Chapter summary
प्रभासक्षेत्रमाहात्म्यम् Prabhāsa Kṣetra Māhātmyam
The Glory of Prabhasa Kshetra
**Śrī Sadguru said:**
The sacred Prācī Sarasvatī river, a destroyer of all sins, flows through this land. Upon its banks, the great sage Kardama once performed severe austerities. Even by chance, a mortal who bathes at the confluence of this Sarasvatī is freed from all transgressions and attains the realm of merit. (v.1-2)
There, one should behold Somanātha, the luminous *liṅga* of Śiva. By doing so, one accrues the merit of a *Soma* sacrifice and ascends to the celestial state. It was here, in ancient times, that Soma, the Moon-god, afflicted by consumption due to his Guru's curse, was freed from his malady by worshipping Śiva. (v.3-4)
Indeed, this is that supreme and excellent place, known as Prabhāsa Kṣetra. One must certainly journey there and engage in meritorious deeds. (v.5)
It was also to this sacred land that the leaders of the Yādus, led by Sāmba, came. Having foolishly disguised themselves in women's attire to deceive the sages, they incurred the wrath and curse of those enraged ascetics. Arriving at Prabhāsa Tīrtha, they bathed in its holy waters and performed charitable rites. Yet, intoxicated by liquor, they turned upon one another, striking each other down until they fell to the earth, their entire clan destroyed by the consumption of alcohol. (v.6-7)
At that very spot, the divine Balarāma, also known as Halāyudha, resplendent in blue garments and radiant as a white mountain, closed His eyes. Meditating deeply upon His own form, the thousand-mouthed Lord then entered a cavern, descending into the netherworld. (v.8)
Then, the tranquil Lord Mukunda, the Guru of all worlds, sat in a yogic posture at the foot of an Aśvattha tree, His lotus-eyes closed as He meditated upon His own divine form. It was then that Uddhava, Murāri's devoted minister and the foremost among devotees, searching for his Lord, beheld Kṛṣṇa, the son of Vasudeva, Dāmodara, who was demonstrating the profound path of Yoga. (v.9-10)
Lord Mukunda then consoled Uddhava, who, as the best among the devoted, was distressed by the unbearable separation from Govinda. He did so by revealing to him the path of devotion to Himself. The Guru of the worlds then expounded to Uddhava the principles of detachment from the impermanent world of objects, the distinct existence of the true Self, and devotion to Kṛṣṇa as the paramount goal of human life. (v.11-12)
Thereupon, by the command of his Master, the Supreme Person, Uddhava received the holy sandals marked with His divine feet and immediately set forth for the forest of Badarī. (v.13)
At the foot of the Aśvattha tree, Lord Mukunda, the master of Yoga, His eyes closed in profound meditation, then concealed His non-material, auspicious form through His supreme yogic power. That divine form of the Lord, having thus disappeared, just as it had once before amidst the *Rāsa* dance, could not be seen again by Brahmā and the other hosts of gods, though they were filled with an ardent desire to behold Him. (v.14-15)
Bhīṣmī's daughter, Rukmiṇī, and the other queens of Kṛṣṇa, arriving there distressed by separation, then disappeared at will, attaining Vaikuṇṭha, that supreme abode. Similarly, all the divine beings who had taken birth in the Yadu dynasty, having thus demonstrated to the people of the Kali Age that "a clan is destroyed by the consumption of liquor," also vanished and ascended to heaven. (v.16-17)
This sacred place, renowned by the name Prabhāsa, where Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Self, ultimately disappeared, is a bestower of liberation. It is served by the foremost of sages and is ever to be worshipped by the devotees of Mukunda. (v.18)
This *tīrtha* named Prabhāsa is celebrated throughout the three worlds. One must bathe with reverence here at the confluence of the Sarasvatī. Merely by offering *piṇḍas* [ancestral oblations] at the confluence of the Prācī Sarasvatī and likewise in the western ocean, one's ancestors are gratified. Indeed, by faithfully performing offerings of food, cows, and clothes according to the prescribed rules at Prabhāsa, a person attains infinite spiritual rewards. (v.19-21)
He who listens to or reads the glories of Dvārakā finds that his gods and ancestors rejoice day after day. By hearing of Dvārakā's magnificence, one will surely obtain long life, health, prosperity, sons, grandsons, wealth, and lasting fame. (v.22-23)
Thus concludes the twenty-fourth chapter, titled "The Glory of Prabhāsa Kṣetra," in the First Part of the *Divyadeśavaibhavam*, composed by Śrī Kṛṣṇapremi Mahāprabhu.
