Skandapurana 1.4.12: adhyāyaḥ 14

Arjuna said: / The māhātmya of Kumāranātha which you mentioned in another narration, / that I desire to hear in detail, O great sage.

Nārada said:
Having slain Tāraka, the son of Vajrāṅga, the lord
Guha established this liṅga, O Phālguna.

By seeing, hearing, meditating upon, worshipping, and singing praises from the scriptures,
Kumāreśa removes all sins, O Pārtha; there is no doubt.

Arjuna said:
This charming story, which destroys sin, is full of great wonder.
Tell it to me in detail and as it truly happened, O Nārada.

Who was this Daitya Vajrāṅga, and what was the power of Tāraka?
How was he slain, and how was Guha born?

How was the liṅga named Kumāreśvara established,
and what is the fruit of this liṅga? Tell me that at length.

Nārada said:
Bowing down to Kumāra, the commander of the army and the Lord,
listen with a single mind, O Pārtha, to the great deed of Kumāra.

The mind-born son of Brahmā was the Prajāpati named Dakṣa.
He begot sixty daughters upon Vīriṇī, O Phālguna.

He gave ten to Dharma, thirteen to Kaśyapa,
twenty-seven to Soma, and four to Ariṣṭanemi.

The lord gave two each to Bhūta, Aṅgiras, and Kṛśāśva.
Hear from me their names and those of their co-wives,

by whose offspring the three worlds were filled:
Bhānu, Lambā, Kakud, Bhūmi, Viśvā, Sādhyā, Marutvatī,

Vasu, Muhūrtā, and Saṃkalpā were the wives of Dharma; hear their sons:
To Bhānu was born the son Devarṣabha.

In Lambā was Vidyota, and from him the thunderclouds.
The son of Kakud was Śakaṭa, from whom was born the son Kīkaṭa.

From Bhūmi arose Durga, Svarga, and Nanda.
From Viśvā were the Viśvedevas; they are declared to be childless.

The twelve Sādhyas were born of Sādhyā, and Arthasiddhi was her son.
Marutvān and Sujayanta were born of Marutvatī.

Those who know wisdom speak of those two as Nara and Nārāyaṇa.
From Vasu came the eight Vasus, and in Muhūrtā the Muhūrtakas,

who indeed grant to living beings the fruit born of their respective times.
Of Saṃkalpā was Saṃkalpa; Kāma was the son born of Saṃkalpa.

Surūpā gave birth to eleven sons, the Rudras:
Kapālin, Piṅgala, Bhīma, Virūpākṣa, Vilohita,

Ajaka, Śāsana, Śāstṛ, Śambhu, and the last was Bhava.
Other attendants of Rudra are remembered as the sons of Virūpā.

Svadhā, the wife of the Prajāpati Aṅgiras, bore the ancestors,
as well as a daughter [Sanīcī] and the powerful son Atharvāṅgiras.

Kṛśāśva had two wives, Arcis and Dhiṣaṇā,
whose sons are proclaimed to be the weapons along with their withdrawal.

Pataṅgī, Yāminī, Tāmrā, and Timi were [the wives] of Ariṣṭanemi.
Pataṅgī gave birth to birds, and Yāminī to locusts.

From Tāmrā came hawks, vultures, and the like, and from Timi aquatic creatures.
Now, concerning the wives of Kaśyapa, from whose offspring this world arose:

Hear the auspicious names of the mothers of the worlds:
Aditi, Diti, Danu, Siṃhī, Danāyu, and Surabhi;

Ariṣṭā, Vinatā, Grāvā, Dayā, Krodhavaśā, Irā,
Kadrū, and Muni—these are proclaimed as the mothers.

The Ādityas are proclaimed the sons of Aditi, the Daityas of Diti,
the Dānavas of Danu, and Rāhu the planet is the son of Siṃhī.

From Danāyu was born the powerful troop of Danāyus.
Cattle were born of Surabhi, and the sons of Ariṣṭā were the Yugandharas.

Vinatā gave birth to Aruṇa and Garuda of great strength.
The sons of Grāvā were beasts of prey, and likewise the troop of Krodhavaśas

was born of Krodhavaśā; plants are remembered as [born] of Irā.
The serpent Nāgas are remembered as Kadrū’s sons, and the hosts of apsarases from Muni.

Among them, the two sons of Diti were slain by Viṣṇu:
the heroic Hiraṇyakaśipu, and the other, Hiraṇyākṣa.

Then Diti, whose sons had been slain, worshipped Kaśyapa,
and the goddess asked for a boon: another son of great strength

who would slay Śakra in battle. The lord gave it to her, [saying]:
“Remain in religious observance for a thousand years.”

Thus addressed, she, concentrated in mind, did so while staying at Puṣkara.
While she was observing the vow, the thousand-eyed [Indra], with concentrated mind,

attended upon her with devotion, and she favored him.
Then, when ten years remained of the thousand, Diti

spoke to Śakra, highly pleased and gratified by Śakra’s devotion:
Diti said:
“Know that my vow is almost completed here, O best of the gods!

You will have a brother; along with him, you will enjoy
this royal fortune and the three worlds cleared of thorns, in accordance with justice.”

Having spoken thus, overcome by sleep, with her hair touching her feet,
the goddess Diti slept during the day, impelled by the force of what was destined to happen.

Perceiving that breach, he entered then in yogic form;
he cut the embryo resting in Diti’s belly into seven parts with his thunderbolt.

Then Maghavan divided each single piece again,
into seven and seven parts out of anger; and then Diti woke up.

“Do not kill him! Do not kill him!” she said to Śakra,
having awakened to the crying of those being cut with the thunderbolt.

Then Śakra said to each of them: “Do not weep!”
Coming out of that belly, then, with folded hands before her,

unafraid, he spoke these words to his mother, who was filled with rage:
“O mother, you slept by day, your hair touching your feet;

when you had thus slept for a long time, the embryo in your womb was divided by me;
your sons were made into forty-nine parts with the thunderbolt.

May your word come true: I will enjoy the royal fortune together with them.
I shall grant them places in heaven as long as I [am there], O Diti.

Because I told them, ‘Do not weep’ (mā rudīḥ), they shall be renowned as the Maruts.”
Thus addressed, Diti became ashamed and had no answer.

Indra departed together with them; they are known as the winds at the ends of the directions. / Then the grieving Diti spoke once more to her husband:

"Lord, give me a powerful son who will slay Śakra, / one who cannot be killed by any missile or weapon of the dwellers of heaven.

If you do not grant me an answer, know me to be as good as dead, O Prajāpati!" / Thus addressed, he then said to that deeply sorrowful wife:

"You shall perform austerity, steadfast in tapas, for ten thousand years. / [A son] with limbs of the essence of a vajra, unbreakable, iron-firm and strong,

named Vajrāṅga, devoted to dharma, will be your son." / Having obtained her boon, the goddess went to the forest for austerity.

She performed severe austerity for ten thousand years. / At the end of her austerity, the blessed woman gave birth to an invincible [son],

a son of peerless deeds, unconquerable, difficult even for the vajra to cut. / As soon as he was born, he was a master of the meaning of all śāstras.

He spoke to his mother with devotion: "Mother, what shall I do?" / Then Diti, delighted, said to her son, the lord of the Daityas:

"Many of my sons were killed by the thousand-eyed [Indra], dear son. / I wish to take vengeance on them by the slaying of Śakra."

Saying, "So be it!", the mighty one went to the third heaven. / Having his arms as weapons, he conquered Śakra along with his army in battle.

Dragging the lord of gods by the foot like a lion drags a small deer, / he approached his mother while [Indra] was begging [for mercy], stricken with fear.

In the meantime, Brahmā and Kaśyapa of great austerity / arrived there in alarm; then Brahmā spoke to him:

"Release this one, son, who is begging; what is to be gained by this? / Humiliation is said to be death for one considered a hero.

He who is released on our word is indeed dead even while living. / Those who kill an enemy in battle are not proclaimed heroes;

those who release [an enemy] after crushing his pride are the truly noble ones. / Considering it the foremost duty, you carried out the word of your mother;

so also must the word of your father be carried out: release this Vāsava, son!" / Hearing this, Vajrāṅga bowed and spoke these words:

"I have no business with him; my mother's command was fulfilled by me. / You are indeed the lord of gods and asuras, and my great-grandfather.

I will do your bidding, Lord; this Śatakratu is released. / Nor do I desire this sovereignty over the three worlds, enjoyed by Śakra,

just like a woman enjoyed by another, or like a garland worn by another. / Tell me that which is the essence in the three worlds."

Brahmā said: / "There is nothing higher than tapas; tapas indeed is the wealth of the great. / Everything is attained through tapas; you are worthy of tapas, dear son."

Vajrāṅga said: / "My delight is in tapas, Lord; let there be no obstacle to me there / by your grace, O Blessed One." Having spoken thus, he fell silent.

Brahmā said: / "Abandoning cruelty of disposition, if you desire tapas, son, / by this intention of mind, you have obtained the fruit of your birth."

Having spoken thus, the lotus-born Lord, born of the lotus, / created a long-eyed maiden and gave her to him for a wife.

The grandfather gave her the name Varāṅgī. / And then Brahmā went to heaven together with Kaśyapa.

Vajrāṅga too, along with her, went to the forest for austerity. / That lord of Daityas stood with raised arms for a thousand years;

the lotus-petal-eyed one of pure intellect and great tapas [stood thus] for that long; / for the same period head downwards, and for the same period practicing the five fires.

Without food, performing fierce austerity, he became an embodiment of tapas. / Then he spent a thousand years under water.

While he was submerged in the water, his wife of great vows, / devoted to him, maintained silence on the bank of that very lake.

Knowing her husband to be without food, the devoted wife performed austerity. / As she was engaged in tapas, Indra created terrifying apparitions.

Assuming the form of a monkey, he came near her; / casting his gaze away from her, he passed urine and feces.

He made her garments disheveled, her face agitated, / and her hair disheveled, wishing to destroy her austerity.

Then, in the form of a ram, he inflicted torment on her. / Then, in the form of a serpent, having bound both her feet,

he dragged her far away from that place where the god resided. / Yet by the power of his austerity, she did not meet with death.

And through forbearance, the noble woman did not display even the slightest anger. / Then, in the form of a jackal, he defiled that hermitage.

In the form of fire, he burned her great hermitage; / and in the form of a terribly fierce wind, he dragged that auspicious woman. / Thus, repeatedly with terrors such as lions and wolves,

when the queen of Vajrāṅga did not desist at all, / then, thinking the mountain to be wicked, she prepared to utter a curse.

Seeing her about to curse, the mountain, assuming a human form, / quickly said to that fair-hipped, beautiful-eyed woman:

The mountain said: / "O woman of great vows, I am not wicked; I am to be sought for refuge by all embodied beings. / The slayer of Vṛtra [Indra], enraged, is the one causing excessive distress."

In the meantime, a period of a thousand years had passed. / When that time had passed, the blessed one born of the lotus,

pleased, came to Vajrāṅga at the lake and said:

Brahmā said: / "I grant you all your desires; arise, O son of Diti!" / Thus addressed, the lord of Daityas, a treasury of tapas, then arose / and, with folded hands, spoke words to the grandfather of all worlds:

Vajrāṅga said: / "May I not have a demonic disposition, nor any delight in the kingdom of Śakra; / rather, let my delight be in austerity and dharma; this I choose, O Grandfather."

Brahmā, his mind astonished, said to him: "So be it!" / And he disregarded Śakra: who can transcend that which is destined?

Seers, men, and gods, even Śiva, Brahmā, and the rest,
do not overstep what is destined to be, just as the great ocean [does not cross] the shore.

Reflecting thus, Viriñca vanished right there.
Vajrāṅga too, when his austerity was completed, steady in self-restraint,

desiring food, did not see his wife in his hermitage.
Thinking, "Without a wife one is fruitless," he looked here and there

seeking his wife, wishing to perform his daily rite.
As he looked, he then saw his companion for this world and the next,

his dear wife weeping, miserable, her face covered by trees.
Seeing her then, the daitya spoke, consoling her:

Vajrāṅga said:
By whom have you been wronged, timid one, while remaining in your own austerity?
Or why do you weep, young woman, while I, your husband, am alive?
Or what desire shall I fulfill for you? Speak quickly, radiant lady.

He who would not cherish the mistress of his house, adorned with good virtues, auspicious,
who has joined her husband like the union of the lame and the blind, nor fulfill her desire—
is he a man? In my opinion, he is no man.

Thus ends the fourteenth chapter, named "Description of the Account of Vajrāṅga," in the Kumāreśvaramāhātmya of the Kaumārikākhaṇḍa, in the first [book], the Māheśvarakhaṇḍa, of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.