Skandapurana 6.3.174

6.3.174.p1

adhyāya 174

6.3.174.1

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca -
gopeśvaraṃ tato gaccheduttare narmadātaṭe .
yatra snānena caikena mucyante pātakairnarāḥ .. 174.1 ..

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Then one should go to Gopeśvara on the northern bank of the Narmadā, / where by a single bath men are freed from sins. 174.1

6.3.174.2

tatra tīrthe tu yaḥ snātvā kurute prāṇasaṃkṣayam .
barhiyuktena yānena sa gacchecchivamandire .. 174.2 ..

Whoever, having bathed at that sacred ford, brings about the end of his life, / goes to the abode of Śiva in a vehicle yoked to peacocks. 174.2

6.3.174.3

krīḍitvā suciraṃ kālaṃ śivaloke narādhipa .
iha mānuṣyatāṃ prāpya rājā bhavati vīryavān .. 174.3 ..

Having sported for a very long time in the world of Śiva, O ruler of men, / attaining human birth here, he becomes a mighty king. 174.3

6.3.174.4

hastyaśvarathasampanno dāsīdāsasamanvitaḥ .
pūjyamāno narendraiśca jīvedvarṣaśataṃ naraḥ .. 174.4 ..

Endowed with elephants, horses, and chariots, attended by female and male servants, / and honored by rulers of men, that person lives for a hundred years. 174.4

6.3.174.5

samprāpte kārttike māsi navamyāṃ śuklapakṣataḥ .
sopavāsaḥ śucirbhūtvā dīpakāṃstatra dāpayet .. 174.5 ..

When the month of Kārttika arrives, on the ninth day of the bright fortnight, / having fasted and become pure, one should present lamps there.

6.3.174.6

gandhapuṣpaiḥ samabhyarcya rātrau kurvīta jāgaram .
tasya yatphalamuddiṣṭaṃ tacchṛṇuṣva narādhipa .. 174.6 ..

Having worshiped with fragrant perfumes and flowers, one should keep a vigil at night. / Hear what fruit is prescribed for him, O king:

6.3.174.7

yāvatpuṇyaṃ phalaṃ saṃkhyā dīpakānāṃ tathaiva ca .
tāvadyugasahasrāṇi śivaloke mahīyate .. 174.7 ..

As great as the meritorious fruit and as many as the number of lamps, / for so many thousands of yugas he is honored in the world of Śiva.

6.3.174.8

tasmiṃstīrthe tu rājendra liṅgapūraṇakaṃ vidhim .
tathaiva padmakaiścaiva dadhibhaktaistathaiva ca .. 174.8 ..

At that sacred ford, O king of kings, the rite of filling the liṅga, / and likewise with lotuses and curd-rice,

6.3.174.9

yastu kuryānnaraśreṣṭha tasya puṇyaphalaṃ śṛṇu .
yāvanti tilasaṃkhyāni dadhibhaktaṃ tathaiva ca .. 174.9 ..

whoever performs it, O best of men, hear the meritorious fruit for him. / As many as the grains of sesame and the curd-rice,

6.3.174.10

padmasaṃkhyā śive loke modate kālamīpsitam .
tasmiṃstīrthe tu rājendra yatkiṃciddīyate nṛpa .. 174.10 ..

and the number of lotuses, he rejoices in the world of Śiva for his desired time. / Whatever little is given at that sacred ford, O king,

6.3.174.11

sarvaṃ koṭiguṇaṃ tasya saṃkhyātuṃ vā na śakyate .
evaṃ te kathitaṃ sarvaṃ sarvatīrthamanuttamam .. 174.11 ..

all of that becomes multiplied ten-millionfold; it cannot even be counted. / Thus has all this supreme [merit] of all sacred fords been told to you.

6.3.174.11_2

.. iti śrīskānde mahāpurāṇa ekāśītisāhasryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ pañcama āvantyakhaṇḍe revākhaṇḍe gopeśvaratīrthamāhātmyavarṇanaṃ nāma catuḥsaptatyuttaraśatatamo'dhyāyaḥ ..

Thus ends the one hundred and seventy-fourth chapter, entitled “Description of the Māhātmya of the Gopeśvara Sacred Ford,” in the Revākhaṇḍa of the fifth section, the Āvantyakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skandapurāṇa, a collection of eighty-one thousand [verses].