Skandapurana 1.3.14: adhyāyaḥ 16

Lomaśa said: / Then Śacī addressed them with words full of righteousness and purpose: / 'Do not worry, O gods, with Bṛhaspati at your head! (16.1)

Go swiftly, all you wise ones, to see Indra, / where that best of gods dwells, overwhelmed by the murder of a brahmin. (16.2)

Because Viśvarūpa of dull intellect acted for the sake of many [enemies], / he was slain by that Mahendra, yet he too has been abandoned by all. (16.3)

Therefore, all of you must go where that lord is. / For formerly, O sinless one, Indra showed disrespect toward you. (16.4)

Bound by the mere agitation of that disrespect, Indra was cursed by you, / and in that very way, O Bṛhaspati, you too were cursed by me. (16.5)

Although dismissed from that [station], do you now bring an end [to this misfortune]. (16.6)

Just as both of those [kings] were brought for my sake while Indra was alive, / so, while you are alive, O brahmin, who will do your work? (16.7)

A fortunate one shall be born in your lineage in this world, / a son of renowned name; of this there is no doubt. (16.8)

Go quickly with the gods; bring Indra without delay. / If you do not depart at once, I will curse you again.' (16.9)

Hearing the speech uttered by Śacī, he set out along with the gods. / They all went to Purandara, who was afflicted by the murder of a brahmin. (16.10)

Reaching the shore of a lake, they saluted Indra; / and they were all seen by Indra, who was then dwelling in the waters. (16.11)

The lord of the gods said to the gods: 'Why have you come here? / Seized by wickedness and pursued by the murder of a brahmin, / I dwell in the waters, O gods, alone and engaged in austerity.' (16.12)

Hearing those words of his, all the gods of Śatakratu, / distressed, addressed this wonderful king of the gods: (16.13)

'Such a thing should not be spoken by you. It was for the benefit of others / that that deed—the slaying of Viśvarūpa and the rest—was performed by you. (16.14)

A wondrous sacrifice was performed by the son of Viśvakarman, / through which the gods, and even the seers of great splendor, were perishing. (16.15)

Therefore he was slain by you, O lord, for the benefit of others; / hence we have all arrived to take you back to Amarāvatī.' (16.16)

While the gods were disputing thus, [the personified] Murder of a Brahmin / spoke in haste: 'I choose the lord of gods!' (16.17)

Then Bṛhaspati at once spoke words [to her]: (16.18)

Bṛhaspati said: / 'We shall now prepare places for your dwelling.' / The [sin of] murder was then pacified by the gods because of the gravity of that task. (16.19)

Reflecting, those gods, wise seers, / yakṣas, piśācas, serpents, birds, and all the deities, siddhas, and cāraṇas divided the sin of murder into four parts. (16.20)

At first, all the celestials addressed the Earth: / 'O Earth, a share of this murder must be accepted by you for the accomplishment of this purpose.' (16.21)

Hearing those words of the gods, the Earth trembled and said: / 'How should a portion of this murder be taken by me? Consider that! (16.22)

I am indeed the supporter of all beings; I uphold the universe. / Covered intensely by this sin, I shall become impure.' (16.23)

Hearing that speech of the Earth, Bṛhaspati said to her: / 'Do not fear, O fair-limbed one! You will be sinless, not otherwise. (16.24)

When the glorious Vāsudeva appears in the lineage of the Yadus, / you shall become sinless through the imprint of his footsteps. (16.25)

Heed our words; there should be no hesitation here.' (16.26)

Thus addressed, the Earth, [assured of being] free from sin, obeyed their command. / Then, summoning the trees, all the gods spoke these words: (16.27)

'A portion of this murder must be accepted by you for the accomplishment of our purpose.' / Thus addressed, all the assembled trees said to the gods: (16.28)

'We all exist in such a way as to provide fruits to ascetics; / then all those performers of austerity will become infected with the sin of murder, (16.29)

becoming sinners, O fortunate ones; therefore consider everything!' / Then all the assembled trees were addressed by the family priest: (16.30)

"Let no worry be had by all of you; by the grace of Śatakratu, / even when cut down, all of you will attain manifold branches.

From that you will all continually be trees with branches." / Being addressed thus, all of them then took the guilt of murder in parts.

Then, summoning the waters, all the sky-dwellers said: / "Let a portion of the guilt of murder be taken today by the waters for the accomplishment of our purpose."

Then indeed the waters, assembling together, spoke to the priest: / "Whatever sins and wicked deeds there are,

through contact and connection with us, by bathing, washing, drinking, and the like, / all living beings encircled by sin become purified.

Hearing their words, Bṛhaspati said: / "Let no fear be had, O waters, of this sin that is hard to cross!

May the waters purify all the dwellers among the moving and unmoving!" / Then, summoning women, Bṛhaspati said:

"Today itself a portion of the guilt of murder should be accepted for the sake of accomplishing all tasks." / Hearing that word of their guru, all the women spoke:

"If a woman commits a sin, by that sin / many parties are tainted, and not otherwise—such is the Vedic ordinance.

Have you not heard anything, O priest? Reflect upon it!" / Though being spoken to thus by the women, Bṛhaspati then said:

"Let no fear be had from this sin by all of you, fair-eyed ones! / It will bear fruit for those [children] to be born and for others; / whatever portion of the guilt of murder belongs to all of you, you shall act according to your desire."

Thus four portions of the guilt of murder were arranged by the gods; / it immediately took up residence in those several [entities], O best of brahmins.

Then Mahendra became free of sin and was consecrated / in the city of the gods by the hosts of gods and also with the seers.

Then Puraṃdara, together with Śacī, became the great-souled ruler of the universe, / accompanied at that time by the gods of great dignity, the lords of sages, and the hosts of siddhas.

Then the fires became radiant, the winds [pleasant], and all planets brightly shining and peaceful; / the earth immediately became beauteous, and the mountains became sources of gems.

And the minds of the wise became serene.

The rivers flowed with nectar; the trees bore fruit continually; / the plants ripened without cultivation and became like nectar.

For all the dwellers of Indra's world, in unison, / there arose supreme enthusiasm that produced great joy.

Lomaśa said: / In the meantime Tvaṣṭṛ, seeing the great festival of Indra, / became exceedingly enraged, tormented by grief for his son.

Overcome by dejection, he went to perform very terrible austerity. / Pleased by that austerity, Brahmā, the grandfather of the worlds,

pleased, said to Tvaṣṭṛ: "Choose a boon, O one of good vows!" / Then Tvaṣṭṛ chose a boon that struck terror into all the worlds: / "A boon: let a son be given who will strike fear into the gods!"

"So be it," and thus the boon was granted by Brahmā Parameṣṭhin. / From the granting of the boon, a man immediately appeared at that time,

marked with the name Vṛtra, a daitya of supreme wonder. / That asura grew daily by a measure of a hundred bows.

From Pātāla emerged the daityas who formerly, during the churning of the nectar, / had been slain by the hosts of gods and were quickly revived by Bhṛgu.

The whole surface of the earth was pervaded by that single great-souled one.

Then all the seers, ascetics being slain, / quickly approached Brahmā and spoke of the calamity that had arrived,

as did the gods led by Indra, the gandharvas, along with the hosts of Maruts. / Brahmā narrated everything—this undertaking of Tvaṣṭṛ:

"For the sake of your death he has been generated by supreme austerity, / great in splendour, named Vṛtra, covering all the daityas, a great one.

Nevertheless, make an effort so that he may be killed." / Hearing the word of Brahmā, the gods along with Indra spoke.

The gods said: / "When Indra was freed from the guilt of murder and established in heaven, / then an improper deed, hard to endure, was done by us.

Many weapons and missiles were deposited thoughtlessly / in the hermitage of Dadhīca, O Brahmā; what duty shall we perform?"

Hearing that statement, Brahmā, laughing, said to the gods: / "Go, knowing that they have remained there for a long time, O gods!"

All the gods, having gone then, did not see their respective weapons. / And they questioned Dadhīci; he spoke: "I truly do not know."

Coming again to Brahmā, they all related the words of the sage.

Brahmā then said to the gods for the accomplishment of everyone's purpose: / "Beg for his very bones; he will give them, there is no doubt."

Hearing that word of Brahmā, Śakra spoke these words:

"Viśvarūpa was slain, O god, for the accomplishment of the purpose of the gods; / yet then I alone, O Brahmā, was made the most sinful one by the gods,

and also made devoid of majesty in an instant by the priest; / and by supreme good fortune I entered my own abode.

Having caused Dadhīca to be killed, his many bones / have been turned into weapons, O Lord, and truly inauspicious ones!

How can I kill this king of daityas, named Vṛtra, who was generated by Tvaṣṭṛ? / Thus, hearing Śakra, who was constantly afraid of sin, / Brahmā then spoke these words;

he instructed him by the rule pertaining to statecraft alone: / "If an assailant, even a brahmin or an ascetic, approaches / wishing to kill, one should wish to kill him; thereby one does not become the slayer of a brahmin."

Indra said: / "I am afraid of the killing of Dadhīca, O Brahmā, there is no doubt; / from that slaying of a brahmin, truly a great sin will arise.

Therefore, disrespect toward brahmins must not be done by us; / from disrespect many evils will arise, and not otherwise."

The unseen, supreme merit / must indeed be performed by an understanding man, with highest order and mindful thought. 16.74

Hearing his detached words, Brahmā said to him: / 'Śakra, act with your own understanding; go quickly to Dadhīci. 16.75

And beg for his bones from Dadhīci, because of the gravity of this task.' / Accompanied by his Guru and joined together with the gods, Śakra, 16.76

saying, 'So be it,' went, and they all [reached] Dadhīci's auspicious hermitage, / filled with various creatures and free of hostility. 16.77

Cats and mice were mutually filled with joy; / and lions, in complete harmony, walked alongside female elephants with their calves. 16.78

Likewise, various species played together; / snakes played with mongooses. 16.79

Seeing many such marvels in that hermitage, / all the gods were filled with the highest astonishment. 16.80

Then they saw the best of sages seated on a seat, deeply absorbed [in meditation], / radiant with supreme splendor like the sun, 16.81

or like a second fire, accompanied then by Suvarcas, / just as Brahmā [is accompanied] by Sāvitrī, so was this best of sages. 16.82

Then, having bowed to him, the gods spoke these words: / 'You are a giver throughout the three worlds; we have come here into your presence.' 16.83

Hearing the words of those gods, the sage said: / 'For what purpose have you all come? Tell it, O best of gods! 16.84

I shall give it, of that there is no doubt; my word is not otherwise.' / Then all of them, desiring their own purpose, together spoke to Dadhīci: 16.85

'Stricken with fear, O brahmin, we were longing for your darśana; / having heard that you are our protector, we were dispatched by Brahmā. 16.86

Know all that; we have arrived; therefore, O one of noble vows, you ought to grant it.' 16.87

Hearing their words, [he said:] 'What is to be given? Let that be said.' 16.88

Then the gods said: 'O brahmin, for our slaughter of the daityas, / for the sake of fashioning weapons, grant your bones!' 16.89

Smiling, the brahmin seer said: 'Wait for just a moment; / I myself, O gods, will cast off this body today.' 16.90

Having said this to them, then calling his wife Suvarcas, / that sage of great splendor said: 'Listen, O goddess of pure smiles! 16.91

Begged by the gods for my bones, I am casting off this body. / Today I go to Brahmaloka through supreme samādhi. 16.92

When I have gone to Brahmaloka, you, by your own duty, will surely / attain me there, no doubt; do not be anxious in vain.' 16.93

Having spoken thus to his wife, he sent her away into the hermitage. / Then, in the presence of the gods, the brahmin entered samādhi. 16.94

Abandoning his own body through supreme samādhi, / he immediately went to Brahmaloka, from where one does not return. 16.95

The best among hosts of sages named Dadhīci, beloved of Śiva, committed to Śiva's initiation, / that brahmin then quickly cast off his body of his own accord for the sake of helping others. 16.96

Thus ends the sixteenth chapter, named 'The Relinquishment of His Own Body through Yoga by Dadhīci, Supplicated for His Bones by the Gods,' in the Kedārakhaṇḍa of the first section, the Māheśvarakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa of eighty-one thousand verses. 16.