Skandapurana 6.3.173

6.3.173.p1

adhyāya 173

6.3.173.1

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca -
tato gacchettu rājendra tīrthaṃ paramaśobhanam .
narmadādakṣiṇe kūle sarvapāpapraṇāśanam .. 173.1 ..

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Then one should go, O king of kings, to the extremely beautiful sacred ford / on the southern bank of the Narmadā, which destroys all sins, 173.1

6.3.173.2

siddheśvaramiti khyātaṃ mahāpātakanāśanam .
yatra śuddhiṃ parāṃ prāpto devadevo maheśvaraḥ .
purā hatyāyutaḥ pārtha devadevastriśūladhṛk .. 173.2 ..

renowned as Siddheśvara, destroyer of great sins, / where the Great Lord, the god of gods, attained supreme purification, / when formerly, O son of Pṛthā, the god of gods, bearer of the trident, was tainted by murder. 173.2

6.3.173.3

purā pañcaśirā āsīdbrahmā lokapitāmahaḥ .
tenānṛtaṃ vacaścoktaṃ kasmiṃścitkāraṇāntare .. 173.3 ..

Long ago, Brahmā, the grandfather of the worlds, had five heads; / by him an untruthful word was spoken for some reason. 173.3

6.3.173.4

tacchrutvā sahasā tasmai cukopa parameśvaraḥ .
chedayāmāsa bhagavānmūrdhānaṃ karajaistadā .. 173.4 ..

Hearing that, the Supreme Lord suddenly became enraged at him; / the Blessed One then severed his head with his fingernails. 173.4

6.3.173.5

tasya tatkarasaṃlagnaṃ cyavate na kadācana .
tato hi devadeveśaḥ paryaṭan pṛthivīmimām .. 173.5 ..

Stuck to his hand, it did not fall away at any time; / then indeed, the lord of the gods of gods wandered over this earth. 173.5

6.3.173.6

tato vārāṇasīṃ prāptastasyāṃ tadapatacchiraḥ .
patite tu kapāle ca brahmahatyā na muñcati .. 173.6 ..

Then he reached Vārāṇasī, and there that head fell off; / yet though the skull had fallen, brahmin-slaying did not release him. 173.6

6.3.173.7

tatastu sāgare gatvā pūrve ca dakṣiṇe tathā .
paścime cottare pārtha devadevo maheśvaraḥ .. 173.7 ..

Then, having gone to the ocean in the east and likewise in the south, / in the west and in the north, O son of Pṛthā, the Great Lord, the god of gods, 173.7

6.3.173.8

paryaṭansarvatīrtheṣu brahmahatyā na muñcati .
narmadādakṣiṇe kūle sutīrthaṃ prāptavān prabhuḥ .. 173.8 ..

wandering through all the sacred fords, brahmin-slaying did not release him; / on the southern bank of the Narmadā, the Lord reached the excellent sacred ford. 173.8

6.3.173.9

kulakoṭiṃ samāsādya prārthayāmāsa cātmavān .
prāyaścittaṃ tataḥ kṛtvā babhūva gatakalmaṣaḥ .. 173.9 ..

Having reached the crore of lineages, the master prayed; / then, having performed expiation, he became free of defilement. 173.9

6.3.173.10

tato niṣkalmaṣo jāto devadevo maheśvaraḥ .
hatvā surebhyastatsthānaṃ tataścāntardadhe prabhuḥ .. 173.10 ..

Then, having become free of sin, the Great Lord, the god of gods, / having bestowed that place upon the gods, the Lord then vanished. 173.10

6.3.173.11

tadāprabhṛti tattīrthaṃ śuddharudreti kīrtitam .
vikhyātaṃ triṣu loke brahmahatyāharaṃ param .. 173.11 ..

From that time forward, that sacred ford has been celebrated as Śuddharudra, / renowned in the three worlds, the supreme remover of brahmin-slaying. 173.11

6.3.173.12

māse māse site pakṣe'māvāsyāyāṃ yudhiṣṭhira .
snātvā tatra vidhānena tarpayetpitṛdevatāḥ .. 173.12 ..

Month after month, in the bright fortnight and on the new moon day, O Yudhiṣṭhira, / bathing there according to the rule, one should offer libations to the ancestors and gods. 173.12

6.3.173.13

dadyātpiṇḍaṃ pitḥṇāṃ tu bhāvitenāntarātmanā .
tasya te dvādaśābdāni sutṛptāḥ pitaro nṛpa .. 173.13 ..

One should offer a piṇḍa to the ancestors with a devoted inner heart; / his ancestors are well satisfied for twelve years, O king. 173.13

6.3.173.14

gandhadhūpapradīpādyairabhyarcya parameśvaram .
śuddheśvarābhidhānaṃ tu śivaloke mahīyate .. 173.14 ..

Having worshipped the Supreme Lord with perfumes, incense, lamps, and other offerings, / by the name of Śuddheśvara, he is glorified in the world of Śiva. 173.14

6.3.173.15

etatte kathitaṃ rājañchuddharudramanuttamam .
mayā śrutaṃ yathā devasakāśācchūlapāṇinaḥ .
mucyate sarvapāpebhyo rudralokaṃ sa gacchati .. 173.15 ..

This has been told to you, O king: the unequalled Śuddharudra / as I heard it from the presence of the trident-bearing god; / he is released from all sins and goes to the world of Rudra. 173.15

6.3.173.15_2

.. iti śrīskānde mahāpurāṇa ekāśītisāhasryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ pañcama āvantyakhaṇḍe revākhaṇḍe śuddheśvaratīrthamāhātmyavarṇanaṃ nāma trisaptatyuttaraśatatamo'dhyāyaḥ ..

Thus ends the one hundred and seventy-third chapter, titled "The Description of the Greatness of the Śuddheśvara Sacred Ford," in the Greatness of the Narmadā, in the Revākhaṇḍa, in the fifth Avantī section, in the Skanda Purāṇa of eighty-one thousand verses.