Skandapurana 6.3.179

6.3.179.p1

adhyāya 179

6.3.179.1

mārkaṇḍeya uvāca -
tato gacchettu rājendra gautameśvaramuttamam .
sarvapāpaharaṃ tīrthaṃ triṣu lokeṣu viśrutam .. 179.1 ..

Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Then one should go, O king of kings, to the supreme Gautameśvara, / a sacred ford that removes all sins and is renowned in the three worlds.

6.3.179.2

gautamena tapastaptaṃ tatra tīrthe yudhiṣṭhira .
divyaṃ varṣasahasraṃ tu tatastuṣṭo maheśvaraḥ .. 179.2 ..

Gautama performed austerity at that sacred ford, O Yudhiṣṭhira, / for a celestial thousand years; then Maheśvara was pleased.

6.3.179.3

praṇamya śirasā tatra sthāpitaḥ parameśvaraḥ .
sthāpito gautameneśo gautameśvara ucyate .. 179.3 ..

Bowing with his head, he installed Parameśvara there. / The Lord installed by Gautama is called Gautameśvara.

6.3.179.4

tatra devaiśca gandharvairṛṣibhiḥ pitṛdaivataiḥ .
samprāptā hyuttamā siddhirārādhya parameśvaram .. 179.4 ..

There, having worshipped Parameśvara, supreme perfection was attained / by gods, gandharvas, seers, and ancestral deities.

6.3.179.5

tatra tīrthe tu yaḥ snātvā pūjayetpitṛdevatāḥ .
pūjayetparamīśānaṃ sarvapāpaiḥ pramucyate .. 179.5 ..

Having bathed at that sacred ford and worshipped the ancestral deities, / and having worshipped the supreme Īśāna, one is freed from all sins.

6.3.179.6

bahavastanna jānanti viṣṇumāyāvimohitāḥ .
tatra saṃnihitaṃ devaṃ śūlapāṇiṃ maheśvaram .. 179.6 ..

Deluded by the māyā of Viṣṇu, many do not know / of the trident-bearing god, Maheśvara, present there.

6.3.179.7

brahmacārī tu yo bhūtvā tatra tīrthe nareśvara .
snātvārcayenmahādevaṃ so'śvamedhaphalaṃ labhet .. 179.7 ..

One who observes celibacy, O ruler of men, / bathes at that sacred ford, and worships Mahādeva, attains the fruit of a horse sacrifice.

6.3.179.8

brahmacārī tu yo bhūtvā tarpayetpitṛdevatāḥ .
pūjayetparamīśānaṃ sarvapāpaiḥ pramucyate .. 179.8 ..

One who observes celibacy, offers libations to the ancestral deities, / and worships the supreme Īśāna, is freed from all sins.

6.3.179.9

tatra tīrthe tu yo dānaṃ bhaktyā dadyāddvijātaye .
tadakṣayaphalaṃ sarvaṃ nātra kāryā vicāraṇā .. 179.9 ..

Whatever gift one gives with devotion to a twice-born at that sacred ford / brings inexhaustible fruit; no doubt should be entertained here.

6.3.179.10

māse cāśvayuje rājan kṛṣṇapakṣe caturdaśīm .
snātvā tatra vidhānena dīpakānāṃ śataṃ dadet .. 179.10 ..

And in the month of Āśvayuja, O king, on the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight, / having bathed there according to the rule, one should offer a hundred lamps.

6.3.179.11

pūjayitvā mahādevaṃ gandhapuṣpādibhirnaraḥ .
mucyate sarvapāpebhyo mṛtaḥ śivapuraṃ vrajet .. 179.11 ..

Having worshipped Mahādeva with fragrant ointments, flowers, and the like, a man / is freed from all sins, and, upon death, goes to the city of Śiva.

6.3.179.12

aṣṭamyāṃ ca caturdaśyāṃ kārttikyāṃ tu viśeṣataḥ .
upoṣya prayato bhūtvā ghṛtena snāpayecchivam .. 179.12 ..

On the eighth and fourteenth days, and especially on Kārttikī, / having fasted and become self-controlled, one should bathe Śiva with clarified butter,

6.3.179.13

pañcagavyena madhunā dadhnā vā śītavāriṇā .
sa ca sarvasya yajñasya phalaṃ prāpnoti mānavaḥ .. 179.13 ..

with the five products of the cow, with honey, with curds, or with cold water; / and that man obtains the fruit of every sacrifice.

6.3.179.14

bhaktyā tu pūjayetpaścātsa labhetphalamuttamam .
bilvapatrairakhaṇḍaiśca puṣpairunmattakodbhavaiḥ .. 179.14 ..

If he subsequently worships with devotion, he attains an excellent reward— / with unbroken bilva leaves and flowers sprung from the unmatta plant,

6.3.179.15

kuśāpāmārgasahitaiḥ kadambadroṇajairapi .
mallikākaravīraiśca raktapītaiḥ sitāsitaiḥ .. 179.15 ..

along with kuśa grass and apāmārga, with kadamba and droṇa flowers, / with mallikā and oleanders, red, yellow, white, and black,

6.3.179.16

puṣpairanyairyathālābhaṃ yo naraḥ pūjayecchivam .
nairantaryeṇa ṣaṇmāsaṃ yo'rcayedgautameśvaram .
sarvānkāmānavāpnoti mṛtaḥ śivapuraṃ vrajet .. 179.16 ..

and with other flowers as obtained, whichever man worships Śiva; / he who worships Gautameśvara continuously for six months / attains all desires, and, upon death, goes to the city of Śiva.

6.3.179.16_2

.. iti śrīskānde mahāpurāṇa ekāśītisāhasryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ pañcama āvantyakhaṇḍe revākhaṇḍe gautameśvaratīrthamāhātmyavarṇanaṃ nāma ekonāśītyadhikaśatatamo'dhyāyaḥ ..

Thus ends the one hundred and seventy-ninth chapter, entitled “Description of the Māhātmya of Gautameśvara Sacred Ford,” in the Revākhaṇḍa of the Āvantyakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, a collection of eighty-one thousand [verses].