Skandapurana 6.3.108

6.3.108.p1

adhyāya 108

6.3.108.1

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca -
tato gacchenmahīpāla rohiṇītīrthamuttamam .
vikhyātaṃ triṣu lokeṣu sarvapāpaharaṃ param .. 108.1 ..

Glorious Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Then, O protector of the earth, one should go to the excellent Rohiṇī sacred ford, / celebrated in the three worlds, supreme, destroying all sins.

6.3.108.2

yudhiṣṭhira uvāca -
rohiṇītīrthamāhātmyaṃ sarvapāpapraṇāśanam .
śrotumicchāmi tattvena tanme tvaṃ vaktumarhasi .. 108.2 ..

Yudhiṣṭhira said: / I desire to hear truthfully the greatness of the Rohiṇī sacred ford, / which annihilates all sins; you ought to tell it to me.

6.3.108.3

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca -
tasminnekārṇave ghore naṣṭe sthāvarajaṅgame .
udadhau ca śayānasya devadevasya cakriṇaḥ .. 108.3 ..

Glorious Mārkaṇḍeya said: / In that dreadful single ocean, when the moving and unmoving was destroyed, / as the god of gods, the wielder of the discus, was sleeping in the ocean,

6.3.108.4

nābhau samutthitaṃ padmaṃ ravimaṇḍalasannibham .
karṇikākesaropetaṃ patraiśca samalaṃkṛtam .. 108.4 ..

a lotus resembling the disk of the sun arose from his navel, / endowed with a pericarp and filaments, and adorned with petals.

6.3.108.5

tatra brahmā samutpannaścaturvadanapaṅkajaḥ .
kiṃ karomīti deveśa ājñā me dīyatāṃ prabho .. 108.5 ..

There arose Brahmā, whose lotus-like faces are four: / "What shall I do, O Lord of gods? Let your command be given to me, O master."

6.3.108.6

evamuktastu deveśaḥ śaṅkhacakragadādharaḥ .
uvāca madhurāṃ vāṇīṃ tadā devaṃ pitāmaham .. 108.6 ..

Addressed thus, the Lord of gods, the bearer of the conch, discus, and mace, / then spoke sweet speech to the divine grandfather:

6.3.108.7

sarasvatyāṃ mahābāho lokaṃ kuru mamājñayā .
bhūtagrāmamaśeṣasya utpādanavidhikṣayam .. 108.7 ..

"O mighty-armed one, by my command fashion the world upon the Sarasvatī, / the generation, rule, and dissolution of the entire multitude of beings."

6.3.108.8

etacchrutaṃ tu vacanaṃ padmanābhasya bhārata .
cintayāmāsa bhagavānsaptarṣīnhitakāmyayā .. 108.8 ..

Having heard this speech of the lotus-navelled one, O Bhārata, / the Lord, desiring benefit, thought upon the seven seers.

6.3.108.9

kramātte cintitāḥ prājñāḥ pulastyaḥ pulahaḥ kratuḥ .
prācetaso vasiṣṭhaśca bhṛgurnārada eva ca .. 108.9 ..

In order, the wise ones were conceived in thought: Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, / the son of Pracetas [Dakṣa], Vasiṣṭha, Bhṛgu, and Nārada.

6.3.108.10

yajñe prācetaso dakṣo mahātejāḥ prajāpatiḥ .
dakṣasyāpi tathā jātāḥ pañcāśadduhitaro'nagha .. 108.10 ..

At a sacrifice Dakṣa, the son of Pracetas, the progenitor of great splendor, [was born]; / and fifty daughters were born to Dakṣa, O sinless one.

6.3.108.11

dadau sa daśa dharmāya kaśyapāya trayodaśa .
tathaiva sa mahābhāgaḥ saptaviṃśatimindave .. 108.11 ..

He gave ten to Dharma, thirteen to Kaśyapa, / and that illustrious one gave twenty-seven to the moon.

6.3.108.12

rohiṇīnāma yā tāsāṃ madhye tasya narādhipa .
aniṣṭā sarvanārīṇāṃ bhartuścaiva viśeṣataḥ .. 108.12 ..

The one among them named Rohiṇī, O ruler of men, / was disliked by all the women, and especially by her husband.

6.3.108.13

tataḥ sā paramaṃ kṛtvā vairāgyaṃ nṛpasattama .
āgatya narmadātīre cacāra vipulaṃ tapaḥ .. 108.13 ..

Then, having conceived supreme detachment, O best of kings, / she came to the bank of the Narmadā and performed vast austerity.

6.3.108.14

ekarātraistrirātraiśca ṣaḍdvādaśabhireva ca .
pakṣamāsopavāsaiśca karśayanti kalevaram .. 108.14 ..

With fasts of one night, three nights, six, and twelve [nights], / and with fortnightly and monthly fasts, emaciating her body,

6.3.108.15

ārādhayantī satataṃ mahiṣāsuranāśinīṃ .
devīṃ bhagavatīṃ tāta sarvārtivinivāraṇīm .. 108.15 ..

constantly worshipping the destroyer of the buffalo-demon, / the divine goddess, O dear one, the dispeller of all afflictions,

6.3.108.16

snātvā snātvā jale nityaṃ narmadāyāḥ śucismitā .
tatastuṣṭā mahābhāgā devī nārāyaṇī nṛpa .. 108.16 ..

bathing continually in the waters of the Narmadā, she of pure smiles [practiced austerity]. / Then the illustrious goddess Nārāyaṇī was pleased, O king:

6.3.108.17

prasannā te mahābhāge vratena niyamena ca .
etacchrutvā tu vacanaṃ rohiṇī śaśinaḥ priyā .. 108.17 ..

"I am pleased with you, O highly fortunate one, because of your vow and observance." / Having heard this speech, Rohiṇī [said]: "O giver of honor,

6.3.108.18

yathā bhavāmi na cirāttathā bhavatu mānade .
evamastviti sā coktvā bhavānī bhaktavatsalā .. 108.18 ..

let it happen before long so that I may become dear to the moon." / Having said "So be it," Bhavānī, who is affectionate to her devotees,

6.3.108.19

stūyamānā munigaṇaistatraivāntaradhīyata .
tadāprabhṛti tattīrthaṃ rohiṇī śaśinaḥ priyā .. 108.19 ..

while being praised by the hosts of sages, disappeared right there. / From that time forth, that sacred ford [became celebrated], and Rohiṇī

6.3.108.20

saṃjātā sarvakālaṃ tu vallabhā nṛpasattama .
tatra tīrthe tu yā nārī naro vā snāni bhaktitaḥ .. 108.20 ..

became beloved of the moon for all time, O best of kings. / At that sacred ford, whatever woman or man bathes with devotion,

6.3.108.21

vallabhā jāyate sā tu bharturvai rohiṇī yathā .
tatra tīrthe tu yaḥ kaścitprāṇatyāgaṃ karoti vai .. 108.21 ..

she becomes beloved of her husband, just as Rohiṇī was. / Whosoever abandons his life at that sacred ford,

6.3.108.22

saptajanmāni dāmpatyaviyogo na bhavetkvacit .. 108.22 ..

for seven births there will never be separation of the married couple.

6.3.108.22_2

.. iti śrīskānde mahāpurāṇa ekāśītisāhasryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ pañcama āvantyakhaṇḍe revākhaṇḍe rohiṇīsomanāthatīrthamāhātmyavarṇanaṃ nāmāṣṭottaraśatatamo'dhyāyaḥ ..

Thus ends the one hundred and eighth chapter, entitled "Description of the Greatness of the Rohiṇī-Somanātha Sacred Ford," in the Revākhaṇḍa of the fifth section, the Āvantyakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, a collection of eighty-one thousand verses.