160 Earn Narayan — Translation of the Ayodhya-Mahatmya. [No. 2, 



Chapter XIX. 



Mahadeva said, " Goddess, west of Kusumayudha-kund is M a n- 

 tres'vara Mahadeva, the bestower of great blessings which have no 

 equal. There is also the Mantres'vara-kund, where one should bathe and 

 worship Mantres'vara, which frees a man from the transmigration of his 

 soul for millions of kalpas. Its origin is this : When Eamachandra, having 

 performed the orders of the gods, was on the point of leaving this world, he 

 read a Mantra, created the kund, and stationed Mantres'vara Mahadeva 

 there ; from that time it has been a famous place. In its northern part are 

 planted lotuses, water-lilies, and Kulhar plants. He who bathes here, gives 

 alms, and worships Brahmans, goes to heaven for ever. No one can fully 

 describe the advantages of Mantres'vara. 



" North of it is S i t a 1 a Devi; by worshipping whom, one is freed 

 from sins. Her worship takes place every Monday. She is to be especially 

 worshipped during small-pox epidemics. 



" North of it is B a n d i Devi, by meditating on whom a man is re- 

 leased from prison. A man who is thrown into a dungeon, or has offended a 

 king, is freed from both of them by meditating and worshipping her. Her 

 pilgrimage is performed on every Tuesday. 



" North of that is C h u t k i D e v i, by meditating on whom one obtains 

 all his wishes. Snapping of the fingers (chutki), and lighting lamps here, be- 

 stows great blessings. Her pilgrimage is performed on the fourteenth day of 

 every month. "West of it is her kund, and the pilgrimage to it is made on 

 the fifteenth of Kartika. Bathing and giving alms at this place takes a 

 person to heaven. 



" West of Chutki-kund is N i r m a 1 i-k u n d, by bathing in which Indra 

 was absolved of the sin of murdering Virtra Asur, and thence it is called by 

 that name. By bathing and giving alms here, a man is absolved of capital 

 crimes; and its pilgrimage is performed on the last day of Sravana. 



" North of it is G o p i r t a r, where Vishnu is stationed and is called Gup- 

 ta-hari. In the beginning ofSatyayug a," continued Mahadeva, " a battle 

 took place between the gods and the demons, in which the former were de- 

 feated. Accompanied by the gods, I went to the sea of milk, where Vishnu 

 was sleeping on the hydra. Lakshmi was shampooing his feet ; Narada and 

 others were praising him ; and I thus began to pray, ' I bow to thee con- 

 queror of Kal (death) ; devotees see thee in their devotion. Thou art the 

 best of all, pure and free from ignorance. Thou art all the Vedas and Mantras. 

 Thou assumest the shape of a goose, which separates milk from water, and 

 then drinks it. Thou art truthful, nay truth itself. Thou art a mine of 

 iustice. Thou knowest everything, from the largest to the smallest. Thou 

 art omniscient and all-seeing, the bestower of salvation, the place of un= 



