Skandapurana 12: adhyāyaḥ 103

The seers said: / This is wonderful, O son of Sūta, which has been proclaimed by you: / That liṅgas were established even by rākṣasas and monkeys!

Therefore, tell in detail wherever and in whatever manner / Liṅgas were established by them, and in which places, O son of Sūta.

Sūta said: / Then Sugrīva, having wandered completely over the entire sacred field, / Reached Bālamaṇḍanaka and bathed there with a concentrated mind.

Then he established there a mukhaliṅga of the Bearer of the Trident. / Likewise, mukhaliṅgas of the Bearer of the Trident were established at will / By all the other monkeys, O best of twice-born ones, for the sake of their own names.

Whoever covers those mukhaliṅgas with a blanket of clarified butter / While the sun is in the sign of Makara, goes to the world of Śiva.

Then, in the western direction of that sacred field, four-faced liṅgas / Were established by the rākṣasas, O twice-born ones.

In the eastern direction, a group of five temples / Was established by Rāma, endowed with devotion, destroying all sins.

Likewise, in the southern direction, a small well was constructed by him / Near the Ānarttīya tank, destroying sins.

Whoever performs a śrāddha in it when the southern solstice has arrived, / Having attained the fruit of a horse sacrifice, is honoured in the world of the ancestors.

Whoever offers a lamp there in the month of Kārtika, O twice-born ones, / Does not see those twenty-one dreadful hells, / Nor is he ever born blind, wherever he may be born.

The seers said: / By whom was that Ānarttīya tank constructed there? / Proclaim in full, O son of Sūta, what its power is.

Sūta said: / The greatness of the Ānarttīya tank, O best of twice-born ones, / Cannot be told with a single mouth even in a hundred years.

On the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight of Āśvina, collected in mind, / having bathed, one should offer water to the gods and ancestors according to the ritual rules.

Then, on the day of the Festival of Lights, having performed a śrāddha with mind collected, / having worshipped Dāmodara and Yama, one should offer a lamp out of one's own devotion.

Dharmarāja should be worshipped with fragrant perfumes and unguents, / and black gram and sesame seeds must be given, saying, 'May Govinda be pleased!'

By giving sesame seeds and black gram, and by satiating the twice-born with water offerings, / Lord Puruṣottama is pleased, together with Yama.

Whoever acts thus, O brahmins, at the sacred ford named Ānarta, / obtains the fruit of an aśvamedha and is honored in the world of Brahmā.

On the day when Rāma arrived there filled with joy, / on that day, all the best twice-born approached him with respect and said:

'Here stays Agastya, the best of sages, O joy of the Raghus! / Go and see that foremost twice-born who was born from Mitra and Varuṇa.'

Then, having heard their words, lotus-eyed Rāma / went quickly, overjoyed, along with the monkeys and rākṣasas. / Having bowed to him with prostration of the eight limbs, the best of the Raghus / was firmly embraced by that magnanimous sage with delight.

Then, not far from him, endowed with modesty, / he sat down on the surface of the earth, remaining with folded hands.

Then, questioned by the sage, he related at length / his whole personal story concerning his departure to heaven:

how Sītā had been abandoned, how the abandonment of his own self / was made by the son of Sumitrā when abandoned by the magnanimous one;

likewise, having approached Sugrīva, and in the same way having spoken with Vibhīṣaṇa, / his arrival here, and then the waiting of the Puṣpaka chariot.

Then Agastya told wonderful tales before him, / the sage [illustrating them] with many examples of royal seers of old.

Then, at the end of the narrative, seeing that the mind of the best of the Raghus was unsettled, / he gave him an excellent ornament of jewels,

such as was not found among the gods, yakṣas, siddhas, or vidyādharas, / nor among the nāgas or lords of rākṣasas—what to say of human beings?—

from which thousands of clusters of rainbows emanate, / and even at night in the dark fortnight it is seen having a splendor like the sun.

Then Rāma, having received it, his eyes opened wide with astonishment, / overcome with curiosity, asked: 'Whence do you have this, O sage?

Explain [the origin of] this necklace made of jewels, highly wondrous, dispelling darkness; / such a thing does not exist in the three worlds.'

Agastya said: / 'This excellent pond which you see, O best of the Raghus, / located near my hermitage, was made by the god of gods.

The unexcelled marvel which was seen by me on its bank, / that I shall relate to you; listen, O joy of the Raghus!

Once, O best of the Rāghavas, having risen at midnight, / I saw a radiance like the sun [traveling] along the path of the sky.

In a moment, it was an aerial chariot shining with a host of apsarases, / and within it a certain young man, / a king mounted there, blind, praised by kinnaras.

Wearing this very ornament of jewels, extremely bright, on his neck, / resembling twelve suns, he was like a second Kāmadeva.

Then, having descended from the foremost aerial chariot while holding the shoulder / of a messenger of the gods, O bearer of the Raghu lineage, he approached the edge of the water.

And then, having dragged out a corpse from that water, / he quickly devoured the body of the dead man with his teeth.

Just as he devoured that human flesh, O Rāghava, / so did the body immediately regenerate in that same form.

Then, having at last found satisfaction, having become pure and overjoyed, / emerging from the water, as he was mounting the aerial chariot,

just then, having gone swiftly, that king was questioned by me out of curiosity, / even as he was being attended on all sides by gandharvas intent on wisdom:

'O foremost passenger of the aerial chariot, wait a moment! / I am a twice-born named Agastya, born from Mitra and Varuṇa.'

Hearing that, he turned toward me and made obeisance, / together with all those occupants of aerial chariots, kinnaras, and others.

That king, having bowed and standing before me, was asked by me: / 'Who are you, possessed of such a splendid form, seated in an excellent aerial chariot, / attended by apsarases, gandharvas, and kinnaras?

Having come here to the edge of the pond, you have eaten human flesh; / why do you have this deficiency born of your sight?'

The passenger of the aerial chariot said: / 'Well done, well done, O best of sages, that you have come into my presence! / Destiny is surely favorable to me, since you have arrived.

The darśana of good people is holy, for the virtuous are sacred fords personified; / a sacred ford yields its fruit in time, but the meeting with a virtuous person bears fruit instantly.

Therefore, I shall tell you my whole story, O great sage, / because of which I have this despicable food, and also such opulence.

Formerly, I was a king named Śveta, O great sage, / the ruler of Ānarta, sinful, an oppressor of all people.

Formerly, nothing was given away by me, nor was an oblation cast into the fire, / nor was protection given to the world, nor were those who came for refuge saved.

Whatever jewel I repeatedly saw upon the surface of the earth, / all that was forcibly seized by me from all embodied beings here.

Then, after a long time, when I was seized by old age, / my kingdom was taken by force by my own son, who banished me in disgrace.

Then, seized by old age, I attained supreme dispassion; / wandering here and there, O foremost of twice-born, I arrived here.

Then, my throat parched with hunger, having bathed here in the auspicious water / and settled down, afflicted with hunger, I died.

Having entered this holy water, I met my death. / And then, that very instant, an aerial chariot appeared. . .. 55 ..

Attendants took me up in another body, / placed me upon it, and then reached the abode of Brahmā. .. 56 ..

Wearing divine garlands and garments, anointed with divine fragrant pastes, / graced with divine ornaments, and praised by kinnaras, .. 57 ..

I was then brought into the midst of Brahmā's assembly by those divine attendants, / in such a form, sightless, and placed before Brahmā. .. 58 ..

Seen by all present in the assembly with astonished faces, looking at one another, / and by others reproaching [me] and muttering cries of 'Shame!' .. 59 ..

The attendants said: / 'This is the four-faced god; this is his assembly, / attended by all the hosts of gods. Make your obeisance!' .. 6.103.60 ..

Then, having bowed low before that god accompanied by the gods, / I sat down in the midst of the assembly, remaining bowed with shame. .. 61 ..

Just as stories arose there on the floor of the assembly— / tales of dharma concerning gods, twice-born, and kings, O pitcher-born [sage]— .. 62 ..

even so did my hunger grow exceedingly. / I wondered, what could I eat at once—stones or even wood? .. 63 ..

Then, having bowed low, I addressed the great-grandfather; / having prostrated myself, O best of sages, casting shame far away: .. 64 ..

'Hunger torments me exceedingly right now, O great-grandfather! / Likewise, I see nothing; grant me food suited [to my state]! .. 65 ..

Faults such as hunger and thirst surely do not exist for you here; / since I dwell in heaven, why is it thus with me?' .. 66 ..

The grandfather said: / 'You never gave food to anyone anywhere on the earth. / Therefore, even here, your hunger increases, O evil-minded one! .. 67 ..

Likewise, jewels that came into your sight were stolen [by you]; / therefore you have become sightless, even though you have gone to my realm. .. 68 ..

As to why you, though steeped in sins, have reached my abode— / that I shall tell you in full; listen, remaining attentive: .. 69 ..

In the water where you, though a sinner, abandoned your life-breaths, / the lord of Śvetadvīpa [dwells], anxious from fear of the Kali age. .. 6.103.70 ..

Therefore, through touch of it, you were instantly freed from all sins. / [Yet] from not giving food arises this supreme torment caused by hunger, .. 71 ..

and through the theft of jewels your blindness was produced. / There is no other cause whatsoever; this which I have spoken is true.' .. 72 ..

Then the creator was addressed again by me, O best of the twice-born: / 'Even this Brahmaloka of yours is worse than hell! / Therefore send me right back there, O god! What [is the use of staying] here?' .. 73 ..

Brahmā said: / 'Therefore go right back there; you are sent! What [need is there to remain] here? / Your dwelling is not in hell, [lest] the power arising from Śvetadvīpa .. 74 ..

be destroyed, and scripture become void of truth. / Therefore, constantly mounted upon this beautiful aerial chariot, .. 75 ..

having gone to that pool of water where you abandoned your life-breaths, / eat that very corpse of your own as you wish. .. 76 ..

By my word, that [body] lying in the water will become inexhaustible, / and for that long, at the time of eating, your sight will return.' .. 77 ..

Then, according to his word, constantly on the day of the Festival of Lights, / coming here at midnight, I eat my own body. .. 78 ..

Then I attain satisfaction as long as a divine day lasts, / and likewise a human year, remaining in such a form. .. 79 ..

There is nothing impossible for you in the three worlds, O best of sages, / by whom the ocean was drunk up, making of it a single sip! .. 6.103.80 ..

Therefore, O sage, having shown very great compassion upon me, / protect me from this improper act, condemned by all the world! .. 81 ..

Likewise, bestow sight upon me, O most excellent sage! / I am despondent on account of blindness; I have no other refuge than you!' .. 82 ..

Hearing those words of his, my mind melted with pity; / then I spoke these words to him, O best of Raghu's line: .. 83 ..

'Give this ornament on your neck as the price of food, / so that this hunger born of the belly goes to destruction. .. 84 ..

Likewise, from this day forth, O wise one, offer very pure jeweled lamps / to Dāmodara right here on the bank of the lake, .. 85 ..

so that your clear, eternal sight may be produced. / By my word, beyond doubt, I swear upon myself in truth.' .. 86 ..

The king said: / 'Having taken pity upon me, you yourself, O most excellent sage, / take this excellent neck-ornament made of jewels!' .. 87 ..

Then, overcome with compassion, its acceptance / was undertaken by me, an ascetic living in the forest, though desireless. / Then, having washed my feet, as soon as he gave this ornament / as the price of food, with true devotion to me whose mind was purified, / then, O king, that hunger of his vanished in that very instant, / and supreme satisfaction arose, born of divine nectar. .. 6.103.90 ..

His dead, decayed body of former times vanished, / which had remained inexhaustible and constant in that water. .. 91 ..

Then, having built an excellent temple in that place, / Dāmodara was established [there] by him with great devotion, O best of the Raghus. .. 92 ..

As he offered a lamp before him with faith, / in just that measure his sight became constantly very pure. .. 93 ..

Then, having obtained divine vision within a month, the ruler of the earth / became the best of kings, most coveted by the virtuous. .. 94 ..

Then, delighted, having bowed down with folded palms, / he spoke to me with a voice choked with joy, setting out for heaven: .. 95 ..

'By your grace, my exceedingly terrible hunger has vanished, / and divine sight has arisen, O best of brahmins! .. 96 ..

Therefore give me permission so that I may go now / to Brahmaloka, O best of sages, through the power of this sacred ford.' .. 97 ..

Then, released by me, bowing down again and again, / he went, joyful in spirit, to the eternal realm of Brahmā.

In this way, this ornament previously came into my hand. / Knowing that it was suitable for you, it was offered to you by that [reason].

From that time forth, O king of kings, human beings who gather here, / offering jeweled lamps with great reverence after having bathed here in the auspicious water / in the month of Kārtika, go at the end of their bodies to the abode of heaven.

Moreover, those who, concentrated in mind, abandon their life-breaths, / even if sinful souls, go to the realm of Brahmā, O best of the Raghu lineage.

Then, seeing the power born of that water, the thousand-eyed [Indra], / agitated with fear, filled [it] all around with dust.

Therefore, today has arrived the day arising for the festival of lamps, / exceedingly meritorious. Here, by my command, make a fine small well.

Having performed a ritual ablution in it, then gratify the ancestors, O descendant of Raghu; / offer an unexcelled jeweled lamp before this deity,

by which siddhi born of the realm of Brahmā is accomplished / even with this very body: this has been spoken truthfully by me.

Then, by the command of the descendant of Raghu, all those rākṣasas and monkeys / constructed a small well with clear water in that place.

Having bathed there, gratified the ancestors, and offered a jeweled lamp / throughout the whole of Kārtika, they then departed for Ayodhyā.

Then, excepting Vibhīṣaṇa and Hanūmat the monkey, / all went to the realm of Brahmā through the power of that sacred ford.

Sūta said: / Even today, whoever reverently offers a lamp there, / having bathed there in the auspicious water when the month of Kārtika has arrived, / is freed from all sins and honored in the realm of Brahmā.

Thus that auspicious pond was created there, / known as Ānarttīya, as well as that beautiful well of Viṣṇu.

Thus ends the one hundred and third chapter, entitled 'Description of the Māhātmya of the Sacred Ford and Well of Ānarta,' in the Glorious Māhātmya of the Field of Hāṭakeśvara, in the Sixth Section, the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, of the eighty-one-thousand-[verse] collection of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa.