Skandapurana 6.3.72

6.3.72.p1

adhyāya 72

6.3.72.1

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca -
tato gacchettu rājendra maṇināgeśvaraṃ śubham .
uttare narmadākūle sarvapāpakṣayaṃkaram .
sthāpitaṃ maṇināgena lokānāṃ hitakāmyayā .. 72.1 ..

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said:
Then one should go, O best of kings, to the auspicious Maṇināgeśvara
on the north bank of the Narmadā, which destroys all sins,
installed by Maṇināga out of desire for the welfare of the worlds.

6.3.72.2

yudhiṣṭhira uvāca -
āśīviṣeṇa sarpeṇa īśvarastoṣitaḥ katham .
kṣudrāḥ sarvasya lokasya bhayadā viṣaśālinaḥ .. 72.2 ..

Yudhiṣṭhira said:
How was Īśvara pleased by a venomous serpent?
They are vile, terrifying to the entire world, and full of poison.

6.3.72.3

kathyatāṃ tāta me sarvaṃ pātakasyopaśāntidam .
mama santāpajaṃ duḥkhaṃ duryodhanasamudbhavam .. 72.3 ..

Tell me everything, father, which grants pacification of sin.
My suffering born of anguish, arisen from Duryodhana,

6.3.72.4

karṇabhīṣmodbhavaṃ raudraṃ duḥkhaṃ pāñcālisambhavam .
tava vaktrāmbujaughena plāvitaṃ nirvṛtiṃ gataḥ .. 72.4 ..

and the terrible suffering arisen from Karṇa and Bhīṣma, arisen on account of the princess of Pañcāla,
having been flooded by the flood from your lotus mouth, I have attained contentment.

6.3.72.5

śrutvā tava mukhodgītāṃ kathāṃ vai pāpanāśinīm .
ayuktamidamasmākaṃ dvija kleśo na śāmyati .. 72.5 ..

Hearing the sin-destroying story sung from your mouth—
it is unfitting for us, O twice-born, if affliction is not pacified.

6.3.72.6

athavā prāpsyate tāta vidyādānasya yatphalam .
tatphalaṃ prāpyate nityaṃ kathāśravaṇato hareḥ .. 72.6 ..

Or rather, father, whatever fruit of imparting knowledge is obtained,
that fruit is perpetually obtained from hearing the story of Hari.

6.3.72.7

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca -
yathāyathā tvaṃ nṛpa bhāṣase ca tathātathā me sukhameti bhāratī .
śaithilyatā vā jarayānvitasya tvatsauhṛdaṃ naśyati naiva tāta .
śṛṇuṣva tasmātsaha bāndhavaiśca kathāmimāṃ pāpaharāṃ praśastām .. 72.7 ..

Glorious Mārkaṇḍeya said:
Just as you speak, O king, so too does my speech find joy.
Though I am beset with old age and weakness, father, my affection for you does not perish at all.
Therefore listen, along with your kinsmen, to this praised tale that removes sin.

6.3.72.8

kathayāmi yathāvṛttamitihāsaṃ purātanam .. 72.8 ..

I shall recount the ancient narrative just as it happened,

6.3.72.9

kathitaṃ pūrvato vṛttaiḥ pāramparyeṇa bhārata .. 72.9 ..

as recounted by earlier events through lineage, O Bhārata.

6.3.72.10

dve bhārye kaśyapasyāstāṃ sarvalokeṣvanuttame .
garutmantaṃ ca vinatāsūta kadrūrahīnatha .. 72.10 ..

Kaśyapa had two wives, unequalled in all the worlds.
Vinatā gave birth to Garuḍa, and Kadrū then to the serpents.

6.3.72.11

saṃtoṣeṇa ca te tāta tiṣṭhataḥ kāśyape gṛhe .
kadrūśca vinatā nāma hṛṣṭe ca vanite sadā .. 72.11 ..

And they dwelt with contentment, father, in the house of Kaśyapa—
Kadrū and the one named Vinatā, two women ever delighted.

6.3.72.12

tābhyāṃ sārddhaṃ krīḍate ca kaśyapo'pi prajāpatiḥ .
tatastvekadine prāpte āśramasthā śubhānanā .. 72.12 ..

With them Kaśyapa, the lord of creatures, also sported.
Then on a certain day, staying in the hermitage, the fair-faced one,

6.3.72.13

uccaiḥśravaṃ hayaṃ dṛṣṭvā manovegasamanvitam .
paśya paśya hi tanvaṅgī hayaṃ sarvatra pāṇḍuram .. 72.13 ..

seeing the horse Uccaiḥśravas endowed with the speed of thought, [said:]
'Look, look, slender-limbed one, at the horse white all over,

6.3.72.14

dhāvamānamaviśrāntaṃ javena manasopamam .
taṃ dṛṣṭvā sahasā cāśvamīrṣyābhāvena cābravīt .. 72.14 ..

running without rest, comparable in speed to thought!'
Seeing that horse suddenly, [Kadrū] spoke with feelings of envy:

6.3.72.15

kadrūruvāca -
brūhi bhadre sahasrāṃśoraśvaḥ kiṃvarṇako bhavet .
ahaṃ bravīmi kṛṣṇo'yaṃ tvaṃ kiṃ vadasi tadvada .. 72.15 ..

Kadrū said:
'Tell me, fair one, of what color is the horse of the thousand-rayed [sun]?
I say this one is black; what do you say? Speak to that!'

6.3.72.16

vinatovāca -
paśyase nanu netraiśca kṛṣṇaṃ śvetaṃ na paśyasi .
asatyabhāṣaṇādbhadre yamalokaṃ gamiṣyasi .. 72.16 ..

Vinatā said:
'Do you indeed see with your eyes black, and not see white?
From speaking untruth, fair one, you will go to the realm of Yama.

6.3.72.17

satyānṛte tu vacane paṇastava mamaiva tu .
sahasraṃ caiva varṣāṇāṃ dāsyahaṃ tava mandire .. 72.17 ..

A wager between you and me upon true and false words:
for a thousand years I shall be a slave in your house,

6.3.72.18

asatyā yadi me vāṇī kṛṣṇa uccaiḥśravā yadi .
tadāhaṃ tvadgṛhe dāsī bhavāmi sarpamātṛke .. 72.18 ..

if my statement is false, if Uccaiḥśravas is black;
then I shall become a slave in your house, mother of serpents.

6.3.72.19

yadi uccaiḥśravāḥ śveto'haṃ dāsī ca tavaiva tu .
evaṃ parasparaṃ dvābhyāṃ saṃvādo'yaṃ vyavardhata .. 72.19 ..

[Kadrū said:] If Uccaiḥśravas is white, I alone shall be your slave!'
Thus between the two of them this dispute escalated.

6.3.72.20

āśrameṣu gatā bālā rātrau cintāparā sthitā .
bandhuvargasya kathitaṃ samastaṃ tadviceṣṭitam .. 72.20 ..

The young woman, having gone to the hermitage, remained at night absorbed in anxiety.
She told her group of kinsmen all that had taken place.

6.3.72.21

putrāṇāṃ kathitaṃ pārtha paṇaṃ caiva mayā kṛtam .
hāhākāraḥ kṛtaḥ sarpaiḥ śrutvā mātrā paṇaṃ kṛtam .. 72.21 ..

[She said,] 'I have told my sons, O son of Pṛthā, that a wager was made by me.'
An outcry of woe was made by the serpents, hearing that a wager had been made by their mother.

6.3.72.22

jātā dāsī na sandehaḥ śveto bhāskaravāhanaḥ .
uccaiḥśravā hayaḥ śveto na kṛṣṇo vidyate kvacit .. 72.22 ..

[They said,] 'You have become a slave, there is no doubt! The mount of the sun is white.
The horse Uccaiḥśravas is white, nowhere is he black.'

6.3.72.23

kadrūruvāca -
yathāhaṃ na bhave dāsī tatkāryaṃ ca vicintyatām .
viśadhvaṃ romakūpeṣu hyuccaiḥśravahayasya tu .. 72.23 ..

Kadrū said:
'Devise that action so that I do not become a slave!
Enter into the hair-pores of the horse Uccaiḥśravas

6.3.72.24

ekaṃ muhūrtamātraṃ tu yāvatkṛṣṇaḥ sa dṛśyate .
kṣaṇamātreṇa caikena dāsī sā bhavate mama .. 72.24 ..

for just the span of a muhūrta, so long as he is seen as black.
And in just a single moment she will become my slave.

6.3.72.25

dāsīṃ kṛtvā tu tāṃ tanvīṃ vinatāṃ satyagarvitām .
tataḥ svasthānagāḥ sarve bhaviṣyatha yathāsukham .. 72.25 ..

Having made that slender Vinatā, proud of truth, into a slave,
then, going to your own places, all of you will dwell as you please.'

6.3.72.26

sarpā ūcuḥ .
yathā tvaṃ jananī cāmba sarveṣāṃ bhuvi pūjitā .
tathā sāpi viśeṣeṇa vañcitavyā na mātaraḥ .. 72.26 ..

The serpents said:
'Just as you are a mother, O mother, worshipped by all on earth,
so also is she especially; mothers are not to be deceived.

6.3.72.27

mātā ca pitṛbhāryā ca mātṛmātā pitāmahī .
karmaṇā manasā vācā hitaṃ tāsāṃ samācaret .. 72.27 ..

A mother, a father's wife, a mother's mother, and a father's mother—
one should act for their welfare in deed, thought, and speech.'

6.3.72.28

sā tatastena vākyena kruddhā kālānalopamā .
mama vākyamakurvāṇā ye kecidbhuvi pannagāḥ .. 72.28 ..

She then, at that speech, enraged like the fire of cosmic dissolution, [said:]
'Whosoever serpents on earth do not perform my word,

6.3.72.29

havyavāhamukhe sarve te yāsyantyavicāritam .
mātustadvacanaṃ śrutvā sarve caiva bhujaṅgamāḥ .. 72.29 ..

they shall all enter the mouth of the fire without hesitation!'
Hearing that speech of their mother, all the serpents—

6.3.72.30

kecitpraviṣṭā romeṣu uccaiḥśravahayasya ca .
naṣṭāḥ keciddaśadiśaṃ kadrūśāpabhayāttataḥ .. 72.30 ..

some entered the hairs of the horse Uccaiḥśravas,
while some fled in the ten directions out of fear of Kadrū's curse.

6.3.72.31

kecidgaṅgājale naṣṭāḥ kecinnaṣṭāḥ sarasvatīm .
kecinmahodadhau līnāḥ praviṣṭā vindhyakandare .. 72.31 ..

Some fled into the waters of the Gaṅgā, some fled to the Sarasvatī,
some hid in the great ocean, or entered caves of the Vindhya.

6.3.72.32

āśritya narmadātoye maṇināgottamo nṛpa .
tapaścacāra vipulamuttare narmadātaṭe .. 72.32 ..

Resorting to the waters of the Narmadā, O king, Maṇināga, the best [of snakes],
performed vast austerity on the northern bank of the Narmadā.

6.3.72.33

mātṛśāpabhayātpārtha dhyāyate kāmanāśanam .
acchedyamapratarkyaṃ ca vināśotpattivarjitam .. 72.33 ..

Out of fear of his mother's curse, O son of Pṛthā, he meditated upon the destroyer of desires,
who is indivisible, inconceivable, and devoid of destruction and origination.

6.3.72.34

vāyubhakṣaḥ śataṃ sāgraṃ tadardhaṃ ravivīkṣakaḥ .
evaṃ dhyānaratasyaiva pratyakṣastripurāntakaḥ .. 72.34 ..

Eating only wind for more than a hundred [years], and for half of that gazing at the sun,
to him who was thus engaged in meditation, the destroyer of Tripura became visible to the eyes.

6.3.72.35

sādhu sādhu mahābhāga sattvavāṃstu bhujaṃgama .
tvayā bhaktyā gṛhīto'haṃ prītaste hyurageśvara .
varaṃ yācaya me kṣipraṃ yaste manasi vartate .. 72.35 ..

'Well done, well done, highly fortunate one, steadfast serpent!
I have been captured by you with devotion, and I am pleased with you, O lord of serpents.
Quickly ask of me the boon that is in your mind!'

6.3.72.36

maṇināga uvāca -
mātṛśāpabhayānnātha kliṣṭo'haṃ narmadātaṭe .
tvatprasādena me nātha mātṛśāpo bhavedvṛthā .. 72.36 ..

Maṇināga said:
'Out of fear of my mother's curse, O Lord, I have suffered on the bank of the Narmadā.
By your grace, O Lord, may my mother's curse become vain.'

6.3.72.37

īśvara uvāca -
havyavāhamukhaṃ vatsa na prāpsyasi mamājñayā .
mama loke nivāsaśca tava putra bhaviṣyati .. 72.37 ..

Īśvara said:
'You will not reach the mouth of the fire, my child, by my command;
and your dwelling, O son, shall be in my realm.'

6.3.72.38

maṇināga uvāca -
atra sthāne mahādeva sthīyatāmaṃśabhāgataḥ .
sahasrāṃśena bhāgena sthīyatāṃ narmadājale .
upakārāya lokānāṃ mama nāmnaiva śaṅkara .. 72.38 ..

Maṇināga said:
'In this place, O Mahādeva, please remain by a portion of a part;
by a thousandth part please remain in the water of the Narmadā,
for the benefit of the worlds, under my name, O Śaṅkara!'

6.3.72.39

īśvara uvāca -
sthāpayasva paraṃ liṅgamājñayā mama pannaga .
ityuktvāntarhito devo jagāma hyumayā saha .. 72.39 ..

Īśvara said:
'Establish the supreme liṅga by my command, O serpent.'
Having spoken thus, the god disappeared and went away with Umā.

6.3.72.40

mārkaṇḍeya uvāca -
tatra tīrthe tu ye gatvā śuciprayatamānasāḥ .
pañcamyāṃ vā caturdaśyāmaṣṭamyāṃ śuklakṛṣṇayoḥ .. 72.40 ..

Mārkaṇḍeya said:
Those who, having gone to that sacred ford with purified and restrained minds,
on the fifth, fourteenth, or eighth day of the bright or dark fortnights,

6.3.72.41

arcayanti sadā pārtha nopasarpanti te yamam .
dadhnā ca madhunā caiva ghṛtena kṣīrayogataḥ .. 72.41 ..

ever worship [it], O son of Pṛthā, do not approach Yama.
With curd, honey, ghee, and mixed with milk,

6.3.72.42

snāpayanti virūpākṣamumādehārdhadhāriṇam .
kāmāṅgadahanaṃ devamaghāsuraniṣūdanam .. 72.42 ..

they bathe the uneven-eyed one who bears half of Umā's body,
the god who burned the body of Kāma, the destroyer of the demon Agha.

6.3.72.43

snāpyamānaṃ ca ye bhaktvā paśyanti parameśvaram .
te yānti ca pare loke sarvapāpavivarjitaiḥ .. 72.43 ..

And those who with devotion behold the Supreme Lord while he is being bathed, / go to the highest world, freed from all sin.

6.3.72.44

śrāddhaṃ preteṣu ye pārtha cāṣṭamyāṃ pañcamīṣu ca .
brāhmaṇaiśca sadā yogyairvedapāṭhakacintakaiḥ .. 72.44 ..

Those who, O son of Pṛthā, perform a śrāddha for the deceased on the eighth or fifth lunar days, / with worthy brahmins who constantly study and contemplate the Vedas,

6.3.72.45

svadāranirataiḥ ślakṣṇaiḥ paradāravivarjitaiḥ .
ṣaṭkarmanirataistāta śūdrapreṣaṇavarjitaiḥ .. 72.45 ..

devoted to their own wives, gentle, avoiding other men's wives, / dedicated to the six rites, dear one, and free from sending Śūdras [on their errands]—

6.3.72.46

khañjāśca dardurāḥ ṣaṇḍhā vārddhuṣyāśca kṛṣīvalāḥ .
bhinnavṛttikarāḥ putra niyojyā na kadācana .. 72.46 ..

the lame, the stammerers, eunuchs, usurers, farmers, / and those engaged in improper conduct, O son, must never be engaged.

6.3.72.47

vṛṣalīmandire yasya mahiṣīṃ yastu pālayet .
sa vipro dūratastyājyo vrate śrāddhe narādhipa .. 72.47 ..

He in whose house lives a low-caste woman, or who keeps a buffalo-cow— / that brahmin must be avoided from afar in vows and śrāddhas, O lord of men.

6.3.72.48

kāṇāṣṭuṃṭāśca maṇṭāśca vedapāṭhavivarjitāḥ .
na te pūjyā dvijāḥ pārtha maṇināgeśvare śubhe .. 72.48 ..

The one-eyed, those with crippled hands, the blunt-fingered, and those bereft of Vedic study— / these twice-born men should not be honored at auspicious Maṇināgeśvara, O son of Pṛthā.

6.3.72.49

yadīcchedūrdhvagamanamātmanaḥ pitṛbhiḥ saha .
sarvāṅgarucirāṃ dhenuṃ yo dadyādagrajanmane .. 72.49 ..

If one should desire upward ascent for oneself together with one's ancestors, / one should give a cow handsome in all limbs to a twice-born first-born.

6.3.72.50

sa yāti paramaṃ lokaṃ yāvadābhūtasamplavam .
tataḥ svargāccyutaḥ so'pi jāyate vimale kule .. 72.50 ..

He goes to the supreme world until the dissolution of all beings; / then, falling from heaven, he is born into a pure family.

6.3.72.51

ye paśyanti paraṃ bhaktyā maṇināgeśvaraṃ nṛpa .
na teṣāṃ jāyate vaṃśe pannagānāṃ bhayaṃ nṛpa .. 72.51 ..

Those who behold Maṇināgeśvara with supreme devotion, O king— / no fear of serpents arises in their lineage, O king.

6.3.72.52

pannagaḥ śaṅkate teṣāṃ maṇināgapradarśanāt .
sauparṇarūpiṇaste vai dṛśyante nāgamaṇḍale .. 72.52 ..

A serpent fears them from the sight of Maṇināga; / they appear in the serpent-realm with the form of Garuḍa.

6.3.72.53

phalāni caiva dānānāṃ śṛṇuṣvātha nṛpottama .
annaṃ saṃskārasaṃyuktaṃ ye dadante narottamāḥ .. 72.53 ..

Now hear the fruits of gifts, O best of kings: / those best of men who give food prepared with rituals,

6.3.72.54

toyaṃ śayyāṃ tathā chatraṃ kanyāṃ dāsīṃ subhāṣiṇīm .
pātre deyaṃ yato rājan yadīcchecchreya ātmanaḥ .. 72.54 ..

water, a bed, likewise a parasol, a maiden, and an eloquent maidservant— / it should be given to a worthy recipient, O king, if one desires one's own welfare.

6.3.72.55

surabhīṇi ca puṣpāṇi gandhavastrāṇi dāpayet .
dīpaṃ dhānyaṃ gṛhaṃ śubhraṃ sarvopaskarasaṃyutam .. 72.55 ..

One should cause fragrant flowers, scented garments to be given, / a lamp, grain, and a bright house equipped with all furnishings.

6.3.72.56

ye dadante paraṃ bhaktyā te vrajanti triviṣṭapam .
maṇināge nṛpaśreṣṭha yacca dānaṃ pradīyate .. 72.56 ..

Those who give with supreme devotion go to heaven. / Whatever gift is given at Maṇināga, O best of kings,

6.3.72.57

tasya dānasya bhāvena svarge vāso bhaveddhruvam .
pātakāni pralīyante āmapātre yathā jalam .. 72.57 ..

by the power of that gift, residence in heaven is certain to result; / sins dissolve away like water in an unbaked pot.

6.3.72.58

narmadātoyasaṃsiddhaṃ bhojyaṃ vipre dadāti yaḥ .
so'pi pāpairvinirmuktaḥ krīḍate daivataiḥ saha .. 72.58 ..

He who gives food prepared with Narmadā water to a brahmin, / is also freed from sins and sports with the deities.

6.3.72.59

tataḥ svargacyutānāṃ hi lakṣaṇaṃ pravadāmyaham .
dīrghāyuṣo jīvaputrā dhanavantaḥ suśobhanāḥ .. 72.59 ..

Now I will state the characteristics of those fallen from heaven: / long-lived, with living sons, wealthy, handsome,

6.3.72.60

sarvavyādhivinirmuktāḥ sutabhṛtyaiḥ samanvitāḥ .
tyāgino bhogasaṃyuktā dharmākhyānaratāḥ sadā .. 72.60 ..

freed from all diseases, accompanied by sons and servants, / generous, endowed with enjoyments, constantly devoted to sacred narratives,

6.3.72.61

devadvijagurorbhaktāstīrthasevāparāyaṇāḥ .
mātāpitṛvaśā nityaṃ drohakrodhavivarjitāḥ .. 72.61 ..

devoted to gods, brahmins, and gurus, intent on serving sacred fords, / always obedient to mother and father, free from malice and wrath—

6.3.72.62

ebhireva guṇairyuktā ye narāḥ pāṇḍunandana .
satyaṃ te svargādāyātāḥ svarge vāsaṃ vrajanti te .. 72.62 ..

men endowed with these very virtues, O son of Pāṇḍu, / have truly arrived from heaven, and they go to dwell in heaven.

6.3.72.63

sarvatīrthavaraṃ tīrthaṃ maṇināgaṃ nṛpottama .
tīrthākhyānamidaṃ puṇyaṃ yaḥ paṭhecchṛṇuyādapi .. 72.63 ..

Maṇināga is the best sacred ford of all sacred fords, O best of kings. / Whoever recites or listens to this holy narrative of the sacred ford,

6.3.72.64

so'pi pāpairvinirmuktaḥ śivaloke mahīyate .
na viṣaṃ kramate teṣāṃ vicaranti yathecchayā .. 72.64 ..

freed from sins, he also is glorified in the world of Śiva. / Poison does not affect them; they wander as they please.

6.3.72.65

bhādrapadyāṃ ca yatṣaṣṭhyāṃ puṇyaṃ sūryasya darśane .
tatphalaṃ samavāpnoti ākhyānaśravaṇena tu .. 72.65 ..

Whatever merit is obtained on the sixth day of Bhādrapada by the sight of the sun, / that fruit he obtains merely by listening to this narrative.

6.3.72.65_2

.. iti śrīskānde mahāpurāṇa ekāśītisāhasryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ pañcama āvantyakhaṇḍe revākhaṇḍe maṇināgeśvaratīrthamāhātmyavarṇanaṃ nāma dvisaptatitamo'dhyāyaḥ ..

Thus ends the seventy-second chapter, titled 'Description of the Glory of Maṇināgeśvara Sacred Ford,' in the Revākhaṇḍa of the fifth section, the Āvantyakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.