Skandapurana 6.2.4

The venerable Mahādeva said:

The fourth god is renowned in Avantī as Ḍamarukeśvara,

upon seeing whom, the Lord of the universe, sin comes to an end.

Formerly, in the Vaivasvata kalpa, there was a great asura named Ruru.

His son was named Vajra, long-armed and of great strength;

he possessed a very gigantic body, sharp fangs, and was terrifying.

By him, the gods were expelled from their office and from the abode of the thirty [gods].

Then, their wealth was taken, and they went to Brahmā.

Brahmā too became agitated with fear, his senses distressed.

Knowing that [demon] of great strength to be invulnerable to all the gods together,

and when they had fled, whichever brahmins were sacrificers or practitioners of austerities,

that wicked-souled one slew them, as well as others who followed dharma.

The surface of the earth then became devoid of Vedic study and the exclamation vaṣaṭ;

its sacrificial festivities lost, O goddess, it was filled with cries of grief and rendered senseless.

Then the gods, deeply distressed, and likewise all the great seers,

assembled and held counsel for the slaying of that evil-minded one.

Then, at that moment, a body suddenly appeared before them all,

as they were deliberating, O goddess, enveloped in a mass of splendour.

From it, a divine Kṛtyā arose, having lotus-like eyes,

illuminating all the directions on every side with her own splendours.

She said to all the thirty [gods]: “Why indeed have I been created, O gods?

Whatever deed must be done by me, let that be announced quickly!”

Then, having heard her auspicious words, all the thirty [gods]

related to her all the deeds of Vajra at that time.

Having heard this, that goddess laughed repeatedly with loud laughter.

As she laughed, lotus-eyed maidens came forth [from her],

holding nooses and goads, terrible, their faces surrounded by garlands of flames,

shaking the moving and unmoving creation with their shrieks and roars.

They all went, O great goddess, to where the great asura Vajra was.

A tumultuous battle, terrifying to him, then took place with them.

The intermediate space of the directions was pervaded by weapons and missiles discharged in many ways;

with their entire army clad in armour, they fought intensely in battle.

Then a battle began between that goddess and the enemies of the gods.

Then, seeing the enraged troop of mothers crushing the great asuras,

and seeing his army turned back, Vajra then released an illusion,

named Tāmasī, difficult to overcome, by which the maidens were bewildered.

When it had become darkness, that goddess, overwhelmed with fear,

came along with them to the supreme Mahākālavana,

where Hara, holding a skull, was stationed in the form of a liṅga.

Having learned that the troop of mothers had fled due to the power of that illusion,

and Vajra also knowing that the thirty [gods] were residing together with the goddess,

he came to that place surrounded by his own army.

In the divine Mahākālavana, surrounded by hundreds of millions of chariots,

he, enraged, spoke these words on all sides of the forest, O goddess:

“Today I will kill the gods along with that extremely wicked woman,

who fled together with the maidens by the power of the illusion of darkness!”

Meanwhile, Nārada, the best of sages,

arrived full of eagerness at the beautiful cave on Mount Mandara.

He told the Lord of the defeat of the gods by Vajra:

“O God, the thirty [gods] have been struck down in the Mahākālavana, O Lord,

by Vajra, the son of Ruru; therefore, go forth, O Maheśvara!”

Having heard the words of Nārada, then I, O supreme goddess,

came swiftly from Mandara, having assumed a most terrible form,

surrounded by gaṇas, with flashing, extremely fierce and dreadful serpents.

In front was seen the great army of the dānavas, terrifying to behold.

Mahākālavana was besieged on all sides by the asura,

by Vajra, the son of Ruru, who was irresistible, O renowned lady.

Then arriving, by beating the dreadful ḍamaruka drum,

the army of that wicked-souled Vajra was instantly stupefied by me.

By the sound of the ḍamaruka, an excellent liṅga arose,

cleaving the earth, O goddess, filled with garlands of flames at that time.

And from that liṅga there issued forth a great flame,

from one part [of it], O lady of beautiful hips, which pervaded the cosmic egg.

From another part of the liṅga, a mighty wind arose.

By the mass of blazing fire and driven on by the wind,

that army, along with its chariots, was burnt and reduced to ashes.

Then all the hosts of gods, their minds filled with overflowing joy,

bowed down to that mighty son of Ruru.

Because of the majesty of this god, the mighty Vajra was burnt

along with his army; therefore, from that, this [god], Ḍamarukeśvara,

will attain renown in this world, granting the fruits of all desires.

Since he arose on the surface of the earth from the sound of the ḍamaruka drum,

therefore he will be a most worshipful god, there is no doubt.

Those who, having seen him, worship the god Ḍamarukeśvara,

will all be freed from suffering, their afflictions gone.

Whatever fruit comes from hundreds of cāndrāyaṇa fasts performed according to rule,

that fruit one attains from the worship of Ḍamarukeśvara.

If with devotion, even by chance, men dedicated to sin

behold the liṅga Ḍamarukeśvara standing in this place,

even they will surely go to the eternal world of Rudra.

Devotees who praise the renowned liṅga Ḍamarukeśvara

are freed from mental sins and will go to the supreme abode.

The fruit of a thousand horse-sacrifices, a hundred Vājapeya sacrifices,

and the fruit of a thousand cows—mortals will obtain it here upon beholding [it].

The brave man who enters battle after beholding Ḍamarukeśvara

conquers his foes, and in the end he is glorified in the world of Rudra.

This power that destroys sin has been told to you, O goddess;

when praised and celebrated, it grants the fruits of all desires.

Thus ends the fourth chapter, titled 'Description of the Glory of Ḍamarukeśvara' in the Praise of the Eighty-Four Liṅgas in the Avantī Section of the Skandapurāṇa, the great Purāṇa in eighty-one thousand verses.