Then, O monarch, a man should repair to the Saugandhika-vana.
There dwell the celestials with Brahma at their head,
Rishis endued with wealth of asceticism, the Siddhas,
the Charanas, the Gandharvas, the Kinnaras and the
serpents. As soon as one entereth these woods,
he is cleansed of all his sins. Then, O king,
should one repair to the sacred goddess Saraswati,
known there as the goddess Plaksha, that best of streams
and foremost of rivers. There should one bathe
in the water issuing from an ant-hill. (Bathing there
and) worshipping the Pitris and the gods, one obtaineth
the merit of the horse-sacrifice. There existeth
a rare tirtha called Isanadhyushita,
lying from the ant-hill at the distance of six throws
of a heavy stick. As seen in the Puranas, O tiger
among men, bathing there a man obtaineth the merit
of giving away a thousand Kapila kine and of the horse-sacrifice.
Journeying next, O foremost of men, to Sugandha,
and Satakumbha and Pancha-yaksha, a
man becometh adored in heaven. Repairing to another
tirtha there called Trisulakhata, one
should bathe and set himself to worship the Pitris
and the gods. Doing so, without doubt, one obtaineth,
after death, the status of Ganapatya.
One should next proceed, O king, to the excellent spot
of the Goddess celebrated over the three worlds by
the name of Sakamvari. There, for the
space of a thousand celestial years, she of excellent
vows, month after month, had subsisted upon herbs,
O king of men! And attracted by their reverence
for the Goddess, many Rishis with wealth of asceticism,
came thither, O Bharata, and were entertained by her
with herbs. And it is for this that they bestowed
on her the name of Sakamvari. O Bharata,
the man who arriveth at Sakamvari, with rapt
attention and leading a Brahmacharya mode of life
and passeth three nights there in purity and subsisting
on herbs alone, obtaineth, at the will of the goddess,
the merit of him that liveth upon herbs for twelve
years. Then should one proceed to the tirtha
called Suvarna, famed through the three worlds.
There in days of old, Vishnu had paid his adorations
to Rudra, for his grace, and obtaineth also many boons
difficult of acquisition even by the gods. And,
O Bharata, the gratified destroyer of Tripura said,
’O Krishna, thou shalt, without doubt, be much
beloved in the world, and the foremost of everything
in the universe.’ Repairing thither, O
king, and worshipping the deity having the bull for
his mark, one obtaineth the merit of the horse-sacrifice
as also the status of Ganapatya. One should
next proceed to the tirtha of Dhumavati.
Fasting there for three nights, one obtaineth, without
doubt, all the wishes cherished by him. To the
southern half of this spot of the Goddess, there is,
O king, a tirtha called Rathavarta.
One should, O virtuous one, go up to that place, with
devout heart, and having his senses under control.