Skandapurana 6.3.136

6.3.136.p1

adhyāya 136

6.3.136.1

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca -
tato gacchenmahīpāla cāhalyeśvaramuttamam .
yatra siddhā mahābhāgā tvahalyā tāpasī purā .. 136.1 ..

The venerable Mārkaṇḍeya said:
Then, O king, one should go to the supreme Ahalyeśvara, / where formerly the illustrious female ascetic Ahalyā attained perfection. (1)

6.3.136.2

gautamo brāhmaṇastvāsītsākṣādbrahmeva cāparaḥ .
satyadharmasamāyukto vānaprasthāśrame rataḥ .. 136.2 ..

There was a brahmin named Gautama, like another Brahmā in person, / endowed with truth and virtue, devoted to the stage of life of a forest-dweller. (2)

6.3.136.3

tasya patnī mahābhāgā hyahalyā nāma viśrutā .
rūpayauvanasampannā triṣu lokeṣu viśrutā .. 136.3 ..

His wife was renowned by the name of Ahalyā, highly fortunate, / endowed with beauty and youth, celebrated throughout the three worlds. (3)

6.3.136.4

asyā apyatirūpeṇa devarājaḥ śatakratuḥ .
mohito lobhayāmāsa hyahalyāṃ balasūdanaḥ .. 136.4 ..

Bewitched by her surpassing beauty, the king of gods, Śatakratu, / the slayer of Bala, attempted to seduce Ahalyā: (4)

6.3.136.5

māṃ bhajasva varārohe devarājamanindite .
krīḍayasva mayā sārddhaṃ triṣu lokeṣu pūjitā .. 136.5 ..

'Take pleasure in me, O fair-hipped woman, blameless one, the king of the gods! / Sport with me, you who are revered across the three worlds! (5)

6.3.136.6

kiṃ kariṣyasi vipreṇa śaucācārakṛśena tu .
tapaḥsvādhyāyaśīlena kliśyantīva sulocane .. 136.6 ..

What will you do with a brahmin who is emaciated from rites of purification and good conduct, / habitually given to austerity and Vedic study, while you suffer as it were, O lovely-eyed woman?' (6)

6.3.136.7

evamuktā varārohā strīsvabhāvātsucañcalā .
manasādhyāya śakraṃ sā kāmena kaluṣīkṛtā .. 136.7 ..

Spoken to in this manner, that fair-hipped woman, very fickle by womanly nature, / turned her mind toward Śakra, defiled by lust. (7)

6.3.136.8

tasyā viditvā taṃ bhāvaṃ sa devaḥ pākaśāsanaḥ .
gautamaṃ vañcayāmāsa duṣṭabhāvena bhāvitaḥ .. 136.8 ..

Knowing that disposition of hers, that god, the chastiser of Pāka, / influenced by wicked intent, deceived Gautama. (8)

6.3.136.9

viditvā cāntaraṃ tasya gṛhītvā veṣamuttamam .
ahalyāṃ ramayāmāsa viśvastāṃ mandirāntike .. 136.9 ..

Finding an opportunity and assuming an excellent disguise, / he sported near the dwelling with Ahalyā, who was unsuspecting. (9)

6.3.136.10

kṣaṇamātrāntare tatra devarājasya bhārata .
ājagāma muniśreṣṭho mandiraṃ tvarayānvitaḥ .. 136.10 ..

Within just a moment's interval of the king of gods' [presence] there, O Bhārata, / the best of sages swiftly came back to the dwelling. (10)

6.3.136.11

āgataṃ gautamaṃ dṛṣṭvā bhītabhītaḥ puraṃdaraḥ .
nirgataḥ sa tato dṛṣṭvā śakro'yamiti cintayan .. 136.11 ..

Seeing Gautama arrive, Puraṃdara, terrified, / fled from there; and Gautama, observing him, thought, 'This is Śakra.' (11)

6.3.136.12

tataḥ śaśāpa devendraṃ gautamaḥ krodhamūrchitaḥ .
ajitendriyo'si yasmāttvaṃ tasmādbahubhago bhava .. 136.12 ..

Then Gautama, faint with rage, cursed the lord of the gods: / 'Because you have not conquered your senses, therefore become covered with vulvas!' (12)

6.3.136.13

evamuktastu devendrastatkṣaṇādeva bhārata .
bhagānāṃ tu sahasreṇa tatkṣaṇādeva veṣṭitaḥ .. 136.13 ..

Thus addressed, O Bhārata, the lord of the gods at that very moment / was enveloped instantly by a thousand vulvas. (13)

6.3.136.14

tyaktvā rājyaṃ suraiḥ sārddhaṃ gataśrīko jagāma ha .
tapaścacāra vipulaṃ gautamena mahītale .. 136.14 ..

Abandoning his kingdom along with the gods, stripped of fortune, he departed; / and he performed extensive austerity on the earth on account of Gautama. (14)

6.3.136.15

ahalyāpi tataḥ śaptā yasmāttvaṃ duṣṭacāriṇī .
prekṣya māṃ ramase śakraṃ tasmādaśmamayī bhava .. 136.15 ..

Ahalyā too was then cursed: 'Because you are an unfaithful wife, / who, seeing me, sport with Śakra, therefore become turned to stone! (15)

6.3.136.16

gate varṣasahasrānte rāmaṃ dṛṣṭvā yaśasvinam .
tīrthayātrāprasaṅgena dhautapāpā bhaviṣyasi .. 136.16 ..

At the end of a thousand years, having seen the renowned Rāma / on the occasion of his pilgrimage, your sins will be washed away.' (16)

6.3.136.17

evaṃ gate tataḥ kāle dṛṣṭā rāmeṇa dhīmatā .
viśvāmitrasahāyena tyaktvā sāśmamayīṃ tanum .. 136.17 ..

Then, when such time had passed, seen by the wise Rāma / accompanied by Viśvāmitra, she shed her stone form. (17)

6.3.136.18

pūjayitvā yathānyāyaṃ gatapāpā vimatsarā .
āgatā narmadātīre tīrthe snātvā yathāvidhi .. 136.18 ..

Having duly worshipped him, freed from sin and devoid of malice, / she went to the bank of the Narmadā, and having bathed according to the rules at the sacred ford, (18)

6.3.136.19

kṛtaṃ cāndrāyaṇaṃ māsaṃ kṛcchraṃ cānyaṃ tataḥ param .
tatastuṣṭo mahādevo dattvā varamanuttamam .. 136.19 ..

she observed the cāndrāyaṇa vow for a month, and thereafter another severe penance. / Thereupon Mahādeva, pleased, granted her an incomparable boon, (19)

6.3.136.20

jagāmādarśanaṃ bhūyo reme comāpatiściram .
ahalyā tu gate deve sthāpayitvā jagadgurum .. 136.20 ..

and vanished again; and the husband of Umā took delight for a long time. / When the god had departed, Ahalyā installed the Guru of the Universe, (20)

6.3.136.21

ahalyeśvaranāmānaṃ svagṛhe cāgamatpunaḥ .
tatra tīrthe tu yaḥ snātvā pūjayetparameśvaram .. 136.21 ..

named Ahalyeśvara, and returned to her own home. / Whoever bathes at that sacred ford and worships the Supreme Lord, (21)

6.3.136.22

sa mṛtaḥ svargamāpnoti yatra devo maheśvaraḥ .
krīḍayitvā yathākāmaṃ tatra loke mahātapāḥ .. 136.22 ..

upon death attains heaven, where the god Maheśvara resides. / Having sported as he desires in that world, the person of great austerity, (22)

6.3.136.23

gate varṣasahasrānte mānuṣyaṃ labhate punaḥ .
dhanadhānyacayopetaḥ putrapautrasamanvitaḥ .. 136.23 ..

when a thousand years have passed, attains human birth once more, / endowed with an abundance of wealth and grain, accompanied by sons and grandsons. (23)

6.3.136.24

vedavidyāśrayo dhīmāñjāyate vimale kule .
rūpasaubhāgyasampannaḥ sarvavyādhivivarjitaḥ .
jīvedvarṣaśataṃ sāgramahalyātīrthasevanāt .. 136.24 ..

Wise and taking refuge in the Vedic sciences, he is born in a pure family, / endowed with beauty and good fortune, free from all diseases, / and lives for more than a hundred years through serving the sacred ford of Ahalyā. (24)

6.3.136.24_2

.. iti śrīskānde mahāpurāṇa ekāśītisāhasryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ pañcama āvantyakhaṇḍe revākhaṇḍe ahalyātīrthamāhātmyavarṇanaṃ nāma ṣaṭtriṃśadadhikaśatatamo'dhyāyaḥ ..

Thus ends the one hundred and thirty-sixth chapter, entitled 'Description of the Māhātmya of the Ahalyā Tīrtha', in the Revākhaṇḍa of the fifth section, the Āvantyakhaṇḍa, in the Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.