷⁰ Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa probably followed traditions several hundred years older than his timeṣ Alberuni in his work on India composed about 1030 A. D. says about religious suicide that ‘it was resorted to by those who are tired of life, who are distressed over some incurable disease, some irremovable bodily defect or old age or infirmity. This however no man of distinction does, but only vaiśyas and śūdraṣ Burning oneself is forbidden to brāhmaṇas and kṣatriyas by a special law. Therefore these if they want to kill themselves do so at the time of an eclipse in some other manner or they hire somebody to drown them in the Gangeṣ’ (tr. by Sachau, vol. II. p 170). The Tri. S. S. provides that a man desirous of committing religious suicide at Prayāga should first perform a prāyaścitta, should perform his own śrāddha upto the offering of piṇḍa if he has no relative entitled to perform it, should fast that day, should make a saṅkalpa next day preceded by a writing (to inform people of his desire to die in that way) and enter the holy waters contemplating on Viṣṇu. On his death, his relatives have to observe āśauca only for three days (and not for ten) and on the 4th day the śrāddhas of the 11th day are to be performed for hiṃ⁷¹

The psychological background behind the religious suicide at Prayāga and other places is not difficult to realise. Centuries of philosophical thought had made a very deep impression on the minds of all people that the soul has to submit to a never-ending cycle of births and deathṣ Ancient scriptures had offered a release in two ways viz. by tattvajñāna and by suicide at a tīrtha. Death had no great terror for the pilgrim who submitted to various inconveniences and privations ungrudgingly. If one is determined to put an end to saṁsāra by taking one's life, what nobler environment could have been imagined or indicated than at Prayāga, where two mighty rivers flowing from the sacred Himālayas unite and carry on unceasingly their work of fertilizing the land and bringing prosperity and solace to millions of needy and anxious people?

While on this topic of religious suicide, it would not be out of place to briefly refer to the discussion in the digests about the meaning of the statement in the purāṇas that those who die at Prayāga are not born again (e. g. Matsya 180. 71 and 74). The answer is foreshadowed in the Matsyapurāṇa itself (182. 22-25) which ⁷² says: At the time of death, when the vital parts of the human body are being shattered, memory must fail a human being that is about to be pushed on (to another body) by the vital breath (when it leaves the mortal coil). But at the time of death in Avimukta (Vārāṇasī) Lord (Śiva) himself whispers (higher knowledge) in the ears of his devotees that are about to be pushed (into new bodies) by (accumulations of their actions). A man dying near Maṇikarṇikā pool reaches the desired goal; he being guided by the Lord reaches the goal which is difficult of attainment by those whose minds are not pure.' In the Kāśīkhaṇḍa it is expressly stated that mokṣa does not directly result in these cities (viz. Kāśī &c ). But in spite of these warnings the popular belief fostered by the literal meaning of Purāṇa passages is that mokṣa results from dying at Prayāga or in Kāśīkṣetra.

The practice of religious suicide has a very respectable antiquity. In the 4th century B. C. Kalanos, the Indian Gymnosophist from Taxila who had accompanied Alexander from India, burnt himself alive on a funeral pyre at Sousa, when being over 70 years old, he was afflicted with a malady that made life more and more burdensome. Vide J W McCrindle's 'Invasion of India by Alexander the Great' (New Edition 1896) pp. 46, 301, 386-392. Strabo informs us of a gymnosophist from India named Zarmanochegas of Broach who accompanied an embassy to Augustus Caesar at Athens and consigned himself to flames (vide 'Invasion of India by Alexander' p. 389). Hiouen Thsang (Beal's 'Buddhist Records of the Western World' vol. I. pp. 232-234) refers to suicide at Prayāga. The Jains, while on the one hand they laid the greatest emphasis on 'ahiṁsā' (non-injury), encouraged reli-gious suicide (called 'Sallekhanā') in certain cases ⁷³.

Some of the works, viz. the Kāśīmṛti-mokṣa-vicāra of Sureśvara (pp. 2-9), the Tristhālisetu (pp. 50-55) and the Tīrthaprakāśa (pp. 313-318) discuss at some length how mere death (either involuntary or voluntary) in Vārāṇasī or Prayāga would lead to mokṣa. Considerations of space prevent a complete statement of their viewṣ Their arguments are briefly as follows:—Karma is of three kinds, viz. sañcita (col-lected in former births), prārabdha (that has begun to operate by giving the soul the present body) and kriyamāṇa (to be done in this body and in future). The Upaniṣads and the Gītā⁷⁴ declare that, just as waters do not stick to a lotus leaf, so evil deeds do not cling to a man who knows this (knowledge of brahma), that the fire of knowledge reduces to ashes all karma and that mokṣa results from the realization of the Supreme Spirit (Vedānta-sūtra IV. 1. 13). From this it follows that a man who has realized the Highest Reality will not be affected by the acts done by him after realiza- tion and his accumulated actions (sañcita) will be des- troyed by that realizatioṇ The present body in which the soul realizes brahma was due to that part of his karma which had begun to operate. When the present body perishes in the case of a man who has realized brahma he attains final release, since no actions remain for producing effectṣ To the man who dies a natural death in Benares is given at the time of death the Tāraka (saving) mantra. The Matsyapurāṇa says:⁷⁵ those who enter fire according to the rules in Avimukta (i. e. Benares) enter the mouth of Śiva and so also those determined devotees of Śiva who die by fast in Benares do not return (to this world) even after millions of kalpas. Therefore all those who die in any way at⁷⁶ Benares receive Grace from Śiva after their death. That leads to tattvajñāna (correct spiritual knowledge) which leads to mokṣa. In rare passages it is expressly stated that mokṣa cannot⁷⁷ be immediately secured (by dying) in these citieṣ The Tāraka-mantra is variously explaineḍ According to Sureśvara, Tāraka-mantra is the mystic syllable om which is a symbol of brahma as stated in the Tai. Up. (I. 1,8 Om-iti brahma) and the Gītā (8. 13 Om-ityekākṣaram brahma). The Tri. S. gives another explanation besides thiṣ According to Rāmatāpanīya Upaniṣad and ⁷⁸ the Padmapurāṇa the mantra is ‘śrī-Rāma-Rāma-Rāmeti.’

There are several sub-tīrthas that fall under Prayāga The most important of them is the famous Vaṭa (banyan tree) called Akṣaya-Vaṭa (the imperishable Vaṭa). The Agni (111. 13) states ‘if a man dies at the foot of the Vaṭa and in the Saṅgama he goes to the city of Viṣṇu’. Special reference is made to abandoning one's life at the foot of the Vaṭa. The Kūrma⁷⁹ says ‘He, who abandons life at the foot of the Vaṭa, passes beyond heavenly worlds and goes to the world of Rudra’. The following are the sub-tīrthas of Prayāga and only references are given to the works in which they are described: (1) the two Nāgas called Kambala and Aśvatara which according to some are on the spacious (vipula) bank of the Jumnā and according to others on the southern bank of the Jumnā (Vanaparva 85 77, Matsya 106. 27, Padma, Ādi 39 69, Agni 111. 5, Kūrma I. 37. 19), (2) Pratiṣṭhāna on the eastern side of the Ganges, being the same as the Sāmudrakūpa (Vana- parva 85. 77, Matsya 106. 30, Kūrma I. 37. 22, Padma, Ādi 43, 30; Vanaparva 85. 114 appears to suggest that Pratiṣṭhāna is another name of Prayāga; (3) Saṅdhyāvata (Matsya 106. 43, Kūrma I. 37. 28, Agni 111. 13); (4) Hamsaprapaṭana to the north of Pratiṣṭhāna and to the east of the Ganges (Matsya 106. 32, Kūrma I. 37, 24, Agni 111. 10, Padma, Ādi 39. 80 and 43. 32, Matsya 106. 44, Kūrma I 37. 29, Agni 111. 14, Padma, Ādi 43, 44; (5) Bhogavatī, the Vedi of Prajāpati to the north of Vāsukī (Vanaparva 85. 77, Matsya 106. 46, Agni 111. 5, Padma, Ādi 39. 79 and 43. 46; (7) Daśāśvamedhaka (Matsya 106. 46, Padma, Ādi 39. 80; (8) Urvaśīpulina, suicide at which led to ⁸⁰ various rewards quoted below (Matsya 106. 34–42, ⁸¹ Padma, Ādi 43. 34–43, Agni 111. 13, Kūrma I. 37. 26–27); (9) Rṇapramocana, on the northern bank of Yamunā and to the south of Prayāga (Kūrma I 38, 14, Padma, Ādi 44. 20); (10) Mānasa on the north bank of the Ganges (Matsya 107. 9, Padma, Ādi 44. 2, Agni 111 14); (11) Agnitīrtha on the southern bank of the Jumnā (Matsya 108 27, Kūrma I, 39,4, Padma, Ādi 45. 27); (12) Viraja on the north bank of Yamunā (Padma, Ādi 45. 29); (13) Anaraka ⁸² to the west of Dharmarāja (Kūrma I. 39. 5). The Purāṇas lay down that if a man starts on a pilgrim-age, but dies on the way to Prayāga he reaps great benefits even without reaching it, provided he dies remembering Prayāga. The Matsyapurāṇa (105. 8–12) asserts: ⁸³ A man whether in his own country or house or after leaving his country dies in a forest, while remembering Prayāga, he still secures the world of Brahma; he reaches a world where the trees yield all desires, where the earth is full of gold and where there are sages and munis and siddhas; he dwells on the bank of the Ganges full of thousands of women and enjoys the company of sages, when he comes down from heaven he becomes the lord of Jambūdvīpa.

At most famous tīrthas the pilgrim has to perform śrāddha. The Viṣṇu Dh. S. (chap 85) mentions about fifty-five sacred places which are fittest for śrāddha. The Kalpataru (on tīrtha), the Gaṅgāvākyāvalī, Tīr. C. and other digests quote several verses from the Devipurāṇa, the gist of which is as follows: Śrāddha should be performed at tīrthas, but there is no offering of arghya and no āvāhana (since pitṛs are deemed to be always present at tīrthas, as the Kāśikhaṇḍa says) nor is the entering of the thumb of the invited brāhmaṇa into the food served done, nor is there the question about the brāhmaṇas being satiated, nor vikira⁸⁴ If one is unable to follow the complete procedure of śrāddha one should merely offer piṇḍas made from barley meal or may offer samyāva (cake of wheat flour fried with ghee and milk), rice boiled in milk, the cake of sesame (after the oil is extracted) or jaggery⁸⁵ It should not be allowed to be seen by dogs, crows and vultures, it may be offered at any time after the pilgrim reaches the holy place. A śrāddha performed at a holy place gives great satisfaction to pitṛs. Some of the works such as the Triṣṭhalīsetusārasaṅgraha of Bhaṭṭoji provide that after performing a pārvaṇaśrāddha at a tīrtha and after making offerings of piṇḍas to one's ancestors one should offer a single piṇḍa to one's other relatives with the following mantra 'Here I offer piṇḍa to deceased persons of my father's family, and of my mother's family and to the deceased relatives of my guru and of my father-in-law, to those men of my family' who were devoid of sons or wives and so who would lose the benefit of the pinda (to be offered by the son or wife) and in the case of whom all rites after death have ceased, those who were blind from birth or were cripples, those who were malformed or died in the womb; to all these, whether known or unknown to me, may this (pinda) reach inexhaustively! (Vāyu 110. 51-52). After this he should offer another pinda for his servants, slaves, friends, dependents, pupils, persons who conferred obligations on him, cattle, trees and those with whom he came in contact in other lives (Vāyu 110. 54-55). If a person is ill or has not the time to go through this elaborate procedure, then he should make a sankalpa that he would perform śrāddha and should offer a single pinda with the mantra (in Vāyu 110 23-24) ‘I offer this pinda to my father, great-grand-father, to my mother, father’s mother, grandfather’s mother, to my maternal grandfather and to the latter’s father and grandfather. May it reach them inexhaustively!’

The Anuśāsana-parva, the Kūrmapurāṇa, Nāradīya (uttara) 63. 19-20 and 36-38 and others highly praise bathing at the sangama in the month of Māgha ⁸⁶. Men of all castes, women and those born of mixed unions can take this bath; śūdras, women and men of mixed castes should not repeat any mantra but should bathe silently or, with the word ‘namah’ (Tri. S. p 39). Similarly, the Padma, Kūrma, Agni and other Purāṇas wax eloquent over a bath for three days in Magha saying that it is equal to the gift of three crores of cows, ⁸⁷ There is great divergence as to exactly what three days are meant, as pointed out by the Tri. S. p 33. The various views are the three days are the passage of the sun into Capricornus, Rathasaptami and the full moon day of Māgha; the three consecutive days including the 10th of the bright half of Māgha, the first three days of Māgha, the three consecutive days from the 13th day of the bright half of Māgha; any three days in Māgha.