Skandapurana 2.2.3

Śrī said:

"Noble is the thought arisen in you, having taken refuge in the presence of Viṣṇu.

I shall tell of this wonder of the sacred field, O son of the Sun, / 1

just as I, resting on the chest of the Blessed One, saw long ago,

when this world of moving and unmoving beings was dissolved in the cosmic dissolution, O Yama. / 2

This sacred field and I alone—only these two were present then.

Then the sage, the son of Mṛkaṇḍu, endowed with a life of seven kalpas, / 3

when the moving and unmoving had perished, submerged in the ocean of cosmic dissolution,

finding no resting place at all, obtained no relief anywhere. / 4

Wandering here and there in the ocean of water at the cosmic dissolution,

he saw a banyan tree in the sacred field resembling Puruṣottama. / 5

Leaping again and again near the root of the banyan tree,

he heard a child's voice: 'O Mārkaṇḍeya, come to my side! / 6

Entering, abandon this incomparable sorrow; do not grieve!'

Hearing that wonderful and unfathomable voice then, the sage / 7

experienced supreme wonder, and did not even think of his own sorrow:

'This is not shattered by waters, nor burned by the fire of Time; / 8

it is not dried up by the Saṃvartaka and other [clouds], nor is it shaken.

In the dreadful single ocean, the sacred field is seen like a boat. / 9

There stands this great banyan tree, resembling a sacrificial post,

holding which, this sacred field—the banyan tree is the body of the Sovereign. / 10

Its branch is not shaken even by the wind of the great cosmic dissolution.'

Standing beneath it, that sage reflected thus: / 11

'In this single ocean at the cosmic dissolution, when the moving and unmoving have perished,

how is this most stable region of earth perceived, / 12

where this foremost of trees is seen tender and fresh?

And where does this supportless voice, courteous, saying repeatedly: / 13

"Mārkaṇḍeya, come!", come from?' Thinking thus as he floated,

he beheld Nārāyaṇa holding the conch, discus, and mace in his hands. / 14

And he saw me seated on the lotus of his lap, O son of Vivasvat.

Helpless from the water and wind, he then became comfortable and composed. / 15

Delighted in his inner self, that sage bowed with all eight limbs to the two of us,

and uttered this hymn of praise to propitiate the god. / 16

Mārkaṇḍeya said:

"Rich with the fortune of Rudra, Indra, and the lotus-seated [Brahmā] who cling closely in pursuit of your lotus feet,

devoid of devotion to you, burning on all sides, wretched—save me, O ocean of compassion! / 17

Whose pair of lotus feet, attended by Brahmā and the others, is of inconceivable power,

the essential cause for attaining supreme bliss—save me, wretched, O ocean of compassion! / 18

This cosmic egg, which has become a part of you, shines forth multiplied many millions of times,

dissolved, sustained, and created by the sport of your play—protect me, who am so wretched, O Viṣṇu! / 19

Just as gold is one, yet differentiated by bracelets and the like, or as the sun risen in the sky is one,

Just as [the sun appears varied] in water due to the differences of the receptacles, so are you perceived, though you are one and devoid of qualities. (20)

Though free from all desires, completely full, / and devoid of material causes and deliberate resolve,

you assume in every age, O Lord of boundless power, / a body suited to show compassion to the distressed. (21)

Because earlier your lotus foot was not served by me, O Lord of the universe, / due to an ignorant mind,

now experiencing the severe fruit of that deed, / protect me, miserable, O ocean of mercy! (22)

Your form endowed with the three guṇas shines forth, / sporting in the preservation, creation, and dissolution of all worlds.

O Great Self, the cause of the great [principle] and the rest, / homage to you, the supreme cause beyond primordial nature! (23)

Having pervaded everywhere, immense, immeasurable, / expanding, and strengthened within you,

I take refuge in that form of Brahman, the cause of transformation, / which consists of the inner self and all the universe. (24)

In this terrifying single ocean, there is no place on earth

to stand, O Lord of Lakṣmī, / because of the trembling from the clouds, rain, and wind. (25)

Protect me, O Viṣṇu, Lord of the universe, drowned in the ocean of worldly existence!

Deliver me from this, O Govinda, by a compassionate sidelong glance! (26)

Śrī said:

To the brahmin-seer who was praising him in this way, / the all-pervading Nārāyaṇa in person,

looking with a glance of grace, spoke these words: (27)

The Blessed Lord said:

Mārkaṇḍeya, you are very miserable, not knowing me, O best of the twice-born.

Severe austerity was performed [by you]; only a long life was [obtained] by that. (28)

Behold [me] lying on a leaf-cup above the Kalpa-banyan tree,

having the form of an infant, the soul of time for all beings, O great sage.

Entering my wide-open mouth, you ought to remain inside. (29)

Śrī said:

Thus addressed by the Blessed Lord, that sage, his face filled with wonder, (30)

climbed up and saw the form of the infant, and entered into his mouth.

Having entered by way of the throat into the vast, great belly, (31)

there that brahmin saw the fourteen worlds,

Brahmā and the other gods who guard the quarters, siddhas, gandharvas, rākṣasas, (32)

seers and divine seers, the surface of the earth marked by oceans,

with diverse sacred fords, rivers, mountains, and forests, (33)

marked with cities, towns, villages, and hamlets.

Likewise, [he saw] the seven netherworlds, thousands of serpent-maidens, (34)

and with mansions of priceless gems, and brilliant vessels of nectar,

served by serpents with priceless jewels—most wonderful! (35)

He saw Śeṣa, the upholder of the worlds, adorned with a thousand hoods,

the expositor of all sacred treatises, seated amidst his disciples. (36)

Whatever entity exists within the cosmic egg, created

by the Supreme Lord, all that the great sage saw inside that belly. (37)

Wandering here and there, he did not see the end of the belly.

Then, coming out again, he saw, together with me, (38)

Puruṣottama seated just as he had been perceived before.

With eyes wide open in astonishment, he prostrated himself and said this: (39)

Mārkaṇḍeya said:

O Blessed One, Lord of the gods of gods! What is this wonder, O Lord?

In the confinement of the great dissolution, creation is perceived here! (40)

Your māyā is difficult to fathom; how indeed can it be understood by me? (41)

The Blessed Lord said:

O sage, understand this sacred field to be wonderful and eternal to me.

Neither creation nor dissolution exist here, nor does worldly transmigration. (42)

Fully realizing me here as Puruṣottama, ever of one form and bestower of liberation, / one who enters here, becoming of the nature of concentrated bliss, does not enter a womb again. (43)

Thus instructed by the Blessed Lord, the great sage Mārkaṇḍeya,

thinking, “I shall dwell here,” and turning his back on other sacred fords,

with a delighted face prostrated himself before the Guru of the universe and said: (44)

Mārkaṇḍeya said:

He spoke thus to Viṣṇu, endowed with devotion and faith:

“Bestow your grace, O Blessed One, in this sacred field of Puruṣottama,

so that, residing [here], I may not fall under the power of death, O Puruṣottama!” (45)

The Blessed Lord said:

O brahmin-seer, in this sacred field that brings about liberation, my presence [dwells]. (46)

My stay is here, O brahmin-seer, in the sacred field that brings about liberation.

I will remain here, beyond any doubt, until the universal dissolution.

At the conclusion of the deluge, I shall create an eternal sacred ford for you, // 47

On whose bank, undertaking austerity and worshipping Śiva, / who is my second form,

you shall assuredly conquer death through my grace.” // 48

Jaimini said:

Having thus received the boon in ancient times, the great sage Mārkaṇḍeya

resorted to the northwest corner of the banyan tree, to the pit dug by Hari’s discus,

a holy hollow; and having worshipped the Great Lord,

the brahmin easily conquered death through great austerity. // 50

By the name of that very sage, this supreme pit is renowned;

bathing in which and seeing Śiva, one obtains the fruit of a horse sacrifice. // 51

Śrī said:

This sacred field extends for five krośas, situated within the sea;

two krośas of it lie on the shore of the king of sacred fords, exceedingly pure, // 52

strewn with golden sand and graced by the Blue Mountain.

That Lord of All, the god whose nature is Nārāyaṇa in visible form,

restraining the assembly of sense objects, established himself upon the seashore

to worship Jagannātha, becoming the sixty-fourth lord. // 54

He is renowned as Yameśvara, destroyer of Yama’s restraint;

having seen and worshipped him, one obtains the fruit of ten million liṅgas. // 55

Thus ends the third chapter in the dialogue between the sage Jaimini and the ṛṣis, in the glorification of Puruṣottama-kṣetra, in the second section, the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses. // 3