Skandapurana 6.3.221

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Then one should go, O best of kings, to the southern bank of the Revā, / at an interval of two krośas from Mātṛtīrtha, to the unsurpassed sacred ford,

named Haṃseśvara, holy, destroying dejection. / Born in the family of Kaśyapa, the swan, son of Dākṣāyaṇī,

became the mount of Brahmā in ancient times after practicing great austerity. / Once, lacking composure without the direction of the Creator,

overpowered by Śiva's attendants, he fled, O Yudhiṣṭhira, / in panic at the destruction of Dakṣa's sacrifice, without the Creator.

When that bird did not come quickly, even though summoned by Brahmā, / then Brahmā cursed him and cast him down from his position.

Then, realising himself to be cursed, the swan, filled with haste, / approached the Grandfather, bowed down, and spoke this:

The swan said: / You ought not to curse one born from an animal womb; / indeed, the mind of animals is by nature devoid of discernment.

Even so, O Lord, I am sinful that I abandoned my master. / But, O Grandfather, by the running, extremely fierce attendants of Śarva, / I was suddenly overwhelmed with terror, frightened, and I abandoned [you] and fled.

Even today, O Lord, I see only fear before me; / therefore, although remembered by you, I did not go to your presence.

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Even while speaking thus before the Creator, the swan, worthy of worship with the eyes, sighed very miserably: / 'Protect, protect me, O Lord, an animal, a sinner of foolish intellect, fallen before you!

You alone are the one god, the maker of creation; this diverse world was created by you alone. / Since I was created such by you, truly this fault is yours alone, O Creator!

You are capable of cursing or even of bestowing grace; other than you, to what refuge shall I go? / Fallen from the duty of service, become a slave, worthy of being beaten with slaps, save me, O Father, your devotee!

Knowledge and ignorance arose from you alone, virtue and vice, the real and the unreal, day and night; / you ordain the diverse states of the world. To you alone do I fly for refuge!

You are one, you have many forms, through single acts of diverse wonders; / you are actionless, yet the performer of all actions. Therefore, I seek refuge in you.

Salutations, salutations to the most excellent one, salutations, salutations to the giver of boons; / salutations to the Creator and Ordainer, salutations, salutations to the refuge!

How can this speech of mine, lacking the syllables of instruction, praise [you], O Lord? / What power, what thorough knowledge [do I have]? Forgive this that has been spoken by me.'

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: / While the swan was speaking thus indeed, Brahmā, with a pleased mind, said: / 'This instruction alone was given to you; do not fall into despair, O bird.

Purify yourself with austerity so that you may reach the end of the curse. / Serve the Revā, having bathed and having established Maheśvara; / from that, in no long time, you will attain your proper station.'

The fruit that is obtained by performing numerous sacrifices with ample concluding fees, / and by giving crores of cows and gold, is attained when Śiva is installed.

A slayer of a brahmin, a drinker of liquor, a thief of gold, or one who violates the guru’s bed, / having installed Śiva on the bank of the Revā, is freed from all sins.

Therefore, having installed Tryambaka on the bank of the river of Bharga, / freed from all faults, you shall go to the supreme abode.

Addressed thus by the Creator, the excellent bird, delighted and contented, / saying 'So be it,' went quickly to the excellent bank of the Narmadā.

Having performed austerity for some time, he installed Śaṅkara,

named Haṃseśvara after himself, O best of the Bharatas, peerless. / Having worshipped him, that best of birds attained the supreme abode.

Having gone to that sacred ford, Haṃseśvara, and bathed there, O Yudhiṣṭhira, / if one worships the Supreme Lord, he is freed from sins.

Praising the god with a single mind, he never suffers distress. / Having offered a śrāddha, a lamp, and food to brahmins / according to one's means, O best of kings, he is glorified in the heavenly world.

Whoever worships Śiva with devotion three times or once a day, / and having given a freshly calved cow to an excellent twice-born, O son of Pṛthā, / is glorified in the world of Śiva for sixty thousand years.

Thus ends the two hundred and twenty-first chapter, entitled 'Description of the Greatness of the Haṃseśvara Sacred Ford,' in the Revākhaṇḍa of the fifth section, the Āvantyakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, a compendium of eighty-one thousand [verses].