Skandapurana 1.2.21

Nandikeśvara said:

Then Brahmā with Sarasvatī, and Mahāviṣṇu with Padmā,

Indra with the daughter of Puloman, and the other guardians of the directions,

multitudes of gandharvas and apsarases, the Vasus, and the gods,

the hosts of the thirty-three crores, and other hosts of sages,

the eleven great Rudras and the twelve Ādityas,

the Bhairavas, Piśācas, Vetālas, and Kaṭapūtanas,

Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, Uragas, Bhūtas, and whatever other attendants of Śiva there were,

all filled with joy and surrounded by hideous forms,

surrounding the Great Lord, arrived by the thousands.

Seeing that praise of valor performed by the yoginīs and Dānavas,

terrible as the end of an eon, they all felt extreme astonishment.

Seeing the presence manifested by the god, Umā, delighting him,

cast off the pain of separation from him, which had grown for a long time.

Her hair standing on end, her face moist with sweat, trembling, heavy-breasted,

she cast her eyes down toward her toes.

Then Śiva, dismounting from the bull and taking her by the hand,

spoke thus with affection, the radiance of his neck and body adorned with a smile:

Śiva said:

"Why are you perturbed in this way, O goddess, without any cause?

I too have joined my hands in reverence, seeing that you are to be worshipped by all.

Do you not know our oneness, like that of the moonlight and the moon?

This is established from eternity, O ruler of the gods; such innocence of yours [is surprising].

Where is this body of yours, limbs soft as a śirīṣa flower, O daughter of the lord of mountains,

and where are austerities and absorptions, suited for hardened folk? / I am Nārāyaṇa, and you are Lakṣmī; I am Brahmā, and you are Sarasvatī;

you are Vāruṇī, and I am the king of serpents; you are Rohiṇī, and I am the moon;

you are Svāhā, and I am the carrier of oblations; I am the sun, and you are Suvarcalā;

you are the Jāhnavī, and I am the ocean; I am Meru, and you are the fertile earth;

you are the daughter of Puloman, and I am Śakra; you are Rati, and I am the mind-born [Kāma];

you are intellect, and I am the king of kings; you are peace, and I am the wind;

I am the lord of the waters, and you are the wave; you are Prakṛti, and I am Puruṣa;

you are knowledge, and I am what is to be known; you are speech, and [I] the meaning, O Pārvatī;

I am Īśvara, and you are my portion; solely through you, whose very nature is command,

O sovereign of the ordinances of creation, preservation, destruction, and grace!

Therefore, no difference between the two of us should be imagined by you, like ordinary folk.

O goddess, though having assumed bodies by your own will, of the two whose nature is the light of consciousness,

you constantly perturb [yourself] and are indeed jealous of me in vain!

A remedy for that has been seen, which is now performed by me."

Having spoken thus, the seated Lord placed her on his side;

Gaurī, as if concealing herself out of modesty in his very limb,

the two bodies attained unity, merged together through love,

like two meanings instantly [united] through direct perception of close contact.

White as camphor on one half, rose-red as vermilion on the other,

wondrous was that body of the two Śivas, which had attained oneness:

on one half a garland of locks, on the other half a necklace, and in the middle a key;

half of the body of the crescent-crested Lord was framed by the crescent moon,

charming with a single anklet, a single earring, and a single bracelet;

possessing a single golden-brown eye, the body with a single breast shone splendidly.

Having granted half of his abode to the goddess, Vāmadeva said to her:

"O goddess, let there be no further occasion for anger on your part hereafter.

Because you departed for austerity, abandoning Guha who was seeking your breast,

therefore reside here beside me under the name Apītastanī.

Worshipping both you, the goddess Apītastanī, and me, the Lord of Śoṇādri,

may all people delight in worldly enjoyment and liberation.

May this goddess Durgā, born of your portion, the slayer of Mahiṣa,

remain present right here, bestowing the accomplishment of mantras upon men.

May this holy Khaḍgatīrtha, by a single immersion,

remove all diseases of men and destroy all their sins.

And may this Lord of Pravālagiri, a deity who destroys sins,

abundantly grant prosperity to men who possess devotion and faith.

And this Gautama, O goddess, a recipient of your grace,

shall enjoy [fruits] suited to his austerity in the worlds as long as the moon and stars endure.

And may these seven Mothers, the sole mothers of the seven worlds,

from this day forward make their presence [felt] for the prosperity of the worlds.

May the Śāstṛs, Bhairavas, guardians of the sacred field, and Baṭukas as well,

always maintain their presence right here in this sacred field of Aruṇa.

Here, in this sacred field of Aruṇa, I dwell under the name Aruṇa;

and you too, as the goddess Aruṇā, moist with compassion, should stay [here].

Since the two deities, the Aruṇas, grant their presence to those who desire it,

therefore in this sacred field of Aruṇa all perfections are easily obtained.

This propitiation of the Lord of Śoṇagiri, performed by the daughter of the king of mountains—

whoever listens to it, having cast off foes, will easily attain heaven and liberation."

Thus ends the twenty-first chapter, named 'Description of the Praise of Pārvatī by Śiva', in the second half of the Aruṇācalamāhātmya, in the first Māheśvarakhaṇḍa of the glorious Skandapurāṇa, a collection of eighty-one thousand verses.