Bhūmi-khaṇḍa · Chapter 91
Sourceकुंजल उवाच- ब्रह्महत्याभिभूतस्तु सहस्राक्षो यदा पुरा । गौतमस्य प्रियासंगादगम्यागमनं महत् १। संजातं पातकं तस्य त्यक्तो देवैश्च ब्राह्मणैः । सहस्राक्षस्तपस्तेपे निरालंबो निराश्रयः २। तपोंते देवताः सर्वा ऋषयो यक्षकिन्नराः । देवराजस्य पूजार्थमभिषेकं प्रचक्रिरे ३। देशं मालवकं नीत्वा देवराजं सुतोत्तम । चक्रे स्नानं महाभाग कुंभैरुदकपूरितैः ४। स्नापितुं प्रथमं नीतो वाराणस्यां स्वयं ततः । प्रयागे तु सहस्राक्ष अर्घतीर्थे ततः पुनः ५। पुष्करेण महात्मासौ स्नापितः स्वयमेव हि । ब्रह्मादिभिः सुरैः सर्वैर्मुनिवृंदैर्द्विजोत्तम ६। नागैर्वृक्षैर्नागसर्पैर्गंधर्वैस्तु सकिन्नरैः । स्नापितो देवराजस्तु वेदमंत्रैः सुसंस्कृतः ७। मुनिभिः सर्वपापघ्नैस्तस्मिन्काले द्विजोत्तम । शुद्धे तस्मिन्महाभागे सहस्राक्षे महात्मनि ८। ब्रह्महत्या गता तस्य अगम्यागमनं तथा । ब्रह्महत्या ततो नष्टा अगम्यागमनेन च ९। पापेन तेन घोरेण सार्द्धमिंद्रस्य भूतले । सुप्रसन्नः सहस्राक्षस्तीर्थेभ्यो हि वरं ददौ १०। भवंतस्तीर्थराजानो भविष्यथ न संशयः । मत्प्रसादात्पवित्राश्च यस्मादहं विमोक्षितः ११। सुघोरात्किल्बिषादत्र युष्माभिर्विमलैरहम् । एवं तेभ्यो वरं दत्वा मालवाय वरं ददौ १२। यस्मात्त्वया मलं मेऽद्य विधृतं श्रमदायकम् । तस्मात्त्वमन्नपानैश्च धनधान्यैरलंकृतः १३। भविष्यसि न संदेहो मत्प्रसादान्न संशयः । सुदुःकालैर्विना त्वं तु भविष्यसि सुपुण्यवान् १४। एवं तस्मै वरं दत्वा देवराजः पुरंदरः । क्षेत्राणि सर्वतीर्थानि देशो मालवकस्तथा १५। आखंडलेन सार्द्धं ते स्वस्थानं प्रतिजग्मिरे । सूत उवाच- तदाप्रभृति चत्वारः प्रयागः पुष्करस्तथा १६। वाराणसी चार्घतीर्थं प्राप्ता राजत्वमुत्तमम् १७। कुंजल उवाच- अस्ति पंचालदेशेषु विदुरो नाम क्षत्रियः । तेन मोहप्रसंगेन ब्राह्मणो निहतः पुराः १८। शिखासूत्रविहीनस्तु तिलकेन विवर्जितः । भिक्षार्थमटतेसोऽपि ब्रह्मघ्नोहं समागतः १९। ब्रह्मघ्नाय सुरापाय भिक्षा चान्नं प्रदीयताम् । गृहेष्वेवं समस्तेषु भ्रमते याचते पुरा २०। एवं सर्वेषु तीर्थेषु अटित्वैव समागतः । ब्रह्महत्या न तस्यापि प्रयाति द्विजसत्तम २१। वृक्षच्छायां समाश्रित्यदह्यमानेन चेतसा । संस्थितो विदुरः पापो दुःखशोकसमन्वितः २२। चंद्रशर्मा ततो विप्रो महामोहेन पीडितः । न्यवसन्मागधे देशे गुरुघातकरश्च सः २३। स्वजनैर्बंधुवर्गैश्च परित्यक्तो दुरात्मवान् । स हि तत्र समायातो यत्रासौ विदुरः स्थितः २४। शिखासूत्रविहीनस्तु विप्रलिंगैर्विवर्जितः । तदासौ पृच्छितस्तेन विदुरेण दुरात्मना २५। भवान्को हि समायातोः दुर्भगो दग्धमानसः । विप्रलिंगविहीनस्तु कस्मात्त्वं भ्रमसे महीम् २६। विदुरेणोक्तमात्रस्तु चंद्रशर्मा द्विजाधमः । आचष्टे सर्वमेवापि यथापूर्वकृतं स्वकम् २७। पातकं च महाघोरं वसता च गुरोर्गृहे । महामोहगतेनापि क्रोधेनाकुलितेन च २८। गुरोर्घातः कृतः पूर्वं तेन दग्धोस्मि सांप्रतम् । चंद्रशर्मा च वृत्तांतमुक्त्वा सर्वमपृच्छत २९। भवान्को हि सुदुःखात्मा वृक्षच्छायां समाश्रितः । विदुरेण समासेन आत्मपापं निवेदितम् ३०। अथ कश्चिद्द्विजः प्राप्तस्तृतीयः श्रमकर्षितः । वेदशर्मेति वै नाम बहुपातकसंचयः ३१। द्वाभ्यामपि सुसंपृष्टः को भवान्दुःखिताकृतिः । कस्माद्भ्रमसि वै पृथ्वीं वद भावं त्वमात्मनः ३२। वेदशर्मा ततः सर्वमात्मचेष्टितमेव च । कथयामास ताभ्यां वै ह्यगम्यागमनं कृतम् ३३। धिक्कृतः सर्वलोकैश्च अन्यैः स्वजनबांधवैः । तेन पापेन संलिप्तो भ्रमाम्येवं महीमिमाम् ३४। वंजुलो नाम वैश्योथ सुरापायी समागतः । स गोघ्नश्च विशेषेण तैश्च पृष्टो यथा पुरा ३५। तेन आवेदितं सर्वं पातकं यत्पुराकृतम् । तैराकर्णितमन्यैश्च सर्वं तस्यप्रभाषितम् ३६। एवं चत्वारःपापिष्ठा एकस्थानं समागताः । कः कस्यापि न संपर्कं भोजनाच्छादनेन च ३७। करोति च महाभाग वार्तां चक्रुः परस्परम् । न विशंत्यासने चैके न स्वपंत्येकसंस्तरे ३८। एवं दुःखसमाविष्टा नानातीर्थेषु वै गताः । तेषां तु पापका घोरा न नश्यंति च नंदन ३९। सामर्थ्यं नास्ति तीर्थानां महापातकनाशने । विदुराद्यास्ततस्ते तु गताः कालंजरं गिरिम् ४०। ।
kuṃjala uvāca- brahmahatyābhibhūtastu sahasrākṣo yadā purā | gautamasya priyāsaṃgādagamyāgamanaṃ mahat 1| saṃjātaṃ pātakaṃ tasya tyakto devaiśca brāhmaṇaiḥ | sahasrākṣastapastepe nirālaṃbo nirāśrayaḥ 2| tapoṃte devatāḥ sarvā ṛṣayo yakṣakinnarāḥ | devarājasya pūjārthamabhiṣekaṃ pracakrire 3| deśaṃ mālavakaṃ nītvā devarājaṃ sutottama | cakre snānaṃ mahābhāga kuṃbhairudakapūritaiḥ 4| snāpituṃ prathamaṃ nīto vārāṇasyāṃ svayaṃ tataḥ | prayāge tu sahasrākṣa arghatīrthe tataḥ punaḥ 5| puṣkareṇa mahātmāsau snāpitaḥ svayameva hi | brahmādibhiḥ suraiḥ sarvairmunivṛṃdairdvijottama 6| nāgairvṛkṣairnāgasarpairgaṃdharvaistu sakinnaraiḥ | snāpito devarājastu vedamaṃtraiḥ susaṃskṛtaḥ 7| munibhiḥ sarvapāpaghnaistasminkāle dvijottama | śuddhe tasminmahābhāge sahasrākṣe mahātmani 8| brahmahatyā gatā tasya agamyāgamanaṃ tathā | brahmahatyā tato naṣṭā agamyāgamanena ca 9| pāpena tena ghoreṇa sārddhamiṃdrasya bhūtale | suprasannaḥ sahasrākṣastīrthebhyo hi varaṃ dadau 10| bhavaṃtastīrtharājāno bhaviṣyatha na saṃśayaḥ | matprasādātpavitrāśca yasmādahaṃ vimokṣitaḥ 11| sughorātkilbiṣādatra yuṣmābhirvimalairaham | evaṃ tebhyo varaṃ datvā mālavāya varaṃ dadau 12| yasmāttvayā malaṃ me'dya vidhṛtaṃ śramadāyakam | tasmāttvamannapānaiśca dhanadhānyairalaṃkṛtaḥ 13| bhaviṣyasi na saṃdeho matprasādānna saṃśayaḥ | suduḥkālairvinā tvaṃ tu bhaviṣyasi supuṇyavān 14| evaṃ tasmai varaṃ datvā devarājaḥ puraṃdaraḥ | kṣetrāṇi sarvatīrthāni deśo mālavakastathā 15| ākhaṃḍalena sārddhaṃ te svasthānaṃ pratijagmire | sūta uvāca- tadāprabhṛti catvāraḥ prayāgaḥ puṣkarastathā 16| vārāṇasī cārghatīrthaṃ prāptā rājatvamuttamam 17| kuṃjala uvāca- asti paṃcāladeśeṣu viduro nāma kṣatriyaḥ | tena mohaprasaṃgena brāhmaṇo nihataḥ purāḥ 18| śikhāsūtravihīnastu tilakena vivarjitaḥ | bhikṣārthamaṭateso'pi brahmaghnohaṃ samāgataḥ 19| brahmaghnāya surāpāya bhikṣā cānnaṃ pradīyatām | gṛheṣvevaṃ samasteṣu bhramate yācate purā 20| evaṃ sarveṣu tīrtheṣu aṭitvaiva samāgataḥ | brahmahatyā na tasyāpi prayāti dvijasattama 21| vṛkṣacchāyāṃ samāśrityadahyamānena cetasā | saṃsthito viduraḥ pāpo duḥkhaśokasamanvitaḥ 22| caṃdraśarmā tato vipro mahāmohena pīḍitaḥ | nyavasanmāgadhe deśe gurughātakaraśca saḥ 23| svajanairbaṃdhuvargaiśca parityakto durātmavān | sa hi tatra samāyāto yatrāsau viduraḥ sthitaḥ 24| śikhāsūtravihīnastu vipraliṃgairvivarjitaḥ | tadāsau pṛcchitastena vidureṇa durātmanā 25| bhavānko hi samāyātoḥ durbhago dagdhamānasaḥ | vipraliṃgavihīnastu kasmāttvaṃ bhramase mahīm 26| vidureṇoktamātrastu caṃdraśarmā dvijādhamaḥ | ācaṣṭe sarvamevāpi yathāpūrvakṛtaṃ svakam 27| pātakaṃ ca mahāghoraṃ vasatā ca gurorgṛhe | mahāmohagatenāpi krodhenākulitena ca 28| gurorghātaḥ kṛtaḥ pūrvaṃ tena dagdhosmi sāṃpratam | caṃdraśarmā ca vṛttāṃtamuktvā sarvamapṛcchata 29| bhavānko hi suduḥkhātmā vṛkṣacchāyāṃ samāśritaḥ | vidureṇa samāsena ātmapāpaṃ niveditam 30| atha kaściddvijaḥ prāptastṛtīyaḥ śramakarṣitaḥ | vedaśarmeti vai nāma bahupātakasaṃcayaḥ 31| dvābhyāmapi susaṃpṛṣṭaḥ ko bhavānduḥkhitākṛtiḥ | kasmādbhramasi vai pṛthvīṃ vada bhāvaṃ tvamātmanaḥ 32| vedaśarmā tataḥ sarvamātmaceṣṭitameva ca | kathayāmāsa tābhyāṃ vai hyagamyāgamanaṃ kṛtam 33| dhikkṛtaḥ sarvalokaiśca anyaiḥ svajanabāṃdhavaiḥ | tena pāpena saṃlipto bhramāmyevaṃ mahīmimām 34| vaṃjulo nāma vaiśyotha surāpāyī samāgataḥ | sa goghnaśca viśeṣeṇa taiśca pṛṣṭo yathā purā 35| tena āveditaṃ sarvaṃ pātakaṃ yatpurākṛtam | tairākarṇitamanyaiśca sarvaṃ tasyaprabhāṣitam 36| evaṃ catvāraḥpāpiṣṭhā ekasthānaṃ samāgatāḥ | kaḥ kasyāpi na saṃparkaṃ bhojanācchādanena ca 37| karoti ca mahābhāga vārtāṃ cakruḥ parasparam | na viśaṃtyāsane caike na svapaṃtyekasaṃstare 38| evaṃ duḥkhasamāviṣṭā nānātīrtheṣu vai gatāḥ | teṣāṃ tu pāpakā ghorā na naśyaṃti ca naṃdana 39| sāmarthyaṃ nāsti tīrthānāṃ mahāpātakanāśane | vidurādyāstataste tu gatāḥ kālaṃjaraṃ girim 40| |
English translation
Kuñjala said :
1-16a. Formerly when Indra was affected by (the sin of) killing a brāhmaṇa , he committed a great sin of having an illicit intercourse with Gautama ’s wife. He was abandoned by gods and brāhmaṇas . Indra, propless and shelterless, practised penance. At the end of his penance all deities, sages, yakṣas , kinnaras started a religious bath to honour the lord of gods. O best son, O noble one, having taken the lord of gods to the Mālavaka country they gave him a bath with (the water from) the pitchers filled with water. Then he was first taken to Vārāṇasī to give him a bath; then Indra (was taken) to Prayāga and then to Arghatīrtha. O best of brāhmaṇas, the noble one was given a bath by the magnanimous Puṣkara itself; he was also given a bath by all gods like Brahmā , by hosts of sages. Hallowed with Vedic hymns destroying all sins by sages, the lord of gods was given a bath by elephants, trees, serpents, snakes along with kinnaras. When that noble Indra was purified, his (sin of) killing a brāhmaṇa and (that of) illicit intercourse were gone. On the earth Indra’s (sin of) the murder of a brāhmaṇa along with that terrible sin of illicit intercourse perished. Indra who was well-pleased granted a boon to the Holy Places: “Since, you, who, are pure, freed me from this very terrible sin, therefore, by my favour you will be holy and the lords of sacred places.” Giving such a boon to them he gave a boon to (the) Mālava (country): “Since today you bore my dirt causing distress, therefore you will be adorned with food, drink, wealth and grains. There is no doubt about it. By my favour you will surely be very holy and free from bad times (like drought etc.).” After Indra, the lord of gods, had given him (i.e. the Mālava country) such a boon, all the Holy Places and also the Mālavaka country went to their respective places along with Indra.
Sūta said :
16b-17a. Since then the four, viz. Prayāga, Puṣkara, Vārāṇasī and Arghatīrtha obtained an excellent authority.
Kuñjala said :
17b-22. In the Pañcāla country there was a kṣatriya named Vidura . Due to folly he had formerly killed a brāhmaṇa. He, without the lock of hair on the crown of the head and without the sacred thread and without the (saffron-) mark (on his forehead) wandered for begging (saying): “I, the killer of a brāhmaṇa, have come. Give alms and food to the killer of a brāhmaṇa and a drunkard.” Thus he formerly went to (different) houses and begged. Thus he came (to a spot) after having visited all the holy places. Yet, O best brāhmaṇa, (the sin of) killing a brāhmaṇa did not leave him. That sinful Vidura, full of agony and grief, and with his heart burning, resorted to the shade of a tree.
23-29a. Then, there lived in the Māgadha country a brāhmaṇa (named) Candraśarman; he was overcome with great delusion. He had killed his preceptor. The wicked one was deserted by his kinsmen and groups of relatives. He came there where Vidura stayed. He was without the lock of hair on the crown of his head and the sacred thread and the characteristic marks of a brāhmaṇa. Then he was asked by that wicked Vidura: “Who are you, unfortunate and of a distressed mind, that have come here? Why do you, bereft of the marks of a brāhmaṇa, roam over the earth?” Thus addressed by Vidura, that mean brāhmaṇa Candraśarman told him everything that he had formerly done and the sin he had committed while staying in his preceptor’s house. (He said:) “I, highly deluded and agitated with anger, formerly killed my preceptor. Therefore I am now tormented.”
29b-32. Having told all(his) account, Candraśarman asked (Vidura), “Who are you of an extremely distressed mind, that have resorted to the shade of (this) tree?” Vidura narrated his sin in brief. Then there came a third twice-born, emaciated due to affliction, a heap of many sins, and named Vedaśarman. Both (Vidura and Candraśarman) asked him: “Who are you, a distressed figure? Why are you roaming over the earth? Tell (us) your true condition.”
33-40. Then Vedaśarman told them all that he had done: “I had illicit intercourse; I was despised by all people and also by my kinsmen and relatives. I am polluted by that sin. (Therefore) I am wandering over the earth like this.” Then (there came a vaiśya named Vañjula , who was a drunkard. He was particularly a killer of cow. As before he was asked by (the other three). He narrated all the sin that he committed before. All the other (three) heard all that he told. Thus the four most sinful ones gathered at one place. None of them shared with one another food or coverings. O noble one, they (however) talked to one another. They did not occupy the same seat, nor did they sleep in the same bed. Thus full of grief they went to many holy places; but their terrible sins did not perish. The holy places do not have the power to destroy major sins. They, Vidura and others, went to Kālañjara mountain.
Complete chapter-aligned witnesses. Sanskrit Wikisource page 24553, revision 337965 (2022-05-22T05:04:06Z). English is N. A. Deshpande’s complete translation, controlled against its chapter page at https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/the-padma-purana/d/doc365184.html and the ten-volume archival witness. The witnesses are aligned at chapter level; no unsupported verse-by-verse equivalence is asserted.