from every sorrow and blazeth forth like the Moon.
The pilgrim should next proceed, O king, to Swastipura.
By walking around that place, one obtaineth the merit
of giving away a thousand kine. Arriving next
at the tirtha called Pavana, one should
offer oblations to the Pitris and the gods.
By this, he obtaineth, O Bharata, the merit of the
Agnishtoma sacrifice. Near to that is Ganga-hrada,
and another, O Bharata, called Kupa. Thirty
millions of tirthas, O king, are present in
that Kupa. Bathing there, O king, a person obtaineth
heaven. Bathing also in the Ganga-hrada
and adoring Maheswara, one obtaineth the status of
Ganapatya and rescueth his own race. One
should next proceed to Sthanuvata, celebrated
over the three worlds. Bathing there, O king,
one obtaineth heaven. One should then proceed
to Vadanpachana, the asylum of Vasishtha.
Having fasted there for three nights, one should eat
jujubes. He that liveth on jujubes for twelve
years, and he that fasteth at the tirtha for
three nights, acquireth merit that is eternal.
Arriving then at Indramarga, O king, and fasting
there for a day and night the pilgrim becometh adored
in the abode of Indra. Arriving next at the tirtha
called Ekaratra, a person that stayeth there
for one night, with regulated vows and refraining
from untruth, becometh adored in the abode of Brahma.
One should next go, O king, to the asylum of Aditya—that
illustrious god who is a mass of effulgence.
Bathing in that tirtha celebrated over three worlds,
and worshipping the god of light, one goeth to the
region of Aditya and rescueth his own race. The
pilgrim then, O king, bathing in the tirtha
of Soma, obtaineth, without doubt, the region
of Soma. One should next proceed, O virtuous
one, to the most sacred tirtha of the illustrious
Dadhicha, that sanctifying tirtha which
is celebrated over the whole world. It was here
that Angiras, that ocean of ascetic austerities belonging
to the Saraswata race, was born. Bathing in that
tirtha, one obtaineth the merit of the horse-sacrifice,
and without doubt, gaineth also residence in the region
of Saraswati. With subdued senses and leading
a Brahmacharya mode of life, one should next proceed
to Kanyasrama. Residing there for three
nights, O king, with subdued senses and regulated
diet, one obtaineth a hundred celestial damsels and
goeth also to the abode of Brahma. One should
next, O virtuous one, proceed to the tirtha
called Sannihati. Sojourning thither the
gods with Brahma at their head and Rishis endued with
wealth of asceticism earn much virtue. Bathing
in the Saraswati during a solar eclipse, one obtaineth
the merit of a hundred horse-sacrifices, and any sacrifice
that one may perform there produceth merit that is
eternal. Whatever tirthas exist on earth
or in the firmament, all the rivers, lakes, smaller