Skandapurana 6.3.29

6.3.29.p1

adhyāya 29

6.3.29.1

yudhiṣṭhira uvāca -
kāverīti ca vikhyātā triṣu lokeṣu sattama .
māhātmyaṃ śrotumicchāmi tasyā mārkaṇḍa tattvataḥ .. 29.1 ..

Yudhiṣṭhira said: / [There is a river] renowned in the three worlds as the Kāverī, O best of beings. / I wish to hear its māhātmya in truth, O Mārkaṇḍa.

6.3.29.2

kīdṛśaṃ darśanaṃ tasyāḥ phalaṃ sparśe'thavā vibho .
snāne jāpye'thavā dāna upavāse tathā mune .. 29.2 ..

What is the fruit of beholding it, or of touching it, O Lord, / or of bathing, chanting, making gifts, and fasting, O sage?

6.3.29.3

kathayasva mahābhāga kāverīsaṅgame phalam .
dharmaḥ śruto'tha dṛṣṭo vā kathito vā kṛto'pi vā .. 29.3 ..

Declare, O highly fortunate one, the fruit of the confluence of the Kāverī. / Religious duty, whether heard, seen, spoken of, performed,

6.3.29.4

anumodito vā viprendra punātīti śrutaṃ mayā .
yathā dharmaprasaṅge tu mune dharmo'pi jāyate .. 29.4 ..

or approved of, purifies—so have I heard, O best of brahmins. / Just as in the context of religious duty, O sage, duty itself arises,

6.3.29.5

svargaśca narakaścaiva ityevaṃ vaidikī śrutiḥ .. 29.5 ..

so too [arise] heaven and hell: such is the Vedic revelation.

6.3.29.6

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca -
sādhu sādhu mahābhāga yatpṛṣṭo'haṃ tvayādhunā .
śṛṇuṣvaikamanā bhūtvā kāverīphalamuttamam .. 29.6 ..

Glorious Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Excellent, excellent, O highly fortunate one, that you have asked me now! / Listen with a single mind to the supreme fruit of the Kāverī.

6.3.29.7

asti yakṣo mahāsattvaḥ kuberonāma viśrutaḥ .
so'pi tīrthaprabhāvena rājanyakṣādhipo'bhavat .. 29.7 ..

There is a Yakṣa of great power renowned by the name Kubera; / he too, through the power of this sacred ford, became the ruler of Yakṣas, O king.

6.3.29.8

tacchṛṇuṣva vidhānena bhaktyā paramayā nṛpa .
siddhiṃ prāpto mahābhāga kāverīsaṅgamena tu .. 29.8 ..

Listen to that with the proper method and with supreme devotion, O king, / how that highly fortunate one attained perfection through the confluence of the Kāverī.

6.3.29.9

kāveryā narmadāyāstu saṅgame lokaviśrute .
tatra snātvā śucirbhūtvā kuberaḥ satyavikramaḥ .. 29.9 ..

At the confluence of the Kāverī and the Narmadā, world-renowned, / having bathed there and become pure, Kubera of true valor,

6.3.29.10

vidhivanniyamaṃ kṛtvā śāstrayuktyā narottama .
ārādhayanmahādevamekacittaḥ sanātanam .. 29.10 ..

duly undertaking observances in accordance with the scriptures, O best of men, / worshipped the eternal Mahādeva with single-minded focus.

6.3.29.11

ekāhāro vasanmāsaṃ tathā ṣaṣṭhāhnakālikaḥ .
pakṣopavāsī nyavasatkaṃcitkālaṃ nṛpottama .. 29.11 ..

Living on a single meal a day for a month, then eating only every sixth meal-time, / and fasting for a fortnight, he dwelt there for some time, O best of kings.

6.3.29.12

mūlaśākaphalaiścānyaṃ kālaṃ nayati buddhimān .
kiṃcitkālaṃ vasaṃstatra tīrthe śaivālabhojanaḥ .. 29.12 ..

The wise one spent another period of time on roots, herbs, and fruits; / dwelling there at that sacred ford for some time, he subsisted on water-moss.

6.3.29.13

parākeṇānayatkālaṃ kṛcchreṇāpi ca mānada .
cāndrāyaṇena cāpyanyamanyaṃ vāyvambubhojanaḥ .. 29.13 ..

He passed time performing the parāka penance and also the kṛcchra penance, O giver of honor; / and another [time] through the cāndrāyaṇa penance, and another consuming only wind and water.

6.3.29.14

evaṃ tatra naraśreṣṭha kāmarāgavivarjitaḥ .
sthito varṣaśataṃ sāgraṃ karṣayansvaṃ tathā vapuḥ .. 29.14 ..

Thus remaining there, O best of men, free from desire and passion, / for fully a hundred years, emaciating his body,

6.3.29.15

tato varṣaśatasyānte devadevo maheśvaraḥ .
tuṣṭastu parayā bhaktyā tamuvāca hasanniva .. 29.15 ..

then, at the end of the hundred years, Maheśvara, the god of gods, / pleased by his supreme devotion, said to him, as if smiling:

6.3.29.16

bhobho yakṣa mahāsattva varaṃ varaya suvrata .
parituṣṭo'smi te bhaktyā tava dāsye yathepsitam .. 29.16 ..

'O Yakṣa of great strength, choose a boon, O you of virtuous vows! / I am well pleased with your devotion; I shall give you whatever you desire.'

6.3.29.17

yakṣa uvāca -
yadi tuṣṭo'si deveśa umayā saha śaṅkara .
adyaprabhṛti sarveṣāṃ yakṣāṇāmadhipo bhave .. 29.17 ..

The Yakṣa said: / 'If you are pleased, O Lord of gods, O Śaṅkara, together with Umā, / may I become from this day forward the sovereign of all Yakṣas,

6.3.29.18

akṣayaścāvyayaścaiva tava bhaktipuraḥsaraḥ .
dharme matiṃ ca me nityaṃ dadasva parameśvara .. 29.18 ..

imperishable and undecaying, ever foremost in devotion to you; / and grant me, O Supreme Lord, a mind ever fixed on righteousness!'

6.3.29.19

īśvara uvāca -
yattvayā prārthitaṃ sarvaṃ phalaṃ dharmasya tattathā .
ityevamuktvā taṃ tatra jagāmādarśanaṃ haraḥ .. 29.19 ..

Īśvara said:
Everything that was requested by you, that fruit of righteousness shall be so.
Having thus spoken to him there, Hara vanished from sight.

6.3.29.20

so'pi snātvā vidhānena saṃtarpya pitṛdevatāḥ .
āmantrayitvā tattīrthaṃ kṛtārthaśca gṛhaṃ yayau .. 29.20 ..

Having bathed according to rule, satisfied the ancestors and deities,
and taken leave of that sacred ford, he went home fulfilled.

6.3.29.21

pūjitastatra yakṣaistu so'bhiṣikto vidhānataḥ .
cakāra vipulaṃ tatra rājyamīpsitamuttamam .. 29.21 ..

Worshipped there by the yakṣas and consecrated according to rule,
he ruled a vast, desired, and supreme kingdom there.

6.3.29.22

tatra cānye surāḥ siddhā yakṣagandharvakiṃnarāḥ .
gaṇāścāpsarasāṃ tatra ṛṣayaśca tathānagha .. 29.22 ..

Other gods, siddhas, yakṣas, gandharvas, and kiṃnaras were there,
as well as groups of apsarases and seers there, O sinless one.

6.3.29.23

kāverīsaṅgamaṃ tena sarvapāpaharaṃ viduḥ .
svargāṇāmapi sarveṣāṃ dvārametadyudhiṣṭhira .. 29.23 ..

Therefore, they know the confluence of the Kāverī to remove all sins;
this is also the gateway to all heavens, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

6.3.29.24

te dhanyāste mahātmānasteṣāṃ janma sujīvitam .
kāverīsaṅgame snātvā yairdattaṃ hi tilodakam .. 29.24 ..

Blessed are they, great-souled are they, well-lived is their life,
by whom water with sesame seeds is offered after bathing at the confluence of the Kāverī.

6.3.29.25

daśa pūrve pare tāta mātṛtaḥ pitṛtastathā .
pitaraḥ pitāmahāstena uddhṛtā narakārṇavāt .. 29.25 ..

Ten [generations] before and after, dear one, on the mother's side as well as on the father's,
fathers and grandfathers are raised up by him from the ocean of hell.

6.3.29.26

tasmātsarvaprayatnena tatra snāyīta mānavaḥ .
arcayedīśvaraṃ devaṃ yadīcchecchāśvatīṃ gatim .. 29.26 ..

Therefore, with every effort, a man should bathe there
and worship Lord Īśvara if he desires an eternal state.

6.3.29.27

kāverīsaṅgame rājansnānadānārcanaṃ naraiḥ .
kṛtaṃ bhaktyā naraśreṣṭha aśvamedhādhikaṃ phalam .. 29.27 ..

Ablution, charity, and worship performed with devotion by men at the confluence of the Kāverī,
O best of men, O king, yield a fruit greater than the horse sacrifice.

6.3.29.28

homena cākṣayaḥ svargo japādāyurvivardhate .
dhyānato nityamāyāti padaṃ śivakalātmakam .. 29.28 ..

Through oblations imperishable heaven is attained, through silent recitation life span increases,
and through meditation one always reaches the state consisting of the digits of Śiva.

6.3.29.29

agnipraveśaṃ yaḥ kuryāttasmiṃstīrthe nareśvara .
agniloke vasettāvadyāvadābhūtasamplavam .. 29.29 ..

A person who enters fire at that sacred ford, O lord of men,
dwells in the world of Agni until the universal dissolution.

6.3.29.30

anāśakaṃ tu yaḥ kuryāttasmiṃstīrthe narādhipa .
tasya puṇyaphalaṃ yadvai tacchṛṇuṣva narottama .. 29.30 ..

He who observes fasting until death at that sacred ford, O king,
listen to that meritorious fruit of his, O best of men:

6.3.29.31

gandharvāpsaraḥsaṃkīrṇe vimāne sūryasannibhe .
vījyamāno varastrībhirdaivataiḥ saha modate .. 29.31 ..

In an aerial chariot resembling the sun, crowded with gandharvas and apsarases,
fanned by excellent women, he rejoices with the gods.

6.3.29.32

ṣaṣṭivarṣasahasrāṇi ṣaṣṭivarṣaśatāni ca .
krīḍate rudralokasthastadante bhuvi cāgataḥ .. 29.32 ..

For sixty-six thousand years
he disports dwelling in the world of Rudra, and at its end, having come to the earth,

6.3.29.33

bhogavāndānaśīlaśca jāyate pṛthivīpatiḥ .
ādhiśokavinirmukto jīvecca śaradāṃ śatam .. 29.33 ..

he is born as an earthly sovereign, enjoying pleasures and given to charity;
freed from anguish and grief, he lives for a hundred autumns.

6.3.29.34

evaṃ guṇagaṇākīrṇā kāverī sā sarinnṛpa .
triṣu lokeṣu vikhyātā narmadāsaṅgame sadā .. 29.34 ..

Thus endowed with an abundance of virtues, that river Kāverī, O king,
is celebrated throughout the three worlds, always at the confluence with the Narmadā.

6.3.29.35

jitavākkāyacittāśca dhyeyadhyānaratāstathā .
kāverīsaṅgame tāta te'pi mokṣamavāpnuyuḥ .. 29.35 ..

Those who have subdued speech, body, and mind, and are devoted to the meditation on the object of contemplation,
at the confluence of the Kāverī, dear one, they too attain liberation.

6.3.29.36

śṛṇu te'nyatpravakṣyāmi āścaryaṃ nṛpasattama .
triṣu lokeṣu kā tvanyā dṛśyate saritā samā .. 29.36 ..

Listen, I shall tell you another wonder, O best of kings:
what other river is seen in the three worlds equal to her?

6.3.29.37

labdhaṃ yairnarmadātoyaṃ ye ca kuryuḥ pradakṣiṇam .
ye pibanti jalaṃ tatra te puṇyā nātra saṃśayaḥ .. 29.37 ..

Those by whom the water of the Narmadā is obtained and who make circumambulation,
and those who drink the water there, they are meritorious, there is no doubt about this.

6.3.29.38

na teṣāṃ santaticchedo daśa janmāni pañca ca .
teṣāṃ pāpaṃ vilīyeta himaṃ sūryodaye yathā .. 29.38 ..

There is no break in their lineage for fifteen births;
their sin dissolves like snow at sunrise.

6.3.29.39

gaṅgāyamunasaṅge vai yatphalaṃ labhate naraḥ .
tatphalaṃ labhate martyaḥ kāverīsnānamācaran .. 29.39 ..

Whatever fruit a man obtains at the confluence of the Gaṅgā and the Yamunā,
that fruit a mortal obtains by bathing in the Kāverī.

6.3.29.40

bhaume tu bhūtajāyoge vyatīpāte ca saṃkrame .
rāhusomasamāyoge tadevāṣṭaguṇaṃ smṛtam .. 29.40 ..

On a Tuesday, at an astrological conjunction of the spirits, at Vyatīpāta, at a solstice or transit,
and at an eclipse of the moon by Rāhu, it is remembered to be eightfold.

6.3.29.41

aśītiśca yavāḥ proktā gaṅgāyāmunasaṅgame .
kāverīnarmadāyoge tadevāṣṭaguṇaṃ smṛtam .. 29.41 ..

Eighty barley grains are declared [as merit] at the confluence of the Gaṅgā and Yamunā;
at the union of the Kāverī and Narmadā, it is remembered to be eightfold.

6.3.29.42

gaṅgā ṣaṣṭisahasraistu kṣetrapālaiḥ prapūjyate .
tadardhairanyatīrthāni rakṣante nātra saṃśayaḥ .. 29.42 ..

The Gaṅgā is worshipped by sixty thousand guardians of the field;
half that number protect other sacred fords, there is no doubt about this.

6.3.29.43

amareśvare tu saritāṃ ye yogāḥ parikīrtitāḥ .
te tvaśītisahasraistu kṣetrapālaistu rakṣitāḥ .. 29.43 ..

At Amareśvara, the confluences of rivers that are celebrated
are protected by eighty thousand guardians of the field.

6.3.29.44

tathāmareśvare yāmye liṅgaṃ vai capaleśvaram .
dvitīyaṃ caṇḍahastākhyaṃ dve liṅge tīrtharakṣake .. 29.44 ..

Likewise, to the south of Amareśvara is the liṅga Capaleśvara;
the second is named Caṇḍahasta: these two liṅgas are protectors of the sacred ford.

6.3.29.45

śivena sthāpite pūrvaṃ kāveryādyabhirakṣake .
lakṣeṇa rakṣitā devī narmadā bahukalpagā .. 29.45 ..

Established formerly by Śiva to protect the Kāverī and others,
the goddess Narmadā, flowing through many aeons, is protected by a hundred thousand.

6.3.29.46

dhanuṣāṃ ṣaṣṭyabhiyutaiḥ puruṣairīśayojitaiḥ .
oṃ kāraśatasāhasraiḥ parvataścābhirakṣitaḥ .. 29.46 ..

By men equipped with sixty bows appointed by the Lord,
and by hundreds of thousands of Oṃkāras, the mountain is protected.

6.3.29.47

anyadeśakṛtaṃ pāpamasmin kṣetre vinaśyati .
asmiṃstīrthe kṛtaṃ pāpaṃ vajralepo bhaviṣyati .. 29.47 ..

Sin committed in another region is destroyed in this sacred field;
but sin committed in this sacred ford will become an indelible stain.

6.3.29.48

eṣā te kathitā tāta kāverī saritāṃ varā .
rudradehasamutpannā tena puṇyā saridvarā .. 29.48 ..

This has been told to you, dear one, the Kāverī, the best of rivers;
born from the body of Rudra, therefore she is the best, holy river.

6.3.29.48_2

.. iti śrīskānde mahāpurāṇa ekāśītisāhasryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ pañcama āvantyakhaṇḍe revākhaṇḍe narmadāmāhātmye kāverīsaṅgamamāhātmyavarṇanaṃ nāmaikonatriṃśo'dhyāyaḥ ..

Thus ends the twenty-ninth chapter, titled 'Description of the Glory of the Confluence of the Kāverī', in the Glory of the Narmadā, in the Section on the Revā, in the fifth Section on Avantī, in the Mahāpurāṇa composed by Skanda, in the collection of eighty-one thousand [verses].