Skandapurana 2.4.12

Śaunaka said:

Great is the merit and fruit bestowed by the māhātmya of Kārtika.

When was the dhātrī tree produced, and how did it attain fame? (1)

Why is it sacred, and why is it the destroyer of sins?

By whom was it made the āmardakī? Tell this here in detail. (2)

Sūta said:

I shall explain, O best of the twice-born, how it indeed bestows merit.

On the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight of Ūrja, one should perform the worship of the dhātrī tree. (3)

The great āmardakī tree destroys all sins.

A person who approaches the shade of the dhātrī tree on the fourteenth [tithi] known as Vaikuṇṭha (4)

should worship there the lord of gods, Hari, accompanied by Rādhā.

Then one should perform one hundred and eight circumambulations (5)

with gold, or silver, or fruits, or āmalaka fruits.

One should perform one hundred and eight circumambulations with one [offering] each time. (6)

Prostrating with eight limbs on the ground, one should pray to the Supreme Lord:

Taking shelter in the shade of the dhātrī tree, he should listen to this sacred story;

And afterwards feed the brahmins and give a sacrificial gift according to his means.

When the brahmins are satisfied, Hari is pleased and bestows liberation.

In this matter I will tell you a story that bestows meritorious fruits;

Even Brahmā is not able to describe the fruit of the āmardakī tree fully.

Formerly, when the single cosmic ocean had arisen and the stationary and moving creation was destroyed,

When the hosts of gods and demons were destroyed, and serpents and rākṣasas had perished,

There the Lord of the supreme gods, the eternal supreme Self,

Chanted the supreme Brahman, the ultimate, imperishable nature of his own Self.

Then, as he chanted Brahman, a breath came forth before him;

Through devotion at the sight of that, water flowed from his two eyes.

Bursting forth in a weight of tears of love, a drop fell upon the earth;

From that drop arose of itself the great tree, the dhātrī,

Abounding in branches and twigs, weighed down by a burden of fruit;

It is proclaimed as the very first growth among all trees.

Brahmā created it first, and only after that did he create creatures:

Gods, dānavas, gandharvas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, and pannagas.

The blessed god also created humans, pure and spotless.

Those gods arrived where the dhātrī, dear to Hari, was;

Seeing it, those fortunate ones were filled with extreme wonder,

Pondering again and again: 'We do not know this tree.'

As they were thus pondering, a bodiless voice spoke:

'This is the āmardakī tree, the foremost, for it is sacred to Viṣṇu.

By mere remembrance of it, one obtains the fruit of gifting a cow;

From seeing it, the merit is doubled, and from eating it, tripled.

Therefore, the āmardakī must always be honored with every effort;

Pertaining to Viṣṇu, it is said to remove all sins and destroy iniquity.

At its root resides Viṣṇu, and above that, the grandfather [Brahmā];

On the trunk rests the blessed Rudra, the Supreme Lord;

On the branches are the suns, and on the twigs the deities;

Deities reside in the leaves, and the Maruts in the flowers;

All the lords of beings reside in the fruits.

Indeed, this dhātrī is declared by me to embody all the gods.

Therefore, it should be worshipped for the attainment of all desired aims.'

Once the yogin Nārada stood before Brahmā;

Having bowed to the Lord of the universe, exceedingly astonished, he asked:

Śrī Nārada said:

'Just as a fine grove of tulasī is always dear to Hari,

Is a dhātrī grove likewise dear to Śrī Hari in the month of Kārtika?'

Brahmā said:

'He who worships Hari in a dhātrī grove and dines under the shades of the dhātrī

In the month of Kārtika—his sin is destroyed.

Sacred fords, sages, gods, and all sacrifices in Kārtika

Ever take resort in the dhātrī and remain there while the sun is in Libra.

Whatever little merit a man performs in the shade of a dhātrī,

That becomes multiplied ten million times; there is no doubt about this.

In this very connection, they cite this ancient history:

In the city of Ayodhyā there was a certain vaiśya, O best of the twice-born;

He was destitute of son and wife, and tormented by poverty due to fate.

He quenched the fire of his belly by alms, O Nārada.

Once, tormented by hunger, that vaiśya begged from a merchant.

Taking the chickpeas obtained as alms, he went to the shade of a dhātrī;

There he ate them in the month of Kārtika, O Nārada.

Some of those chickpeas were left over there, O Nārada;

They were given by that vaiśya to a twice-born emaciated with hunger.

By the power of that merit, he became a wealthy king on earth.

Therefore, gifts should always be given in the month of Kārtika

In a dhātrī grove, O best of sages, for the attainment of all desired aims.

Taking resort in the shade of a dhātrī in Kārtika, he who listens

To the narrative of Hari is released from sins, just like the son of the twice-born.'

Nārada said:

Who was that brahmin's son, O Brahmā? What sin had he committed in the past?

How did his liberation occur? Tell me this in full detail.

Brahmā said:

Long ago, on the northern bank of the Kāverī, there lived an excellent brahmin

named Devaśarman, who had mastered the Vedas and their auxiliary sciences.

He had an ill-behaved son; to him his father spoke words for his welfare:

"Now comes the month of Kārtika, beloved of Hari.

In it, perform ritual ablutions, giving of gifts, vows, and observances.

O son, perform the worship of Hari with tulasī flowers,

giving of various lamps, salutation, and circumambulation."

Hearing this speech of his father, the son, overcome with anger,

spoke to his father, the wicked soul reviling him with trembling lips:

The son said:

"Father, I will not accumulate merit in Kārtika."

Hearing these words of the son, [the father] angrily spoke to that son:

"O foolish one, become a mouse in the hollow of a tree in the forest!"

Terrified by the fear of that curse, he bowed and said to his father:

"Tell me, O master: how may my liberation from this evil womb come to be?"

Thus propitiated, the brahmin spoke the means of expiation:

"When you hear of the merit arising from the vow of Ūrja, beloved of Hari,

then your liberation shall come to pass from hearing that tale, O son."

Thus addressed by his father, he became a mouse at that very moment,

living for many thousands of years in a cave in the dense forest.

Once, during the month of Kārtika, Viśvāmitra together with his disciples,

having bathed in the river and worshipped Hari, resorted to the shade of a dhātrī tree.

He narrated to his disciples the māhātmya relating to Ūrja.

At that time, a certain ill-behaved hunter went about hunting game;

seeing the gathering of seers, the killer of living beings formed the desire to kill [them],

but merely upon seeing them, he then attained a virtuous mind.

Then, bowing to the brahmins, he said: "What is being done here by your honors?"

Thus addressed by him, the best of brahmins, Viśvāmitra, said to him:

Viśvāmitra said:

"Of all months indeed, Kārtika is declared the best.

Whatever rite is performed in it expands like the seed of a banyan tree.

Whoever performs ritual ablution, giving of gifts, and worship in the month of Kārtika,

and also the feeding of brahmins, that yields imperishable fruit."

Hearing the duty explained by the seer to the hunter, the brahmin [mouse],

casting off the mouse's body, then attained a celestial body.

Then, bowing to Viśvāmitra and recounting his own tale,

permitted by the seer, he mounted an aerial chariot and went to heaven.

The son of Gādhi was amazed, and especially so was the hunter.

The hunter too, having performed the vow of Ūrja, went to Hari's abode.

Therefore, by every effort in Kārtika, before Keśava,

taking shelter in the shade of a dhātrī tree, one should listen to the narrative.

Even a mouse was freed from an evil birth by hearing the narration of Ūrja;

whoever listens to it or recites it attains liberation, without a doubt.

Taking shelter under the shade of a dhātrī tree, one should partake of a meal in the forest,

having first performed ritual ablution in water located in the forest.

Having performed the daily rites, one should then worship Mādhava;

sheltered beneath the shade of a dhātrī tree, endowed with devotion to Hari,

one should listen to the celestial narrative extolling the greatness of the month.

Then with devotion one should feed brahmins, best among knowers of the Veda;

then, O best of brahmins, one should eat oneself, remembering Hari.

When the vow is thus performed in Kārtika, beloved of Hari, O brahmin,

the sin that is destroyed, O son, listen attentively:

from food not offered to Hari, from looking at the sun while eating,

and likewise from the sin of hearing the words of a menstruating woman during a meal,

and whatever fault of improper touch occurs at the time of eating,

from eating prohibited food, and from food defilement while eating—

as well as from discarding pure [food] during an auspicious time, O lover of Hari,

all the sin incurred by these [actions] is certainly destroyed. (64)

Therefore, with every effort, one should take a meal under an āmalakī tree. (65)

If a brahmin wears a garland of āmalakī beads during the month of Kārtika,

and likewise a garland of tulasī beads, his merit is endless. (66)

A man who, taking shelter under the shade of an āmalakī tree,

offers a row of lamps, especially so, his merit is endless. (67)

Rādhā and Dāmodara should be worshipped, especially beneath a tulasī plant;

in the absence of tulasī, auspicious worship should be performed beneath an āmalakī tree. (68)

He who has eaten even once beneath the shade of an āmalakī tree in Kārtika,

and provided food to a married couple, is freed from the taint of [impure] food. (69)

He who, when the month of Kārtika is completed, having worshipped the auspicious āmalakī,

and fed a married couple for the pleasure of Rādhā and Dāmodara,

afterwards eats himself, his prosperity shall never perish. (70)

Whatever Vaiṣṇava in this world holds an āmalakī fruit, O sage,

he becomes dear to the gods, what to say of human beings? (71)

A man whose limbs are anointed with āmalakī fruit, who is endowed with āmalakī fruit,

and who eats meals of āmalakī fruit, becomes Nārāyaṇa. (72)

He who constantly holds āmalakī fruits in the hollow of his hands,

to him the divine Nārāyaṇa grants the desired boon. (73)

A man desiring prosperity should always perform his ritual ablution with āmalakīs;

Viṣṇu is pleased with āmalakīs, especially on the eleventh lunar day. (74)

On the ninth, on the new-moon day, on the seventh, on a solstice or equinox, on Sunday,

and during an eclipse of the moon or sun, one should avoid a ritual ablution with āmalakīs. (75)

A man who, taking shelter under the shade of an āmalakī tree, offers a funeral ball,

his ancestors attain liberation through the grace of Mādhava. (76)

A man who wears an āmalakī fruit upon his head, hand, mouth,

arms, and on his neck, my child, adorned with āmalakī fruits, (77)

as long as a garland of āmalakī beads hangs on a man's neck,

for so long does Keśava sport with delight upon his body. (78)

An āmalakī fruit, tulasī, and earth originating from Dvārakā:

fruitful is the life of him in whose house this triad exists. (79)

For as many days as a man in the Kali age wears a garland of āmalakī beads,

for that many thousands of yugas shall his dwelling be in Vaikuṇṭha. (80)

He who wears a pair of garlands made from āmalakī and tulasī,

that man who [wears them] around his neck shall dwell in heaven for ten million kalpas. (81)

He who, having gone under the shade of an āmalakī tree on the twelfth lunar day, worships Hari,

and feeds brahmins right there, (82)

and himself eats pulse, sweetmeats, and other foods there,

for him there is no return [to rebirth] even in hundreds of millions of kalpas. (83)

One should worship Hari with the fruits and leaves of both tulasī and āmalakī. (84)

When tulasī accompanied by an āmalakī tree is watered in Kārtika,

sins such as the murder of a brahmin are dissolved, (85)

just as the twice-born Dharmadatta attained liberation in ancient times. (86)

Nārada said:

“In the month of Kārtika, it must always be resorted to and worshipped by men;

[yet] during Cāturmāsya it is not to be used—so it was stated by you formerly.

Therefore, explain everything to me completely.” (87)

Brahmā said:

“In the month of Kārtika, O brahmin seer, on the auspicious tenth lunar day of the bright fortnight,

beginning from that day, it may be used in rites for gods and ancestors. (88)

Those men who, beginning from the tenth lunar day, worship Madhusūdana with its leaves and fruits,

go to Vaikuṇṭha. / When the Kārtika observance is completed, one should take a meal in the grove. (89)

When the vow of Kārttika is completed, one should perform a forest picnic.

On the tenth, or on the twelfth, or on the full-moon day,

or on the fifth, O fortunate one, one should take a meal in the grove. (90)

Equipped with all provisions and accompanied by the elderly and children,

the wise man should enter a grove adorned with āmalakī trees, (91)

and adorned all around with mango, baka, and sacred fig trees, nīm, and kadamba trees,

as well as banyan and tamarind trees. (92)

Going there, O greatly wise one, he should first have the recitation of auspicious day (puṇyāha) performed;

and at the base of the myrobalan (dhātrī) tree he should make the worthy seat for the deity of the site (vāstupīṭha),

and an auspicious square altar, one cubit in length;

likewise, having made a secondary altar in front of the altar, O high-minded one,

it should be adorned with mineral pigments for the sitting of the god;