Skandapurana 2.4.27

Nārada said:

Then, once, having performed his daily rites, O brahmin,

that Viṣṇudāsa cooked food; but someone unnoticed carried it off. / 1

Not seeing it, he did not cook again at that time,

for fear of breaking his vow of evening worship, O brahmin. / 2

On the second day, having cooked again, as soon as he went

to make an offering of the gift to Viṣṇu, someone carried it off again. / 3

In this way, for seven days, someone carried off his cooked food, O king.

Then, filled with wonder, he reflected thus in his mind: / 4

“Ah, who comes every day and carries off my cooked food?

For me, an ascetic bound to the sacred field, this place must never be abandoned. / 5

If, having cooked again here, I were to eat,

how could the evening worship be neglected? / 6

If I cook in such a manner, it is not to be eaten by me;

without offering everything to Hari, it is never eaten by Vaiṣṇavas. / 7

I remain here abiding by my vow, having fasted for seven days.

Today I shall properly guard the cooked food here.” / 8

Having thus prepared the cooked food, he remained there unnoticed.

Just then, he saw a Caṇḍāla intent upon taking the cooked food, / 9

emaciated by hunger, with a miserable face, reduced to skin and bone.

Beholding him, the excellent brahmin's mind was filled with pity. / 10

Seeing the taker of food, the brahmin spoke, “Wait! Wait!

Why do you eat it dry? Take this ghee, good sir!” / 11

Seeing that best of brahmins coming and speaking thus,

he ran with speed out of fear of him, fainted, and fell down. / 12

Seeing the frightened Caṇḍāla unconscious, that foremost brahmin

hastily approached and, out of pity, fanned him with the hem of his garment. / 13

Then Viṣṇudāsa beheld that very person risen up

as the god Nārāyaṇa in visible form, holding the conch, discus, and mace. / 14

Beholding him, that best of brahmins was overwhelmed by sattvic emotions;

he was unable then either to praise him or to bow down. / 15

Then the gods headed by Śakra arrived right there;

gandharvas and apsarases sang and danced with joy. / 16

Filled with hundreds of aerial chariots, crowded with hundreds of divine seers,

resounding with singing and musical instruments, that place then became. / 17

Then Viṣṇu embraced his devotee who observed the sattvic vow,

granted him his own form, and led him to the abode of Vaikuṇṭha. / 18

Seated in an excellent aerial chariot, going into the presence of Viṣṇu,

the consecrated Cola king saw that Viṣṇudāsa. / 19

Seeing Viṣṇudāsa going to the world of Vaikuṇṭha,

he quickly summoned his guru Mudgala and spoke these words: / 20

Cola said:

“He out of rivalry with whom I performed sacrifices, gifts, and the like—

that brahmin, bearing the form of Viṣṇu, goes to the abode of Vaikuṇṭha. / 21

By me consecrated in this Vaiṣṇava sacrifice, offerings were properly

poured into the fire by you, and the brahmins were made fully satisfied through gifts and the like; / 22

yet indeed that god is not pleased with me even today.

To Viṣṇudāsa, through his devotion alone, Hari gave direct vision. / 23

Therefore, not by gifts and not by sacrifices is Viṣṇu pleased;

devotion alone is the supreme cause for the darśana of the Lord.” / 24

The two attendants said:

Having said this, he consecrated his sister's son upon the royal throne,

for consecrated in sacrifices from his boyhood, he had indeed remained childless. / 25

Therefore, even today in that country, the rightful claimants to a share of the kingdom

are born only as sisters' sons, abiding by the rule made by him. / 26

Then, having gone to the sacrificial enclosure, standing in front of the sacrificial pit,

he called out three times aloud, addressing Viṣṇu: / 27

“O Viṣṇu, give me steadfast devotion through the actions of mind, speech, and body!”

Having spoken thus, he threw himself into the fire while everyone was watching. / 28

Then Mudgala, out of anger, tore out his own crest-lock.

Therefore, even today in his lineage, the Mudgalas are hairless on their crests.

Just then Viṣṇu, who is affectionate toward his devotees, appeared in the sacrificial pit's fire;

Embracing him, Acyuta made him mount the finest aerial chariot.

Embracing him and granting him his own form, the Lord of gods,

Surrounded by the thirty [gods], went with him to his abode in Vaikuṇṭha.

Nārada said:

The one who was Viṣṇudāsa was virtuous of conduct, and the one who was the king of the Colas was named Suśīla;

Both of them, having attained a form equal to his, were made doorkeepers by that lover of Ramā.

Thus ends the twenty-seventh chapter, entitled 'The Account of the Liberation of Cola and Viṣṇudāsa,' in the Māhātmya of the Month of Kārtika, in the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, in the Mahāpurāṇa composed by Skanda consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.