There in that tirtha is another called Kapalamochana,
which cleanseth from every sin. O tiger among
men, bathing there one is cleansed from every sin.
One should then proceed to the tirtha called
Agni. Bathing there, O bull among men,
one obtaineth the regions of agni and raiseth
his own race (from lower regions). There in that
tirtha is another, O chief of the Bharatas,
that belongeth to Viswamitra. Bathing there, O
best of men, one obtaineth the status of a Brahmana.
Proceeding next to Brahmayoni in purity of body and
with subdued soul, one obtaineth, O tiger among men,
by bathing there, the abode of Brahma, and sanctifieth,
without doubt, his own race to the seventh generation
up and down. One should next proceed, O king,
to the tirtha celebrated over the three worlds,
which is called Prithudaka, belonging to Kartikeya.
One should bathe there and occupy oneself in the worship
of the Pitris and the gods. Whatever evil hath
been committed, knowingly or unknowingly, by man or
woman, impelled by human motives, is all destroyed,
O Bharata, by a bath in that tirtha. Bathing
there one obtaineth, too, the merit of the horse-sacrifice
and heaven also. The learned have said that Kurukshetra
is holy; that holier than Kurukshetra is the
Saraswati; that holier than the Saraswati are
all the tirthas together, and that holier than
all the tirthas together is Prithudaka.
He that engaged in the recitation of prayers casteth
off his body at Prithudaka, which is the best of all
tirthas, becometh an immortal. It hath
been sung by Sanatkumara and by the high-souled Vyasa,
and it is in the Vedas also, that one should, O king,
go to Prithudaka, with subdued soul. O son of
Kuru race, there is no tirtha which is superior
to Prithudaka. Without doubt, that tirtha
is purifying, holy and sin-destroying. O best
of men, it hath been said by learned persons that
men, however sinful, by bathing in Prithudaka, go to
heaven. O best of the Bharatas, there in that
tirtha is another called Madhusrava.
Bathing there, O king, one obtaineth the merit of giving
away a thousand kine. One should then proceed,
O king, to that celebrated and sacred tirtha
where the Saraswati uniteth with the Aruna. One
that batheth there, having fasted for three nights,
is cleansed of even the sin of slaying a Brahmana,
and obtaineth also merit that is superior to that of
either the Agnishtoma or Atiratra sacrifice,
and rescueth his race to the seventh generation up
and down. There in that tirtha is another,
O perpetuator of the Kuru race, that is called Ardhakila.
From compassion for the Brahmanas, that tirtha
was made by Darbhi in days of old. Without doubt,
by vows, by investiture of the sacred, by fasts, by
rites and by Mantras, one becometh a Brahmana.
O bull among men, it hath been seen, however, by learned