Skandapurana 2.2.29

Jaimini said:

Having spoken thus to the tiger among kings, for the sake of sustaining the world,

the lotus-seated one (Brahmā), having invoked in his heart the lion-shaped [Lord],

that form of light belonging to Viṣṇu which had been manifested earlier—

the four forms that were seen formerly at the stepping down from the chariot—

all of them saw those very same forms seated on the throne once again.

With the twelve-syllable mantra he worshipped Balabhadra;

with the Puruṣasūkta, this untainted Nārāyaṇa;

with the Devīsūkta and with the twelve-syllable [mantra], the discus.

Having worshipped [them], he represented [this] to favor the king:

Brahmā said:

O Blessed Lord, Lord of the chiefs of the gods, granter of grace to devotees!

A thousand lifetimes of Indradyumna practicing devotion to you

have passed; at the end of them he has beheld you.

For the darśana of you, O Blessed Lord, is the cause of union with you.

Although he desires to worship you by the discipline of devotion,

order that discipline of devotion by which he may meditate on you,

with place, time, vows, and likewise with various offerings.

Desirous of drinking the sweet nectar of your command fallen from your lotus face,

this king, O Jagannātha, looks upon you without blinking.

Jaimini said:

Thus petitioned by the lotus-born [Brahmā] in person,

the Lord, though having a wooden body, smiled and spoke with a deep voice:

The sacred idol said:

Indradyumna, I am pleased with you because of your devotion and desireless deeds.

Such wealth has not been expended by anyone other than you.

I grant you a boon, O king: may your devotion to me remain steadfast.

Because my abode has been built by you, casting away tens of millions in wealth,

even upon its destruction, O best of kings, this place will not be abandoned by me.

Even at another time, whoever else shall cause a palace to be built,

that renown will surely be yours alone; out of affection for you, my presence will abide there.

Truly, truly, once again truly, only the truth do I tell you:

Even upon the destruction of the temple, I shall never abandon that place.

With this wooden form I will abide here for the second half of life,

until the lotus-born [Brahmā]'s second half of cosmic life is completed.

In the second four-age cycle of this Manu Svāyambhuva,

in the first Kṛtayuga, in [the month of] Jyeṣṭha—such was the performance of the sacrifice—

on the full moon of Jyeṣṭha I descended; that is the holy day of my birth.

On that [day] one should perform my ceremonial bath according to the rite of the great bath,

on each image, O great king, together with preliminary consecration, in an opulent manner.

I shall destroy the sin accumulated through millions of births,

and the fruit of all sacred fords and sacrifices, as well as the fruit of all gifts,

reaches also those who behold it, O king of kings.

North of the banyan tree there is indeed a well composed of all sacred fords.

Having created it beforehand for ablution, it was slightly covered with earth;

I descended afterward. Uncover and reveal it!

It should be purified on the fourteenth [day], after offering an oblation according to rule

to the protective guardian of the sacred field and to the guardians of the directions.

Amid the melodious sounds of conches, kāhalā horns, and muraja drums,

the twice-born should draw the water from there with golden jars.

On the full moon of Jyeṣṭha, in the morning, having bathed me together with Brahmā,

as well as Rāma and Subhadrā, one will attain my world.

Moreover, whatever man beholds me being bathed at that time, O best of kings,

he never again incurs the bondage of a body.

Having had a sturdy platform erected and decorated in the northeastern direction,

adorned with the beauty of canopies and sprinkled with sandalwood water,

having bathed me there with Rāma and Bhadrā, one should lead [us] back.

He who with devotion gazes upon me proceeding southward,

certainly obtains whatever he desires in his mind.

Then, having kept me [secluded] for fifteen days, O king,

one should never look upon [me], whether shapeless or handsome.

Having performed this bath of Jyeṣṭha, one is freed from all sins.

You should celebrate the great festival called Guṇḍicā, O ruler of the earth,

by the mere celebration of which a person is freed from sin.

On the fifth of the month of Māgha, and on the eighth of the bright fortnight of Caitra—

these times are indeed praised for the great festival called Guṇḍicā.

Especially the second [lunar day] of Āṣāḍha conjoined with Puṣya grants liberation;

in the absence of the asterism, it should be observed simply on that lunar day for my perpetual delight.

On the second [day] of the bright fortnight of Āṣāḍha, conjoined with Puṣya,

having mounted me, Rāma, along with Bhadrā, upon a chariot on that [day],

and having gratified numerous twice-born to set the great festival in motion,

[one should go to] the pavilion named Guṇḍicā, where I was born in ancient times.

At that time it was the great altar of the thousand horse sacrifices;

no place holier than it exists here on earth.

Where you made offerings for five hundred years for my pleasure,

therefore no other earthly place brings greater delight to me.

Just as this [mountain] with its blue peak, now adorned with your temple,

brings great delight to me through the request of the four-faced [Brahmā],

even so the great altar of your sacrifice in the sacred field of Nṛsiṃha,

the abode of my birth, brings me everlasting joy.

I remained there for a long time, and I have the utmost fondness for it.

This lotus-born [Brahmā], my very self, has installed [me] in the temple.

Through his pleading and by your devotion, I constantly remain here.

Likewise, having gone from here, I shall spend nine days there.

There is your lake containing all sacred fords, O great king;

on its shore I shall dwell for seven days out of a desire to show grace.

Mortals who behold me residing there go to my abode.

Thirty-five million sacred fords exist in the three worlds;

they all come to your lake due to my presence.

Having bathed there according to rule and having beheld me with a devout disposition,

they surely never again experience suffering in a mother's womb.

Those who see [me] having returned on the ninth day, facing the southern quarter,

at every step obtain the fruit of a horse sacrifice;

having attained and enjoyed pleasures equal to Indra's, in the end they enter into me.

My awakening, my sleep, my turning onto my side,

the covering in Mārgaśīrṣa, and the great festival of the Puṣya ritual ablution,

O king, one should perform my play upon the swing during the full moon of Phālguna.

Those who see me on the swing, worshipped while facing south,

are freed from sins such as the killing of a brahmin; of this there is no doubt.

Having worshipped me on these two [occasions], having seen me, and having bowed down,

one obtains the fruit of eight thousand horse sacrifices for each.

In Caitra, on the bright thirteenth, one should perform the completion of the rite;

in the month of Caitra, on the fourteenth, worship of me with damana flowers;

for people who [do this] in the bright fortnight, all sins are destroyed.

In the bright fortnight of Vaiśākha, there is the third [day] known as Akṣayā;

on that day, one should smear me with most splendid fragrant unguents.

Those who perform my eternal festivals for my delight—

each of these is proclaimed to bestow the four aims of life.

Jaimini said:

Having thus granted a boon to Indradyumna, O twice-born,

the Lord, his auspicious face smiling like a lotus, spoke to Brahmā:

"O four-faced one, everything has been accomplished by me for your delight;

indeed, your will is my own will; surely there is no difference between the two of us.

As for your praying to me in ancient times in the form of Mādhava,

this incarnation has been undertaken by me as the fruition of that very prayer.

Having seen me here, worshipped me, and abandoned one's vital breaths, one is liberated;

in due course, all [will attain] communion with me together with you.

Whatever a mortal utters with his speech while serving me here,

he surely attains that; and by staying here, the king [too will attain it].

Go now to Satyaloka! Let the deities go to heaven!

I remain here firmly established until the completion of your lifespan."

Then all those delighted divine seers and foremost of gods,

having bowed to the God with their heads, went to their own abode.

And the Lord God Jagannātha, assuming the form of the image,

remained silent, bringing joy to all people.

Righteous Indradyumna too, devoted to Viṣṇu and firm in vows,

accompanied the lotus-born [Brahmā] and turned back at his command:

"Duly arrange all the festivals and processions commanded by the Lord.

When Jagannātha is pleased, all the moving and unmoving world is pleased."

Placing the command of the lotus-born upon his head, the lord of the earth,

prosperous and rich with abundant treasures, together with Nārada,

carried out all the festivals, beginning with the ablution in Jyeṣṭha.

Thus ends the twenty-ninth chapter in the Puruṣottamakṣetramāhātmya of the second [section], the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, in the Skanda Mahāpurāṇa of eighty-one thousand verses.