Rama Receives Boon from His Ancestors

The radiant and energetic Rama — Jamadagnya Rama, the Brahmin warrior who had sworn to rid the earth of kshatriyas — destroyed the warrior caste through his valour. After the slaughter, he created five lakes on the banks of the Sarasvati. It has been heard that he filled them with blood. Thus did he worship all his fathers and grandfathers. The ancestors were pleased. They appeared before him and spoke: "O Rama, immensely fortunate Rama! O Bhargava! O lord! We are pleased with your devotion to your ancestors and your valour. Ask for a boon. What do you wish for?" Rama joined his hands in salutation and spoke to his ancestors, who were established in the sky: "If you are pleased with me, and if I have earned your favour, I wish to obtain a boon: that I may again be satisfied through austerities. Overcome with anger, I destroyed the kshatriyas. Through your energy, may I be freed from that sin. And let these lakes become tirthas, famous on earth." The ancestors heard his pure words and were extremely delighted. They replied: "Especially because of your devotion to your ancestors, let your austerities become greater. The kshatriyas have been destroyed by you out of wrath, but you have been freed from that sin — because it was their own deeds that brought them down. There is no doubt that these lakes of yours will become tirthas. One who bathes in these lakes and worships his ancestors will please them, and they will grant him everything that his mind desires — even the most difficult objects to obtain on earth, and even the eternal world of heaven." Having granted this boon, Rama's pleased ancestors showed their respects to Bhargava and disappeared instantly. Thus did Rama's lakes become sacred.