Uttara-khaṇḍa · Chapter 162
Sourceमहादेव उवाच। ततो गच्छेत्तथा देवि तीर्थं कापोतिकं पुनः । यत्र साभ्रमती तोयं प्राचीनं संप्रवर्त्तते १। पिंडं ददाति यस्तत्र पितृतर्पणपूर्वकम् । वन्यैः फलैस्तथा पुष्पैः सदा पर्वणि पर्वणि २। काकादिभ्यश्च श्वादिभ्यो बलिं संददते तु यः । यमस्य पंथानं सोऽपि ससुखं निस्तरेन्नरः ३। तत्र तीर्थे नरः स्नात्वा वैशाख्यां गौरसर्षपैः । पूजयेद्देवमीशानं प्राचीनेश्वरमुत्तमम् ४। आत्मानं तारयेत्सोऽथ पितॄनथ पितामहान् । कपोतो यत्र चात्मानं दत्त्वा चातिथये मुदा ५। स्तुतो देवगणैः सर्वैर्विमानेन दिवं गतैः । तदा प्रभृति तत्तीर्थं कापोतमिति विश्रुतम् ६। तत्र स्नात्वा नरः पीत्वा ब्रह्महत्यां व्यपोहति । पार्वत्युवाच। कपोतेन कथं दत्तं शरीरं च वद प्रभो । निमित्तं किं तथा देव नाहं वेद्मि सुरेश्वर ७। महादेव उवाच। अत्र तीर्थेति देवेशि वटो वै परमो महान् । तस्य शाखा ह्यनंताश्च दृश्यंते विपुला भुवि ८। तत्र जीवा वसंतीह पक्षिणो बहवस्तथा । कपोतेन गृहं तत्र कारितं तु सुरेश्वरि ९। तत्र तिष्ठति पक्षीशो नित्यं विष्णुपरायणः । कुटुंबेन समायुक्तो शाखायां वसति ध्रुवम् १०। एकस्मिन्वासरे देवि द्वादश्यां विष्णुवासरे । श्येनस्तत्र समायातो ह्यतिथित्वेन भामिनि ११। कपोत भो देहि मांसं तव शारीरकं मम । नोचेच्छापं प्रदास्यामि इत्युक्तं नगनंदिनि १२। अद्य वै वासरे विष्णोः क्षुधार्तोऽहं समागतः । तस्माद्देयं हि मांसं तत्क्षुधार्ताय मम प्रभो १३। श्येनोक्तं तत्तु वै श्रुत्वा कपोतो वैष्णवो महान् । तेन दत्तं तदा देवि शरीरं नात्र संशयः १४। तेन दानप्रभावेन तीर्थं जातं सुरोत्तमे । कापोतकं महत्तीर्थं पावनानां च पावनम् १५। अत्र तीर्थे नरः स्नात्वा कृत्वा वै शिवपूजनम् । ददाति चातिथिभ्यश्च मिष्टमन्नं सुरोत्तमे १६। इहलोके सुखं भुक्त्वा याति विष्णोः सनातनम् । दत्त्वा वै स्वशरीरं तु कपोतोऽथ महात्मने १७। स गतो वैष्णवं तत्र यावच्चंद्र दिवाकरौ । अतो गत्वा तु भो देवि अतिथिं पूजयेत्सदा । पूजिते चातिथौ तत्र सर्वं च लभते ध्रुवम् १८।
mahādeva uvāca| tato gacchettathā devi tīrthaṃ kāpotikaṃ punaḥ | yatra sābhramatī toyaṃ prācīnaṃ saṃpravarttate 1| piṃḍaṃ dadāti yastatra pitṛtarpaṇapūrvakam | vanyaiḥ phalaistathā puṣpaiḥ sadā parvaṇi parvaṇi 2| kākādibhyaśca śvādibhyo baliṃ saṃdadate tu yaḥ | yamasya paṃthānaṃ so'pi sasukhaṃ nistarennaraḥ 3| tatra tīrthe naraḥ snātvā vaiśākhyāṃ gaurasarṣapaiḥ | pūjayeddevamīśānaṃ prācīneśvaramuttamam 4| ātmānaṃ tārayetso'tha pitṝnatha pitāmahān | kapoto yatra cātmānaṃ dattvā cātithaye mudā 5| stuto devagaṇaiḥ sarvairvimānena divaṃ gataiḥ | tadā prabhṛti tattīrthaṃ kāpotamiti viśrutam 6| tatra snātvā naraḥ pītvā brahmahatyāṃ vyapohati | pārvatyuvāca| kapotena kathaṃ dattaṃ śarīraṃ ca vada prabho | nimittaṃ kiṃ tathā deva nāhaṃ vedmi sureśvara 7| mahādeva uvāca| atra tīrtheti deveśi vaṭo vai paramo mahān | tasya śākhā hyanaṃtāśca dṛśyaṃte vipulā bhuvi 8| tatra jīvā vasaṃtīha pakṣiṇo bahavastathā | kapotena gṛhaṃ tatra kāritaṃ tu sureśvari 9| tatra tiṣṭhati pakṣīśo nityaṃ viṣṇuparāyaṇaḥ | kuṭuṃbena samāyukto śākhāyāṃ vasati dhruvam 10| ekasminvāsare devi dvādaśyāṃ viṣṇuvāsare | śyenastatra samāyāto hyatithitvena bhāmini 11| kapota bho dehi māṃsaṃ tava śārīrakaṃ mama | nocecchāpaṃ pradāsyāmi ityuktaṃ naganaṃdini 12| adya vai vāsare viṣṇoḥ kṣudhārto'haṃ samāgataḥ | tasmāddeyaṃ hi māṃsaṃ tatkṣudhārtāya mama prabho 13| śyenoktaṃ tattu vai śrutvā kapoto vaiṣṇavo mahān | tena dattaṃ tadā devi śarīraṃ nātra saṃśayaḥ 14| tena dānaprabhāvena tīrthaṃ jātaṃ surottame | kāpotakaṃ mahattīrthaṃ pāvanānāṃ ca pāvanam 15| atra tīrthe naraḥ snātvā kṛtvā vai śivapūjanam | dadāti cātithibhyaśca miṣṭamannaṃ surottame 16| ihaloke sukhaṃ bhuktvā yāti viṣṇoḥ sanātanam | dattvā vai svaśarīraṃ tu kapoto'tha mahātmane 17| sa gato vaiṣṇavaṃ tatra yāvaccaṃdra divākarau | ato gatvā tu bho devi atithiṃ pūjayetsadā | pūjite cātithau tatra sarvaṃ ca labhate dhruvam 18|
English translation
Mahādeva said :
1-7a. Thence, O goddess, one should go to Kāpotikatīrtha where the water of Sābhramatī flows to the east. That man who always offers a piṇḍa there, after dedicating it to his dead ancestors, and along with wild fruits and flowers on every parvan day, and who offers portions of food to the crows, dogs, etc., would very happily cross over Yama ’s path. A man having bathed at that sacred place with white mustard seeds on the full-moon day of Vaiśākha , should worship the excellent deity Prācīneśvara. He would emancipate himself, his dead ancestors and grandsires. Here a pigeon, having gladly offered himself to a guest, was praised by hosts of gods who had gone to heaven in aeroplanes. Since then the holy place is known as Kāpota . Having bathed and drunk (water) there, a man removes (the sin of) the murder of a brāhmaṇa .
Pārvatī said :
7bc. O lord, tell me, how the pigeon offered his body. What was the cause? O lord of gods, I do not know (all this).
Mahādeva said :
8-18. O chief goddess, at this holy place there is a great fig tree. Its innumerable large branches are seen on the ground. Many beings lived there, so also birds. O chief goddess, a pigeon had built his house (i.e. nest) there. The lord of birds, always greatly devoted to Viṣṇu , verily lived along with his family on its branch. O goddess, once on the Dvādaśī day, the day of (i.e. sacred to) Viṣṇu, a hawk came there as a guest, O beautiful lady. O daughter of the ( Himālaya ) Mountain, he said: “O pigeon, give me the flesh of your body. Otherwise I shall curse you. Today on the day of (i.e. sacred to) Viṣṇu, I, oppressed with hunger, have come (here). Therefore, O lord give the flesh to me who am afflicted with hunger.” O goddess, the pigeon, a great devotee of Viṣṇu, having heard the words of the falcon, offered his body without hesitation. O best goddess, due to the power of the gift this place became a holy place called Kāpotaka, which is a great holy place and is the (most) purifying among the purifying places. O best goddess, a man who, having bathed here and worshipped Śiva , offers desired food to guests, enjoys happiness in this world and goes to the eternal (place) of Viṣṇu. The pigeon, having offered his body to the noble one went to the heaven of Viṣṇu (and will live there) as long as the Moon and the Sun (are there in the sky). Therefore, O goddess, having gone there, a man should always worship a guest. Having worshipped a guest there, he certainly obtains everything.
Complete chapter-aligned witnesses. Sanskrit Wikisource page 31426, revision 334302 (2022-03-31T02:18:30Z). English is N. A. Deshpande’s complete translation, controlled against its chapter page at https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/the-padma-purana/d/doc365741.html and the ten-volume archival witness. The witnesses are aligned at chapter level; no unsupported verse-by-verse equivalence is asserted.