Skandapurana 6.3.140

6.3.140.p1

adhyāya 140

6.3.140.1

mārkaṇḍeya uvāca -
tato gacchenmahārāja nandāhradamanuttamam .
yatra siddhā mahābhāgā nandā devī varapradā .. 140.1 ..

Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Then one should go, O great king, to the unsurpassed Nandāhrada, / where the illustrious goddess Nandā, bestower of boons, attained perfection,

6.3.140.2

mahiṣāsure mahākāye purā devabhayaṃkare .
śūlinyā śūlabhinnāṅge kṛte dānavasattame .. 140.2 ..

formerly when Mahiṣāsura, of huge body, terrifying to the gods, / the foremost of Dānavas, had his limbs pierced by the spear by the Spear-bearer,

6.3.140.3

yenaikādaśarudrāśca hyādityāḥ samarudgaṇāḥ .
vasavo vāyunā sārddhaṃ candrādityau sureśvara .. 140.3 ..

by whom the eleven Rudras, the Ādityas together with the hosts of Maruts, / the Vasus with Vāyu, and the moon and sun, O lord of the gods,

6.3.140.4

balinā nirjitā yena brahmaviṣṇumaheśvarāḥ .
saṅgrāme sumahāghore kṛte devabhayaṃkare .. 140.4 ..

and by which mighty one Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara were conquered / in a very terrible battle that caused terror to the gods.

6.3.140.5

kṛtvā tatkadanaṃ ghoraṃ nandā devī sureśvarī .
yasmātsnātā viśālākṣī tena nandāhradaḥ smṛtaḥ .. 140.5 ..

Because, having wrought that terrible slaughter, goddess Nandā, ruler of the gods, / the large-eyed one, bathed [there], it is therefore known as Nandāhrada.

6.3.140.6

tatra tīrthe tu yaḥ snātvā nandāmuddiśya bhārata .
dadāti dānaṃ viprebhyaḥ so'śvamedhaphalaṃ labhet .. 140.6 ..

Whoever bathes in that sacred ford and, dedicating it to Nandā, O Bhārata, / gives a gift to brahmins, obtains the fruit of a horse sacrifice.

6.3.140.7

bhairavaṃ caiva kedāraṃ tathā rudraṃ mahālayam .
nandāhradaścaturthaḥ syātpañcamaṃ bhuvi durlabham .. 140.7 ..

Bhairava, Kedāra, Rudra, and Mahālaya: / Nandāhrada is the fourth; a fifth is difficult to obtain on earth.

6.3.140.8

bahavastaṃ na jānanti kāmarāgasamanvitāḥ .
narmadāyā hradaṃ puṇyaṃ sarvapātakanāśanam .. 140.8 ..

Filled with desire and passion, many do not know that / holy pool of the Narmadā which destroys all sins.

6.3.140.9

tatra tīrthe tu yaḥ snātvā nandāṃ devīṃ prapūjayet .
kiṃ tasya himavanmadhyagamanena prayojanam .. 140.9 ..

Whoever bathes in that sacred ford and worships goddess Nandā, / what need has he of going into the midst of the Himavat?

6.3.140.10

paramārthamavijñāya paryaṭanti tamovṛtāḥ .
teṣāṃ samāgame pārtha śrama eva hi kevalam .. 140.10 ..

Not knowing the highest truth, those enveloped in darkness wander about; / in their journey, O Pārtha, there is only fatigue.

6.3.140.11

pṛthivyāṃ sāgarāntāyāṃ snānadānena yatphalam .
tatphalaṃ samavāpnoti snātvā nandāhrade nṛpa .. 140.11 ..

Whatever fruit is gained on earth bounded by the oceans through bathing and giving, / that fruit a man fully attains by bathing in Nandāhrada, O king.

6.3.140.11_2

.. iti śrīskānde mahāpurāṇa ekāśītisāhasryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ pañcama āvantyakhaṇḍe revākhaṇḍe nandāhradatīrthamāhātmyavarṇanaṃ nāma catvāriṃśadadhikaśatatamo'dhyāyaḥ ..

Thus ends the one hundred and fortieth chapter, named 'Description of the Glory of the Sacred Ford of Nandāhrada', in the Revākhaṇḍa of the fifth, Āvantyakhaṇḍa, in the Mahāpurāṇa of eighty-one thousand verses, the glorious Skandapurāṇa.