Skandapurana 1.3.32: adhyāyaḥ 34

Lomaśa said: / The Lord of the World held sway on Mount Kailāsa, / accompanied by many attendants, the great [Lord] accompanied by Vīrabhadra, (1)

Rudra, accompanied by the seers, along with the gods headed by Indra, / whom Brahmā was intent on praising, and [before whom] Viṣṇu stood like a servant; (2)

Indra along with the host of gods was intent on the duty of service; / whose parasol-bearer was the Moon, and the Wind was the bearer of the flywhisk; (3)

the preparer of soup and food continuously, perpetually; / whose singers and praisers were the gandharvas, [worshipping] the wielder of Pināka; (4)

and many vidyādharas as well as hosts of apsarases / danced before him; he on Mount Kailāsa, (5)

with his sons headed by Gaṇeśa and Skanda, and with Girijā, / held sway, illustrious and moving about without fear; (6)

by whom Andhaka, the great Daitya, that great enemy of the gods, / the wicked one, was pierced with the trident and held for a long time in the sky; (7)

by whom, having slain Gajāsura and stripped his hide, / a divine covering was made for a long time; and who was the burner of Tripura; / he shone, beautiful in all his limbs, with Viṣṇu having become his protector. (8)

Desiring to see him, the venerable Nārada of divine vision / went to that best of mountains, Kailāsa, white like the moon, (9)

resorted to by supreme nectar, exceedingly wondrous, / and white as camphor; having seen that exceedingly mighty one then, / Nārada, filled with wonder, entered Gandhamādana, (10)

which was endowed with many marvels, well adorned with shining lights, / filled with singing vidyādharīs, and exceedingly radiant. (11)

And there were many wish-fulfilling trees intertwined with creepers; / in their dense shade were distinguished wish-granting cows. (12)

Many bees were greedy for the fragrance of the pārijāta groves; / and many swans were playing in the lakes. (13)

Peacocks made their loud peacock cries there with delight; / all the birds warbled the fifth note, full of intoxication. (14)

Elephants of fine brilliance were rejoicing with female elephants; / lions, roaring likewise, came together with tigers. (15)

Bulls headed by Nandi were lowing continuously; / and there were many divine trees and groves of sandalwood, (16)

nāga, puṃnāga, bakula, campaka, and nāgakesara trees, / and also wild rose-apples, and golden ketakas, (17)

white water-lilies, oleanders, and water-lilies in abundance, / coral trees, jujube trees, areca palms, and trumpet-flowers, (18)

and many other trees, all pleasing to Śambhu; / seen at once, endowed with various trees and creepers, / the many pleasure-gardens there seemed doubled. (19)

The flood of the Gaṅgā, exceedingly wondrous, having just issued from the sky, / fell upon the beautifully adorned summit of that mountain. (20)

A reservoir indeed of water, by which the world is purified; / it too was seen at that time as divided into two by the great-souled Nārada. (21)

Everything was then seen as twofold by that great-souled one; / it was observed then, O brahmins, by the supreme Nārada. (22)

Looking around in this manner, that venerable seer Nārada / went quickly, intent on looking upon Śiva. (23)

While standing at the door, he beheld a great wonder indeed: / he saw two doorkeepers fabricated by Viśvakarman. (24)

Nārada was bewildered and asked the two of them then: / 'I wish to enter, eager for the darśana of Śiva. (25)

Therefore permission should be given for the darśana of Śiva.' / Seeing the two not listening, Nārada was astonished. (26)

Having looked with the eye of knowledge, he then became silent; / and knowing the two to be artificial, the great-minded one entered. (27)

And others of the same form were seen by that great-souled one; / and the seer, the venerable Nārada, was saluted by them. (28)

He beheld many marvels such as these; / and then he clearly beheld Tryambaka accompanied by Girijā: (29)

the virtuous woman seated on half the throne of the great-souled Śaṃkara, / the daughter of the King of Mountains, by whom the three worlds are pervaded; (30)

Gaurī, fair-eyed, youthful, slender-limbed, and lovely-eyed, / by whom Śambhu was given form and the great one was made accessible, (31)

and [by whom] the changeless one was agitated by many alterations; / that goddess was seen by him joined to half the body of Śiva. (32)

Thus Śambhu, the Lord of the Three Worlds, was seen by Nārada, / resembling pure gold, served by gods and asuras. (33)

His lotus-feet were served by Śaṅkha, the best of serpents, / and likewise by Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and especially by Takṣaka, / as well as by Padma and especially by the great Śeṣa.

And he was continually served by other foremost serpents. / Vāsuki, clung to his neck, had become a garland of great splendor.

Kambala and Aśvatara ever adorned him as ear-ornaments; / and other excellent, great-hooded serpents had gone to the base of his matted hair.

Encompassed by numerous species and possessing diverse colors, there were serpents / such as Takṣaka, Kulika, Śaṅkha, and Dhṛtarāṣṭra of great splendor,

Padma, Dambha, and Sudambha, Karāla, and Bhīṣaṇa. / These and many other venomous serpents

became the bodily limbs of Hara, who is to be worshipped in the three worlds. / Certain foremost serpents shone with a single hood,

some had a pair of hoods, and some possessed three of great splendor, / four, five, six, seven, and eight,

nine, ten, eleven, / twelve, eighteen, and nineteen,

some had forty hoods, fifty, and sixty, / and seventy, eighty, and ninety,

and hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, / tens of millions, hundreds of millions, and billions.

Those serpents, the ornaments of Śiva, whose hoods were infinite— / all of them were then seen by the great-souled Nārada.

All of them, though possessors of wisdom, were also splendid serpent bodies; / having become garlands and ornaments, they bore jewels and possessed boundless splendor.

His matted hair, marked by the crescent moon, was exceedingly beautiful, / and he was adorned with a third eye positioned on his forehead.

Mahādeva had five faces and was endowed with ten arms; / likewise, his throat, dark as emerald, was exceedingly beautiful.

His chest was broad, and his thighs and hips were supreme; / the two feet of Rudra were splendid, supreme, and magnificent.

He beheld that matchless lotus-foot, luminous, beautiful, / most auspicious like the twilight glow, supreme, dispelling distress, / generating a mass of light, higher than the highest, the abode of graceful charm, / the highest cause of increasing joy for all, the purifying foot of Śambhu.

Likewise, having seen the highest of the high, the supreme Satī, full of beauty and lovely, / shining forth with the great majesty of good fortune and charm, exceedingly lovely and auspicious,

having seen that pure couple shining in the three worlds, / non-different yet appearing differentiated, devoid of qualities yet endowed with qualities,

possessing form and formless, free of distress and bestowing happiness, / he, Nārada, dear to the Lord, bowed to them both with joy; / and rising up again and again, he then praised the two Lords of the Universe.

Nārada said: / I bow to you both, the two foremost deities, higher than the highest, yet manifest by a portion. / The shining couple, who are the source-seed of the moving and unmoving, have been seen by me,

the parents of the entire world, known in truth this very day / by me; there is no doubt in this, through your grace.

When they were thus praised at that time by the great-souled Nārada, / the blessed Lord Śambhu, accompanied by Pārvatī, was pleased.

Mahādeva said: / Are you at ease, O brahmin? What task may I perform for you? / Having heard that statement of Śambhu, Nārada spoke [these] words:

Darśana has occurred this very day; by that I am pleased, O All-pervading One! / Through your darśana, everything is mine today, O Śambhu, there is no doubt.

I have come here to Kailāsa, the foremost of mountains, for sport. / You ever dwell in the hearts of men, O blessed Lord,

yet your darśana must constantly be sought by living beings here.

Girijā said: / What sport should be [played] by you? Speak quickly before me! / Hearing that speech of hers, he said, as if laughing:

A game of dice, O Mahādeva, of various kinds is seen here; / great pleasure would arise from playing a game of dice between the two [of you].

When he had spoken thus and ceased, Satī, intensely angered, spoke words to the seer: / 'How do you know that supreme, well-known gambling, which ruins the belly of the wise?

You are a son of Brahmā, a sage, a teacher of the wise through various renowned discourses; / wandering in the three worlds, there is indeed no other wise person than you!'

Addressed thus at that time by the goddess, Nārada, who has the vision of a deity, / spoke words, laughing, to Girijā in the presence of Śiva.

Nārada said: / 'I do not know gambling, nor do I resort to it; I am an ascetic and a servant of Śiva. / Why do you ask me, O princess, you who are supremely pure among the lords of yogins?'

Hearing his speech, Girijā Satī then laughed and said to him: / 'You know everything, O young student! Today, behold me: I shall play dice with Maheśa before you.'

Having spoken thus, the daughter of the king of mountains, the sole beauty of the world, took the dice; / she then engaged in the game with the great seer as witness, seated there accompanied by Bhava.

Those two spouses intent upon the game were then beheld by the seer Nārada; / with a mind expanding in wonder, the wise [sage] rejoiced greatly as he looked on.

Surrounded by her female companions, Satī, devoted to the dice game, / joined with Śiva and made him play the game by trickery.

He then placed a wager, surrounded by great deceit; / and Bhavānī was then defeated by Śiva, as he smiled.

Along with Śiva, Nārada then mocked her. / Having heard that she had lost the game of dice, and having heard the mockery,

and greatly angered by Nārada's harsh words, / Pārvatī swiftly spoke, having also given [him] a push with the hand.

Likewise, the crest-jewel, trembling and charming, / her face exceedingly radiant, and lovely even in anger, / was beheld by Hara, and repeatedly he caused the game of dice to proceed.

Then Śaṃkara, who brings welfare to the world, was addressed by Girijā: / “I lost, and the wager has indeed been paid by me, not otherwise.

What wager is made by you, O Śambhu? Let that indeed be spoken.” / Thereupon the three-eyed Lord laughed and said to Pārvatī:

“This wager is laid by me, O Bhavānī, for your sake—this great ornament: / that crescent moon, indeed, and the great necklace, as well as the pair of ear-lotus ornaments.

Having defeated me, O slender lady, let this very thing be happily taken by you.” / Then the game of dice was set in motion along with Śaṃkara.

While the two of them, skilled in the science of dice, were thus playing, / Śaṃkara, adorned with many ornaments, was then defeated by Bhavānī.

Laughing, Gaurī, exceedingly lovely, said to Śaṃkara: / “Give me this very day the lost wager, O Śaṃkara.”

Then Maheśa, laughing, spoke these truthful words: / “I was not defeated by you, O slender lady; consider it according to reality.

I am entirely unconquerable by living beings; therefore, do not speak such words, O virtuous lady. / Play the dice this day as you wish, and I will win again; just see!”

Then Ambikā said to her husband Maheśa: “You are defeated by me today, there is no doubt in this.” / Having spoken thus, taking Śambhu by the hand, the fair-faced lady said: / “You are defeated, there is no doubt; you do not know it, O Śaṃkara.”

Having thus laughed charmingly, Girijā looked upon Śambhu, and he was overwhelmed by her with playful words: / “Give me, O Lord of all blessings, what was lost, O enemy of Smara, as assented to by your word.”

Śiva said: / “I am unconquerable, O large-eyed lady, [even] by you; there is no doubt here. / That which was said out of pride, consider it in accordance with truth.”

Hearing those words of his, she laughed and said: / “Mahādeva is indeed unconquerable to all, O Lord.

Yet by me alone have you been defeated in a fair game of dice! / You do not understand in the least what is meant concerning what is to be done and what is not to be done.”

While the two supreme lords, husband and wife, were thus disputing, / Nārada, the best of seers, laughing, spoke these words:

Nārada said: / “Listen, O lady whose eyes are broad as far as your ears, to that single word which is the sole blessing of the world: / This [Lord] is the foremost of the most fortunate; has he been defeated by you, that you speak falsely?

Mahādeva is indeed unconquered, the supreme teacher of the gods. / He is formless, he has a fair form, and he is spoken of as beyond all forms.

He alone is the supreme light, that luster which belongs even to them, / the Lord of the three worlds, the soul of the universe, Śaṃkara, who brings welfare to the world.

How could he, unconquerable in the three worlds, be defeated by you, O goddess? / Out of your womanly nature, O fair-faced lady, you do not recognise this Śiva.”

Addressed thus by Nārada, Pārvatī became exceedingly angry. / Seized with indignation, the virtuous lady uttered reproachful words:

Pārvatī said: / “You should not speak out of thoughtlessness, O son of Brahmā, homage to you! / I am afraid of you; blessing to you, O divine seer, keep silent!

How is it that Śiva has been extolled so much by you, O divine seer? / Through my favor he who is recited as Īśvara became more than a corpse.

Having obtained his standing through me, he came into being; there is no doubt here.”

Hearing these manifold [words], Nārada resorted to silence. / Seeing what had transpired, Bhṛṅgin then spoke these words:

Bhṛṅgin said: / “You must not speak so much once again, O passionate lady! / My master, O slender-waisted lady, is indeed unconquerable and changeless.

You are possessed of a womanly nature, O fair-faced lady; you do not know the God who is higher than the highest. / Placing desire at the forefront of old, O Bhavānī, you came to the fierce Maheśa.

How it was done of old by that wielder of the Pināka—is that remembered, O fortunate lady? Tell us! / Kama was made bodiless by him then, and the forest of your father's mountain was burned.

[…] this Śiva, the highest of the high, the supreme Self, was worshipped by you.

Addressed thus by Bhṛṅgin, she became exceedingly angry, / and while Maheśa was listening, she questioned Bhṛṅgin and said:

Pārvatī said: / “O Bhṛṅgin, because of the words you spoke out of partiality— / you are dear to Śiva, yet, O fool, you are intent on seeing division!

I am of the nature of Śiva, O fool; Śiva is eternally situated in me. / How is a separateness from both Śivas spoken by you merely through the power of speech?

Hearing that auspicious statement of Pārvatī then, / Bhṛṅgin, infuriated in the presence of Śiva, said to Pārvatī:

“At the sacrifice of your father Dakṣa, the reviling of Śiva was heard by you; / hearing the disagreeable words, your body was instantly abandoned by you.

Indeed at that very moment, O slender-limbed lady! What has been done by you now? / Do you not know yourself, in your agitation, to be a reviler of Śiva? / How was it that you were born from the best of mountains, O lady of excellent complexion? / How was it that you were heated by fierce austerity, O slender-waisted lady?

You have no loving devotion to Śiva at present. / You are dear to Śiva, O slender-limbed lady, therefore do I speak thus to you.

Nothing higher than Śiva exists in the three worlds; / loving devotion to Śiva must be performed by you, O lady of excellent complexion.

You are a devotee, O Mahādevī, best among the most fortunate; / let him who was acquired by you through austerity be attended upon with effort.

Śiva is the most excellent, the Lord of all; you ought not to act otherwise.” / Hearing the words of Bhṛṅgin, Girijā said to him:

Girijā said: / “O Bhṛṅgin, maintain silence and remain steady, or else depart! / You do not know what should and should not be said; why do you babble like a Piśāca?”

By whose austerity was this Śiva brought, and by which woman? / Who am I, and who is he known by you [to be], that you speak to me with a mind of duality?

Who are you? With what are you endowed? And why do you babble so much? / I shall give you a curse; what can Śiva do now?

Having addressed Bhṛṅgin with reproach, Satī then gave a curse: / 'Become devoid of flesh, O fool, O Bhṛṅgin, darling of Śaṃkara!'

Having spoken thus, the goddess Pārvatī, beloved of Śaṃkara, / then filled with anger toward Śaṃkara,

the slender-limbed woman seized [his] hand and pulled down the serpent Vāsuki from his neck, / as well as many other [ornaments].

Enraged, she hastily stripped Śambhu of his ornaments: / his crescent moon was snatched away, and his peerless elephant hide;

the two serpents Kambala and Aśvatara, who adorned Maheśa, / were seized by the great goddess, laughing with mocking words;

and with mocking words, laughing, she [snatched] the covering of his loincloth. / Then the gaṇas and her companions became afflicted with embarrassment.

Their faces turned away, both Bhṛṅgī of great austerity, / and Caṇḍa, Muṇḍa, Mahāloman, and Mahodara;

these and many other gaṇas of his became dejected. / And seeing them in such a state, Maheśa was ashamed.

Enraged, Śaṃkara addressed these words to Pārvatī:

Rudra said: / 'All the seers are mocking severely, / and likewise Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and these gods led by Indra;

they are all intent on mockery! What have you done today, auspicious lady? / You were born in a noble family, slender-limbed woman; how can you act thus?

I was indeed defeated by you, fair-browed lady, if you truly know it; / therefore do this: give me back the excellent covering of my loincloth. / Give me merely the loincloth; you ought not to act otherwise!'

Addressed thus then by that Śambhu, the yogin, / Satī Pārvatī of charming countenance laughed and said:

'What need have you of a loincloth, a sage whose soul is purified? / For space-clad did you enter the Pine Forest back then;

under the pretext of wandering for alms, the wives of the seers were enchanted. / When you departed then, O Śambhu, a great worship was performed by them;

the loincloth fell there, as told by the sages without falsehood. / Therefore you must surrender it; it was truly lost in the gambling match!'

Hearing that, Rudra, the supreme lord, became enraged, / staring at Pārvatī in extreme wrath with his third eye alone.

Seeing Śaṃkara enraged, all the troops of gods then / and the young gaṇas were seized by great terror.

Anxiously they all whispered there to one another: / 'Today Rudra is enraged against Girijā now;

just as the god of love was burned, so will she be—the words are not otherwise.' / While those gaṇas and divine seers were thus deliberating,

they were all looked upon by the goddess with the gesture of good fortune. / Then, laughing, Satī said to the noble person:

'Why are you intent on glaring with your supreme eye? / I am not Time, I am not desire, nor am I the sacrifice of Dakṣa;

I am not Tripura, O Śambhu, nor Andhaka, O you whose banner bears the bull! / What will you achieve today by merely glaring? / In vain have you become three-eyed before me!'

The supreme goddess spoke these and many other such words. / Hearing the words, the god set his mind on departing:

'Solitary forest alone is better today, desolate in ultimate truth, / [for one who is] alone, self-controlled in mind and soul, having abandoned all possessions.

He is happy, he knows the ultimate truth, he is learned, and he is wise, / by whom desire and passion have been abandoned; he is liberated, he is happy.'

Having reflected thus, leaving Girijā behind, the glorious Śaṃkara, supremely compassionate at that time, / separated from his beloved, went to the wondrous forest, the forest of the perfected filled with supreme ascetics.

Seeing Śaṃkara depart, all the inhabitants of Kailāsa / and all the gaṇas led by Vīrabhadra followed after him.

Taking the parasol, Bhṛṅgī walked behind him, / while two fly-whisks, resembling the Gaṅgā and Yamunā, were fanned.

Endowed with them, the wise Nandī then followed behind; / the bull, resplendent with flowers, went in front.

While Mahādeva shone with all these splendid [attendants], / the goddess Pārvatī, having gone into the inner chambers, became dejected.

Surrounded there by her many companions and other women, / Girijā meditated in her mind upon the supreme lord.

Having gone far from there, Śambhu then dismissed the gaṇas: / Gaṇeśa, Kumāra, Vīrabhadra, and the others,

Bhṛṅgin, Nandin, Caṇḍa, and Somanandin, / having dismissed these and all the others who dwelt in the city of Kailāsa,

Mahādeva, the great ascetic Śiva, completely alone, / went far away to the edge of the forest, to the Banyan of the Perfected.

A celestial seat was fashioned for him by the earth, adorned with saffron, gems, stones, stones of the perfected, and lapis lazuli, and beautified with nectar; / upon it sat Maheśa, the lord of yoga.

Seated in the lotus posture, Maheśa, the supreme knower of yoga, / with closed eyes meditated on the Self solely by the Self.

Mahādeva, the moon-crested god, shone in deep meditation; / a yogic band was made by him out of the great-souled Śeṣa, / and Vāsuki, king of serpents, was bound tightly around his waist.

Praised by the Self through the nature of the Self, known through the Upaniṣads, untouched by worldly actions, / one yet manifold, of boundless shore, beyond thought, whose form is pure consciousness, / the sole protector of the universe remained at that time, beholding the highest of the high.

Thus ends the thirty-fourth chapter, entitled "The Description of Śiva's Departure to the Penance Grove after Leaving Kailāsa, Having Lost All His Belongings to Pārvatī in the Dice Game," in the Śiva-Śāstra of the Kedārakhaṇḍa, in the first Māheśvarakhaṇḍa of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa comprising eighty-one thousand verses.