The god Varuna resides in the waters, and is said to have once carried off Nand (the adoptive father of Krishna) to his watery abode, for having bathed in the Jumnā before dawn.[503]
Kālindi, the daughter of the king of the Kalingas, practised religious austerities in a palace under the waters of the Jumnā with the object of securing a suitable husband. Krishna, on being informed of this by Arjuna, went to the place and married her.[506]
There is a story in the Purānas that a king, named Nandrāj, used to bury his treasures in the sea with the assistance of a mani (jewel) which furnished a safe passage through the water. The mani was in the end burnt by the queen of Nandrāj and the treasure still lies hidden in the waters of the sea.[507]
It is narrated in the fourth chapter of Bhāgvat-purān that the ten thousand sons of Prachetas used to reside in palaces built under water.[508]
Mountains are held to be sacred in a variety of circumstances; thus, some are valued for possessing medicinal drugs: some are revered as the birthplaces of the gods, or as the residences of saints: some for possessing many tīrthas (holy spots): some because they were visited by Rāma or the Pāndavas: some serve as guardians of the four quarters: and some contain the sources of holy rivers.
Both the important ranges of the Presidency, the Sahyādri and the Sātpuda, are subjects of veneration in the popular mind. The Himālayas, the Vindhyā Mountains, and the Nilgiris command special respect. Other sacred mountains are Girnār and Shetrunja in Kāthiāwār, Mount Ābu, Pāvāgad near Baroda, Brahmagiri Ārāsur, Tryambak near Nasik, Koyalo, Govardhan near Mathurā, Revatāchal near Dwārkā, and Hinglaj in Sind.
It is said that in ancient times there were deep miry ditches where Girnār and Ābu stand at present. One day a cow belonging to the sage Vasishtha fell into one of them and was found by Kacha, the son of Brihaspati, after a long search. When the incident was brought to the notice of Vasishtha, he requested Meru (a mythical mountain) to send his two sons Girnār and Ābu to occupy and fill the ditches. Girnār required sixty-eight tīrthas to accompany him; and the boon was granted by the gods.[509]
Girnār is one of the seven great mountains which once possessed wings.[510][511] It is also known as the place where the sage Dattātraya performed religious austerities.[512] The place is so holy that any person dying within a radius of twelve gaus[513] from it is believed to attain moksha.[514] A visit to the temples on Girnār absolves one from all sins; and taking a turn round Girnār and Shetrunja is said to bring good fortune.[515] Bhagwān manifests himself to those who ascend the Bhairavajaya summit on Girnār. There is a rock on this mountain of which it is said that those who cast themselves from it directly attain heaven.[516]
Pāvāgad is known for the temple of Mahākāli Mātā. It is said that King Patai once propitiated her by austerities, and on being desired to demand a boon, asked the goddess to accompany him to his palace. The goddess was highly incensed at this request, and promptly destroyed him.[516]
Hanūmān, the monkey-god, once promised to take the Mountain Govardhan to meet Rāma. It is well known how the monkey allies of Rāma constructed a bridge of rocks across the sea to Laṅkā, and how Hanūmān supplied the requisite material by fetching huge mountains. Whilst engaged on this work, he was one day carrying the Govardhan mountain to the site of the bridge, when Rāma issued an order that all monkeys who were fetching mountains should deposit their burdens at the spot where they stood at the moment of the order. Hanūmān could not disobey the order of his lord, and he had accordingly to drop the Govardhan mountain near Mathurā. In order to fulfil Hanūmān’s promise, however, Vishnu held the mountain over his head for seven days, at the time of his Krishna incarnation.[516]