Skandapurana 6.3.28

Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Meanwhile Rudra, stationed on the bank of the Narmadā, / was sporting with Umā, and Nārada arrived there.

Bowing to Śaṅkara, the lord of the gods, along with Umā, / he then informed the god of what had occurred in Tripura at that time.

"By my Lord's command I went to that palace of Bāṇa. / Having seen Bāṇa according to custom, I entered the great inner chambers.

Having seen there the thousands of wives of the wise Bāṇa, / properly and as I pleased, having agitated that city, I have returned."

Hearing Nārada's words, praising him, saying, "Well done! Well done!", / the lord of the gods reflected indeed on the wandering of Tripura:

"Just as the discus was released from the hand by the mighty Viṣṇu, / of great speed and great range, protected by my splendour;

and Bāṇa, renowned in the world, is devoted in bhakti to me; / and speech was given by me, especially to the brahmins."

Having thus reflected for a very long time, the god of gods, Maheśvara, / the lord of men, regarding the task of supreme cessation,

the three-eyed lord then visualized Mandara for his bow, made the earth his bowstring, / and visualized the eternal god Viṣṇu as the arrow,

the blazing, all-facing god Agni as the arrowhead, / Suparṇa between the two feathers, and fashioned Vāyu as its speed;

having made a chariot consisting of the earth, he placed both the Aśvins on the yoke, / the god Indra on the axle, and Kubera on the front axle-pin;

Yama on the right side, and the dread Kāla on the left, / the Sun and Moon as the two wheels, and the Gandharvas on the spokes and other parts;

the eldest of the gods as the charioteer, having made the Vedas the excellent horses, / the Vedāṅgas on the bridle-bits and fittings, and the meters the reins;

having made the syllable Oṃ the whip held in the hand, Maheśvara, / placing Dhātṛ in front and Vidhātṛ behind;

the winds from all directions, and likewise in the upper machinery / the great serpents and Piśācas, as well as the Siddhas and Vidyādharas,

and the gaṇas and multitudes of bhūtas, all in all the joints of its limbs; / Meru stood in the middle of the yoke, and the great mountain below the yoke;

the dread serpents were placed in the mechanism, Varuṇa and Nirṛti in the yoke-pins, / and Gāyatrī and Sāvitrī were stationed in the fastening of the reins;

truth on the chariot banner, purity and restraint as the protection on all sides— / having made the chariot composed of gods, the god of gods, Maheśvara,

fully armed, wearing armor, bearing a sword, wearing the archer’s arm-guard and finger-guards, / tightly girding his loins and binding his matted hair,

strung the divine bow, yoked the excellent chariot, / and standing in the center of the chariot, the god shone forth, O Yudhiṣṭhira!

With the roaring sound of his bow he made the three worlds tremble; / assuming the vaiśākha posture, Hara stood motionless.

Gazing for a long time, his eyes reddened with rage, / meditating upon that supreme mantra and restraining himself,

he suddenly loosed the arrow, desiring the destruction of the city, / when the three [cities] had come together, positioned in mid-air.

Then, seeing the unity of Tripura for half the wink of an eye, / he destroyed them with the three-jointed, three-pointed [arrow].

Then the people in Tripura were terrified with fear, O best of Bharatas; / for the destruction of all the asuras, [portents] fearful as the form of Kāla [arose].

Men, assuming miserable forms, then burst into bursts of loud laughter, / and they blinked constantly in their work of writing.

Mortals had motionless eyes, as if painted in pictures; / the gods residing in temples cried out and laughed out loud, / and [people] saw themselves in dreams adorned with red garments,

having red garlands on their heads, falling into a muddy pool; / indeed, they saw themselves with their heads anointed with oil;

they saw themselves mounted upon a vehicle drawn by donkeys, O best of kings. / A great saṃvartaka wind arose, immense like the end of an era;

it uprooted houses and trees of many species; / there were earthquakes accompanied by thunderclaps and thousands of falling meteors;

the sky rained blood mixed with many gravel stones; / the fire properly offered in the fire-altars of the brahmins

blazed enveloped in smoke, together with showers of sparks; / the elephants lost their rut, and the horses became bereft of strength;

thousands of musical instruments were sounded without being played; / unblown banners fell, as did various umbrellas;

trees blazed there, and leaves, and the assembly hall was covered; / everything became bewildered and filled with cries of woe;

the gale shattered the splendid gardens; / driven by it, all blazing arrow-like flames [spread];

trees, bushes, creepers, vines, and houses on all sides— / the fire spread across every quarter of the sky;

everything was seen blazing with the hue of kiṃśuka leaves; / it was impossible to go from house to house due to the smoke;

burned by the fire of Hara's wrath, the people in Tripura wailed; / ablaze in all directions, supreme Tripura was consumed;

thousands of shattered mountain-peaks fell; / the fire, mingled with smoke, burning on all sides,

dancing indeed, covering every quarter and region, rushed into the forests; / in all the temples, houses, and turrets,

the fire broke out there in the city, impelled by Time; / stirred to fury by Hara's anger, it burned the people everywhere;

it burned the populace of Tripura, including the young and the old, / with their city, with their doorways, with their vehicles and forests, O king!

Some were clinging to food, and others were clinging to drink; / other courtesans were engaged in singing and dancing;

embracing one another, tormented by the flames of fire, / being burned, O best of kings, they all became unconscious and perished.

Then other Dānavas were burned there, stupefied by the fire; / unable to go anywhere else, their faces were choked with smoke; / lotus pools crowded with geese and kāraṇḍava ducks, with golden lotuses [were destroyed]—

Various reservoirs and wells burned there, O descendant of Bharata; / city gardens and oblong ponds, covered with unfading lotuses / extending for eight yojanas, were seen burned by the fire.

Palaces there, resembling mountain peaks and adorned with jewels, / were seen scorched by the fire and shattered on the surface of the earth.

As men, women, children, and the aged were burning on every side, / the fire blazed mercilessly, and a great wailing arose. / One [woman] had been sleeping pleasantly, another was heedless, O best of kings;

an excellent woman, having sported, was lying on a very broad couch; / another, large-eyed and adorned with rows of necklaces, while asleep / was choked by smoke and, wretched, fell into the fire.

A woman in that blazing city, clinging fondly through love for her son, / hugged her son tightly and was burned by the fire in Tripura.

One of golden hue, adorned with sapphires, / seeing her husband fallen, fell upon him.

Another, shining with the hue of the sun, asleep upon her beloved, / struck by the flames of fire, embraced his neck tightly, O king.

Another woman, cloud-complexioned, with a jangling golden girdle / and an upper garment of white cloth, fell to the surface of the earth.

One having the lustre of a jasmine and the moon, adorned with blue gems, / placing her joined hands upon her head, made a plea to the fire.

The garment of one was burning, and the hair of another, O descendant of Bharata, / along with vessels of gold resembling blazing fire.

An excellent woman, stricken with immense sorrow, lamented / upon seeing her husband turned to ashes, crying like an osprey.

Embracing him tightly, she suddenly fell upon his head. / Another woman, deeply afflicted with sorrow, wailed in her own house,

crying like an osprey upon seeing [it] reduced to ashes. / Another, seeing her mother and father lifeless,

shook and fell to the ground, like an exhausted mare. / Here and there an excellent woman, burning,

did not see the child in her lap, standing with her face turned away. / The house of Kumbhila burned and fell to the surface of the earth,

and of Kūṣmāṇḍa, Dhūmra, Kuhaka, and Baka, / and indeed of Virūpanayana and Virūpākṣa,

and Śumbha, Ḍimbha, Raudra, and Prahlāda, best of asuras, / Daṇḍapāṇi, Vipāṇi, and Siṃhavaktra, O sinless one,

and Dundubha, Saṃhrāda, Ḍiṇḍi, and Muṇḍi, / and Bāṇa's brother, and Bāṇa, Kravyāda and Vyāghravaktra.

Likewise in the house of those others—whatever Dānavas were arrogant with strength— / the fire blazed mercilessly, O king. / The women, burning, lamented in every house, O dear one.

Uttering words of pity, destitute, they went to Śiva: / "Fire! If the enmity of the enemy of the gods is against men,

what offense have the women committed—cuckoos in the cage of the home? / You are unmerciful and cruel! What is your anger against a woman?

Have you not heard in the world that women are by all means not to be slain? / But you have the quality of burning, driven by the wind.

You have no compassion at all, nor any courtesy toward a woman. / Even barbarians show mercy upon hearing the words of women.

You are a barbarian even among barbarians, unrestrainable and mindless!" / While the women were thus lamenting right there, O descendant of Bharata,

the fire, thick with masses of flames, blazed on. / Seeing this, Bāṇa, burning, spoke then:

"Having disregarded Hara, I, an evil soul, am utterly ruined. / By me, an evil fool, the worlds were certainly destroyed;

cows and brahmins were constantly killed in this world and the next; / food and drink, monasteries, gardens, and hermitages were destroyed,

as well as the hermitages of seers, gardens of the gods, and dwellings of the gaṇas. / Through that sin comes the destruction of my austerity and strength.

What shall I do with wealth, with the kingdom, or with the inner quarters?

Rather, dull-witted, I go for refuge to Śaṅkara's feet. / There is neither mother, nor father, nor kinsman, nor any other person,

apart from Maheśāna, the supreme remover of the distress of the afflicted. / The sin committed by oneself is experienced by oneself alone.

Yet I burn together with all the virtuous ones." / Having spoken thus, placing the liṅga of Śiva upon his head,

he went forth quickly from the house, enveloped by fire. / Distressed, his limbs sweating, stumbling repeatedly,

praising Hara with a choked voice, he went for refuge: / "If, scorched by the fire of your wrath, I am to be slain, O Śaṅkara,

by your grace, O Mahādeva, let not my liṅga perish! / It was worshipped by me, O best of gods, meditated upon with devotion, O all-pervading lord,

dearer than my life, O God! Therefore, you ought to protect it. / Whether I am to be favored or to be slain by you, O best of the gods,

let my devotion to you be unwavering in every birth, O Mahādeva! / Even among animals, insects, and birds, and among those born of animal wombs / through my own past deeds, O Mahādeva, let my devotion to you be unwavering!"

Having spoken thus, the illustrious Bāṇa, foremost among devotees, / propitiated the Lord of the Gods with a hymn of praise, O descendant of Bharata.

Bāṇa said: / "O Śiva, Śaṅkara, homage to the destroyer of all! Homage to the remover of the fear and distress of those afraid of worldly existence! / O causer of the destruction of the body of the flower-weaponed one, O god who fulfills the desires beloved of women, homage to you!

Victory, O Lord of Pārvatī, essence of the supreme truth! Victory, O you who have fashioned a garland of terrible serpents! / Victory, O you whose limbs are smeared with spotless ashes! Victory, O root of mantras, sole vessel of the universe!

Victory, O you with a mass of brown matted hair containing poisonous serpents! Victory, O you who hold the bow Pināka, terrible one! / Victory, O you with uneven eyes, free from attachment! Victory, O Śaṅkara, bearer of the waves of the Gaṅgā!"

Victory to you of terrible form, skull-staff in hand, with the crescent moon on your crest! Victory to you, praised by the worlds! / Victory, lord of joy, essence of the realm of the gods! Victory, you who burnt entirely the essence of all!

Victory to you who are worthy of praise, purifier of the worlds! Victory, bull-bannered one of manifold deeds! / Victory, you who fashioned a garland of human skeletons, death unto the skeleton of the demon Agha’s body!

Victory, blue-throated one who rides an excellent bull! Victory, allayer of the misfortunes of all worlds! / Victory, you whose feet are bowed to by siddhas, gods, and asuras! Victory, Rudra who ferries across the terrible ocean of worldly existence!

Victory, mountain-dweller revered by the lord of the gods! Victory, subtle-formed one worthy of contemplation! / Victory, destroyer of Tripura, inner being of the universe, ultimate reality of all scriptures!

Victory, difficult to comprehend, redeemer from worldly existence, fierce savior across the great ocean of the defilements of the Kali age! / Victory, lord of the host of gods and asuras! Homage to you whose faces include the horse, monkey, lion, and lord of elephants!

Extremely short, stout, and exceedingly tall—your perception cannot indeed be attained by the immortals. / Taintless one, I bow to your feet! Victory, you accompanied by Ambā, who steals the luster of beautiful eyes!

Failing to reach you, what would not an exalted person destroy? / And then great, extremely dreadful tapas is severely tormenting.

Neither sons, kinsmen, wives, nor all one's friends / approach to assist in distress as one goes alone on the path.

Whatever karma alone, good or bad, has been done by him, / that alone becomes his companion as he goes forward.

For the penniless wanderer alone there is no fear anywhere; / a wealthy man is never freed from fears. Therefore I renounce wealth.

The greedy commit sins, but men of pure disposition do not, / having heard the essence of dharma, and having heard and comprehended it.

You are Viṣṇu, you are the Lord of the Universe, the eternal form of Brahman. / You are Indra, O god of the lords of gods, lord of the celestials, homage to you!

You are the earth and Varuṇa, you are the wind, and you are the fire. / You are the consecration, the sacrificer, space, and Soma.

You are the sun, and you are the lord of wealth, you are Yama, and you are the guru. / By you the entire universe is pervaded, as the three worlds are by the sun.

Having heard this hymn composed by Bāṇa, the divine Maheśvara, / relinquishing anger with a pleased heart, then spoke [these] words:

Īśvara said: / Do not fear, do not fear from this day forward, O dānava! / Stay in the golden mansion or else by my side,

with your sons, grandsons, great-grandsons, kinsmen, and wife. / From this day forward, dear child, you are invulnerable among all enemies.

Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Further, a boon was granted to him by the god of gods, O descendant of Bharata, / worshipped in heaven, on earth, and in Pātāla by gods and asuras:

Imperishable and unwaning, dwell as you please! / Then Rudra restrained the seven-flamed [fire].

His third city was protected by the divine Śambhu, / while the other, engulfed in garlands of flames, fell onto the surface of the earth.

Rising halfway upwards, its flames reached the heavens. / A great cry of woe was uttered there by the hosts of seers,

and by the exalted deities, siddhas, vidyādharas, and others. / One northern section fell there on Śrīśaila;

the second fell, O king, on Mount Amarakaṇṭaka. / Blazing, it fell there; therefore it is remembered as Jvāleśvara.

Tripura having been burned, O king, and the upper section having fallen, / the divine Rudra remained there, turning back the garlands of flames,

in order to protect the seers who were crying out in woe, / Maheśāna himself in bodily form, accompanied by Umā and the bull.

Whoever recalls Amarakaṇṭaka with devotion even in mind / obtains merit greater than the Cāndrāyaṇa fast; of this there is no doubt.

Because this best of mountains is extremely sacred, O best of the Bharatas, / for this reason, O king, it always destroys all sins.

It is filled with various trees and creepers, adorned with various flowers, / covered with various bushes and plants, and surrounded by manifold climbing vines.

It is teeming with lions and tigers, adorned with herds of deer; / and with the roar of wild beasts it was constantly delightful.

By immortals in their thousands, headed by Brahmā, Indra, and Viṣṇu, / Śaṅkara, the lord of the gods of gods, is served there on that mountain.

Whoever leaps down on this Mount Amarakaṇṭaka / sports, O king, through the fourteen worlds in succession:

the realm of Indra, the realm of Agni, of Kubera, of Vāyu, and of Yama, / of Nirṛti, of Varuṇa, of Soma, and of Sūrya,

and the unblemished abode of Brahmā, immediately after that the abode of Viṣṇu, / then, O illustrious one, the abode of Umā and Rudra, and next the abode of Īśvara.

Into the supreme, peaceful, subtle Sadāśiva, the light beyond the senses, / the steadfast person attains dissolution according to the rule; of this there is no doubt.

Yudhiṣṭhira said: / What rule has been prescribed here regarding the leap, O best of seers? / Relate all of this to me, O great sage; I have a doubt.

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Listen, son of Pāṇḍu, I will declare that rule, / having performed which initial rite one should leap down thereafter.

Having first performed three Kṛcchra penances and recited [the mantra] one million times, / eating only herbs and barley gruel, pure and bathing at the three junctures of the day, O king,

one should worship Īśa, the three-eyed god of gods, at the three times of the day. / One should have a fire offering made right there with one tenth [of the japa count], O best of kings.

One should recite [the name of] the god a hundred thousand times and worship with perfumes and garlands. / At night, when one sees him in a dream standing in a vimāna, one should then throw oneself down.

Whoever throws oneself down according to this very procedure, / having reached the celestial world, sports together with the gods.

For thirty thousand years and likewise three hundred million [years], / having enjoyed delightful pleasures, he then goes down to the surface of the earth. // 28.127

He rules the earth under a single umbrella, worshipped by the world; / freed from illness and sorrow, he lives for a hundred autumns. // 28.128

The sacred ford Jvāleśvara is renowned in the three worlds; / there the Jvālā River, created by Śiva, flowed forth, O son of Pṛthā. // 28.129

Having extinguished that city of Bāṇa, it joined with the Revā. / Having bathed there according to rule, accompanied by mantras, O great king, // 28.130

one should gratify the ancestors and the deities with water mixed with sesame seeds, / and the ancestors with the offering of rice-balls; he obtains the fruit of a Pauṇḍarīka sacrifice. // 28.131

Whoever undertakes fasting unto death at that sacred ford, O ruler of men, / is freed from all sins and goes to the world of Rudra. // 28.132

Amareśvara is indeed served by hundreds of immortals / and likewise by hosts of seers; therefore it is the most sacred and great. // 28.133

The sacred ford of Amarakaṇṭaka extends for a yojana all around; / it is equal to ten million Rudras, and therefore it is supremely sacred. // 28.134

Whoever circumambulates that king of mountains, / by him the earth has been circumambulated; of this there is no doubt. // 28.135

All the three kinds of sin—vocal, mental, / and bodily—are destroyed: so Śaṅkara said. // 28.136

And beside Amareśvara is the sacred ford Śakreśvara, O king; / having performed austerity there in ancient times, it was established by Śakra. // 28.137

The auspicious sacred ford named Kuśāvarta was made by Brahmā, / known as Brahmakuṇḍa, and another is Haṃsatīrtha. // 28.138

And the sacred ford of Ambarīṣa, and likewise Mahākāleśvara; / and to the east of the Kāverī is the sacred ford Mātṛkeśvara. // 28.139

These are on the southern bank of the Revā, O bull of the Bharatas; / through worship, bathing, and gifts, they destroy multitudes of sins. // 28.140

On Bhṛgutuṅga, O great king, the well-known Bhairava is Śiva; / and in its southern part is the sacred ford Capaleśvara. // 28.141

These two, destroyers of sorrow, stand on the northern bank of the Revā. / Having worshipped them and bowed down to them, the full fruit of pilgrimage is attained; / for unseen and unhonoured, they cause obstacles to men. // 28.142

Thus ends the twenty-eighth chapter, named ‘Description of the Māhātmya of the Sacred Fords of Jvāleśvara and Amareśvara in the Destruction of Tripura’, in the Revākhaṇḍa of the fifth [part], Āvantyakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, a collection of eighty-one thousand verses.