Skandapurana 6.3.182

Chapter 182
Glorious Mārkaṇḍeya said:
Then Bhṛgu, joined by Śrī, went to the tortoise.
Having greeted him properly, he spoke auspicious words:

'By you all the earth is supported, as well as the worlds of mobile and immobile beings;
likewise, out of your virtuous nature, you abide there, O noble-minded one.

Together with Ramā, I am establishing a foundation for those versed in the four Vedas.
If you approve, O god, then grant me the order, O all-pervading one!'

The Tortoise said:
'Just so, O best of the twice-born! A city marked with my name
shall exist for a long time, well established upon me,

unshakable and exceedingly firm, my dear! No fear should be felt, O fair-eyed lady!'
Having heard these auspicious words fallen from the mouth of the tortoise,

Bhṛgu, the son of the lotus-born [Brahmā], was delighted and pleased along with Śrī.
When the auspicious rising occurred, having performed the auspicious festive rites,

in the year Nandana, in the month of Māgha, on the fifth day, O bull of the Bharatas,
under the auspicious conjunction of Uttarā, while the orb of the moon was in Kumbha,

on the deep northern bank of the Revā, toward the western direction,
in a region sloping east and north, endowed with ten million sacred fords,

a sacred field one krośa in measure, crowded with hundreds of temples,
in no long time, endowed with the power of his austerity,
the best of the Bhṛgus built, having meditated upon Viśvakarman.

Brahmins versed in the Vedas, kṣatriyas protecting the kingdom,
vaiśyas engaged in their livelihoods, and śūdras serving the three [castes were there].

Thus the sacred field, chosen by Śrī, gladdened by supreme bliss,
was constructed by Bhṛgu, my dear, destroying all sins.
Thus is the origin of Bhṛgukaccha.

Mārkaṇḍeya said:
Then after a great length of time, for some other reason,
Lakṣmī went swiftly to the heavenly world upon an assembly of seers,

having entrusted the key to the palace to Bhṛgu, the declarer of the Veda:
'Guard my abode faithfully, O one of virtuous vows!'

Having accomplished all the duties of the gods, Śrī returned again;
Goddess Ramā came in haste to Bhṛgukaccha.

When the key to the palace, her own house with its belongings, was requested,
then Bhṛgu [denied it], O son of Pṛthā: 'There is no falsehood,' he said then.

Thus a very great dispute arose, O lord of men,
[saying] 'It is mine!' and 'It is mine!' when they encountered each other.

Then, after a great length of time, Bhṛgu, the supreme seer,
for the sake of the testimony of those versed in the four Vedas, made a great arrangement:

'Just as the entire city is ours, O deer-eyed lady,
so all the twice-born versed in the four Vedas know, O beautiful one.'

Śrī said:
'Those of the four castes are my authority, O chief of the twice-born, no doubt.
Let the best of the twice-born say whether it is mine or yours!'

Then, having deliberated mutually among all the wise men,
and having seen the two sides of the spoken dispute, the brahmins, together with the king...

Eighteen thousand gave no reply at all. / Among the eighteen thousand, out of fear of Bhṛgu's anger, O king, / it was said: "He who holds the palm-leaf document in his hand—his is this answer."

Hearing this settlement made by those who know the Vedic tradition, that goddess, / seized by great wrath, cursed the bull-like brahmins:

The holy goddess said: / "Since, abandoning truth with minds corrupted by greed, / you have abolished my abode, therefore hear my word:

Knowledge shall last three generations; wealth shall not last three generations. / Nor, O brahmins, shall a second Veda ever be studied by you.

Your houses shall not have two storeys, nor will prosperity be enduring, O brahmins. / Your dharma shall stem from partiality, and not from the pursuit of supreme beatitude.

Some beloved kinsman, his mind clouded by greed, / shall never abandon duality, nor will there be a single truth.

From this day forward, all twice-born men shall have pride: / the father will not heed the son's word, nor the son the father's rite.

All will become filled with egotism, there is no doubt." / Having cursed them thus, the goddess Ramā went to heaven that very moment.

When Lakṣmī had gone, the gods and the stainless brahmin seers, / saying, "This place is filled with wrath and greed," also went to heaven.

Seeing the goddess gone, and the seers rich in austerity, / Bhṛgu, that lord of creatures, fell into profound dejection. / He again propitiated Śaṃkara, the destroyer of Tripura.

Through great austerity, O son of Pṛthā, Maheśvara was pleased; / at that time he spoke words that brought joy to the best of the Bhṛgus:

"Why are you dejected, O lord among brahmins? What is the cause of your distress? / Even though I am pleased with you, tell me this, O sinless one."

Bhṛgu said: / "Having cursed all the brahmins, Lakṣmī departed earlier, / and declaring, 'This [place] is impure,' the gods departed from here."

Īśvara said: / "As I proclaimed earlier, that is so and not otherwise: / it is certainly a place of wrath. Hear also something else:

The brahmins born in this place, freed from great fear, / shall prosper by my grace, there is no doubt.

Even those who have taken the ceremonial bath of Vedic learning and vows, and are skilled in all scriptures, / even a hundred thousand who have swiftly gathered here—

to a fool who does not study and has sunk to every low state, / even Indra could not give a better rejoinder, O best of the Bhṛgus!

This place shall become Koṭitīrtha, destroying all sins, / from this day forward, O lord among brahmins, there is no doubt.

By my grace it shall be frequented by hosts of gods. / The worms, insects, and moths that die in Bhṛgukṣetra,

shall abide in the auspicious realm of Śiva by my grace. / A man who bathes in Vṛṣakhāta and worships Maheśvara

doubtless attains the fruit of the Sarvamedha sacrifice. / A man who bathes in Bhṛgutīrtha and offers libations to ancestors and deities,

has those [ancestors] gratified, attaining peace for twelve years. / With curd, milk, water, ghee, and honey,

those who bathe Virūpākṣa abide in heaven. / By my grace, O best of the twice-born, frequented by all the gods,

Bhṛgukṣetra shall be equal to Kurukṣetra and other sacred places. / When an eclipse of the sun occurs, having made a golden barley corn

and placed it on his head, whoever bathes in Bhṛgukṣetra, O best of brahmins, / know that without a doubt he has bathed in Kurujāṅgala.

And I myself shall dwell there, and my beloved Ambikā, / the goddess who removes all sorrows, named Saubhāgyasundarī.

I shall dwell together with that goddess in Bhṛgukaccha." / Having spoken thus, the god remained in Bhṛgukaccha, and so did Ambikā.

Bhṛgu, however, went to his own city, echoing with the chanting of the Veda, / resonant with the sounds of the Ṛg, Yajur, Sāma, and Atharva [Vedas].

Whoever bathes in that sacred ford and releases a bull / attains intimacy with Śiva; so spoke Śaṃkara.

Whoever bathes in that sacred ford and performs rites in the month of Caitra, / and, having worshipped Saubhāgyasundarī, gives salt to a brahmin,

and cattle, land, and gold to brahmins, pleases Lalitā and Śiva. / Neither grief, nor ill-fortune, nor separation from her husband

does a woman suffer, O king of kings, by bathing in Bhṛgutīrtha. / And whoever constantly beholds the divine Bhṛgu, O son of Pāṇḍu,

all the way to the abode of Brahmā, together with the deities dwelling there— / hear the fruit that he obtains, O best of kings:

The fruit one gains by giving a tawny cow with golden horns, rich in milk, gentle, of good temper, young, and accompanied by her calf, / to a brahmin endowed with all vows—surely that is gained right here.

If a mortal dies in water, [he attains heaven] for seven thousand years; in fire, he obtains twelve [thousand]. / Relinquishing his body by the conduct of a hero, O king, he enjoys the hospitality of Indra.

This narrative always brings renown, heaven, prosperity, sons, and longevity. / Hearing it with devotion on every festival day, O descendant of Ajamīḍha, one obtains all this.

Whoever takes up renunciation according to rule at Bhṛgutīrtha, / when dead, goes to that supreme, hard-to-attain abode.

Hearing this spoken by the god of gods, the best of the Bhṛgus, / his face beaming with joy, that twice-born remained right there.

When the god had vanished, Bhṛgu, the best of the twice-born, / leaving his form there, went to the world of Brahmā.

Thus the origin of Bhṛgukaccha, destroying all sins, / has been told to you in brief, O Pāṇḍava, O great king.

This holy, sin-destroying sacred field was proclaimed by the god.
A thousand cycles of four yugas is traditionally remembered as a day of the Grandfather.

When the day of Brahmā arrives, O brahmins, the origin of the yugas takes place.
'I do not see [another] sacred field like this,' so Rudra himself sang.

Whether a woman or a man who hears this with devotion,
goes to the supreme realm—so Rudra himself sang.

Having bathed in Devakhāta, whatever pious rite such as offering the rice-ball
a person performs, O best of kings, they know it to have inexhaustible fruit.

Whoever listens with devotion to this detailed account of Bhṛgukaccha
shall obtain the fruit of ten million sacred fords; there is no doubt about this.

Thus ends the one hundred and eighty-second chapter, titled 'Description of the māhātmya of the Bhṛgukaccha sacred ford,' in the Revākhaṇḍa of the fifth section, the Āvantyakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.