Devanagari
गोमतीं गण्डकीं स्नात्वा विपाशां शोण आप्लुत: ।
गयां गत्वा पितृनिष्ट्वा गङ्गासागरसङ्गमे ॥ ११ ॥
उपस्पृश्य महेन्द्राद्रौ रामं दृष्ट्वाभिवाद्य च ।
सप्तगोदावरीं वेणां पम्पां भीमरथीं तत: ॥ १२ ॥
स्कन्दं दृष्ट्वा ययौ राम: श्रीशैलं गिरिशालयम् ।
द्रविडेषु महापुण्यं दृष्ट्वाद्रिं वेङ्कटं प्रभु: ॥ १३ ॥
कामकोष्णीं पुरीं काञ्चीं कावेरीं च सरिद्वराम् ।
श्रीरङ्गाख्यं महापुण्यं यत्र सन्निहितो हरि: ॥ १४ ॥
ऋषभाद्रिं हरे: क्षेत्रं दक्षिणां मथुरां तथा ।
सामुद्रं सेतुमगमत्महापातकनाशनम् ॥ १५ ॥
Verse text
gomatīṁ gaṇḍakīṁ snātvā
vipāśāṁ śoṇa āplutaḥ
gayāṁ gatvā pitṝn iṣṭvā
gaṅgā-sāgara-saṅgame
upaspṛśya mahendrādrau
rāmaṁ dṛṣṭvābhivādya ca
sapta-godāvarīṁ veṇāṁ
pampāṁ bhīmarathīṁ tataḥ
skandaṁ dṛṣṭvā yayau rāmaḥ
śrī-śailaṁ giriśālayam
draviḍeṣu mahā-puṇyaṁ
dṛṣṭvādriṁ veṅkaṭaṁ prabhuḥ
kāma-koṣṇīṁ purīṁ kāṣcīṁ
kāverīṁ ca sarid-varām
śrī-rangākhyaṁ mahā-puṇyaṁ
yatra sannihito hariḥ
ṛṣabhādriṁ hareḥ kṣetraṁ
dakṣiṇāṁ mathurāṁ tathā
sāmudraṁ setum agamat
mahā-pātaka-nāśanam
Synonyms
gomatīm
—
at the Gomatī River
;
gaṇḍakīm
—
the Gaṇḍakī River
;
snātvā
—
bathing
;
vipāśām
—
at the Vipāśā River
;
śoṇe
—
in the Śoṇa River
;
āplutaḥ
—
having immersed Himself
;
gayām
—
to Gayā
;
gatvā
—
going
;
pitṝn
—
His forefathers
;
iṣṭvā
—
worshiping
;
gaṅgā
—
of the Ganges
;
sāgara
—
and the ocean
;
saṅgame
—
at the confluence
;
upaspṛśya
—
touching water (bathing)
;
mahā
—
indra — adrau — at the Mahendra Mountain
;
rāmam
—
Lord Paraśurāma
;
dṛṣṭvā
—
seeing
;
abhivādya
—
honoring
;
ca
—
and
;
sapta
—
godāvarīm — (going) to the convergence of the seven Godāvarīs
;
veṇām
—
the Veṇā River
;
pampām
—
the Pampā River
;
bhīmarathīm
—
and the Bhīmarathī River
;
tataḥ
—
then
;
skandam
—
Lord Skanda (Kārttikeya)
;
dṛṣṭvā
—
seeing
;
yayau
—
went
;
rāmaḥ
—
Lord Balarāma
;
śrī
—
śailam — to Śrī-śaila
;
giri
—
śa — of Lord Śiva
;
ālayam
—
the residence
;
draviḍeṣu
—
in the southern provinces
;
mahā
—
most
;
puṇyam
—
pious
;
dṛṣṭvā
—
seeing
;
adrim
—
the hill
;
veṅkaṭam
—
known as Veṅkaṭa (the abode of Lord Bālajī)
;
prabhuḥ
—
the Supreme Lord
;
kāma
—
koṣṇīm — to Kāmakoṣṇī
;
purīm kāṣcīm
—
to Kāṣcīpuram
;
kāverīm
—
to the Kāverī
;
ca
—
and
;
sarit
—
of rivers
;
varām
—
the greatest
;
śrī
—
raṅga — ākhyam — known as Śrī-raṅga
;
mahā
—
puṇyam — most pious place
;
yatra
—
where
;
sannihitaḥ
—
manifested
;
hariḥ
—
Lord Kṛṣṇa (in the form of Raṅganātha)
;
ṛṣabha
—
adrim — the Ṛṣabha Mountain
;
hareḥ
—
of Lord Viṣṇu
;
kṣetram
—
the place
;
dakṣiṇām mathurām
—
the southern Mathurā (Madurai, the abode of Goddess Mīnākṣī)
;
tathā
—
also
;
sāmudram
—
on the ocean
;
setum
—
to the bridge (Setubandha)
;
agamat
—
He went
;
mahā
—
the greatest
;
pātaka
—
sins
;
nāśanam
—
which destroys .
Translation
Lord Balarāma bathed in the Gomatī, Gaṇḍakī and Vipāśā rivers, and also immersed Himself in the Śoṇa. He went to Gayā, where He worshiped His forefathers, and to the mouth of the Ganges, where He performed purifying ablutions. At Mount Mahendra He saw Lord Paraśurāma and offered Him prayers, and then He bathed in the seven branches of the Godāvarī River, and also in the rivers Veṇā, Pampā and Bhīmarathī. Then Lord Balarāma met Lord Skanda and visited Śrī-śaila, the abode of Lord Giriśa. In the southern provinces known as Draviḍa-deśa the Supreme Lord saw the sacred Veṅkaṭa Hill, as well as the cities of Kāmakoṣṇī and Kāṣcī, the exalted Kāverī River and the most holy Śrī-raṅga, where Lord Kṛṣṇa has manifested Himself. From there He went to Ṛṣabha Mountain, where Lord Kṛṣṇa also lives, and to the southern Mathurā. Then He came to Setubandha, where the most grievous sins are destroyed.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Lord Balarāma bathed in the Gomatī, Gaṇḍakī and Vipāśā rivers, and also immersed Himself in the Śoṇa. He went to Gayā, where He worshiped His forefathers, and to the mouth of the Ganges, where He performed purifying ablutions. At Mount Mahendra He saw Lord Paraśurāma and offered Him prayers, and then He bathed in the seven branches of the Godāvarī River, and also in the rivers Veṇā, Pampā and Bhīmarathī. Then Lord Balarāma met Lord Skanda and visited Śrī-śaila, the abode of Lord Giriśa. In the southern provinces known as Draviḍa-deśa the Supreme Lord saw the sacred Veṅkaṭa Hill, as well as the cities of Kāmakoṣṇī and Kāṣcī, the exalted Kāverī River and the most holy Śrī-raṅga, where Lord Kṛṣṇa has manifested Himself. From there He went to Ṛṣabha Mountain, where Lord Kṛṣṇa also lives, and to the southern Mathurā. Then He came to Setubandha, where the most grievous sins are destroyed.
KB 10.79.11-15
… from there went to the rivers Gaṇḍakī and Gomatī. After this He took His bath in the river Vipāśā. Then He gradually came to the bank of the Śoṇa River. (The Śoṇa River is still running as one of the big rivers in Bihar Province.) He also took His bath there and performed the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. He continued His travels and gradually came to the pilgrimage city of Gayā, where there is a celebrated Viṣṇu temple. According to the advice of His father, Vasudeva, He offered oblations to the forefathers in this Viṣṇu temple. From here He traveled to the delta of the Ganges, where the sacred river Ganges mixes with the Bay of Bengal. This sacred place is called Gaṅgāsāgara, and at the end of January every year there is still a great assembly of saintly persons and pious men, just as there is an assembly of saintly persons in Prayāga every year called the Māgha-melā fair.
After finishing His bathing and ritualistic ceremonies at Gaṅgāsāgara, Lord Balarāma proceeded toward the mountain known as Mahendra Parvata, where He met Paraśurāma, an incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and offered Him respect by bowing down before Him. After this Lord Balarāma turned toward southern India and visited the banks of the river Godāvarī. After taking His bath in the river Godāvarī and performing the necessary ritualistic ceremonies, He gradually visited the other rivers—the Veṇā, Pampā and Bhīmarathī. On the bank of the river Bhīmarathī is the deity called Svāmī Kārttikeya. After visiting Kārttikeya, Lord Balarāma gradually proceeded to Śailapura, a pilgrimage city in the province of Mahārāṣṭra. Śailapura is one of the biggest districts in Mahārāṣṭra province. He then gradually proceeded toward Draviḍa-deśa. Southern India is divided into five parts, called Paṣca-draviḍa. Northern India is also divided into five parts, called Paṣca-gauḍa. All the important ācāryas of the modern age—namely Śaṅkarācārya, Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, Viṣṇu Svāmī and Nimbārka—advented themselves in the Draviḍa provinces. Lord Caitanya, however, appeared in Bengal, which is part of the five Gauḍa-deśas.
The most important place of pilgrimage in southern India, or Draviḍa, is Veṅkaṭācala, commonly known as Bālajī. After visiting this place Lord Balarāma proceeded toward Viṣṇukāṣcī, and from there He proceeded on the bank of the Kāverī. While going to Viṣṇukāṣcī, He visited Śivakāṣcī. Lord Balarāma took His bath in the river Kāverī; then He gradually reached Raṅgakṣetra. The biggest Viṣṇu temple in the world is in Raṅgakṣetra, and the Viṣṇu Deity there is celebrated as Raṅganātha. There is a similar temple of Raṅganātha in Vṛndāvana. Although not as big as the temple in Raṅgakṣetra, it is the biggest in Vṛndāvana.
After visiting Raṅgakṣetra, Lord Balarāma gradually proceeded toward Madurai, commonly known as the Mathurā of southern India. After visiting this place, He gradually proceeded toward Setubandha, the place where Lord Rāmacandra constructed the stone bridge from India to Laṅkā (Ceylon).
Purport
Usually one goes to Gayā to worship deceased forefathers. But as Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains, although Lord Balarāma’s father and grandfather were still alive, it was on His father’s order that He carefully worshiped His forefathers at Gayā. Drawing insight from the
Vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī,
the
ācārya
further explains that although Lord Balarāma was in the immediate proximity of Jagannātha Purī, He did not go there, since He wanted to avoid the embarrassment of having to worship Himself among the forms of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Balabhadra and Subhadrā.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Going to each of the rivers such as the Gomati, Gandaki and Vipasa, he bathed in each one. At Gaya he worshipped the forefathers; that is, as his grandfather and father were still living, he worshipped those who came before that, on the order of Vasudeva.
Bathing (upasprsya) at Ganga Sagara, after that he should have gone to Puri, but did not go, since it would be embarrassing for him to have to worship Krsna Subhadra and himself there. This is the opinion of Vaisnava Tosani. At Mahendra he offered prayers to Parasurama (rama).
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Since his father and grandfather were still living, he offered sacrifice to his ancestors at Gāyā on the order of Vasudeva. He bathed (upaspṛśya) at Gaṅgā-sāgara. Though it was easy to go from there to Puri, he did not go since it was not necessary to worship Jagannātha since Jagannātha was non-different from Kṛṣṇa who had now appeared in complete form with all the avatāras. Or there was no particular goal in going there, since he was directly present and the deity there was non-different from him. He would also be embarrassed to worship himself. He then saw Paraśurāma. He had bhakti for Paraśurāma. After that he went to Sapta-godavārī and other places and bathed there. Another version has sapta-godavaram. Venā and Bhīmarathī are rivers and Pampā is a lake.
He saw the mountain of Veṅkaṭa most pure (mahā-puṇyam) because it was the abode of Trimalla-nātha (Balaji) and an important place of the Śrī-vaiṣṇavas. He went to Kāma-koṣṭi and other places (verb should be supplied), since he was capable of all things (prabhuḥ). In all those places he performed the pilgrimage duties completely. He went to Śrī-raṅgam where the Lord who destroys all suffering and attracts all (hariḥ) resides eternally (sannihitaḥ). Therefore the place was most pure (mahā-puṇyam). The word ca means “then.” He went to Samudra-setu which destroys great sins just by going there. One can atone for killing a brāhmaṇa there.