sarasvati tirthayatra of sri balarama (haigh m, 2011)

Haigh, Martin J. 2011. Interpreting the Sarasvati Tirthayatra of Shri Balar�ma. Itihas Darpan,

Research Journal of Akhil Bhartiya Itihas Sankalan Yojana, ABISY (New Delhi, ISSN:

0974-3065), vol. 16 (2), October: pp. 179-193.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Interpreting the Sarasvati Tirthayatra of Shri Balar�ma

Prof. Martin J. Haigh

Dept. of Anthropology & Geography, School of Social Sciences and Law (SSL), Gipsy Lane Campus,

Headington, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, OX3 0BP. England, U.K.

Phone: (+044)-1865-483785. Email: [email protected]

Abstract: Shri Balar�ma’s Sarasvati River pilgrimage from the Mahabharata’s Tirthayatraparva is

examined as an archetype for modern Hindu pilgrimage. Exploration of contexts suggests that Shri

Balar�ma enacts His journey in His role Adiguru, the original teacher, and as Ananta-shesha, the eternal

servant and support for Shri Vishnu. The Goddess Sarasvati, the patron of education and scholarship,

appeared on Earth as a river with a mission to wash away sins. The Sarasvati, which is the river most

frequently eulogised by the Rig Veda as a mighty stream, and which is by association is the river of

knowledge, culture and learning, was largely lost even in the times of the Mahabharata, although

modern scholars believe its waters still flow to Prayaga through the Yamuna. However, Shri Balar�ma’s

Holy Brahmins had sufficient spiritual vision to be able to detect its route. In Vedic understanding, Shri

Balar�ma’s Tirthayatra was not a pilgrimage in the modern sense but a Yat’sattra, a travelling ritual that

took its Brahmin yajman’s self as the sacrifice. Analysis of the blessings offered by each of the Tirthas

shows that the majority concern the satisfaction of individual Earthly desires, some concern social duties

and some concern matters of Narrow Religion and mythology. However, there is also a kernel of

blessings that directly concern spiritual purification and liberation. These themes confirm the

Tithayatra’s true status as prototype for the modern pilgrimage, with all of the diversity of goals and

meanings that such journeys involve.

Keywords. Ananta-shesha, Balar�ma, Chaitanya, Mahabharata, Bhaktivedanta Svami Prabhupada,

Madhya Lila, Sarasvati, Tirthayatra.

Introduction

This explores Shri Balar�ma’s iconic Tirthayatra along the Sarasvati River as depicted in the

Mahabharata’s Shalyaparva as a spiritual entity. It is based on Ganguli’s translation1 and the analyses

of Alf Hiltebeitel (2001)2, which pertain to its deeper layers of Vedic ritual (Yat’sattra), it is guided

by the work of Rana P.B. Singh3 and it acknowledges the encyclopaedic studies of Kalyanaraman

4.

Shri Balar�ma’s holy journey along the Sarasvati River may be explored from many perspectives,

which include its role in and significance in the thematic development of the Mahabharata story-line.

However, this paper explores the Tirthayatra as a prototype for the modern Hindu pilgrimage,

recognising its modern iconic status in this respect. Among many alternative academic perspectives, it

may be argued that a historian might explore the Mahabharata’s Tirthayatraparva in terms of its

historical accuracy and social context, often through a political lens5; an Indologist might study

narrative, precedence, structure, cadence and imagery with an eye to understanding the thinking at the

time of a text’s creation6; while, equally, another might deconstruct the text in an attempt to link it to

the concepts of environmental history or archaeology7. However, a pilgrim seeks only a spiritual

meaning and message. As Rana P.B. Singh8 summarises, pilgrimage should be viewed as: “a spiritual

Haigh, Martin J. 2011. Interpreting the Sarasvati Tirthayatra… Itihas Darpan, 16 (2): pp. 179-193. 180

quest — a guiding force unifying divinity and humanity; it is a search for wholeness. Ultimately the

wholeness of landscape and its sacred and symbolic geography creates a ‘faithscape’ that

encompasses sacred place, sacred time, sacred meanings, and sacred rituals and embodies both

symbolic and tangible psyche elements in an attempt to realise humankind’s identity in the cosmos.

The act of pilgrimage, including the journey, activities, and experiences of companionship, is itself a

ritual with has transformative value, a reinterpretation of the idea of “experience”. In this case, this

pilgrimage perspective is more exotic because it emerges from the furthest fringes of Hindu tradition;

from the margins of that world religion chimera that is the global legacy of Hindu missionaries such

as Svami Vivekananda and Shrila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Svami Prabhupada. In brief, its aim is to

explore the message contained within the Tirthayatra, especially within its contexts and the blessings

gifted by each of the tirthas and to show how these serve the three layers or consciousness – body,

mind and soul – or, more romantically, the layers implied by the Gayatri Mantra – Bhu�, Bhuva�, and

Sva�9.

Contexts

First, it’s worth reflecting upon the three chief protagonists in the Tirthayatra narrative. The first two

are: Shri Balar�ma, the brother of Shri Krishna, and the River (and Goddess) Sarasvati. The third is

the Mahabharata itself, which contains the Tirthayatra within its narratives at several levels10

.

In the Mahabharata, Shri Balar�ma is a relatively minor player. When the Harivamsa11 praises

the glories of Shri Balar�ma, His Tirthayatra is not mentioned. However, later, He is eulogised as the

God who went on a pilgrimage. The Narasimha Upapurana12

is not alone in including Him in its list

of key Vishnu avatars (incarnations). In the Bhagavata Purana (10.8.12)13, at His naming ceremony,

sage Garga calls Him R�ma, because He delights through his virtues, Bala, because of his strength,

and Shankarsana, because he attracts unity. The worshipful Shri Balar�ma is the elder brother of Shri

Krishna, an expansion of the Supreme and one of the four Vyuha � the incarnation of His eternal

servant, Ananta-shesha, the thousand-hooded cosmic serpent who supports the Universe and who, in

the Puranas and many icons, provides the bed on which Maha-Vishnu sleeps during pralaya, when

the cosmos dissolves into primal waters between world ages14.

Bigger15 suggests that Shri Balar�ma, as Shri Krishna’s elder brother, originally, had the role of

representing a straightforward dharma, which Shri Krishna so often gently adjusts to his own aims.

He also thinks that the two accounts of his birth, as a white hair from Shri Vishnu, and as incarnation

of Ananta-shesha are later developments. Hence, the late Narasimha Purana (53.32-36)16, which

grants a relatively minor role to Shri Krishna, emphasises Shri Balar�ma as the white and shining

principle, while Shri Krishna is the dark principle, of Shri Vishnu’ energy, in which they merge once

their work is done. Another late text, the Garga Samhita Balabhadra Kanda, which is narrated by the

Kauvara Duryodhana, details His advent and worship by the serpents in the lower worlds. It also notes

and that the Gopis involved in His own Rasa Lila dances, which are also described in the Bhagavata

Purana (10.65.18), were reincarnations of the snake wives17. In a similar vein, it has been suggested

that, because of his white skin, red eyes, and blue-black clothing, Shri Balar�ma represents the three

gunas, and since he is also associated with alcohol and a certain lack of diplomacy, he is linked with

both the material principle and tamasic delusion18. A similar argument attaches to his representation

as an incarnation of Ananta-shesha, the cosmic serpent, as in the Padma Purana (6.229.38-39), where

he is seen as time (kala), the all-destroying form of Shri Vishnu � hence the link to destructive

behaviour patterns19. In icons, he is often portrayed with serpent hoods, carrying a glass of wine and

with a palm leaf on his golden standard20

.

Bigger21 also asserts that, despite the plough that his icons carry, nothing supports the widespread

idea that he was originally an agricultural deity. Possibly, however, this misses the point that these

last two associations imply. It has been pointed out that Nagas, snakes, are notable for their absence in

the older parts of the Veda, notably the Rig Veda, which may suggest that snake cults were not

important to people, who were, like Shri Krishna Gopala, pastoralists. Snakes are not a great problem

for those who tend herds of cattle but they are a real nuisance for those who live sedentary lives, have

houses with dark corners, and who tend the gardens or fields where snakes may lurk. In less nomadic


times, snake cults became very important. Indeed, coping with snakes provides the outer motif for the

Mahabharata22

. Shri Shri Krishna Gopala and Balar�ma in the Vrindavan Lilas are worshiped as

deities of the everyday people, deities of everyday lives, and deities separated from the awe and

reverence reserved for Kings and great Priests of the temple, which is why these texts are so

treasured. Shri Krishna tends the herds while Shri Balar�ma carries His ‘plough’ (hala) perhaps, less

as a weapon than as a symbol of the other half of agrarian society. Among his other symbols is the

‘wooden grinding pestle’ (musala) 23.

Most of the above is, of course, sharply contradicted by both the Mahabharata and by modern

Vaishnava theology. This viewpoint is represented by Table 1, which contains verses from the

Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-Lila, which also links Shri Balar�ma with the Avadhut Nityananda

Prabhu, Shri Chaitanya’s chief associate24

. In modern Vaishnavism, Shri Balar�ma begins as Ananta-

shesha � an expansion of Shri Krishna’s creative energy and His eternal servant, whose service

includes furnishing the spiritual world, and whose role is to act as Adiguru, the merciful original

teacher and protector of devotees. As the original teacher, His pilgrimage, therefore, has special

significance.

Table 1. Status and role of Shri Balar�ma as explained to Sanatana Gosvami by Shri Chaitanya (Shri

Chaitanya-charitamrita Madhya Lila, 20.255-262). 25

Madhya Lila, 20.255: “Lord Sankarsana is Lord Balar�ma. Being the predominator of the

creative energy He creates both the material and the spiritual world”.

Madhya Lila, 20.256: “Lord Balar�ma is the cause of both the material and the spiritual

creation. He is the predominating deity of egotism and by the will of Krishna and the

power of the spiritual energy. He creates the spiritual world which consists of the planet

Goloka Vrindavana and the Vaikuntha planets”.

Madhya Lila, 20.257: “Although there is no question of creation as far as the spiritual world is

concerned the spiritual world is nonetheless manifested by the supreme will of

Sankarsana. The spiritual world is the abode of the pastimes of the eternal spiritual

energy".

Madhya Lila, 20.258: “Gokula the supreme abode and planet appears like a lotus flower that

has a thousand petals. The whorl of that lotus is the abode of the Supreme Lord Krishna.

This lotus-shaped supreme abode is created by the will of Lord Ananta”. (Verse from the

Brahma Samhita (5.2), see also the Brahma Samhita (5.47), Ananta-shesha is another

name for the serpent couch upon which Maha-Vishnu rests and it means eternal servant26

).

Madhya Lila, 20.262: “Balar�ma and Krishna are the original efficient and material causes of

the material world. As Maha-Vishnu and the material energy, They enter into the material

elements and create the diversities by multi-energies. Thus, They are the cause of all

causes” (verse spoken by Uddhava in the Bhagavata Purana (10.46.31).

Sarasvati Goddess and Rivers “R�ma of unfading glory sang this verse in the midst of the Brahmanas: ‘Where else is such

happiness as that in a residence by the Sarasvati? Where also such merits as those in a residence by

the Sarasvati? Men have departed for heaven having approached the Sarasvati! All should ever

remember the Sarasvati! Sarasvati is the most sacred of rivers! Sarasvati always bestows the greatest

happiness on men! Men after approaching the Sarasvati will not have to grieve for their sins either

here or hereafter!’” The Mahabharata, (Shalyaparva, Tirthayatraparva, 9.54).

In the Mahabharata, Shri Balar�ma, following in the footsteps of Bhishma, chooses to make his

pilgrimage along the River Sarasvati, rather than the Ganga or Yamuna, and the first question is why?

In this text, he does not make the all–India journey described in the Bhagavata Purana (10.79.9-21)27

.

However, the Rig Veda features the Sarasvati in scores of verses and She is the only river to whom the


Rig Veda devotes whole hymns, namely Rig Veda (6.61, 7.95 and 7.96)28. Rig Veda (6.61.12)

eulogises Her as a mighty river, “Seven sistered and sprung from the threefold source” 29

; while Rig

Veda (7.95.1) adds “surpassing in might and majesty all other waters” 30.

Personified, Goddess Sarasvati is consort of creator and ancestor (Pitamaha), Shri Brahma. Vedic

verses link her to the slaying of the drought demon (Rig Veda, 6. 61)31

, while in the Kaushitaki

Brahmana (3.12.2), She is the second form of the thunderbolt that drives away demons32. The

Brahmavaivarta Purana (Prakriti Khanda, 6.1-12), calls her “the symbol of Holy pilgrimage… the

support of the virtuous, the index of devotion…incomparably adapted to consume the sins of

humankind”33

. As consort of Brahma, patron of the Brahmin priesthood, Shrimati Sarasvati is

recognised as the mother of the Vedas, patron of the creative arts, education, knowledge, scholarship

and speech. The Aitreya Brahmana (3.1.2) notes: “To a child born, speech comes last … by reciting a

triplet to Sarasvati, his speech becomes perfect”34

. Of course, despite the Vedic import of Sarasvati,

Goddess and River, it is also a fact that the river’s mouth lay close to Shri Krishna and Shri

Balar�ma’s new Capital City, Dvaraka. Proximity, with these other considerations, may help explain

the choice of this pilgrimage route. However, the more attractive explanation conjoins the original

teacher, Shri Balar�ma, with a spiritual journey along the river of education, knowledge and

purification.

This conjunction is made the more intriguing because, today, the Sarasvati River is lost. Even its

location is a matter of dispute; some would link the name to places as far away as the Helmand River

of Afghanistan35. Indeed, even in Shri Balar�ma’s time, much of the River’s flow was invisible,

traceable only by the distribution of Tirthas and through the spiritual insights of His Brahmin

advisors. Today, most associate the Sarasvati with a palaeo-channel, a dried up river bed, that runs

parallel to the Indus River, from the Indian Punjab Shiwaliks, along the border and into Pakistan close

to the Indus delta. In archaeological circles, this ancient channel is significant because it is associated

with a large number of sites from the Harappan civilisation, which were abandoned in the centuries

before 1900 BCE, so the site suggests a continuity between Harappan Culture and later Vedic and

post-Vedic Hindu tradition36

. Doubtless, such abandonment might be blamed on climate change or

land degradation but, in this case, the finger points to river capture. Herbert37 talks about the capture

of the Sarasvati River headwaters through the westward diversion to the Sutlej, while Valdiya (1996,

and 2002)38

suggests further river capture, linked to tectonic uplift, causing the river’s upper reaches

to be diverted eastwards to the Yamuna and her tributaries39. Of course, this viewpoint nicely supports

belief in the Sarasvati’s confluence with the Yamuna and Ganga at modern Allahabad (ancient

Prayaga). Today, the Yamuna carries the lost waters of the former Sarasvati, at least as far as Delhi.

The Mahabharata (Sattra) The third protagonist is the Mahabharata epic. In Vedic tradition, an important ancient ritual

travels the River Sarasvati, the Yat’sattra, a Soma sacrifice that has a Brahmin as its yajman and takes

the yajman’s self as the fee, possibly in the form of a ritual suicide (Kaushitaki Brahmana, 3.15.1, et

seq.)40

. Shri Balar�ma’s Tirthayatra may be a prototypical pilgrimage but it also emerges from this

more ancient tradition of Vedic sacrifice41. Equally, it forms part of the Mahabharata’s larger

thematic development, which is framed by the Sattras of Janamejaya and Shaunaka42. King

Janamejaya receives the Mahabharata narration during the course of his Sarpasattra. This ritual,

designed to rid the world of snakes, both opens and closes the Epic. This is not unimportant because

Shri Balar�ma is identified with the thousand hooded Ananta-shesha, the snake who shades Maha-

Vishnu. The Mahabharata’s outermost frame is the Sattra of Shaunaka Rishi in the Naimisha Forest,

where Ugrasravas is invited to recount the epic, including the story of King Janamejaya’s Sattra. This

incident is echoed in Shri Balar�ma’s Tirthayatra, which detours east to visit the Sages of the

Naimisha Forest43

, which arguably lies near modern Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, hundreds of kilometres

distant on the far side of the Ganga river.

The Sarpasattra of Janamejaya is, however, non-traditional in having a Kshatriya as its yajman.

Sattras were unusual rituals in that they were performed for the benefit of the Brahmins rather than

any client44

. A typical sattra lasted 12 days, although a Maha-sattra would run for 12 years. The


Gava-mayana Sattra ran for one year and ended with a great vow (Maha-vrata). Barnett notes that the

Sarasvati Yat’sattra “proceeded along the right bank of the river Sarasvati from Vinasana or

Adarsana, the spot in desert where it disappears, to Plaksha Prasravana in the Siwalik mountains,

where it rises from the earth, the pilgrims taking with them movable apparatus for the Soma-ritual.

First, one hundred young cows in calf with a bull, which were to increase tenfold, were driven into a

wood…”45 A Brahmin at the Ahavaniya fire threw a stick up the river-bank, at the spot where it fell a

Grihapatya fire was set up, from which a new Ahavaniya was made. The process was repeated day

after day with diverse rites until the party reached the river’s source46

. The Sarpasatra, which also ran

for a year, was based on fire sacrifices organised by tens – dasdasi – to resemble the sound of a

striking snake. As ever, there are layers of depth, association and embedded meaning that go beyond

anything that can be tackled here. However, the point is that the Mahabharata emerged from a culture

dominated by Vedic ritual. In our times, Sattra rituals are no longer considered central to the

Tirthayatra’s role as a Hindu pilgrimage prototype, but aspects of the original remain, including the

notion of the sacrificial or surrendered self.

Finally, Shri Balar�ma’s Tirthayatra has rivals to contest its place as the prototypical pilgrimage.

For example, an All-India Tirthayatra by Prahlad Maharaj is described at length in the Vamana

Purana (83.1-85.1)47

. Superficially, this seems like a far better model for the modern pilgrim. Prahlad

is the great devotee whose devotion wins him the appearance and protection of Shri Narasimha. His

Tirthayatra crosses India and His devotions cross the Hindu spectrum. Finally, Prahlad Maharaj is

born a demon and his pilgrimage aims to purify him of His demonic tendencies. In this current Kali

age, the goal of controlling demoniac tendencies, a struggle to direct the senses and suppress the

egoist mind (ahamkara), is a battle for all devotees, as Bhagvan Svaminarayan’s Vachanamrita so

eloquently depicts48

.

Interpreting the Context

In sum, the key attributes of Shri Balar�ma’s Tirthayatra are that it is taken by God not by His

devotee and in His pass-time as a Yadava Warrior-King not youthful cowherd boy. This suggests that

Shri Balar�ma’s role in this is intended to be that of leader and (Adi-guru) teacher. Historically, the

teaching is a sattra sacrifice that is associated with the destruction of the sacrificer’s self. It is

constructed within the context of a Sarpasattra, dedicated to the annihilation of serpents, yet its chief

protagonist is the cosmic serpent, Ananta-shesha. As the Harivamsa, Shri Vishnuparva (62.1-3)49

notes, Shri Ananta-shesha, the eternal support and servant of God, evokes the sentiments of both

service and servitude. The Tirthayatra runs along the Vedic River of Knowledge, formerly a mighty

stream known for its capacity to wash away sins but now largely vanished in these increasingly fallen

times. In the era of the Mahabharata, however, Shri Balar�ma’s path was still detectable by Holy

Brahmins, whose advice even this God follows with attention.

The Sarasvati Tirthayatra

Pilgrimages move though both physical and liminal spiritual spaces, which in combination create

not a landscape but a ‘faithscape’50

. They have a physical route and often a physical goal in the form

or a shrine or holy ground but the path a pilgrim travels is a journey of the spirit. The journey taken by

the physical body is incidental. For a modern pilgrim, the travels of the original guru, Shri Balar�ma

to spiritual places on the banks of the river of education, knowledge and wisdom, which has become

invisible to ordinary people in these fallen times - provides a clear and complete picture. The detail of

the journey is relatively unimportant but it still contains important messages.

Geographically, Hindu pilgrimages have a clockwise moment51

. This is true of Parikrama

pilgrimages like those of Braj 52

as it is of the Mahabharata’s Sarasvati Tirthayatra. This begins at the

temple of Shri Brahma in Pushkara and continues clockwise along the route of the Sarasvati (Fig. 1)

to conclude in Prayaga (Allahabad), its spiritual confluence with the Yamuna and Ganga Rivers. In all

cases, the geographical circle is considered a spiritual spiral that raises its participants to higher levels

of consciousness. The Mahabharata’s Tirthayatraparva (82.85) states: “… of all tirthas, Prayaga is


the most sacred… By going to that tirtha, by singing its praises, or by taking a little earth from it, one

is cleansed from every sin”53

. This quotation reminds that pilgrims engage in a pilgrimage for a

reason, often an expectation of reward. This reward may be spiritual but often it is a more mundane

favour54. The key motivations for taking any pilgrimage include besides illumination: purification,

penance for the expiation of sin and supplication for a special favour, desire or the removal of a

problem. For example, the Narasimha Purana (55.1)55 describes the pilgrimage of Shukradeva, a

counsellor to the Demon King Bali, who loses the sight in one eye when struck by Shri Vamana.

After a long tirthayatra, Shukradeva prays to Shri Vishnu on the banks of the Ganga, who appears to

restore his eye.

However, in the Mahabharata (III, Tirthayatraparva, in Vanaparva 81), as Sage Narada points

out, pilgrimage is also a way of building social status and respect: “Bhishma also … wandered over

the world at the command of Pulastya. …. The man that ranges the earth in accordance with these

injunctions obtains the highest fruit of a hundred horse-sacrifices and earns salvation thereafter. Thou

wilt, O son of Pritha, obtain merit consisting of the eight attributes, even like that which Bhishma, the

foremost of the Kurus, had obtained of yore” 56

. So, pilgrimage is also a public show of duty that

enhances social status. Although, in the story-line of the Mahabharata, it also provides a mode of

escape, or at least a temporary respite, for Shri Balar�ma from a difficult situation, the impending

conflict between two favoured devotees.

So, pilgrimage journeys are conducted for a variety of reasons that evoke different spiritual

levels57. For some, it is about personal spiritual evolution. For some, it is about supplication � a

request for God’s intercession blessing, boon, or relief from some aspect of the material world. For

others, it may be made out of respect to social tradition; their pilgrimage is a religious duty, a

convention that supports the pilgrim’s status in a community and as an expression of a social

dharma58

. For still others, it is more or less a touristic experience, where pageantry, spectacle and

recountable experience become a key; Rana P.B. Singh summarises the various academic pilgrimage

models of Morinis, Bhardwaj, and Turner and critically examined their applicability in Indian

pilgrimage studies59

. These confirm that the hermeneutics of pilgrimage are complicated by the fact

that, while pilgrim travellers may occupy the same geographical spaces, they are there for different

reasons, seek different goals, and in fact, do not actually inhabit the same worlds. The worlds we

inhabit are those we perceive. Those with different worldviews do not perceive the same things in the

world around them and the things they do see may assume different meanings. Naturally, such


perceptions are affected by many factors: history, cultural background, education, aspiration, acuity,

stage of life, and levels of religious development. Here, these range from surface touristic levels of

spectacle, through levels of tradition, custom, dogma, and worldly supplication, which may be called

‘Narrow Religion’, to deeper levels of spiritual communion and mysticism, ‘Deep Religion’60.

Thus, there may be a triple level structure embedded in the Hindu pilgrimage process, which

echoes other three level structures of the Hindu world. Somewhat similarly, the Gayatri Mantra,

begins “Om, Bhu�, Bhuva�, Sva�” and contains the same triad, which symbolises the creation of the

world in three sounds61

. As Sadguru Sant Keshavadas explains, these are elaborated by the

Purushasukta, the first five verses of which explain the nature of the primordial personality of

Godhead, the second five the works of the Demigods, and the final five, most well known verses, the

metaphorical division of Purusha into the beings of the material world 62

. In sum, Bhu� is the material

world, Sva� – is the ultimate Truth, and Bhuva� – that mythic and mental space which lies between,

namely the realms of the Demi-Gods.

Table 2 elaborates these 3 levels of pilgrim engagement with help from the work of Rana P.B.

Singh63

beginning with the more materialist – Bhu� level, rising through the more intellectual levels

of Narrow Religion and Social Dharma � Bhuva�, and ending at the highest level of the spiritual

seeker, Sva�, the Deep Religion level, beyond which lies only final liberation from all material

existence – moksha, Om.

Table 2. Three Levels of Pilgrimage

Pilgrim

Level

Goals Gayatri Possible associates64

Religious

Tourist

Mainly Personal and Material

gain

Bhu� Tamas, earth, body, spiritually asleep,

passive, inward-facing and self-centered.

Narrow

Religion

Mainly Social and Spiritual

gain

Bhuva� Rajas, sky, heart and mind, dreaming,

active, outward-facing and self-

validating.

Deep

Religion

Mainly Spiritual enlighten-

ment and association with the

divine.

Sva� Sattva, heaven, spirit and atman,

spiritually awake, serene, Self-conscious

if not yet Self-realised.

Inside the Tithayatra of Shri Balar�ma

It is possible to map the translated text of the Mahabharata Shalyaparva’s Tirthayatraparva in terms

of these three levels and the outcome is interesting. Table 3 is an abridged version of the work-sheet

from an analysis of the blessings offered by each of the key Tirthas visited by Shri Balar�ma. It

devotes a row to some of the main Tirthas identified in the 1883-1889 translation of Kesari Mohan

Ganguli. Its three columns include a description of the text, assessment of the message that it

contains, then to the left, the level, where: Bhu� refers to a material blessing, Bhuva� – narrow

religious, and Sva�, a deep religious blessing.

Table 3. Pilgrimage Levels: worksheet for parts of the Mahabharata (Shalyaparva 9, Tithayatraparva)

from the translation of Kesari Mohan Ganguli, 1883-1886i (with verses in brackets).

Level The Mahabharata Tithayatra Text (verse) Interpretation

Bhu� “Two and forty days have passed since I left home.

… I am desirous, O Madhava, of beholding this

encounter with the mace between these two

disciples of mine!" (9.34)

Shri Balar�ma returns to witness a

sight he had hoped to avoid. Message;

the Laws of Karma will play out in the

mundane world.

Bhu� …while the troops were being mustered and

arrayed, … that illustrious son of Yadu’s race, the

wielder of the plough then set out on a pilgrimage

to the Sarasvati. (9.34)

Shri Balar�ma has affection for both

sides in this conflict and being unable

to assure peace opts to set out along

the river named for the Goddess of


Learning.

Bhuva� Location: Prabhasa Tirtha, the mouth of the

Sarasvati River. “Having bathed also in that

foremost of tirthas on the Sarasvati, the god

having the hare for his mark shall, ye gods, grow

once more! These words of mine are true! For half

the month Soma shall wane every day, and for half

the month (following) he will wax every day!”…

Bathing there on the day of the new moon, that

god of great energy and great effulgence got back

his cool rays and continued once more to illumine

the worlds. .. Pleased with Soma, the adorable

Daksha once more addressed him, saying, ‘Do

not, O son, disregard women, and never disregard

Brahmanas! (9.35).

The message concerns social dharma.

Shri Soma, the moon deity, is cursed

with a wasting disease – tuberculosis -

for favouritism towards just one of his

20 wives, not treating them all

equally. His disease has a negative

impact in the whole world and upon

the Gods, who lift the curse by bathing

at Prabhasa Tirtha.

Bhuva� Location: Udapana Tirtha – where the river has an

invisible current. “Brihaspati (the preceptor of the

gods) said to the celestials ‘Trita is performing a

sacrifice. We must go there, ye gods! Endued with

great ascetic merit, if angry, he is competent to

create other gods!’ Hearing these words of

Brihaspati, all the gods, united together, repaired

to where the sacrifice of Trita was going on…

Having duly obtained their allotted shares, the

denizens of heaven … gave him such boons as he

desired”. (9.36)

The message concerns the power of

sacrifice and divine blessings. Trita, a

great ascetic, becomes trapped in a

well, whilst there creates a mental

soma sacrifice, which disturbs the

Gods who appear to accept their share

of the sacrifice and grant him his

material needs.

Sva� Location: Gargasrota. “There, in that sacred tirtha

of the Sarasvati, Garga of venerable years and

soul cleansed by ascetic penances, O Janamejaya,

had acquired a knowledge of Time and its course,

of the deviations of luminous bodies (in the

firmament), and of all auspicious and inauspicious

portents”. (9.37)

Garga Muni was the teacher of both

Shri Krishna and Shri Balar�ma, so

this stop may be taken as some kind of

Guru-puja for the preceptor, who is

the mouth-piece for the Supreme.

Bhuva� Location Naimisha Kunja: “Baladeva once more

set out, along the way that those ascetics pointed

out to him, reaching that spot where the Sarasvati

turns in an eastward direction, like torrents of rain

bent by the action of the wind. The river took that

course for beholding the high-souled Rishis

dwelling in the forest of Naimisha. .. Balar�ma,

having the plough for his weapon, beholding that

foremost of rivers change her course, became, O

king, filled with wonder." (9.37)

The Naimisha Forest is the place

where the Mahabharata is recited and

features at four points in this tale. The

story tells that the river turned

eastwards in order to accommodate

the need for sacrificial grounds for the

large congregation of Rishis and holy

men who wanted to conduct sacrifices

at this spot and that having met those

needs turned west once again. Once

again, the story tells of the power of

Vedic ritual and of the ritual as a

partnership between Gods and

humans65

.

Sva� Location; Sapta Sarasvat, called the foremost

tirtha on the river. “O king, the seven Sarasvatis

cover this universe! Whithersoever the Sarasvati

was summoned by persons of great energy, thither

she made her appearance”.(9.38)

This text converts the River Sarasvati

from a topographic feature to a general

principle that can be summoned by

prayer to any tirtha.

Bhuva� Location; Sapta Sarasvat: Mankanaka: “Having

praised Mahadeva in this manner, the Rishi bowed

to him, ‘Let not this absence of gravity, ridiculous

The story of the Sage Mankanaka, son

of the Wind God, first tells of how his

seed, spilt in the Sarasvati gave rise to


in the extreme, that I displayed, O god, destroy my

ascetic merit! I pray to thee for this!’ The god,

with a cheerful heart, once more said unto him

‘Let thy asceticism increase a thousand-fold, O

Brahmana, through my grace! I shall also always

dwell with thee in this asylum! For the man that

will worship me in the tirtha Sapta-Sarasvat there

will be nothing unattainable here or hereafter”

(9.38).

49 Marut demigods, and later talks

about him dancing wildly when

discovering that his blood appeared as

plant sap. Finding this lack of gravity

disturbing, the Gods ask Shri Shiva to

bring him to order. While there are

probably many layers of myth here,

the simple messages of correct

behaviour and wish fulfilment are the

easiest to collect.

Bhu� Location: Usanas. The story concerns Mahodara,

who was freed of a huge malignant growth through

bathing in this Tirtha (9.39)

The myth eulogises the curative

properties of this Tirtha’s waters.

Bhu� Arshtishena was unable to master the Vedas but

after bathing in this Tirtha he achieved success.

“By small exertions, again, one shall

attain to great result here!” (9.40)

Sva� . “…by his austere penances acquired the status of

Brahmanhood, the illustrious Vishvamitra,

wandered over the whole Earth like a celestial”

(9.40).

The message involves overcoming

adversity and gaining spiritual

success. King Vishvamitra destroys a

forest during a military campaign and

incurs the curse of its resident sage.

He engages in austerities until Brahma

grants his wish to become a Brahmin.

Bhu� After being denied the cows needed to complete a

12 year sattra, Sage “Dalvyavaka poured the

kingdom of Dhritarashtra, as a libation into the

sacrificial fire” (9.41). As his kingdom

disintegrates, the King proceeds to the Tirtha to

beg forgiveness and the Sage frees his kingdom.

Again, a sattra motif, but the message

concerns the Earthly power of the

Brahmins and their sacrifices.

Bhu� Location: Yayata. “O lord, king Yayati performed

a sacrifice there. Beholding … his immutable

devotion … the river Sarasvati gave unto the

Brahmanas everything for which each cherished a

heartfelt wish” (9.41).

The message concerns wish fulfilment

and the giving of dakshina.

Bhuva� Location: The Tirtha “of fierce current called

Vasishthapavaha” (9.42). This discusses the

redemption of Brahmana-rakshsas by bathing in an

offshoot, perhaps cut-off meander lake, of the

Sarasvati River called “Aruna”. Lord Brahma

said: ‘Performing a sacrifice, bathe with due

rites… in Aruna, that tirtha which saveth from the

fear of sin!… Formerly the presence of that river

at its site was concealed. The divine Sarasvati

repaired to the Aruna and flooded it with her

waters. This confluence of Sarasvati and Aruna is

highly sacred!” (9.43).

This speaks of the fate of fallen

Brahmins and those who kill them and

hence the potency of the Aruna Tirtha

for the cleansing of such sins.

Bhuva� Location Soma Tirtha, which contains a giant

Aswattha tree under which rests Shri Skanda

Kartikeya, the Slayer of the Demon Taraka.

“There, in days of yore, Soma himself, O king of

kings, had performed the Rajasuya sacrifice. …

Upon the conclusion of that sacrifice, a great

battle took place between the gods (on the one

side) and the Danavas, the Daityas, and the

Rakshasas (on the other). In that battle Skanda

slew (the Asura) Taraka [and] obtained the

The myth associated with this place

concerns the origins of Shri Siva’s son

Kartikeya (Skanda) and how he

became became military commander

for the Gods. As for interpretation,

this may be mythologised history and

have some deeper Shaivite meanings,

which are not clear to this writer.


command of the celestial forces” (9.43).

Bhuva� Location: Taijasa Tirtha.”That other tirtha, O bull

of Bharata’s race, where in days of yore Varuna

the lord of waters had been installed by the

celestials” (9.46).

“Agnitirtha, that spot where the eater of clarified

butter, disappearing from the view, became

concealed within the entrails of the Sami wood.

When the light of all the worlds thus disappeared,

O sinless one, the gods then repaired to the

Grandsire of the universe. And they said, ‘The

adorable Agni has disappeared. We do not know

the reason. Let not all creatures be destroyed.

Create fire, O puissant Lord!’ (9.47).

Agni of great energy became very much frightened

at the curse of Bhrigu. Concealing himself within

the entrails of the Sami wood, that adorable god

disappeared from the view. Upon the

disappearance of Agni, all the gods, with Vasava

at their head, in great affliction, searched for the

missing god. Finding Agni then, they saw that god

lying within the entrails of the Sami wood. The

celestials … having succeeded in finding out the

god, became very glad [and] returned to the

places they had come from … Agni also, from

Bhrigu’s curse, became an eater of everything …

Linked with the foregoing tale this

again emphasises the importance of

the (sacrificial) fire and concern at its

loss. It suggests a very ancient layer

of thought66

. Collectively, these

sections are reminiscent of the

Khadava-daha-parva of the

Mahabharata Adiparva, where Shri

Krishna and Arjuna burn a forest and

its fauna as a sacrifice to the god of

fire, Agni, and part of the Janamejaya

motif against snakes. There are many

embedded symbolic components–

from the Nara-Narayana link flagged

at the start, the defeat of the Vedic

Demi-Gods under Indra, the role of

Sage Durvasa � another portion of

Shri Shiva associated with the violent

aspects of Nature, and most critically

the 12-year Sattra fire and link with

the well-being of Agnideva. Of

course, the section describes a fire

sacrifice, where, as the Yajur Veda

points out, Shri Vishnu is the sacrifice.

It harks back to Vedic times, where

ritual was considered critical to the

establishment of cosmic order –– so a

half completed sacrifice and

diminution of the sacred fire, was a

very serious problem.

Bhuva� Location: Brahmayoni Tirtha A tirtha sacred to the pastimes of

Brahma, mentioned only in passing

Bhu� Location: Kauvera Tirtha “where the puissant

Ailavila, having practised severe austerities,

obtained, O king, the Lordship over all treasures.

While he dwelt there (engaged in austerities), all

kinds of wealth, and all the precious gems came to

him of their own accord”.

Back to basics, this tirtha is about

aspirations for wealth.

Bhu�

Location: Vadarapachana tirtha. Here Sruvavati,

practised severe austerities as a Brahmacharini “by

the desire of obtaining the Lord of the celestials

for her husband”…. Everything is attainable by

penances. Everything rests on penances. All those

regions of blessedness, O thou of beautiful face,

that belong to the gods can be obtained by

penances. Penances are the root of great

happiness. Those men that cast off their bodies

after having practised austere penances obtain the

status of gods…”

Here again, the theme is wish

fulfilment, the simple message is that

by prayer / austerities, anything

desired is possible and a pilgrim can

obtain their heart’s desire, at least after

death. Here, when the sacrificial fire

burns low, the maiden feeds it with

her own body. This subtheme of

female self-immolation links the

Tirtha to the practice of Sati.

Sva� Location: Vadarapachana tirtha? Smt. Arundhati

worked hard, feeding the fire and performing

religious austerity passes through a 12 year

drought. In appreciation, Lord Shiva awards the

gift that anyone who spends a night in meditation

and bathes will, after death, reach “regions of

The message concerns the means of

liberation.


blessedness that are difficult of acquisition (by

other means)!” (9.48)

Bhuva� Location: Indra’s Tirtha. An “auspicious and

sacred tirtha, capable of cleansing from every sin”

(9.49).

Purification

Bhu� Location: Rama tirtha. Where Lord Rama gave

thanks after success and gave away “the whole

earth and its oceans” in thanks.

Dakshina

Bhu� Location Yamuna Tirtha. Where Lord Varuna

gave thanks after victory.

Dakshina

Sva�

Location; Aditya Tirtha; “There, O best of kings,

the adorable Surya of great splendour, having

performed a sacrifice, obtained the sovereignty of

all luminous bodies (in the universe) and acquired

also his great energy” (9.49).

Where sages, including Vyasa,

obtained Yogic knowledge, in fact, the

place to go for Jnana and success.

Sva� “Devala, O best of kings, abandoned the religion

of Domesticity and adopted that of Moksha.

Having indulged in those reflections, Devala, in

consequence of that resolve obtained the highest

success, O Bharata, and the highest Yoga. The

celestials then applauded Jaigishavya...”. (9.50)

Liberation.

Bhuva� Location Soma Tirtha A place linked to the Skanda – Taraka

legend.

Bhu� Tirtha of sage Sarasvata, who was raised in the

womb of the River Sarasvati, taught the Vedas

during a 12 year drought to Brahmanas who had

been scattered and lost their knowledge.

Eventually, 60,000 sages became his disciples

(9.51)

A second tirtha reflecting upon a

drought of 12 years and the havoc it

played on society. Its message

resolves to: “He is great who is

capable of reading and understanding

the Vedas!’ (9.51)

Bhuva� Kuni-Garga, a female ascetic of great piety, after a

long life of austerities decides to leave her body

but is advised by Sage Narada that she cannot

obtain the celestial regions because she has never

married. A man is persuaded to marry her for one

night. And she departs for heaven after blessing

the place.

Officially, “‘He that will, with rapt

attention, pass one night in this tirtha

after having gratified the denizens of

heaven with oblations of water, shall

obtain that merit which is his who

observes the vow of brahmacarya for

eight and fifty years!” (9.52) but, of

course, the real message is one of

social control.

Table 3, arguable and tentative although much of it is, displays some of the wide range of

motivations and messages contained by this text. There are a large number of Tirthas where the main

concern various kinds of wish fulfilment and the granting of some kind of material desire (Bhu�).

Throughout, there is great emphasis on arthav�da, the giving of gifts, and other acts for the material

welfare of Brahmins (Bhu�)67

. There are also lessons concerning social dharma, proper ways to

behave in Society, which may be couched in tales of humans or demi-Gods (Bhuva�). However, more

messages seem to be directed to the individual than the social level. The narrative also contains cases

where a Tirtha’s message concerns only narrow religious tradition and dogma, perhaps mythologised

history as in the story of Skanda (Bhuva�). However, sometimes, couched in example and sometimes

direct exhortation, there are also lessons concerning the behaviour and means to liberation of spiritual

seekers (Sva�). In general, the narrative’s blessings seem to form a trapezoidal structure with a large

number of personal and material blessings at the base, a slightly smaller number of social and narrow

religious blessings above, and a smaller number again of wholly spiritual blessings at the apex. If this

is so, then this pilgrimage may be truly prototypical since it contains and offers most of the goals that

sustain Hindu pilgrimages to the present day.


Conclusion

Shri Balar�ma is known as the God who went on pilgrimage and his did so in His role of leader

and original teacher. His pilgrimage took him along the banks of the river of knowledge, which

although largely hidden from sight, remains visible to the wise and the Holy. The Sarasvati, the Vedic

‘River of Knowledge’, was formerly a mighty stream, known for its capacity to wash away sins, in

these fallen times it is hard to find. In the era of the Mahabharata, however, its route was still

detectable by Holy Brahmins, whose advice even this God follows with attention. Indeed, the

Mahabharata Tirthayatraparva (9.38) itself offers that “Whithersoever the Sarasvati was summoned

by persons of great energy, thither she made her appearance”, so the Goddess is still available to those

who have the knowledge and vision to summon Her. Meanwhile, by partaking of this duty, Shri

Balar�ma both set an example for devotees to follow and blessed both the teachers and seekers of

spiritual knowledge. The Bhagavata Purana (10.79.31)68

adds “The all-powerful Shri Balar�ma

bestowed upon the sages pure spiritual knowledge, by which they could see the whole universe within

Him and also see Him pervading everything”.

Historically, Shri Balar�ma’s Tirthayatra was a Yat’sattra sacrifice. Hiltebeitel argues that the

pilgrimage of Shri Balar�ma and the Yadava clan is a Yat’sattra, ritual fitted to epic ends and, at a

still deeper level, a memory of the former nomadic existence of the Aryan herders69

. However, at

heart, this travelling Vedic ritual was about destruction of the self and as the Kaushitaki Brahmana

(15.1) emphasises, “The Sattra has the self as dakshina. Therefore, day by day, they should mutter:

“Here, let me take myself for a fee for fair fame, for the world of Heaven”70

. Austin71

points out that

the title of Book 17 of the Mahabharata is Mahaprasthanika-parvan, and that “the mahaprasthana, or

“Great Departure”, was a form of self-imposed death or ritual suicide attested in Dharmashastra

literature”72

. More ambiguous is the fact that this pilgrimage is constructed within a Sarpasatra,

dedicated to the annihilation of serpents, while its chief protagonist is the cosmic serpent, Ananta-

shesha. Shri Ananta-shesha, the eternal support and servant of God, evokes the sentiments of both

service and servitude73

. The modern message from these convoluted arguments points to the modern

pilgrim’s goal to achieve greater devotion, their mood of devotional service and wish to destroy the

ego-self that binds them to this material plane and hides the transcendental Truth.

Finally, this note has attempted to add a new perspective based on the mundane preoccupations of

the modern pilgrim for whom Shri Balar�ma’s pilgrimage is an archetype. Deconstructing Ganguli’s

text in terms of a three level model of the blessings offered by each Tirtha suggests that this

Pilgrimage echoes the form and content of the many modern pilgrimages. These blessing messages

are constructed as broad-based trapezoid that is grounded in worldly concerns and desires, rises

through mythology and social tradition, and finally ascends to a kernel of blessings to guide the

spiritual seeker.

Acknowledgements

Errors in this work are the author’s own. However, any positive aspects of the work have benefitted

from the guidance of H.G. Sita Rama Das, Prof. Rana P.B. Singh and my tutors at OCHS, Oxford.

References 1 Ganguli, Kesari Mohan, The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa. Whitefish, MT:

Kessinger Publishing Co 1883-1886 (2004 Reprint). Accessed 1 May 2011, http://www.sacred-

texts.com/hin/m01/ index.htm & http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/titles/m. 2 Hiltebeitel, Alf, Rethinking the Mah�bh�rata. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001. 3 Singh, Rana P.B., Holy Places and Pilgrimages in India: Emerging Trends & Bibliography. In, Holy

Places and Pilgrimages: Essays on India, ed. Rana P.B. Singh, New Delhi: Shubhi Publications,

2011a, pp. 7-57.


4 Kalyanaraman, S., Sarasvati Civilisation, vols. I-VI. Bengaluru, KT: Babasaheb (Umakanta Keshav)

Apte Smarak Samiti, Yadava Smriti, 2003. 5 Verma, T. P., Sir William Jones: A Study of Intentions. Itihas Darpan, Research Journal of Akhil

Bhartiya Itihas Sankalan Yojana, 16 (1), 2011: pp. 99-119. 6 Hiltebeitel, Alf, op cit. ref. 2, 2001. 7 Validiya, K.S., Sarasvati the River that Disappeared . Hyderabad: Universities Press, 2002.

8 Singh, Rana P.B., Uprooting Geographical Thoughts in India: Snapshots and Vision for the 21st

Century. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009, p. 162. 9 Sadguru Sant Keshavadas, Gayatri: The Highest Meditation. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1978

(2002 edition). 10 Feller, Daniella, The Sanskrit Epics’ Representation of Vedic Myths, New Delhi: Motilal

Banarsidass, 2004, pp. 85-86; also Hiltebeitel, Alf, op cit., 2001. 11

Harivamsa Vishnuparva 62. 1 et seq. see: Bhumipati Dasa, Harivamsa Purana of Shri Krishna

Dvaipayana Vedavyasa vol. 5. Vrindavan, UP: Ras Bihari Lal & Sons, 2007, pp. 1-8. 12

Narasimha Purana 36.1-10, see: Jena, Siddheshwar, The Narasimha Puranam. Jawaharnagar,

Delhi: Nag Publishers, 1987, pp. 274- 275. 13 Svami Tapasyananda, Shrimad Bhagavata, vol. 3, Myalpore, TN: Shri Ramakrishna Math, 1982,

p.66. 14

Garga Samhita 8.11.1 et seq. see: Kushakratha Dasa, Garga Samhita by Shri Garga Muni.

Vrindaban, UP: Rasbihari Lal & Sons, 2006, pp. 578-579. 15

Bigger, Andreas, Balar�ma im Mahabharata: seine Darstellung im Rahmen des Textes und seiner

Entwicklung. Wiesbaden, DL: Harrassowitz, 1998. 16 Jena, 1987, op cit. ref. 12, pp. 506-521. 17

Garga Samhita 8.9.1 et seq. see: Kushakratha Dasa, Garga Samhita by Shri Garga Muni,

Vrindaban, UP: Rasbihari Lal & Sons, 2006, pp. 570-574. 18 Joshi, Nilakanth Purushottam, Iconography of Balar�ma, New Delhi: Abhinav Publications, 1979,

p. 16. 19

Joshi, N.P., op cit. ref. 18, 1979, p. 46. 20 Joshi, N.P., op cit. ref. 18, 1979, p. 49. 21 Andreas Bigger, op cit. ref. 15, 1998. 22

Suresh Chandra Banerji, Companion to Sanskrit Literature, New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1971,

p. 120. 23 Joshi, N.P., 1979, op cit. ref. 18, p. 12-13. 24

Chaitanya-caritamrita, Madhya-Lila (13.88). As translated by Shrila Prabhupada, A.C.

Bhaktivedanta Svami and Disciples, Shri Chaitanya-caritamrta of Krishnadasi Kaviraja Gosvami.

Los Angeles: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1974-2002, p. 723. 25

Shrila Prabhupada and Disciples, 1974-2002, op cit., p. 955-956). 26 His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Thakura, Shri Brahma-samhita. Juhu,

Mumbai: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1972, p. 3 and p. 90. 27

Brockington, John L., The Epics in the Bhakti tradition; in The Intimate Other: Love Divine in Indic

Religions, edited by A. King, and J. Brockington, Hyderabad: Orient Longmans, 2005, p. 37. 28 Rig Veda as translated by Ralph T.H. Griffith, Sacred Writings, Hinduism: The Rig Veda. New

Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1889 (1992 edition), pp 323, pp. 380-381. 29 Rig Veda, 6.61.12; in Griffiths, op cit. ref. 28, 1889, p. 323.


30 Rig Veda, 7.95.1; in Griffiths, op cit. ref. 28, 1889, p. 380. 31 Rig Veda, 6. 61; in Griffiths, op cit. ref. 28, 1889, p. 365. 32

Kaushitaki Brahmana (3.12.2); in Keith, A. B., Rigveda Brahmanas. The Aitareya and Kausitaki

Brhamanas of the Rigveda. Translated from the original Sanskrit. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass,

1920, (1998 edition), p. 414 33

Sen, Rajendra Nath, The Brahma-vaivarta Puranam: Brahma and Prakriti Khandas. Allahabad:

Bhuvaneswari Ashram, Panini Office, Sacred Books of the Hindus 24, 1, 1920, p. 100. 34 Keith, op cit. ref. 32, 1920, p. 165. 35

Jain, Sharad K., Agarwal, Pushpendra K., Singh Vijay P., Hydrology and Water Resources of India.

Dordrecht, NL: Springer, 2007, p. 312. 36 Valdiya, op cit. ref. 7, 2002, pp. 42-43. 37

Herbert, W., Das Urstromtal am Ostrand der Indusebene und der Sarasvi-Problem. Zeitschrift fur

Geomorphologie, SB 8, 1969, pp. 79-93. 38 Valdiya, K.S., River piracy: Sarasvati the River that disappeared. Resonance (Indian Academy of

Sciences), 1 (5), 1996, pp. 19-28; Valdiya, 2002, op cit. ref. 7, pp. 52-55. 39

Roy, A.B. &. Jakhar, S.R., Late Quaternary drainage disorganization, and migration and extinction

of the Vedic Sarasvati. Current Science, 81 (9), 2001, pp. 1188-1195. N.B.: Controversially, in this

journal, Puri & Verma suggested a Himalayan rather than Siwalk source area. Puri, V.M.K. and

Verma, B.C., Glaciological and geological source of Vedic Sarasvati in the Himalayas. Itihas

Darpan, 4 (2), 1998, pp. 7–36. 40

Keith, 1920, op cit. ref. 32, p. 427, but cf. Heesterman, J.C., The Broken World of Sacrifice: An

Essay in Ancient Indian Ritual. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993, pp. 175-176 41 Hiltebeitel, op cit. ref. 2, 2001, p. 140. 42

Minkowski, C.Z., Janamejaya’s Sattra and ritual Structure. Journal of the American Oriental

Society, 109, (3), 1989, pp. 401-420. 43 Mahabharata Shalyaparva Tithayatraparva, 9.37 et seq. and Table 3. 44

Barnett, L.D., Antiquities of India: An Account of the History and Culture of Ancient Hindustan.

London: Philip Lee Warner, 1914. 45 Barnett, op cit. ref. 44, 1914, p. 173. 46 Barnett, op cit ref. 44, 1914, p. 174. 47

Vamana Purana edited by Bimali, O.N. & Joshi, K.L., Delhi, Parimal, 2005, pp. 383-391. 48

The Vachanamrut: Spiritual Discourses of Bhagwan Svaminarayan. Translated by B.A.P.S.

Sadhus. Ahmedabad, Svaminarayan Aksharpith, 1977. 49

Harivamsa, Shri Vishnuparva, 62.1-3, in Bhumpati Dasa, op cit., 2007, v 5, pp. 1-2) 50 Singh, Rana P.B., Uprooting Geographical Thoughts in India: Snapshots and Vision for the 21st

Century. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009. 51

Singh, Rana P.B, op cit. ref. 50, 2009, p. 158. 52 Haberman, David L., Journey through the Twelve Forests: An Encounter with Krishna. Oxford:

Oxford University Press, 1994. 53

Ganguli, Kesari Mohan, The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dvaipayana Vyasa. Whitefish, MT:

Kessinger Publishing Co., 1883-86 (2004 Reprint), p. 195. 54 Blackwell, S., Motivations for religious tourism: pilgrimage, festivals and events; in, Religious

Tourism and Pilgrimage Management: An International Perspective, eds. Raj. R. & Morpeth, N.D.,

Wallingford, UK, CAB International, 2007, pp. 35-48.


55 Jena, op cit. ref. 12, 1987, p. 536. 56 Mahabharata, III: Tirthayatraparvan 81. in Ganguli, op cit. ref. 53, 1883-86, p. 196. 57

Wilber, Ken, Integral Spirituality: a startling new role for Religion in the Modern and Postmodern

World. Boston: Integral (Shambhala), 2006. 58 Schmidt, William S., Transformative pilgrimage. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health 11, 2009,

pp. 66-77. 59 Singh, Rana P.B. op cit. ref. 3, 2011a, pp. 7-57; also see the critique: Singh, Rana P.B., Politics and

Pilgrimage in North India: Varanasi between Communitas and Contestation. Tourism, an

International Interdisciplinary Journal [Zagreb, Croatia], 59 (3), October 2011b, pp. 203-220. 60 Wilber, op cit ref. 57., 2006, also Elkins, D.N., Hedstrom, L.J., Hughes, L.L., Leaf, J.A. &

Saunders, C., Toward a Humanistic-Phenomenological Spirituality: definition, description, and

measurement. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 28 (4), 1988, pp. 5-18. 61 Singh Rana P.B., Indo-Kyosei Global Ordering: Gandhi’s Vision, Harmonious Coexistence, and

Ecospirituality. Toyko, Japan: Toyo University Research Center for Kyosei Philosophy, Annual

Report of Kyosei Studies, 2011c, p. 108. 62

Keshavadas, Sadguru Sant, Gayatri: The Highest Meditation. Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, 1978

(2002 edition). 63

Singh Rana P.B., op cit. ref. 61, 2011c. 64

Singh Rana P.B., op cit. ref. 61, 2011c, p. 108. 65 The Bhagavata Purana 10.79.30 notes: “Lord Balar�ma returned to Naimisha, where the sages

joyfully engaged Him, the embodiment of all sacrifice, in performing various kinds of Vedic

sacrifice”. Hiltebeitel, Alf, Conventions of the Naimisha forest. Journal of Indian Philosophy, 26,

1998, pp. 161-171, argues that while Shri Balar�ma hears four Naimisha Forest stories but never

goes to the forest itself, see also: Hiltebeitel, op. cit., 2001, p. 139. 66

Feller, op cit. ref. 10, 2004, pp. 85-86. 67 cf. Shrimannarayana Murti, M., Shrinivasasahitilahar 1: Kainkaryaratnavali of Paravastu

Krsnamacarya. Shri Venkateswara University Oriental Journal, 39, 1986, p. 16, (Kainkary-

ratnavali, 3.160). Accessed 30 August 2009, from http://www.archive.org/details/svuoriental

journ015503mbp. 68 Tapasyananda, op cit. ref. 13, vol. 3, 1982, p. 382. 69

Hiltebeitel, op cit . ref. 2, 2001. 70 Keith, op. cit. ref. 32, 1920, p, 427. 71 Austin, C.R., The Sarasvata Yatsattra in the Mahabharata 17 and 18. International Journal of

Hindu Studies 12 (3), 2008, pp. 283–308. 72 Austin, op cit. ref. 71, 2008, p. 287. 73 Harivamsa, Shri Vishnuparva, 62.1-3, in Bhumpati Dasa, vol. 5, 2007, pp 1-2.

§§§§§§§§§§§

sarasvati tirthayatra of sri balarama (haigh m, 2011)

Documents