Skandapurana 1.3.22: adhyāyaḥ 24

Lomaśa said: / Just so, filled with supreme joy, the king of mountains made all [preparations] for his daughter's sake; / honoring Garga before him, the illustrious one [adorned] the auspicious ground with supreme splendor. 24.1

Having summoned Viśvakarman, he respectfully caused to be made / an immense pavilion delightful with altars. 24.2

Its extent was ten thousand yojanas, O best of brahmins; / the pavilion was endowed with every virtue and filled with various wonders. 24.3

The motionless and the moving were alike and charming; / there the moving was surpassed by the motionless, / and just so 24.4

the motionless was surpassed right there by the moving; / and by the water, the dry ground was then surpassed. 24.5

People could not truly discern whether it was water or dry ground! / Here were lions, there swans, and cranes of great splendor. 24.6

Here and there were artificial peacocks, charming to the mind; / likewise artificial elephants, horses, and also deer. 24.7

Which were real and which unreal, fashioned by Viśvakarman? / In this very manner, wonderful gatekeepers were fashioned: 24.8

Men drawing bows, motionless yet resembling moving beings; / likewise horses with riders and elephants with elephant-riders, 24.9

being fanned with fly whisks, some adorned with flower sprouts; / and some men there shone wearing garlands. 24.10

Likewise many artificial banners were fashioned; / at the gate stood Mahālakṣmī, born from the Ocean of Milk. 24.11

Well-adorned elephants, though artificial, resembled natural ones; / likewise horses with riders, and elephants with elephant-riders, 24.12

and chariots with charioteers, though artificial, resembled natural ones; / assemblies were also made to bewilder everyone. 24.13

Standing at the main gate of the pavilion, Nandin was fashioned by him, / resembling pure crystal, exactly like the real Nandin. 24.14

Above it was the great, celestial Puṣpaka, adorned with jewels, / radiant with sprout-parasols, and embellished with fly whisks. 24.15

On the left side were two elephants resembling pure saffron, / four-tusked, sixty years old, noble-spirited, and of great splendor. 24.16

Likewise on the right side two armored horses were made; / and so were the World Protectors adorned with jewel ornaments. 24.17

The sixteen Prakṛtis were fashioned faithfully by that wise one; / all the gods were truly made in their actual likeness by Viśvakarman. 24.18

Likewise all the seers, Bhṛgu and others rich in austerity; / the Viśvedevas along with their attendants, and Indra just as he truly is. 24.19

All the noble ones were faithfully fashioned by the wise one; / such was the heavenly pavilion fashioned by him, 24.20

arising with many wonders, divine and bewildering even celestial beings. / In the meantime, Nārada arrived in front, 24.21

impelled there by Brahmā toward the house of Himālaya; / then Nārada saw himself standing before him, full of humility. 24.22

Indeed, highly renowned Nārada was bewildered by that artificial [self], / and gazed eagerly at the handiwork of Viśvakarman. 24.23

He entered the pavilion of the Snow Mountain, variegated with jewels, / furnished with golden water-pitchers, and adorned with plantain trunks and other decorations, 24.24

endowed with a thousand pillars. Then the mountain, surrounded by his attendants, / honored that seer and asked: 'What is to be done?' 24.25

Nārada said: / 'Those noble gods have arrived, led by Indra, / and all the great seers, surrounded by their retinues; / and Mahādeva, mounted upon his bull, has arrived for the wedding.' 24.26

Then, having heard his speech, Himavat, the best of mountains, / spoke these words to Nārada, auspicious, sweet, and noble: 24.27

'Having honored [them] properly, go to Śaṃkara.' 24.28

Then the sage, having heard that speech of the mountain Himavat, / consented to his word and spoke to the mountain kings: / together with Maināka, Sahya, and Mount Meru, 24.29

'Joined by these, O highly intelligent one, make an effort quickly and bring Śiva here, / who is accompanied by the gods and foremost great seers, whose lotus feet are revered by gods and asuras.' 24.30

Agreeing, 'So be it,' that illustrious one, foremost among the seers, / went swiftly together with those mountain kings and, arriving quickly at once, reached Śambhu. 24.31

Just then Mahādeva was seen, surrounded by the gods; / then Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Rudra, along with the gods, 24.32

and all the others who follow Rudra, persistently asked Nārada: / 'Tell us who are asking! Why are you not speaking? 24.33

Will Sahya, Maināka, and Meru give their own daughters to Śambhu, / one to each, or what is happening now?' 24.34

Then the seer of great splendor, Nārada, best among seers, / placing Brahmā in front, spoke with reason to Viṣṇu. 24.35

Retiring to a private place with the lord of gods, Nārada then spoke this word: / 'A vast mansion has been fashioned by Tvaṣṭṛ, by which all of us have been completely bewildered. 24.36

Have you forgotten all that you did to that great soul in the past, O husband of Śacī? / Therefore, desiring to overcome you while dwelling in the house of that noble mountain, 24.37

alas, he has bewildered [everyone] with that radiant replica! / Likewise, Viṣṇu was made by him, holding the conch, discus, and mace, 24.38

and Brahmā also was made just like that by him. 24.39

An illusory bull was fashioned by him, and in that disguise an elephant and a mule too; / and know, O lord of immortals, that all other things have also been delineated here by him.' 24.40

Having heard that speech of his, the lord of gods spoke: 24.41

'Having seen Viṣṇu, I shall go quickly; stay here, sir. / Tormented with grief for his son, has he done this under some pretext or another?' 24.42

Hearing his speech, the god of gods, Janārdana, / laughing, then addressed Śakra who had become fearful: 24.43

“O lord of Śacī, formerly you were bewildered by the Nivātakavacas; / then the immortal wisdom was brought by me for [your] assistance. 24.44

Now, having entered into the pavilion by the power of that great wisdom, / this mountain Himavat, as well as the other excellent mountains, 24.45

have indeed all been turned into adversaries at my word, O Vāsava. / Then Tvaṣṭṛ, mindful of the purpose, indeed created this by [his] magical power. 24.46

Those fools indeed desire victory; there is no need to fear even in the slightest.” 24.47

Viṣṇu consoled those gods led by Śakra who were thus disputing; / they then spoke to Nārada: 24.48

“Does the king of mountains give or not give his daughter? Let it be told at once! / What was seen by him, and what has been done today? Proclaim it all, O Nārada, homage to you!” 24.49

Hearing that, Śambhu laughed and then spoke [these] words: / “If the mountain Himālaya will indeed give the maiden to me, / what do I have to do with magical illusion? Speak truly, O Viṣṇu.” 24.50

“The fruit must indeed be accomplished by some means—so say the learned who know logic; / therefore, let everyone who seeks the purpose, led by Indra, go immediately.” 24.51

Then even Śiva, the soul of the universe, the lord of beings, / was bewildered by the five-arrowed [god], the great being; what then to say of others? 24.52

And while this was happening, that most magnificent Śambhu / was brought under control by the bodiless [god] just like another ordinary man. 24.53

For Madana is mighty in the world; by his own power this entire world, / along with the gods and the seers, has been conquered by him. 24.54

The bodiless [god] is indeed the mighty king of all beings, / and especially of the gods, whose command is most powerful. 24.55

Through the female form of Pārvatī he is invincible in the three worlds. / For having seen that woman, all the seers, though discerning, 24.56

the gods, humans, gandharvas, piśācas, snakes, and rākṣasas— / all cannot transgress the command of the great-souled Madana. 24.57

O twice-born ones, by great power of austerity and also by power of giving, / Madana cannot be known without humility. 24.58

Therefore, the great wrath of the bodiless [god] is indeed more powerful. / Seeing Īśvara thus bewildered by Madana, Mādhava, 24.59

who knew how to speak, uttered [these] words: “Do not worry, O Lord! / Whatever was said by Nārada concerning the pavilion in every detail, 24.60

and the wondrous thing fashioned by Tvaṣṭṛ—all that is due to Madana, O Lord!” / At that time Śaṃkara spoke [these] words to the slayer of Madhu: 24.61

“The pavilion made by Tvaṣṭṛ is indeed covered with ignorance; / but what can we say, O Viṣṇu? The pavilion is merely [material]. 24.62

For marriage, O fortunate one, is rooted in ignorance alone. / Therefore, let us all go now for the sake of the wedding.” 24.63

Placing Nārada at the head, all the gods along with Indra / and accompanied by the snow-mountain went to the exceedingly marvelous residence, / filled with many wonders, fashioned marvelously by Viśvakarman. 24.64

And that pure and supreme sacrificial enclosure was fashioned today by him, honored by many; / that wise one fashioned that sacrificial enclosure, mind-captivating with varied designs. 24.65

As they were about to enter, all those lords of gods along with the seers / were seen there by the snow-mountain, and he stood up to greet them. 24.66

Likewise, delightful mansions were prepared by him for them; / wherever the gandharvas, yakṣas, pramathas, siddhas, gods, / and troops of nāgas and apsarases lived comfortably, he fashioned a garden here and there for them. 24.67

For their sake, highly valuable houses with fountains and courtyards, / exceedingly marvelous, shone forth, fashioned by the great-souled one. 24.68

Spacious dwellings were arranged there for the habitation / of all the gods and the seers of purified spirit. 24.69

Thus Viśvakarman extended many mansions appropriately / wherever [they] stayed. 24.70

For the bhairavas, kṣetrapālas, and those others dwelling in fields, / and others dwelling in cremation grounds, and others dwelling in banyan trees, 24.71

and others haunting peepal trees, and likewise other sky-wanderers— / wherever each was seated, right there by him 24.72

delightful and vast mansions were fashioned / by Viśvakarman, suitable for those very beings. 24.73

Right there, accompanied by all the hosts, they were accommodated by the snow-mountain himself— / the gods led by Indra, the multitudes of yakṣas, piśācas, rakṣasas, gandharvas, vidyādharas, and apsarases. 24.74

Thus in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, in the collection of eighty-one thousand [verses], in the first Māheśvarakhaṇḍa, in the Kedārakhaṇḍa, in [the narrative of] the marriage of Pārvatī, the twenty-fourth chapter, named “The Description of the Construction of the Dwellings for the Gods by the Snow-Mountain.” 24.