Anushasanika Parva — The foremost and purest of all Tirthas described

Yudhishthira said Tell me, o grandfather of that which is considered as the foremost of all Tirthas. Indeed, you should expound to me what that Tirtha is which conduces to the greatest purity.

Bhishma said Forsooth, all Tirthas are possessed of merit. Listen, however, with attention to me as I tell you what the Tirtha, the cleanser, is of men gifted with wisdom.

Following eternal Truth one should bathe in the Tirtha called Manasa, which is unfathomable, stainless, and pure, and which has Truth for its waters and the understanding for its lake.

The fruits, in the form of cleansing, that one gains by bathing in the Tirtha, are freedom from cupidity, sincerity, truthfulness, mildness, mercy, abstention from injuring any creature, selfcontrol, and tranquillity.

Those men who are freed from attachments, who are shorn of pride, who are above all pairs of opposites, who have no wives and children and houses and gardens, etc., who are gifted with purity, and who live upon the alms given to them by others, are considered as Tirthas.

He who knows the truths of all things and who is freed from the idea of mineness, is said to be the highest Tirtha. In finding out the marks of purity, your gaze should ever be directed towards these qualities.

Those persons from whose souls the qualities of goodness, darkness, and ignorance have been washed off, they who, not caring for purity and impurity, pursue the ends they have proposed to themselves, they who have renounced everything, they who are possessed of omniscience and gifted with universal sight, and they who are of pure conduct, are considered as Tirthas possessing the purifying power.

That man whose limbs only are wet with water is not considered as one that is washed. He, on the other hand, is considered as washed who has washed himself by selfdenial. Even such a person is said to be pure both internally and externally.

They who never busy themselves with what is past, they who feel no attachment for present acquisitions, indeed, they who are free from desire, are said to be possessed of the highest purity.

Knowledge is said to form the especial purity of the body. So also freedom from desire, and cheerfulness of mind.

Purity of conduct forms the purity of the mind. The purity that one acquires by ablutions in sacred waters is considered as inferior. Indeed that purity which originates from knowledge, is considered as the best.

Those ablutions which one performs with a burning mind in the waters of the knowledge of Brahma in the Tirtha called Manasa, are the true ablutions for truth knowing persons.

That man who is endued with true purity of conduct and who is always given to the preservation of a proper attitude to wards all, indeed, he who is gifted with attributes and merit, is considered as truly pure.

These that I have mentioned have been said to be the Tirthas of the body. Listen to me as I tell you what those sacred Tirthas are that are situate on the Earth also.

As special attributes of the body have been said to be sacred, so there are particulars spots on Earth as well, and particular waters, which are considered sacred.

By reciting the names of the Tirthas, by performing ablutions there, and by offering oblations to the departed Manes in those places, one's sins are dissipated. Those men whose sins are thus dissipated, succeed in acquiring the celestial region, when they leave this world.

On account of their association with pious persons through the special efficacy of the earth itself, of those spots and of particular waters, there are certain portions of the Earth that have come to be considered as sacred.

The mental Tirthas are separate and distinct from those of the Earth. That person who bathes in both acquires success forthwith.

As strength without exertion, or exertion without strength can never perform anything, singly, and as these, when combined, can do all things, so one that becomes gifted with the purity that is contributed by the Tirthas in the body as also by that which is contributed by the Tirthas on the Earth, becomes truly pure and acquires success. That purity which is derived from both sources is the best.