Treeth

by Mantra & shlokas on Tuesday, May 24, 2011 at 12:58pm

Narrating about the sanctity of Mayapuri, lord Varah told Prithvi- "There lived a brahmin named Somsharma at Mayapuri.He was a great devotee of mine(lord sri Hari)and had an impossible desire of witnessing my divine powers by his mortal eyes.I tried to make him understand about the futility of his desire but to no avail. Finally I was left with no option but to fulfil his wish.One day Somsharma had gone to take his bath in the holy Ganges.Hardly had he taken a dip than he found himself experiencing the pangs of birth in the womb of a nishad woman.Evidently,lord sri Hari had began giving a glimpse of his divine powers to Somsharma.It was a terrible experience for him and he vowed to lead a chaste life as soon as he came out of the womb."

"Unfortunately, he forgot everything about his vow once he took rebirth as a girl.In course of time,the girl grew up and married a young nishad.She had many children from him.One day,the nishad girl who in reality was Somsharma,went to take a bath in the holy Ganges.As soon as she entered into the river,she got transformed into a hermit.She was filled with extreme bewilderment but this was not the end,as there were more surprises to come."

"The hermit(previously nishad and originally Somsharma)came out of thr river and looked all around in amazement.He then sat down to meditate and very soon he was engrossed in his meditation.In the evening,some sages arrived and said-'Sir! how come you are sitting here?You had gone to take a bath.We became anxious and started searching for you when you did not return till evening." "The hermit was bewildered by the turn of events as he was aware of every incident that had occured.He was also well aware that he had spent fifty years as nishad-woman but according to the statements of hermits he had been absent only for few hours.The hermit was totally confused about his real identity.I(lord Varah) felt pity on his miserable condition and decided to lift my magic spell.I asked him whether his wish of witnessing my divine powers had been fulfilled or not.The hermit eulogized me and agreed that it was impossible for any mortal to understand the ways of Aimighty.I then blessed him and transformed him into Somsharma once again."

Such is the grandeur of Mayapuri-the sacrosanct place where lord sri Hari has manifested his divine powers.A devotee who goes on a pilgrimage to Mayapuri never gets entangeled in the worldly illusions.


KUBJAAMRAK TEERTH (HRISHIKESH)

Describing how Kubjaamrak teerth derived it's name,lord Varah told Prithvi-"In satyayuga,at the time when the earth was still submerged in water,I had killed two mighty demons named Madhu and Kaitabh.After killing both the demons I looked all around and found sage Raimya engrossed in his penance.Sage Raimya was a great devotee of mine.

I was extremely impressed and watched him hiding myself behind a mango tree.The mango tree could not bear the weight of my hands and became curved.This is how Kubjaamrak teerth derived it's name.Very soon,sage Raimya found out that I was hiding behind that mango tree.He eulogized me and requested me to to grant a special status to Kubjaamrak teerth among all the holy places.I blessed him and thus Kubjaamrak teerth became one of the holiest places.There are several other holy places situated in the vicinity of Kubjaamrak teerth-Manas-teerth,Maya-teerth,Sarvakamik- teerth,Purnamukh teerth,Agni-teerth,Shukra-terth,Manasar teerth,Sapta samudrak-teerth,etc.All these holy places including Kubjaamrak teerth are capable of giving salvation to a man."

BADRIKASHRAM

Continuing with his tale,lord Varah told Prithvi-"There is a sacred place in the Himalayas which is very inaccessible.It is famously known as Badrikashram and holds an important place among all the holy places.One who makes a pilgrimage to that place gets all his wishes fulfilled.There is a reservoir at the mountain top called Brahma kund.One who observes fast for three consecutive nights and takes a holy dip in that reservoir attains virtues similar to "Agnishtom yagya".One who takes his last birth in it's vicinity certainly attains to my abode.There are several other holy places in the vicinity of Badrikashram like Agnisatya pad, Indra loka,Satya loka,Chatuhsrota,Ved dhar,etc.Ved dhar is the same place where the vedas had manifested from lord Brahma's mouth.


MANDAR TEERTH

Mandar teerth is named after a celestial tree called Mandar.This sacred place of pilgrimage is situated at the foothills of vindhya mountain.There is a large mandar tree overthere which has some unique qualities.This tree is visible only on auspicious days of dwadashi and chaturdashi and becomes invisible on the rest of the days.Some other holy places situated in the vicinity of mandar teerth are Prapan,Modan,Baikunthkaran,etc.

There is another holy place called mandar but it is situated on the Meru mountain.This holy place is also known as'Syamantpanchak'One important characteristic of this holy place is that there are huge rocks resembling a mace,a wheel,a plough and a conch.


SOMESHWAR LINGA

Chandra deva had once performed an austere penance to get absolved from the curse of his Daksha Prajapati his father-in-law. During the course of his penance Chandra deva made a shiva linga and worshipped it. Finally lord Shiva appeared and agreed to dwell in that particular shiva linga as per the request of Chandra deva. There is a reservoir situated to the south of Someshwar temple which is believed to liberate a man from all his sins.In course of time this place became famous as Someshwar linga.


SHALGRAM KSHETRA

Prithvi requested lord Varah to shed light on the famous penance which sage Shalankayan had performed.Lord Varah narrated the following tale-"Long long ago sage Shalankayan did an austere penance to please me(lord Vishnu).There was a 'sal' tree nearby and the sage was ignorant of the fact that I dwell in that sacred tree.When I appeared,he requested me to bless him with a divine son who had qualities like lord Shiva.I revealed to him that his son(Nandikeshwar)had already manifested and was presently staying at 'Vraja'(Mathura).I also revealed to him that although I was present in the 'sal' tree but he was unware of this fact because of his ignorance.In course of time,this very place became famous as 'Shalgram teerth'.A devotee who makes a pilgrimage to this holy place is liberated from all kinds of worldly bondages."


RURU KSHETRA

Lord Varah told Prithvi-"This holy place is named after Ruru-the daughter of Devadutt and an apsara named Pramlocha.Devadutt came from the lineage of sage Bhrigu.Once,Devadutt did an austere penance to please lord Shiva.His penance continued for ten thousand years.Indra became worried and sent a beautiful apsara named Pramlocha to disturb his penance.Unfortunately,Devadutt fell into the trap laid by Indra.He was infatuated by Pramlocha's divine beauty and enjoyed an intimate life with her for a long time.Finally,he realized his mistake and regretted his foolishness.He decided to abandon Pramlocha and recommence his penance.Ultimately,he was successful in pleasing lord Shiva and attaining to shiva loka."

"Meanwhile,Pramlocha who was pregnant, gave birth to a girl child and died.The baby girl was nurtured and brought up by a deer named Ruru after whom she got her own name.In course of time Ruru after Ruru grew up and decided to please lord Vishnu by her penance.She did an austere penance for one hundred years by remaining still at a place.At last I(lord Vishnu)became pleased by her total devotion and appeared before her.She requested me to name that place on her.I blessed her and thus that place became famous as Ruru kshetra."


GONISHKRAMAN TEERTH

Lord Shiva told Prithvi-"Gonishkraman teerth is situated in the himalayas.Sage Aurva had his hermitage at this sacred place which was incidentally burnt to ashes by lord Shiva. Aurva cursed Shiva as the result of which Shiva started wandering throughout the world in a restless manner."

"Once,lord Shiva visited the hermitage of sage Aurvanam accompanied by his consort-Uma.The purpose of the visit was to seek Aurvanam's help in curing his restlessness.Sage Aurvanam advised him to have a bath with the milk of surabhi cow.I(lord Vishnu) then brought down seventy-seven surabhi cows from the heaven and thus helped Shiva take bath with their milk.At last,Shiva's reastlessness came to an end and this holy place became famous as 'Gonishkraman' teerth."


STOOTSWAMI TEERTH

Lord Varah then went on to describe the greatness of Stootswami teerth and told Prithvi-"I shall incarnate as Krishna at this place in the era of dwapar.I shall take birth in the house of Vasudeva and Devaki.There is a pond situated at about 5 kosas from Stootswami teerth.Anybody who take holy dips in it's holy water for five days becomes absolved of all his sins.


DWARKA

Lord Varah told Prithvi-"There is a holy place called 'Panchsar' in Dwarka.Anybody who stays there for six days and takes holy dips in 'Panchasar' enjoys all the pleasures of life.Dwarka is situated at the sea-shore and the crocodiles living there never trouble people taking their bath.These crocodiles also have one unique characteristic-they never eat anything that is offered to them by a sinner but unhesitatingly accept anything from a virtuous person.There are several other holy places in and around Dwarka-Panchpind,Hanskunda,Hansteerth,Chakrateerth,Raivatak, Vishnu-sankaram,etc.Vishnu sankaram is the very place where I,in my incarnation as Krishna would be killed by a hunter named Jara.


SANANDOOR TEERTH

This holy place is situated between Malay mountain and the ocean. Nearby,there is another holy place called Sangaman where sri Ram while on his way to lanka had confronted the ocean.There are also many other sacred places in the vicinity like Shakrasar, Shurparak,etc.There are hermitages of sri Ram and Parshuram at Shurparak.


LOHARGAL TEERTH

Lord Varaha told Prithvi-"There is a region inhabited by mlecchas,situated at the distance of some 30 yojans.This region is surrounded by Himalaya mountain in it's central as well as southern parts.Lohargal teerth is situated near this region and is well protected by nature which makes it very inaccessible. Once,demons tried to invade this holy place but all of them were killed by me(sri Hari).I also protected Brahma and Rudra from the wrath of the demons and named that place Lohargal.Lohargal is the most sacred place of pilgrimage and spread in the area of 25 yojans.It is a self manifested place and has immense religious significance.


MATHURA

Describing the majesty of Mathura,lord Varaha told Prithvi- "Mathura is very dear to me because this is the very place where I shall be taking incarnation as Krishna.Mathura is the most sacro-sanct place and no other holy place can be compared to it. There are many other holy places in and around Mathura-Vishranti, Surya teerth,Koti teerth,Vayu teerth,etc.Each one of them has it's own religious significance.A holy pond named 'Vatsa-krindan' lies in Mathura region.Anybody taking a holy dip in that holy pond is certain to attain to the abode of 'Vayu'.In the vicinity lies Vrindavan,the holiest place which would be witness to many of my divine plays."


CHAKRA TEERTH

It is situated to the north of Mathura and lord Bhadreshwar has his dwelling place overthere.A person who makes a pilgrimage to Chakra teerth and observes a fast for a day becomes absolved of heinous of sins.


KAPIL TEERTH

Describing the origin of 'Kapil Varah'(an idol of lord Varah made by sage Kapil)lord Varah told Prithvi-"Sage Kapil was a great devotee of mine.He had made my idol and worshipped it regularly. Later on,Indra acquired it and started worshipping it.The demon king Ravan took it to lanka after defeating Indra in a battle.In treta yuga I(sri Ram)defeated him and made Vibhishan,his brother the king of Lanka.This way,the idol came under the possession of Vibhishan but he agreed to part with it at my request.This was how I brought that idol to Ayodhya.After reaching Ayodhya,I presented it to Shatrughan as a reward for killing Lavanasur. Later on,while Shatrughan was going to Mathura he carried that idol along with him."


GOVARDHAN TEERTH

Lord Varah,continuing with the description of various holy places told Prithvi about the magnificence of Govardhan parvat- "Govardhan parvat is situated near Mathura.It will have great religious importance because it will witness a great feat of mine in dwapar yuga.I shall lift this mountain to protect people from the incessant rain caused by Indra.There are numerous holy places of great religious significance in the vicinity of Govardhan mountain like Indra teerth,Yama teerth,Varun teerth and Kuber teerth.There is also a famous fresh-water lake called 'Kadamb khand'where people perform tarpan of their ancestors."