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उदपान तीर्थ (udapAna tIrtha)

 
पुराणम्
English
उदपान तीर्थ / UDAPĀNA TĪRTHA. A holy bath on the bank of the river sarasvatī. It is said that balabhadra rāma, while going on a pilgrimage, had visited this holy bath. There is a story showing how this place became a holy bath. Long ago there was a hermit named gautama, who had three sons called ekata, dvita and trita. The father was much pleased at the dutiful and devotional character of his sons. One day he performed a sacrifice and went to heaven. Then the kings and the priests who were present for the sacrifice began to honour and respect trita. ekata and dvita did not like this. The three brothers performed sacrifices and acquired a large number of cows. With these cows they started for the east. trita walked before. ekata and dvita who were behind, made a consultation and drove the cows another way. trita walked on in front, alone. On the bank of the sarasvatī he saw a wolf and getting terrified, he fell into a well in which there was no water. Standing in the well, he imagined a creeper that was hanging to the well as ‘Soma’ (a herb used as oblation in sacrifice) and performed sacrifice, chanting the Vedas. His chanting was heard in heaven and bṛhaspati and other gods came to him and asked him what boon he desired. trita told them that he only wanted to be saved from the well. Immediately the river sarasvatī flowed into the well and the waves began to swell. Standing on the waves he praised and glorified the gods. Then he returned home and cursed ekata and dvita and transmuted them into wolves. trita said that their children would become monkeys and cattle. It happened so. The place where the Gods appeared before trita, became famous and got the name Udapānatīrtha. (M.B. śalya Parva, Chapter 36).