Skandapurana 6.3.170

6.3.170.p1

adhyāya 170

6.3.170.1

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca -
kāmapramodinīsakhyo nīyamānāṃ ca tena tu .
dṛṣṭvā tāścukruśuḥ sarvā niḥsṛtya jalamadhyataḥ .. 170.1 ..

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Seeing her being carried away by him, Kāmapramodinī's friends / all came out of the water and wailed.

6.3.170.2

gatā rājagṛhe sarvāḥ kathayanti suduḥkhitāḥ .
kāmapramodinī rājanhṛtā śyenena pakṣiṇā .. 170.2 ..

All of them went to the royal palace and, deeply grieved, said: / 'O King, Kāmapramodinī has been carried off by a hawk, a bird,

6.3.170.3

krīḍantī ca jalasthāne taḍāge devasannidhau .
anveṣyā ca tvayā rājaṃstasya mārgaṃ vijānatā .. 170.3 ..

while sporting in the pond in the water, in the presence of the god. / You must search for her, O King, finding out his track.'

6.3.170.4

tāsāṃ tadvacanaṃ śrutvā devapannaḥ suduḥkhitaḥ .
hāhetyuktvā samutthāya rudamāno varāsanāt .. 170.4 ..

Hearing their words, Devapanna became deeply grieved. / Saying 'Alas, alas!', he rose from his excellent throne weeping,

6.3.170.5

mantribhiḥ sahitastasmiṃstaḍāge jalasannidhau .
na cihnaṃ na ca panthānaṃ dṛṣṭvā duḥkhānmumoha ca .. 170.5 ..

accompanied by his ministers, to that pond in the presence of the water. / Seeing neither trace nor trail, he fainted from grief.

6.3.170.6

tasya rājñastu duḥkhena duḥkhito nāgaro janaḥ .
kṣaṇenāśvāsito rājā mantribhiḥ sapurohitaiḥ .. 170.6 ..

The city folk were sorrowful because of that king's grief. / In a moment the king was consoled by his ministers and royal priests.

6.3.170.7

kiṃ kurma ityuvācedamasminkāle vidhīyatām .
sarvaistatsaṃvidaṃ kṛtvā vāhinīṃ caturaṅgiṇīm .. 170.7 ..

'What shall we do?' he said. 'Let this be done at this moment.' / Making an agreement with all of them, [he thought]: 'The fourfold army

6.3.170.8

preṣayāmi diśaḥ sarvā hastyaśvarathasaṃkulā .
vāditrāṇi ca vādyante vyākulībhūtasaṃkule .. 170.8 ..

I shall dispatch in all directions, crowded with elephants, horses, and chariots.' / And musical instruments were sounded in that agitated tumult.

6.3.170.9

nārācaistomarairbhallaiḥ khaḍgaiḥ paraśvadhādibhiḥ .
rājā saṃnāhabaddho'bhūdganaṃ grasate kila .. 170.9 ..

With iron arrows, javelins, spears, swords, battle-axes and other weapons, / the king put on his armour, looking as if he would swallow the sky.

6.3.170.10

na devo na ca gandharvo na daityo na ca rākṣasaḥ .
kiṃ kariṣyati rājādya na jāne roṣaniṣkṛtim .. 170.10 ..

'Neither a god nor a gandharva, neither a daitya nor a rākṣasa— / I do not know what the king will do today to appease his fury!'

6.3.170.11

nāgaro'pi janastatra dṛṣṭvā cakitamānasaḥ .
caturdaśasahasrāṇi dantināṃ sṛṇidhāriṇām .. 170.11 ..

Even the townsfolk there, seeing [it], were struck with amazement: / fourteen thousand elephants with goad-bearers,

6.3.170.12

aśvārohasahasrāṇi hyaśītiḥ śastrapāṇinām .
rathānāṃ trisahasrāṇi viṃśatirbharatarṣabha .. 170.12 ..

and eighty thousand horse-riders with weapons in hand, / and three thousand and twenty chariots, O bull among the Bharatas.

6.3.170.13

saṅgrāmabherīninadaiḥ khurareṇurnabhogatā .
etasminnantare tāta rakṣako nagarasya hi .. 170.13 ..

With the sounds of the war-drums, the dust from the hooves rose to the sky. / In the meantime, O dear one, the city guard indeed,

6.3.170.14

gṛhītvābharaṇaṃ tasyāstvaṅgapratyaṅgikaṃ tathā .
kuṇḍalāṅgadakeyūrahāranūpurajhallarīḥ .. 170.14 ..

having gathered her ornaments, limb by limb, / earrings, armlets, bracelets, necklaces, anklets, and small bells,

6.3.170.15

nivedyākathayadrājñe mayā dṛṣṭaṃ tvavekṣaṇāt .
tāpasānāmāśrame tu māṇḍavyo yatra tiṣṭhati .. 170.15 ..

reported and told the king: 'Upon inspection, I have seen [them] / in the hermitage of the ascetics, where Māṇḍavya resides,

6.3.170.16

tāpasairveṣṭito yatra dadṛśe tatra sannidhau .
daṇḍavāsivacaḥ śrutvā pratyakṣāṅgavibhūṣaṇam .. 170.16 ..

where he was seen surrounded by ascetics, in that vicinity.' / Hearing the words of the city magistrate, and [seeing] the actual bodily ornament,

6.3.170.17

sa krodharaktanayano mantriṇo vīkṣya naigamān .
īdṛgbhūtasamācāro brāhmaṇo nagare mama .. 170.17 ..

his eyes red with rage, looking at his ministers and merchant-leaders, [the king said]: / 'Such is the conduct of a brahmin in my city!

6.3.170.18

cauracaryāṃ vratacchannaḥ paradravyāpaharakaḥ .
tena kanyā hṛtā me'dya tapasvipāpakarmiṇā .. 170.18 ..

Disguised by a vow while practicing the trade of a thief, stealer of another's wealth! / Today my daughter has been abducted by that sinful ascetic.

6.3.170.19

śākuntaṃ rūpamāsthāya jalastho gaganaṃ yayau .
pākhaṇḍino vikarmasthān biḍālavratikāñchaṭhān .. 170.19 ..

Assuming the form of a bird, he rose from the water into the sky. / Heretics who engage in improper deeds, deceitful hypocrites like cats,

6.3.170.20

cāṭutaskaradurvṛttān hanyānnastyasya pātakam .
na draṣṭavyo mayā pāpaḥ steyī kanyāpahārakaḥ .. 170.20 ..

flatterers, thieves, and the ill-behaved should be executed—there is no sin in this. / I will not look upon that wicked thief, the kidnapper of the maiden.

6.3.170.21

śūlamāropyatāṃ kṣipraṃ na vicārastu tasya vai .
sa ca vadhyo mayā duṣṭo rakṣorūpī tapodhanaḥ .. 170.21 ..

Let him be impaled on a stake immediately; there should be no deliberation concerning him. / He must be slain by me—that wicked ascetic who is a rākṣasa in form.'

6.3.170.22

evaṃ bruvaṃścalankrodhādādiśya daṇḍavāsinam .
kāryākāryaṃ na vijñāya śūlamāropayaddvijam .. 170.22 ..

Speaking thus, trembling with fury, and having commanded the magistrate, / not knowing what should and should not be done, he had the twice-born impaled on a stake.

6.3.170.23

paurā jānapadāḥ sarve aśrupūrṇamukhāstadā .
hāhetyuktvā rudantyanye vadanti ca pṛthakpṛthak .. 170.23 ..

Then all the citizens and countryfolk, their faces filled with tears, / cried out 'Alas, alas!', and others wept and spoke separately:

6.3.170.24

kutsitaṃ ca kṛtaṃ karma rājñā caṇḍālacāriṇā .
brāhmaṇo naiva vadhyo hi viśeṣeṇa tapovṛtaḥ .. 170.24 ..

'A despicable deed has been done by the king who acts like an outcaste! / A brahmin must never be slain, especially one devoted to austerity.

6.3.170.25

yadi roṣasamācāro nirvāsyo nagarādbahiḥ .
na jātu brāhmaṇaṃ hanyātsarvapāpe'pyavasthitam .. 170.25 ..

Even if his conduct is born of wrath, he should be banished outside the city. / One should never kill a brahmin, even if he is rooted in every sin.

6.3.170.26

rāṣṭrādenaṃ bahiṣkuryātsamagradhanamakṣatam .
nāśnāti ca gṛhe rājannāgnirnagaravāsinām .
sarve'pyudvignamanaso gṛhavyāptivivarjitāḥ .. 170.26 ..

One should banish him from the realm with all his property intact.' / O King, no fire was lit, nor did the inhabitants of the city eat in their homes; / all, with perturbed minds, neglected their domestic duties.

6.3.170.26_2

.. iti śrīskānde mahāpurāṇa ekāśītisāhasryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ pañcama āvantyakhaṇḍe revākhaṇḍe māṇḍavyaśūlāropaṇavarṇanaṃ nāma saptatyadhikaśatatamo'dhyāyaḥ ..

Thus ends the one hundred and seventieth chapter, titled 'Description of the Impalement of Māṇḍavya', in the Revākhaṇḍa of the fifth [part, the] Āvantyakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, a collection of eighty-one thousand [verses].