Skandapurana 4.8

Lopāmudrā said:

O lord of my life, hearing this meritorious story

concerning the holy city spoken from your glorious mouth, I do not attain satiety. // 1

In Māyāpurī, a city of liberation, Śivaśarman, the best of brahmins,

did not attain liberation even when dead; tell the reason for that, O almighty one! // 2

Agastya said:

Direct liberation does not occur in these cities, O pleasant-spoken lady.

Regarding this very matter, an ancient tale was heard by me long ago. // 3

Listen, O beloved, to the wondrous story that destroys sins,

which was narrated to Śivaśarman by Puṇyaśīla and Suśīla. // 4

Śivaśarman said:

O holy attendants of Viṣṇu, with eyes like lotus petals!

With folded hands raised, I desire to ask something. // 5

I do not know your names, yet I know something from your appearance:

you must be the ones named Puṇyaśīla and Suśīla. // 6

The two attendants said:

For those endowed with devotion to the Lord, like you, what could be unknown?

Our names are indeed precisely those that were spoken by you, glorious one. // 7

Whatever else is to be asked that is in your mind, without hesitation

ask it, O deeply wise one; we two will speak of it with joy. // 8

Hearing these words spoken by the Lord's attendants,

which brought great delight and touched the heart, he then replied to them: // 9

The celestial brahmin said:

What realm is this, devoid of splendour, appearing like persons of very little merit?

Who are these misshapen ones? Tell this before me! // 10

The two attendants said:

This is the realm of the piśācas; flesh-eaters dwell here.

Those who feel remorse after giving, or give while diminishing [the gift], // 11

or who, with impure minds, worship Śiva only once and by chance—

these are the piśācas, of little merit and little fortune, my friend. // 12

Then, proceeding, he saw ahead a realm filled with joyful and plump people,

inhabited by beings with potbellies, thick mouths, sounds deep like thunderclouds,

with dark limbs, and hairy.

O attendants, tell: who are these? What is this realm, and by what merit [is it attained]? // 13–14

The two attendants said:

This is the realm of the guhyakas, and these indeed are known as guhyakas.

Those who, having earned wealth lawfully on earth, conceal it, // 15

householders who follow their own path, are rich in wealth, mostly śūdras,

who eat after sharing, and are free from anger and envy; // 16

they know neither lunar day nor weekday, nor solstice, transit, nor festival day,

nor do they know non-righteousness or righteousness—they are ever happy. // 17

They know only one thing: the brahmin who is worshipped by the family;

to him they give cows and clearly respect his word. // 18

Because of that merit, the guhyakas, enjoying prosperity even here,

enjoy heavenly pleasures like gods, free from all fear. // 19

Then he looked upon a realm that delighted the eyes.

Who are these people, and what is the name of this realm? O attendants, speak! // 20

The two attendants said:

This realm is of the gandharvas, and these are gandharvas of auspicious vows.

They are the singers of the gods, cāraṇas, and chanters of praise. // 21

Knowing music, they please rulers of men with superb singing,

and, deluded by greed for wealth, they also praise the rich. // 22

Fine clothes and riches obtained through the favour of kings,

as well as fragrant substances such as camphor and the like in abundance, // 23

they give to brahmins; day and night they sing songs.

Their minds are set only on musical tones, having taken pains in the science of dramaturgy. // 24

By that merit, this realm of the gandharvas is distinguished for them,

in that brahmins were indeed pleased with wealth earned through the art of singing. // 25

By the power of the art of music, the great celestial seer Nārada

is honoured in the realm of Viṣṇu and is exceedingly dear to glorious Śambhu. // 26

Tumburu and Nārada, both are very difficult even for the gods to attain;

for Śiva is sound itself incarnate, and those two truly know the reality of sound.

If a song is sung somewhere in the presence of glorious Hari and Hara,

they say its fruit is liberation, or presence with both of them.

Even if one who knows music does not attain the highest state through singing,

he becomes an attendant of Rudra and rejoices along with him.

In this world, this traditional precept is always sung:

The two gods Hari and Hara are always to be worshipped with a garland of songs.

Listening thus, in an instant he reached another charming [place].

Then Śivaśarman asked: "What is the name of this city?"

The two attendants said:

"This is the Vidyādhara world, skilled in diverse arts and sciences.

These [residents] give to seekers of knowledge food, sandals, clothing, and blankets,

and also medicines that alleviate their afflictions.

Free from pride of learning, they teach various arts.

They view a disciple like a son, [providing him] with clothes, betel, and food,

and out of righteousness they give excellent maidens, adorned [with ornaments], in marriage.

With longing mind, they continually worship their chosen deities.

Through these merits, these excellent Vidyādharas dwell here."

While they were speaking in this manner, the lord of Saṃyaminī,

Dharmarāja, arrived accompanied by the sounds of divine drums,

placid in form, seated in an aerial chariot, surrounded by those who know righteousness,

along with three or four servants skilled in acts of service.

Dharmarāja said:

"Well done, well done, O highly intelligent one, Śivaśarman, best of brahmins!

You have accomplished that which is befitting the lineage of brahmins.

The study of the Vedas was performed earlier, and your teachers were gratified;

the righteousness seen in the Dharmaśāstras and Purāṇas has been respected by you.

This quickly perishable body has been washed with the waters of the City of Liberation [Vārāṇasī].

You alone are truly wise regarding this life and what lies beyond life.

This foul-smelling corpse, always a vessel of impurity,

has been well exchanged by you for the merchandise of merits from excellent sacred fords.

For this very reason, wise men value true learning;

those wise men do not waste even a single moment in idle passage of days.

In the mortal world, living beings breathe for a mere few winks of an eye, surely;

even then, they should not engage in sinful, censurable action.

The body is ever prone to decay; wealth does not protect at death.

Why then should even a fool not strive for exalted tasks, like you?

Life passes swiftly and is ephemeral; the world is distressed by sorrow.

Therefore, the mind must be set upon righteousness by truly virtuous men, as by you.

This is the fruition of your good deeds; ah, both [of these beings] are venerable even to me,

since these two devotees of the Lord have entered into friendship with you.

Therefore give me an order: what assistance may I render?

Whatever was to be done by people like me has indeed already been accomplished by you.

Today I am extremely blessed here, since I have seen the two attendants of the Lord.

Service [to them] should always be made known to me in the presence of their glorious feet."

Then, having been sent off by the two, Yama entered his own city.

And after Yama had departed, the brahmin questioned the two attendants.

Śivaśarman said:

"This Dharmarāja in person has, indeed, an exceedingly placid appearance,

and his words are entirely righteous and pleasing to the mind.

This city, Saṃyamanī, has exceedingly auspicious marks;

yet sinners tremble greatly even on hearing his name.

In the mortal realm, people describe Yama's form quite differently;

yet he was seen by me differently. O two attendants, tell me the reason for that!

By what means do people behold this realm, and who dwell here in such a manner?

Is this alone his form, or is there another? Please explain!"

The two attendants said:

"Listen, gentle one: he is seen as exceedingly placid by persons like you,

for he is righteousness personified by his very nature, [seen thus] by fearless beings possessing heaps of merit.

This very one, indeed, is tawny-eyed, with corners of his eyes reddened with rage,

his face dreadful with fangs, terrifying as he darts out [his tongue like] lightning,

with hair standing upright, an extremely dark body, and a roar like clouds at the dissolution of the world,

holding the staff of Death raised in his hand, his face twisted with knitted brows.

"Bring him here! Cast him down! Bind him! Do not release him, O Durdama!

Strike this exceedingly wicked person violently on the head with iron hammers!

Seize the two feet of this wicked man and beat him against the stone surface!

Place your foot on his throat and tear out his two eyes!

Swiftly slice open his swollen cheeks with a razor!

Bind his neck with a noose and hang him from a tree!

Rip open his head with a saw like a piece of wood!

Crush his face completely, striking it with dreadful kicks from your heels!

Sever the hand of this sinner that reaches out for another man's wife!

And cut off both feet of him who goes to another man's wife's house!

Pierce the body all over at the hair follicles with needles,

of this evil-minded one who set rows of nail-marks upon the limbs of another's wife!

Spit into the mouth of him who smells the face of another's wife!

Drive a sharp spike into the mouth of him who speaks slander against others!

Roast him like chickpeas with potsherds of heated sand,

in an oven, O Vikaṭavaktra—him who causes torment to others!

O Krūralocana, of him who always casts blame upon the faultless,

submerge his face in the mud of pus and blood!

Of him who takes unbestowed goods belonging to others, his sprout-like hand

plunge repeatedly into oil and cook on blazing embers, O Utkaṭa!

Of him who speaks censure of his guru, and him who censures the gods,

cast heated iron rods into his mouth, O Bhīṣaṇa!

And of him who touches the vital spots of others, revealing the faults of others,

drive red-hot iron spikes into all his joints!

When one is giving his own [wealth] to another, of the sinful person who prevents it,

and of him who cuts off the livelihoods of others, cut out his tongue, O Durmukha!

O Kroḍāsya, of him who consumes the property of a deity, and him who eats the property of a brahmin,

tear open his belly swiftly and fill it with worms of feces!

He who never cooks for a deity, nor for a brahmin, nor for the sake of guests—

cook that one who cooks only for himself in Kumbhīpāka, O Andhaka!

O Ugrāsya, this murderer of children, this destroyer of trust,

this ungrateful man, lead swiftly to Mahāraurava and Raurava!

And [lead] the slayer of a brahmin to Andhatāmisra, the drinker of liquor to Pūyaśoṇita,

the stealer of gold to Kālasūtra, and the violator of the guru's bed to Avīci!

Likewise, his associate to the forest of sword-leaves for a full year!

These great sinners [plunge] into a cauldron of heated oil,

repeatedly submerging them, O Durdaṃṣṭra; by ravens with iron beaks

make these most sinful ones, continually struck, dwell there for an entire kalpa!

The killer of a woman, the killer of a cow, and the killer of a friend, upon the thorny Śālmali tree

hang for a long time, with feet upwards and head downwards!

And tear off his skin with pincers, O mighty-armed one!

Tear out the two arms of him who embraced the wife of a friend, O Śuca!

Into the hell of Jvālākīla, exceedingly dreadful, cast that one down

who burns another's field or another's house with fire!

And into Kālakūṭa [cast] the poisoner and the speaker of false witness;

the user of false measures and the user of false scales, cast down into Kaṇṭhamoṭa!

And lead to Lālāpiba, O Duṣprekṣya, the one who spits in sacred fords!

And into Āmapāka [cast] the destroyer of an embryo; into Śūlapāka the tormentor of others!

Crush in a sugarcane press the brahmin who sells juices!

Cast down the king who oppresses his subjects into the blind well!

The vile twice-born who sells cows, sesame seeds, and horses,

and the seller of the wife of a maternal uncle and of liquor, O Halāyudha,

[and] the vaiśya [who does so], pound him again and again in a mortar with a pestle!

The śūdra who disdains a twice-born, who sits upon a couch in the presence of a twice-born,

torment in the hell with head downwards, O Dīrghagrīva!

The śūdra who defeats a brahmin, and the vaiśya who considers himself equal to a brahmin—"

and the kṣatriya who acts as an officiating priest, and the vipra devoid of the Veda,

and the seller of lac, salt, and meat, along with oil, poison, and clarified butter,

weapons, and sugarcane products—that lowest of twice-born men!

“O noose-in-hand, O whip-in-hand! Having firmly bound their feet,

striking them with lashes of the whip, lead them into the scalding mire!

Quickly embrace this unchaste woman, the defiler of her lineage,

together with her paramour, made of glowing red-hot iron!

He who, having taken a vow upon himself, abandons it with senses unrestrained—

take that uncontrollable man to the torment of many bees and gnats!”

Prattling thus and so, Yama is heard from afar by the wicked;

he is seen as terrifying by sinners apprehensive of their own deeds.

Those who protect their subjects here like their own begotten sons,

and punish in accordance with dharma—those kings are his councillors.

In whose realm the classes and stages of life adhere to their proper duty,

those kings, having met their death in the course of time, are his councillors.

Neither wretched, nor wicked, nor fallen into misfortune, nor grieving

are seen in whose realm—those kings are his councillors.

Brahmins, kṣatriyas, and vaiśyas who are ever devoted to their own duties,

and whatever other self-restrained men there be, dwell in Saṃyaminī.

Uśīnara, Sudhanvan, Vṛṣaparvan, Jayadratha,