Skandapurana 1.1.3

Sanaka said:

"O Lord! This wondrous māhātmya of the Lord of Aruṇādri

has been heard through the grace of Śiva and through your compassion, O Guru of the universe!

Wondrous is this māhātmya, destroying all sins!

Who else, then, worshipped the boon-granting Crimson Mountain?

Beginningless and endless is Śiva in the form of the Crimson Mountain;

he stood to grant a boon through the austerity of both of you, O god.

When the liberation-granting name 'Śoṇādri' is uttered even once,

the presence of all desires is attained, and destruction of sins takes place.

The savoring of the nectar of the word 'Śiva', the order of the story of Śiva's worship—"

Hearing this speech of his, the god of gods, the Grandfather [Brahmā],

the embodiment of compassion, bowing to the Lord of Aruṇādri, spoke:

Brahmā said:

"Listen, my child, to that ancient deed of Pārvatī,

how she attained tranquility by taking refuge in the Lord of Aruṇādri.

Once Mahādeva, the husband of Pārvatī, approached

a divine jeweled lion-throne adorned with jeweled archways,

charming with wish-fulfilling trees bearing jeweled flowers and fruits,

inlaid with most precious gems, with hung pearl canopies,

having the great fragrance of divine incense and heaps of scattered flowers,

thronged with bees buzzing in networks of dangling garlands,

where the mount of Guha [the peacock] danced to the deep sound of divine musical instruments,

where great elephants were terrified by the movement of Pārvatī’s lion,

with apsarases only dancing and singing,

whose courtyard was attended [by all], served by the guardians of the directions,

with excellent sages praising him with mantras born from the Ṛg, Yajus, and Sāma Vedas,

surrounded by celestial seers, gods, siddhas, and royal seers,

and by gaṇas of diverse forms whose bodies were adorned with sacred ashes,

radiant with the wearing of rudrākṣas, full of devotion to Śiva,

with the sounds arising from the triple symphony of vīṇā, flute, mṛdaṅga, and other instruments,

charming with the ringing of bells mixed with the sound of the Vedas.

The Lord, companion of Pārvatī, adorned that charming,

exceedingly divine throne out of desire to favor his devotees,

assuming his spotless, auspicious form consisting of all fiery splendor.

Together with Ambikā, the glorious one, an ocean of compassion, disported

with music, diverse tales, and varieties of dice-play;

with the grotesque dances of the gaṇas, he delighted Pārvatī.

Having dismissed all the gods, the seers, and the members of the assembly,

and having granted various desired boons to the world of devotees,

amid wonderful traditions and flowers of all seasons,

he disported together with Umā among rows of jeweled palaces,

at delightful step-wells with flights of jeweled steps,

on the peaks of pleasure-mountains, inside groves of golden plantains;

with the gentle wind, cool with the waves of the Gaṅgā

and smelling of blooming lotuses, his fatigue from sport removed,

of his own will, the god himself delighted his beloved,

the auspicious goddess, the embodiment of love, beautiful with all good fortune.

Once in secret, the affectionate, innocent [goddess],

knowing her lover to be obedient to her command, approached him respectfully from behind,

and with both her lotus-like hands, the three eyes of the teacher of the universe,

of Śambhu, she playfully covered, wondering in curiosity: 'What is this?'

When the eyes in the form of the moon, sun, and fire were covered one by one,

a terrifying darkness descended there for a long time.

In half a blink of the God's eye, tens of millions of years passed.

Through the darkness born of the Goddess's play, the destruction of the universe took place.

The universe was filled all around with boundless darkness.

Devoid of the movement of light, it fell into destruction.

The gods did not appear, nor did the Vedas shine forth;

nor did living beings come to be; only the Unmanifest remained.

Beholding the untimely destruction of all the worlds,

a reflection arose among those who had gained insight through tapas:

“What is this arising of darkness, the cause of the destruction of the world?

Surely the Lord, the Self of all, did not bring on the end of time.

The Goddess in playful sport is covering the eyes of the conqueror of Tripura.

Because of this, the entire triple world has been rendered devoid of light.

When the whole triple world is pervaded by untimely darkness,

what is the recourse for the divine beings who attained dominion through tapas?

Sacrifices are not performed; the gods are not worshipped on earth.”

Having thus determined in their minds and seen with the eye of knowledge,

those eternal wise sages approached Śambhu and praised him with devotion:

“Obeisance to Śiva, the Supreme Self, the creator of all the universe,

who through māyā assumed a separate existence in the form of Śakti.

The primeval, unique Śakti is inseparable from Śiva and shares his form;

in play she brings about the creation, preservation, and dissolution of the universe.

She forms half your body, O God; your form consists of both Śiva and Śakti.

Mahādeva is one alone; there are no others apart from you, O Lord.

By your play, this world has gone to dissolution before its time.

May your unfeigned compassion, which nurtures the world, expand.

By half a blink of your eye, because of the withdrawal of the lights,

many years have passed, causing the destruction of the worlds.

Therefore be gracious, O embodiment of compassion, O Death, O Sadāśiva!

Desist from this destruction of the world, undertaken out of affection!”

Hearing these words of those devoted beings who possessed yogic perfections,

the embodiment of compassion said: “Gaurī, release my eyes!”

And the Goddess removed the covering from Hara's eyes,

which have the form of the moon, sun, and fire; and the world became luminous.

When asked by the perfected beings who bowed, “How much time has elapsed?”,

it was said: “By half a blink of your eye, tens of millions of years have passed.”

Then the God, the embodiment of grace, smiling as he looked upon his beloved,

most magnanimously spoke what is the supreme compendium of dharma and meaning:

“O innocent one, this was done without reflection, causing the destruction of the universe.

I see that this is improper, especially for you, the Mother of the Universe.

I too will dissolve all the worlds at the dissolution,

when the proper time arrives; but out of childishness you sent them to dissolution prematurely.

Who of your stature would perform such an act, condemned by the virtuous?

Even in jest, an embodiment of compassion never harms another.”

Hearing these words of Śambhu, distressed with fear of violating dharma,

the beloved asked him: “What shall I do to expiate it?”

Then the God, his mind pleased, that ocean of mercy, spoke;

Śiva was gratified by the Goddess's repentance and devotion:

“What expiation can be spoken of here for you, who are my very form?

Nevertheless, this path of dharma must be preserved by you yourself.

The ritual ordinances of the Vedas and Smṛtis, sciences, gods, and the rest—

all this is your form; I am the great purpose composed of that.

The Goddess, who is non-different from me and venerable, must act with a desire to maintain the world.

Therefore, an expiation appropriate to the world is prescribed for you.

Dharma is declared to be sixfold according to the deliberation of the Vedas and Smṛtis.

If it is not maintained by the master, it will be abandoned by the dependents.

Yet I am unable to remain anywhere, even for a moment, without you.

Established in my own Self, I myself shall perform all the tapas,

and the entire earth shall become fruitful through your tapas.”

From the touch of your lotus feet and even from the darśana of your austerity,

they will banish from their presence every affliction born of wickedness. 56

Perform merit for the sake of the pre-eminence of the land of action (karmabhūmi).

Seeing the practice of your austerity in the world, everyone constantly, 57

will fix their mind more firmly upon dharma; there is no doubt.

Your compassion will fulfill the earth through the preservations of dharma. 58

You alone are declared to be all this by the eternal Vedas, O Goddess.

There is the famous city of Kāñcī, endowed with all prosperity, 59

which makes heaven, filled with gods, visibly present upon the surface of the earth;

where whatever slight austerity is performed is said to yield infinite fruit. 60

All the gods and sages constantly desire to dwell there.

There is the famous [river] Kampā, destroyer of great sins, 61

at which millions of sins tremble for mortals who abide there.

There shines a single mango tree with ever-fresh shoots, 62

giving complete and cool shade, with flowers, fruits, and sprouts.

What is murmured, offered into fire, or given in charity there becomes productive of infinite fruit. 63

Let gaṇas of various forms, ḍākinīs, hosts of yoginīs,

and others headed by Viṣṇu attend upon you on all sides. 64

And I, becoming without parts (niṣkala), will reside

in the lotus of your heart; do not be distressed by separation from me, O Goddess! 65

Having been spoken to thus by the God of gods, the Goddess went near the Kampā

accompanied by her female companions to perform austerity, her eyes overcome with wonder. 66

And seeing the Kampā, the stainless river frequented by crowds of sages,

and the solitary mango tree (Ekāmra) with tender leaves, blocking the glare, 67

overspread with fruits and flowers, filled with the singing of cuckoos,

she was pleased, and again remembered the god Maheśvara. 68

Her body was surrounded by the fire of love, and she became as if emaciated by austerity.

That Gaurī addressed Vijayā, who was standing at her side— 69

her limbs filled with the sorrow of love, agitated by separation from the enemy of Pura: 70

“I have come here to worship constantly with austerities this sin-destroying Lord himself; / [yet] this solitary mango tree, friend of the god of love, with fresh shoots and flowers, reminds me of the god of love. 71

[Translation continued from previous segment]

How can separation from Śiva be borne by a mind intensely agitated here by Love? / Even so, only one sovereign remedy is seen: remembrance of the feet of the one crowned with the crescent moon.” 72

[Translation continued from previous segment]

Thus ends the third chapter, named ‘The Arrival at Kāñcī beneath the Ekāmra tree by the Kampā for the Purpose of Performing Austerity, on Account of the Fear of Sin of the Worlds Agitated by Darkness through Pārvatī Closing Śiva’s Eyes,’ in the first half of the Aruṇācalamāhātmya, in the first Māheśvarakhaṇḍa of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses. 3