Skandapurana 6.3.60

Glorious Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Again I shall speak of the supreme Ādityeśvara, / which removes all sorrow, O son of Pṛthā, and destroys all obstacles,

ever increasing lifespan and prosperity, bestowing sons, bestowing heaven, and auspicious. / Other sacred fords, O delight of the Kurus,

could not attain its glory in heaven, in the mortal world, or in the sphere of Pātāla: / Kurukṣetra, Gayā, the Gaṅgā, Naimiṣa, and Puṣkara,

Vārāṇasī, Kedāra, Prayāga, Rudranandana, / Mahākāla, Sahasrākṣa, and Śuklatīrtha, O best of kings.

All of them are not worth a sixteenth part of Ravi Tīrtha. / Hear now what took place at Ravi Tīrtha, O best of kings.

Out of affection I will tell you, although very afflicted by old age. / Let all the seers hear, who are steadfast in austerity and of great splendour.

It was heard by me in the presence of Rudra, together with Nandi, Skanda, and the attendants, / when Śambhu was asked by Pārvatī about the fruit of Ravi Tīrtha.

And what was related by Śambhu to Girijā with great excitement, / all of that, sung aloud by Rudra, was heard by me with a single-minded heart.

I shall tell you that; listen attentively, O Pāṇḍava. / Afflicted by famine, brahmins took refuge at the Narmadā:

Uddālaka, Vasiṣṭha, Māṇḍavya, Gautama, / Yājñavalkya, Garga, Śāṇḍilya, Gālava,

Nāciketa, Vibhāṇḍaka, the Vālakhilyas and others, / Śātātapa, Śaṅkha, Jaimini, Gobhila,

Jaigīṣavya, and Śatānīka—all of them gathered together. / They undertook a pilgrimage to the sacred fords all around the Narmadā.

In the course of their journey, those eminent seers came to Ādityeśvara, / which was bright and covered with trees—dhava, tinduka, and pāṭala,

jambīra, arjuna, kubja, śamī, kesara, and kiṃśuka— / at that exceedingly holy sacred ford, crowded with fragrant flowers,

with punnāga, coconut palms, khadira, and wish-fulfilling trees, / teeming with numerous wild beasts, filled with deer and wild cats,

thronged with bears and elephants, and adorned with leopards. / All the seers entered that forest filled with flowers.

And at the edge of the forest, having seen women who were red, dressed in red garments, / richly adorned with red garlands, anointed with red sandalwood,

bearing red ornaments, holding nooses in their hands, terrifying, / and near them were seen [beings] resembling dark clouds...

Huge of body, with terrifying faces, holding nooses in their hands, inspiring fear, / like a drought incarnate, distressed, with tawny eyes, were seen [there]. 60.19

Long-tongued, with dread-inspiring mouths, sharp fangs, difficult to approach, / an old woman, O best of the Kurus, was seen as well by the foremost seers. 60.20

Then that old woman, having approached that company, O Bhārata— / the brahmins intent on their Vedic recitation were seen by those evil-doers. 60.21

They in a group spoke to the brahmins engaged in austerity: / 'All of our masters are staying within the sacred ford. / Those highly fortunate ones must be dispatched at once with all haste.' 60.22

Hearing that speech of theirs, all with all haste, / the best of the twice-born went to the valley of the Narmadā, beholding the Revā. 60.23

Then some praised [her], and others said: 'Hail, O Goddess! Homage be to you! 60.24

Homage be to you who are served by hosts of siddhas; homage be to you who are all-holy and auspicious! / Homage be to you who are served by thousands of brahmins; homage be to you, the excellent one born from the body of Rudra! 60.25

Homage be to you, the purifier of all pure things; homage be to you, O Goddess, giver of boons, auspicious one! / I bow to you of cool waters, giver of happiness, foremost of rivers, remover of sins, variegated one! 60.26

You whose body is well attended by hosts of diverse beings, whose body is purified by gandharvas, yakṣas, and serpents! / You are drunk by multitudes of great elephants, buffaloes, and boars, O garland of great watery billows! 60.27

I bow to you, the best of all, giver of joy; release us who are bound by the noose of sin! 60.28

Mortals wander in hells only so long as they do not resort to your waters. / If touched by the rays of the moon and the sun, O Goddess, it grants the supreme state. 60.29

Of those afflicted by many fears of transmigration, wrapped around by many sins, / and surrounded by many pairs of opposites, you are the refuge, O lotus-faced one! 60.30

Rivers too become purified and spotless upon reaching you, O Goddess; of this there is no doubt. / You grant fearlessness to the grief-stricken; you are worshipped by many righteous persons. 60.31

Mortals with bodies smeared with feces and urine, their bodies submerged, wander in hells / only so long as they do not touch your water, whose surging waves crash with great force. 60.32

Even Mlecchas, Pulindas, and Yātudhānas who drink your holy water, O Goddess, / are freed from terrible fear; what then of brahmins afraid of the fetters of worldly existence? 60.33

Lakes and rivers have met destruction in this terrible age brought forth by Kali, / but you shine, O Goddess, full of abundant waters, like the Gaṅgā in heaven along the path of constellations. 60.34

By your grace, O distinguished granter of boons, having endured this time, / may we attain liberation through your gracious favor; do you bestow your favor upon us! 60.35

For those who take refuge in you and have gone to you for shelter, you are the protector, like a mother or a father to their sons. / Protected by you, we shall endure this terrible time smitten by drought. 60.36

Thus praised then was Goddess Narmadā, the foremost of rivers; / that supreme form became visible to the brahmins, O Yudhiṣṭhira. 60.37

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Those who recite this hymn, O lord of men, or hear it with supreme devotion, being tranquil, / go to Rudra in a vehicle accompanied by a bull, their bodies adorned with heavenly garments. 60.38

Those who constantly chant this hymn having bathed in the water of the Narmadā— / to them at the time of death this best of rivers soon grants a pure destination. 60.39

Rising in the morning or lying down, whoever daily glorifies this king of hymns, / she grants the destruction of his body in her own waters and provides refuge to him, O noble one. 60.40

Freed from sins, rejoicing in heaven, they become enjoyers of pleasures, and not otherwise. 60.41

Pleased by this hymn, Goddess Narmadā, O Bhārata, / who flows toward the southern region, [spoke] to the brahmins refreshed by her water: 60.42

'I grant you immortality, which is not attained even by yogins / and is hard to attain for all the gods; you will attain it through my grace.' 60.43

Having thus obtained the unexcelled boon, O king, those brahmins, / about to depart with pleased minds, beheld a wondrous marvel. 60.44

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Men were seen by them, O son of Pṛthā, situated on the bank of the Narmadā, / intent upon bathing and deity worship—just five of them, endowed with great strength. 60.45

They were seen by all the brahmins who had mastered the Vedas and Vedāṅgas; / they were questioned by them, O great king. Listen to that as it happened: 60.46

The brahmins said: / 'Having seen a pair of women at the edge of the forest, exceedingly terrible and fearful, / and old men there, holding nooses in their hands, inspiring fear, 60.47

unassailable, dreadful to look upon, wandering restlessly here and there, / uttering auspicious speech, indeed there is no passage there. 60.48

Looking at one another again and again, / let all that speech which was uttered by them be told: 60.49

"Five men belonging to us are staying there, O good sirs; / those highly fortunate ones must be dispatched at once with all haste."' 60.50

Then those five men, hearing this auspicious statement, / looking at one another, spoke again and again: 60.51

'Where are they? Whose are they? Whence have they come? What was spoken by those fearful beings?' 60.52

The men said: / 'Immersion in sacred fords was performed with devotion by all of us in the east, south, west, / and north, yet the sin was not removed by them. 60.53

And now we have become sinless through the power of this sacred ford. / Let all the seers hear, twice-born ones like fire and Time! 60.54

Terrible sins that are unthinkable for embodied beings [were committed]: / by one most wicked person, the wife of his guru was enjoyed; 60.55

by another, a friend's property was stolen, both gold and wealth; / by another was committed the sin of killing a brahmin, exceedingly terrible; 60.56

the drinking of liquor occurred unintentionally for another; / and the slaying of a cow was done unintentionally by one sinner.' 60.57

Even unintentional sins belonged to all of them, O king of men; / but hearing that speech of the brahmins, filled with wonder,

instantly those most sinful men became free from taint, / through the power of this sacred ford, through the power of the Narmadā.

"No entry of sins takes place here at all." / Having reflected thus among themselves, all those most sinful men,

invoked the fire, meditating upon Hari in their hearts. / Having bathed in the sacred waters of the Revā, they offered libations to the ancestors and gods.

Bowing to the divine Sun, contemplating Janārdana in their hearts, / circumambulating that blazing fire with devotion,

they threw themselves into it, O best of Pāṇḍavas, distressed by sins, O king, / having cultivated a pure disposition and abandoned passion and darkness.

All was consumed by them in the fire on the northern bank of the Revā. / Then they were seen seated in aerial chariots by the brahmins, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

An incomparable wonder was seen by the seers on the bank of the Narmadā. / From that time on, all those [brahmins], free from desire and hatred,

delighted, resorted to Ravitīrtha with the desire for liberation. / Now listen to the merit of this sacred ford, O king of men.

Afflicted by old age, yet pleased with devotion, O lord of men, / remaining within two krośas, I will declare its description.

Just as Kurukṣetra is sacred, so Ravitīrtha was heard of by me; / it was declared anciently by Īśvara to the six-faced one, O king of men.

It was heard from Rudra by all of them; I was near there. / Īśvara said: / When a solar eclipse occurs, those who go, O six-faced one, / to Ravitīrtha, obtain a fruit equal to that of Kurukṣetra.

In ritual ablution, in gifting, and in silent recitation and oblations especially, / the merit is equal to Kurukṣetra; no doubt should be entertained here.

Whether in a village or in a forest, the Narmadā is sacred everywhere; / at Ravitīrtha in particular, the Revā bestows sacred fruit.

On the sixth lunar day, on Sunday, on Vyatīpāta, on Dhṛti, / on a solstice, during an eclipse, or on the new-moon day, those who go, with senses conquered,

freed from desire and anger, and likewise from passion and hatred, / having fasted with supreme devotion before the god, O king of men,

and kept a vigil at night, should light a lamp for the god; / [and engage in] a Vaiṣṇava narrative, O son of Pṛthā, and the study of the Veda.

Whether the Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, Sāmaveda, or Atharvan— / whoever recites even a single verse obtains the fruit of the Veda.

And through the Gāyatrī a person obtains the fruit of the four Vedas. / At dawn, one should worship brahmins with food, gifts, and gold,

with gifts of land, with clothing, with gifts of food according to one's capacity, / with umbrellas, shoes, beds, and gifts of houses, O Pāṇḍava,

with gifts of villages, draft beasts, elephants, maidens, and horses; / through gifts of learning and carts, fearlessness arises for all.

An enemy turns into a friend, and poison becomes nectar; / the planets become well pleased, and the Sun is pleased with him.

All this fruit of Ravitīrtha has been declared to you, O king. / The men who listen with devotion to the auspicious fruit of Ravitīrtha,

they too, released from sin, dwell in the world of the Sun. / Whatever merit comes from the gift of a cow, whatever merit from the sight of Bhṛgu,

that merit arises for men from drinking the water at Kedāra. / If one serves an aśvattha tree for a year and gives a vessel of sesame,

that fruit one obtains from celebrating Ādityeśvara. / That which does not arise when its glory is heard, O son of the king—

all that I will tell to you with devotion, O king: / sins dissolve away like water in a broken vessel.

One constantly turns toward the sacred ford; there is no doubt here. / A sacred ford more secret than the secret has been told to you, O Pāṇḍava.

From the most sinful, the ungrateful, and the slayers of master or friend, / this auspicious narrative of the sacred ford should always be concealed by the wise.

Thus ends the sixtieth chapter, named 'The Description of the Greatness of the Ādityeśvara Sacred Ford', in the Revākhaṇḍa of the fifth [section], the Āvantyakhaṇḍa, in the great Purāṇa of eighty-one thousand verses, the glorious Skandapurāṇa.