Skandapurana 1.2.18

Nandikeśvara said:

Maintaining the household of her husband, who dwelled beneath the single mango tree,

she satisfied the creatures there with cooked food and drink. 1.

Once the daughter of the mountain saw the god, / his eyes closed in the performance of twilight devotions,

with folded hands in supplication. 2.

‘Surely now some fortunate woman is being meditated upon! / The love which he displays toward me,

I consider to be mere hollow talk. 3.

How is the crooked mental disposition of men to be understood? / Through feigned courtesy, by one skilled [in deceit], I have been utterly deceived. 4.

Through deceitful conduct I have been greatly deceived by this Dakṣa.

I consider that he shows only outward politeness to me, while in his secret heart / [another] person is the recipient of his affection, because she possesses good fortune. 5.

Because a fortunate person becomes the recipient of affection,

“From this day forward I am your slave, bought by your austerities” — / even by this,

I have been betrayed by the crescent-crested enemy of Smara. 6.

In the case of unequal affection, the pride of good fortune / felt by foolish-minded women serves only for mockery among people. 7.’

pride in good fortune leads only to ridicule among people.

Thus, with a mind clouded by lover's indignation,

the face of the goddess appeared as if licked by the heat of fire. 8.

Flooded with tears and slightly reddened, her two eyes

shone like two blue lotus blossoms completely filled with water. 9.

As her brow, bearing its tilaka mark, knit into a frown,

it seemed like the bow of Manmatha broken in two. 10.

Under the weight of inner anger, her lower lip trembled / repeatedly,

like a sprouting leaf of the red aśoka tree that has turned to coral. 11.

Flushing exceedingly, Pārvatī's cheeks

shone like a ruby mirror polished on a whetstone. 12.

Agitated by her inner tremor, her two breasts shook,

like two lotus buds set in motion by bees inside them. 13.

And reflecting repeatedly, [she thought]: ‘Indeed, because of my lack of good fortune,

this moon-adorned god is thinking of another woman. 14.

Therefore I shall go somewhere else; what is there here for me alone? / Good fortune must now be earned by me through the practice of austerity. 15.

Now good fortune must be acquired by me through the practice of austerity.

While his eyes are still closed, I must depart quietly;

otherwise he will restrain me with words spoken from above his throat. 16.

This very affectionate Gaṅgā will surely rear the two boys;

the god does not even remember me, devoted as he is to another woman.’ 17.

Having decided thus, she quickly withdrew from the side of the god,

and, without pointing to any particular direction, anxiously set out to wander. 18.

Calāvatī, Mālyavatī, Mālinī, Vijayā, and Jayā,

though restrained, in their eagerness followed their mistress of their own accord. 19.

There she also roamed everywhere among holy mountains, forests,

cities, lakes, and rivers. 20.

Wandering along the foothills of the Sahya range, in the auspicious land named Drāviḍa,

the goddess, having crossed the river Śakti, spoke to Vijayā: 21.

‘Look, not far away in front of us is this completely red mountain,

conspicuous with eight peaks—surely a mountain of great majesty. 22.

And in its valleys are seen hermitages of ascetics,

exceedingly purifying, tranquil, and delightful with holy forests. 23.

Let us go and inspect these holy hermitages;

my mind becomes exceedingly serene at the sight of them.’ 24.

Thus delighting her companions, the mountain’s daughter, moving on in order,

came near that mountain and saw a certain hermitage, 25.

where spiders carried away cobwebs and crocodiles carried away algae,

and many jackals nourished carp fry with wild rice grains; 26.

where yaks swept away rubbish with their thick-haired tails,

and wild buffaloes levelled [the ground] with their protruding horns; 27.

where—marvel of marvels!—monkeys brought fruits and flowers, bears brought honey and leaves,

and boars brought bathing-clay for the seers; 28.

where crows and owls, parrots and falcons, deer and tigers, lions and elephants,

peacocks and snakes, and mice and cats shared friendship! 29.

Charming with the fragrance of the puroḍāśa offerings being sacrificed,

where a purifying cloud of smoke issues forth from between the trees; / 1.3.2.18.30

where the enemies of crows recite the Śatarudrīya,

crows utter hymns of praise, and mynas sing the Sāmaveda; / 31

tigers graze in the vegetable and rice patches just like cows,

and female elephants sprinkle trees with water from their trunks. / 32

And in a certain beautiful, holy, and sacredly charming spot,

she saw a certain foremost of seers practicing austerity: / 33

beneath a saptaparṇa tree, on a variegated tiger-skin seat,

having firmly assumed the vīrāsana posture on a pure mat of kuśa grass; / 34

pale with sacred ashes, with matted locks that shone reddish like the awn of rice,

as though an autumn cloud with motionless flashes of lightning; / 35

his gaze fixed on the tip of his nose, his lower lip evenly trembling,

turning a rosary of rudrākṣa beads with the tip of his hand; / 36

clad in a pair of bark garments whose hem-borders were dried

from recent washing, like a mountain clad in twilight clouds; / 37

bearing across the hollow of his chest a triple sacred thread,

placed as if it were a snare to bind the sixfold harmful foes.

Having paid him the proper respects, she asked that ascetic: / 38

Pārvatī said:

“Who are you? What is this excellent mountain upon which you perform austerity?” / 39

And he said: “This is Mount Aruṇa, revered among sacred fields.

I am the sage Gautama; for the sake of liberation, I worship Śiva through austerity. / 1.3.2.18.40

Having spoken thus, recognizing through the mouth of Vijayā and the others that she was Umā,

he bowed many times with devotion and led her to his own hermitage. / 41

The sage offered her hospitality with roots, bulbs, fruits, and the like,

and gave his consent to her austerity, which is the root of universal welfare. / 42

Beginning with the origin of the pillar of fire, in due order,

he narrated to her the complete majesty of Mount Śoṇa: / 43

“To the east of Mount Śoṇa is a place named Sthalīśvara,

where Śambhu is present, having assumed the nature of a liṅga of light. / 44

Because it is crowded with the gods, beginning with Vaikuṇṭha and Parameṣṭhin,

I am not able to perform my austerity there without distraction. / 45

This foot of Mount Śoṇa, named Pravālācala,

partakes of secrecy because it is enclosed by a sacred forest. / 46

Therefore, having installed the Three-eyed Lord right here,

I worship him according to my ability through austerities fashioned in my soul. / 47

Near this hermitage of mine is this great sacred field;

let a hermitage be made by the goddess, for a long austerity is to be performed.” / 48

With such permission from the sage, having taken possession of a hermitage,

the daughter of the mountain set out to perform a very great austerity. / 49

To protect the hermitage, she stationed Satyavatī, Kānanavāsinī,

the auspicious one, and Dhundhumāri in the directions beginning with the east. / 1.3.2.18.50

For the protection of the whole grove of austerity, she appointed

Durgā, whose energy is unimpeded and who is capable of carrying out commands. / 51

Thereupon, for the sake of austerity, Pārvatī reduced her braided hair,

worthy of mandāra blossoms, to a mass of matted locks. / 52

Abandoning her fine silk, light as mist, with borders bearing swan emblems,

she of delicate limbs put on rough bark. / 53

Even though the tender shoots of her fingers could scarcely bear plucking flowers,

she cut the extremely sharp-tipped kuśa blades without faltering. / 54

She, tender as a śirīṣa flower, plucked the leaves of the bilva tree

cut around with thorns resembling adamantine needles. / 55

Having bathed in the morning in the purifying Kamalā river,

she worshipped the Sun with red lotuses according to rule. / 56

With the waters of the sacred river mingled with darbha grass, unbroken grains, and sesamum,

the goddess Gaurī performed the water-offering to the gods, seers, and ancestors. / 57

Having invoked the Sun upon a mandala of sand and worshipped him with lotuses,

Gaurī circumambulated and bowed down thousands of times. / 58

Having herself consecrated an extraordinary Śaṃkara-liṅga,

Pārvatī worshipped according to the rule declared in the Āgama.

With seat, form, root-mantra, and limb-mantras, she worshipped the Sun,

and the leaders headed by Daṇḍin and Piṅgala, as well as the śaktis beginning with Dīptā,

and in their respective directions the planets beginning with Soma, using gestures such as the dhenumudrā.

Having worshipped the radiance in Caṇḍa, she offered the remnants of worship.

Sprinkling all around with exceedingly pure argha water,

and properly worshipping the door and the site, she also performed the nyāsas.

Having performed the purification of elements, she then performed the internal sacrifice.

Worshipping in sequence wisdom, righteousness, and the rest on the lotus seat in her heart,

the śaktis beginning with Vāmā on the petals, Sūrya and Vedhas at the tips of the petals,

Soma and Viṣṇu at the tips of the filaments, and Agni and Dhūrjaṭi at the tips of the pericarp,

and above that the circle of śaktis, having placed the five Brahmans,

and offering foot-water and the rest with the limb-mantras, having served and bathed him,

bestowing incense and lamps, she presented sandalwood, flowers, and other offerings.

Once more she worshipped the five Brahmans and also the six limbs.

And in their respective directions Śakra and the others and the thunderbolt and the rest according to the rule,

having rendered all the services of worship, she offered the eight flowers.

Having worshipped the five faces and performed the worship of Caṇḍeśvara,

she constantly worshipped Śiva with circumambulations, prostrations, and other rites.

According to the rule stated in the Śivāgamas, with substances that bestow good fortune,

at the conclusion of the worship she offered oblations into the consecrated fire.

Having prepared hospitable offerings with roots, bulbs, fruits, and the like,

she personally attended to and worshipped the guests.

Standing on the tip of her big toe in summer amid the five fires,

and in winter in a pool of water, she was nourished by the nectar of the moon.

During rainy nights, while clouds poured down torrents of water,

her form stood motionless in the darkness, resembling a streak of lightning.

Making lotuses manifest with her hands and feet, and the moon with her face,

she passed the wintry nights without weariness.

She nourished even the wild deer by offering wild rice grains,

deer dwelling near the hermitage, unacquainted with harm or injury.

With water poured into dug trenches, brought in jars by young girls,

she lovingly nurtured the thriving trees of the hermitage.

The daughter of the mountain king performed circumambulation of the Red Mountain,

constantly together with her companions, for the fulfillment of her desires.

She chanted the five-syllable mantra and recited hymns to Śiva,

and meditated in her mind upon the God having the form of the Red Mountain.

Daily bowed before the Lord of Aruṇācala with circumambulations and other rites,

the mountain's daughter, knowing the ritual rules of the scriptures of Śiva, performed austerity for a long time.

Thus ends the eighteenth chapter, titled 'Description of the Worship of the Lord of Aruṇācala Performed by Pārvatī,' in the second half of the Aruṇācalamāhātmya, in the first Māheśvarakhaṇḍa of the glorious Skandapurāṇa, a compendium of eighty-one thousand verses.