Besides the holy rivers, there are numerous kunds or sacred pools which are regarded with equal reverence, and in which a bath has the same efficacy for destroying sin. Similarly, they are equally suitable places for the performance of Shrāddha ceremonies. These kunds are the subject of numerous beliefs, and each of them has a certain māhātmya or peculiar merit of its own. Six miles to the east of Dwārkā, near the sea-coast, there is a kund called Pind-tārak, where many persons go to perform the Shrāddha and the Nārāyan-bali ceremonies. They first bathe in the kund: then, with its water, they prepare pindas, and place them in a metal dish: red lac is applied to the pindas, and a piece of cotton thread wound round them; the metal dish being then dipped in the kund, when the pindas, instead of sinking, are said to remain floating on the water. The process is believed to earn a good status for the spirits of departed ancestors in heaven.[445] It is further said that physical ailments brought on by the avagati—degradation or fallen condition—of ancestors in the other world, are remedied by the performance of Shrāddha on this kund.[452]
The Dāmodar kund is situated near Junāgadh. It is said that if the bones of a deceased person which remain unburnt after his cremation are dipped in this kund, the soul of that person obtains moksha (or final emancipation).[445]
There is a vāv or reservoir on Mount Girnār, known as Rasakūpikā-vāv. It is believed that the body of a person bathing in it becomes as hard as marble, and that if a piece of stone or iron is dipped in the vāv, it is instantly transformed into gold. But the vāv is only visible to saints and sages who are gifted with a supernatural vision.[453]
Kāshīpuri (Benares) contains a vāv called Gyān-vāv, in which there is an image of Vishweshwar (the Lord of the universe, i.e., Shiva). A bath in the water from this vāv is believed to confer upon a person the gift of divine knowledge.[445]
In the village of Chunval, a few miles to the north of Viramgām, there is a kund known as Loteshwar, near which stands a pipal tree. Persons possessed by ghosts or devils, are freed from possession by pouring water at the foot of the tree and taking turns round it, remaining silent the while.[454]
A bath in the Mān-sarovar near Bahucharāji is said to cause the wishes of the bather to be fulfilled. There is a local tradition[455] that a Rajput woman was turned into a male Rajput of the Solanki class by a bath in its waters.[454]
There is a kund called Zilāka near Zinzuwādā with a temple of Naleshwar Mahādev near it. The kund is said to have been built at the time of King Nala. It is believed locally that every year, on the 15th day of the bright half of Bhādrapad, the holy Ganges visits the kund by an underground route. A great fair is held there on that day, when people bathe in the kund and give alms to the poor.[456] There is also another kund close by, known as Bholava, where the river Saraswati is believed to have halted and manifested herself on her way to the sea.[457]
There is a kund in Baladāna near Wadhwan, dedicated to Hol, the favourite mātā of the Chārans. In this kund, black or red gagar bedinus—pieces of cotton thread—are sometimes seen floating in the water. They appear only for a moment, and sink if any one endeavours to seize them. The appearance of black pieces forebodes famine: but the red ones foretell prosperity.[458]
In Bhadakon near Chudā there is a kund called Garigavo. The place is celebrated as the spot of the hermitage of the sage Bhrigu and a fair is held there annually on the last day of Bhādrapad.[458]
Persons anxious to attain heaven, bathe in the Mrigi kund on Mount Girnār; and a bath in the Revati kund, which is in the same place, confers male issue on the bather.[459] There is also a kund of the shape of an elephant’s footprint Pagahein on Mount Girnār. It never empties and is held most sacred by pilgrims.[460] People bathe in the Gomati kund near Dwārkā and take a little of the earth from its bed, for the purification of their souls.[461] In the village of Bābarā, Babhruvāhan, the son of Arjun, is said to have constructed several kunds, all of which are believed to be holy.[460]