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FEBRUARY, 1897.] SPECIMENS OF MODERN BRAHMANICAL LEGENDS.
SPECIMENS OF MODERN BRAHMANICAL LEGENDS.
BY G. K. BETHAM.
No. II.
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The Vanavási-Mahatmya.
Part I.
A SALUTATION to the great Ganapati !
The Rishis asked:-" O reverend all-knowing and most wise Sûta, where is the auspicious place which was formerly called by you Vanavasi? Be pleased to tell us in detail how it was built, and how it became holy."
The holy Sûta replied: "O Rishis who desire to know, listen to this holy story, which is the remover of sin and cause of astonishment to all hearers. After the destruction of the (former) world, the great Brahmâ, Lord of the Worlds, created many worlds, male and female rivers, causing delight to the people there, and he also created seven cities and seven villages (suburbs P). O great Rishis! listen to their holy names: namely, Vanavâst, Kusa, Lanka, Kasmira, Kandinîpura, Jahari,3 and Mandari. These are the names of the villages.5 Vanavasi was called Kaumudi in the Krita-Yuga; in the Trêta-Yuga it was called Baindavi; it will be called Jayanti in the Dvâpara-Yuga; (and) it will be called Vanavâsî in the KaliYuga. The person who hathes in the Varada at Vanavasi will get the same benefit as if he bathed in the Ganges for sixty thousand years. The great rivers are the removers of sin. People who have curbed their passions always go and bathe in the Varadâ in the month of Kârttika, and then return to their own places: therefore it is the holiest river. O great sages, listen to the rules for bathing in that river:-a Brahman, having got up from his bed during the fourth part of the night, should, being attentive, contemplate the feet of Siva in his mind,10 and he should wash his teeth, and in this way he should become stainless. Longing for (the state of blessedness) and wearing his cloth, he should afterwards enter the waters of the Varada according to rules, and first pray thus to the river to remove his sins- 'O goddess Varadů, remover of sins! Thou that risest in the Sahyadri mountains and goest as high as Sri-Saila, I bathe in thy waters to-day! O Varadâ, chief of the goddesses, partaker of the power of Gaurî, remover of sins, accept my offerings and become the means of my happiness. After having given offerings to the river Varadi, he should perform his ablutions, and pleasing the gods and the sages, wearing clean clothes, should become holy. Finishing his daily ceremonies, he should worship the god Madhukêsa; and all sins committed in former lives, by one act will be thus remitted. There is no doubt that he becomes sinless and gets the same benefit as if he had bathed in the Ganges. The worship of Madhukêsa is the remover of great poverty, the bestower of great wealth, and the remover of great sin: the Varadâ resembles the Ganges, and the god Madhukêsa resembles the god Viśvêśvara. Vanavasi resembles Kâsî, and is the giver of supreme bliss.
Now I will relate the history of this place. O great sages, listen to this. Verily in former times there lived a Brahman, called Martanda, who resided in a foreign country. He knew the Vedas and Védángas, and philosophy, and was always devoted to his daily (ceremonial) duties; hospitable, a fire-worshipper, and always charitable to every one. His wife Chandika hated him; crooked-minded, harsh, cruel and disobedient to her husband's commands. Her husband
1 The Brahmaputra, the Indus (Sindhu), and the Sona are all of the masculine gender.
a The capital of Vidarbha or the modern Berar.
Probably Jejuri: the sacred shrine of Kanda Rao, near Poona.
Perhaps Madura.
6 I. e., belonging to or consecrated to Bindu or Biva.
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Lit., so the villages are called.
7 This conversation is supposed to take place in the Trêtâ- Yuga.
I. e., the Narmada and others.
10 I. e., meditate upon.
Or being beyond the reach of passion.
11 Agnihotrina Brahman that maintains a perpetual fire.
