Skandapurana 1.4.39: adhyāyaḥ 41

Karadhama said:
Some, taking refuge in Śiva, some taking refuge in Viṣṇu, or in Brahmā,
describe supreme liberation; but whom do you consider [supreme]?

Mahākāla said:
These three gods are of boundless majesty, O bull among men;
even the minds of the lords among yogins are bewildered here, so what of mine?

Formerly indeed, the sages dwelling in the Naimiṣāraṇya forest,
in doubt regarding [their] supremacy, went to the realm of Brahmā.

At that moment, Brahmā too, bowing low, recited a verse:
'Homage to that Ananta whose end is not perceived,

and to Maheśa; may the two ever show mercy to me, their devotee.'
Then, considering him superior, the sages went to the Ocean of Milk.

There, the lord of yogins, upon waking, recited a verse:
'To Brahmā among all beings, the supreme one who embodies Brahman,

and to Sadāśiva, I bow; may the two bring me auspiciousness.'
Then those brahmins, astonished, turned away and went again.

On Kailāsa they saw Sthāṇu speaking to Girijā:
'On the eleventh day I dance vigorously during the vigil in Viṣṇu's abode.

I constantly perform austerity to please Hari and Brahmā.'
Having heard this and turning back, those sages, dismayed, said:

'Since even the gods do not reach the limits of one another,
what count can there be among beings like us, created by their creations' creations?

Those who describe high, low, or intermediate status among them,
are untruthful, sinful, and surely go to hell.'

Thus those ascetics of Naimiṣa resolved.
And this is the truth, O king of kings; this is clearly my view as well.

Thousands of chanters of prayers, both Vaiṣṇavas
and Śaivas, have attained liberation through Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Sthāṇu.

Therefore, towards whichever god one's mind clearly feels love,
he should worship him and become freed from sin; this is my supreme opinion.

Karandhama said:
What are the sins, O best of brahmins, by which those of deluded mind
find no delight of the intellect either in the Vedas or in righteous duties?

Mahākāla said:
The varieties of unrighteousness are to be known through the varieties of mental states,
gross, subtle, and non-subtle, in countless millions of varieties.

Among them, those aggregates of sins that are gross and cause hell,
performed through mind, speech, and body, are described in brief:

Coveting another's wife and property, intending harm in the mind,
and adherence to forbidden actions: fourfold is mental action.

Incoherent babbling, untruth, harsh speech,
and slanderous calumny of others: fourfold is vocal action.

Eating forbidden food, injury, pursuit of illicit lust,
and appropriating the possessions of others: fourfold is bodily action.

Thus this twelvefold action arisen from the triad [of mind, speech, and body] has been declared.
I shall further explain its varieties, whose consequence is endless.

Those who hate Mahādeva, the ferryman across the ocean of worldly existence,
possessed of very great sins, go to the fires of hell.

They declare six great sins that bear unending fruit:
Those who, seeing Śaṅkara, do not rejoice, and those who do not praise him;

those who act as they please, fearless, abiding and sporting,
devoid of reverence, in the presence of Śiva and the guru;

those who do not respect Śiva's conduct, and those who hate Śiva's devotees—these are the six.
He who abandons a guru who is afflicted, incapacitated, departed to a foreign land,

or humiliated by enemies, is an evil-doer;
as is he who insults the guru's wife, son, or friends.

This great sin should be known as equal to reviling the guru.
The slayer of a brahmin, the drinker of liquor, the thief, and the violator of the guru's bed:

these are the perpetrators of the great sins, and associating with them is the fifth.
Those who, out of anger, hatred, fear, or greed, speak [evil] against a brahmin—

A mortal, grave offense [against a brahmin]—he is declared a slayer of a brahmin. / One who summons a brahmin who is destitute and begging,

and then says, "There is nothing," he is considered indeed a slayer of a brahmin. / And one who, through pride of learning, deprives a virtuous twice-born of his luster,

becoming indifferent in the assembly, is declared a slayer of a brahmin. / One who by false virtues forcibly elevates himself

in opposition to teachers is declared a slayer of a brahmin. / When twice-born whose bodies are tormented by hunger and thirst wish to eat,

whoever causes an obstacle, him they call a slayer of a brahmin. / A slanderer of all people, intent on seeking out faults,

causing distress, cruel—he is considered indeed a slayer of a brahmin. / When cows overcome by thirst approach for water,

whoever causes an obstacle, him they call a slayer of a brahmin. / One who, having learned another's fault, whispers it into the king's ear,

a most sinful, cruel slanderer—him they call a slayer of a brahmin. / And the seizure of that wealth which has been lawfully acquired by brahmins,

whether by deceit or by force, is considered equal to slaying a brahmin. / And one of foolish mind who, having studied the scriptures, abandons them,

is to be known as equal to drinking liquor; or one who recites them merely for livelihood. / Abandoning the agnihotra and the commencement of the five sacrifices,

abandoning mother and father, giving false witness, slaying a friend, / eating inedible things, slaying wild creatures out of lust [or pleasure],

and whoever sets fire out of anger to a village, a forest, or a cowpen— / these terrible sins are equal to drinking liquor.

Taking the entire property of a destitute person; [theft] of men, women, elephants, and horses, / of cattle, land, jewels, gold, herbs, and essences,

of sandalwood, agarwood, camphor, musk, and silk garments; / and the misappropriation of a deposit—is remembered as equal to the theft of gold.

Not giving maidens fit for a bridegroom to a suitable suitor; / having intercourse with the wives of sons and friends, and with sisters,

violating an unmarried girl, resorting to a woman of the lowest caste, / and having intercourse with an [unmarried] woman of one's own caste is considered equal to violating the guru's bed.

One who promises wealth to a twice-born and does not give it thereafter, / and does not remind the brahmin—that is equal to a secondary sin.

Arrogance, extreme wrath, hypocrisy, ingratitude, / extreme attachment to sense-objects, miserliness, dishonesty, envy,

abandonment of servants, of the virtuous, of relatives, and of ascetics, / beating cattle, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, women, and śūdras,

destroying the trees of Śiva's hermitage and flower gardens, / performing sacrifices for those unfit to sacrifice, begging from those from whom one should not beg,

selling sacrifices, gardens, ponds, and so forth, or a wife and offspring, / [selling the merit of] pilgrimages to sacred fords, fasts, vows, and temple activities,

those who live off women's wealth, completely dominated by women, / lack of protection of women, and having intercourse with a woman who drinks liquor,

non-payment of debts, living by false greed, / taking money from blameworthy sources, slanderous speech against a virtuous woman or a maiden,

employing deadly poisons and machines, sorcery with roots, / spells for driving away and malevolent incantations, rites to cause hatred and division,

undertaking one's own duties merely for the enjoyment of the tongue and lust, / one who teaches for a fee, and those who study for a fee,

being a fallen outcaste, abandoning vows, consuming all kinds of food, / pursuing false scriptures, resorting to dry logic,

reviling the gods, the fire, gurus, the virtuous, cows, and brahmins, / openly or behind their backs, or [reviling] kings and rulers,

those who neglect the worship of ancestors and gods, who abandon their own duties, / the ill-behaved, atheists, sinners, and those who do not always speak the truth,

whoever has intercourse on forbidden festivals, by day, in water, in unnatural ways, with animals, / with menstruating women, or outside the proper womb,

and those who destroy the hopes of wife, son, friend, and companion, / speakers of unpleasant words to people, cruel ones, breakers of agreements,

a destroyer of ponds, wells, bridges, and fluid [channels], / and one who discriminates in serving food among those sitting in a single row—

by these sins men are considered guilty of secondary sins. / Now learn from me of those sinners who are attached to sins lesser than these:

Those men are considered sinners who cause a rift in the affairs / of cows, brahmins, maidens, masters, friends, and ascetics,

those who are distressed by another's fortune, who serve a base woman, / who do not perform gifts, sacrifices, and other rites for the sake of the assembly,

those who void feces and the like in cow-pens, fires, water, streets, / in the shade of trees, on hills, and in gardens and temples,

those constantly addicted to song and instruments, intoxicated, given to loud shouts of delight, / wearing false dress, acts, and conduct, engaging in fraudulent business,

forgers of edicts, those who fight dishonorably, / one who is excessively merciless to servants, and one who torments beasts,

one who, falsely gratified, listens to speech secretly, / fickle, deceitful, crooked, and falsely humble,

one who eats while leaving hungry his wife, children, friends, / children, the elderly, the emaciated, the sick, servants, guests, and relatives,

one who eats sweet food himself and gives other [inferior food] to a brahmin— / his cooking is to be known as useless, condemned by those who proclaim the Veda,

those who, having taken vows themselves, abandon them through lack of self-control, / those who constantly strike a cow and yoke it repeatedly,

who do not nourish the weak, who hate those who have lost their wealth, / who torment with malevolent rites, and yoke wounded [beasts],

who eat without giving to them, and do not treat the sick, / a keeper of goats and sheep, a keeper of buffaloes, a seafarer, the husband of a śūdra woman,

one who makes his living from a lower caste, a physician, one who flaunts righteousness as a banner, / and one who, transgressing the scriptures, collects taxes at his own will,

one who is always fond of punishment, or one who is not fond of punishment at all, / [and a king under whom people are] oppressed by officers taking bribes and by thieves.

A king in whose realm the subjects are oppressed cooks in the hells. / If he sees an innocent person as a thief, or a thief disguised as innocent,

a king stricken with sloth and given to vice goes to hell. / These and other sins the knowers of the ancient past proclaim.

Whatever it may be, if a man steals another's property even to the size of a mustard seed, / that sinful man goes to hell; of this there is no doubt.

By such sins, immediately after departure [from life], / a man assumes a body of his former shape to suffer torment.

Therefore, one should abandon this threefold [path] leading to hell, / and seek refuge in Sadāśiva, endowed with true faith.

Prostration, praise, worship, and likewise chanting [his] name, / whether done through association, curiosity, or greed, will never be futile for him.

Karamdhama said: / You ought to explain concisely the procedure for Śiva's worship, / performed so that a mortal may obtain the fruit of worshipping Śiva.

Mahākāla said: / One should always worship Śaṃkara in the morning, at midday, and in the evening. / From seeing and touching [him], a mortal clearly attains his purpose.

First one should perform a ritual ablution, or an ablution with ashes; / or if in distress, an ablution up to the neck, or an ablution with mantras.

Then one should put on woolen clothing, or a white garment, / or one dyed with mineral red, fresh, not dirty or patched.

One should also put on an upper garment; without it, worship is fruitless. / And wearing the three lines of ash on the forehead, chest, and shoulders,

he who worships Mahādeva, [the god] looks upon him with delight repeatedly. / Casting all impurities outside, one should enter the abode of Śiva.

Having entered and bowed to the Lord, one should then enter the sanctum sanctorum. / Washing both hands and concentrating the mind upon him, one should remove the faded flowers.

Because he cleanses with devotion directed toward Rudra, he performs the act of scrubbing; / therefore he scrubs in this way, mutually with Sthāṇu.

One should remain intent on devotion to Rudra, and then wipe away the dirt; / for the one who always wipes away dirt, devotion to the god never departs.

Then one should fill small water-pots with pure water. / All the water-pots must be uniform, and all auspicious in appearance,

flawless, pleasant in form, all filled with water, / filled with water filtered through cloth and scented with perfumes and incenses,

washed, filled, and brought with the repetition of the six-syllable mantra. / One should prepare one hundred pots, or twenty-eight,

or eighteen, or four; one should not make fewer than that. / Milk, curds, ghee, honey, and sugarcane juice—

all these substances one should place on the left side of Bhava. / Then going outside, one should worship the doorkeepers.

Next the expressing mantras of all of them are spoken in order: 41.94

“Oṃ Gaṃ, homage to Gaṇapati. Oṃ Kṣāṃ, homage to the Guardian of the Sacred Field. Oṃ Gaṃ, homage to the Gurus.” Thus in the air. “Oṃ Kauṃ, homage to the Goddess of the Family. Oṃ, homage to Nandin. Oṃ, homage to Mahākāla. Oṃ, homage to Dhātṛ and Vidhātṛ.” / Then entering, slightly to the right of the liṅga, pure, / facing north, seated in a steady posture, one should meditate for a moment: 41.95

Surrounded by darbha-grass and the like, on the central lotus the orb of the sun; / situated in the center of the orb of the moon, one should meditate on the orb of fire.

In its center, [the god] possessing all forms, endowed with the eight powers beginning with Vāmā, / five-faced, ten-armed, three-eyed, adorned with the moon,

the god with the Mountain-Born Lady on his left lap, repeatedly praised by the Siddhas, one should meditate upon. / Then first one should offer water for the feet and an arghya offering to Śambhu, O king.

Water, unbroken grains, darbha-grass, fragrant flowers with ghee, / milk, curds, and honey—this is declared to be the nine-limbed arghya offering.

Then, with a mind softened by faith, one should perform the bathing of the liṅga. / Taking a water-pot first, one should perform the clearing ablution.

One should first bathe it with half [the water] and rub away the grime; / afterwards one should bathe it with all of it; then one should worship and bathe it.

And then, having bowed with devotion, one should bathe it with the basic mantra: / “Oṃ Hūṃ, homage to Śiva, the universal form.” / Such is the twelve-syllable basic mantra. 41.102

With water, milk, curds, honey, ghee, and sugarcane juice, / one should bathe it with the basic mantra, separately from the offering of water and incense.

One should bathe it with all the pots; once bathed, one should dry it with perfumes.

Having bathed it after drying, one should smear it with sandalwood. / One should worship it with various flowers according to the rule; listen to that:

At the southeast foot: “Oṃ, homage to Dharma.” At the southwest: “Oṃ, homage to Knowledge.” At the northwest: “Oṃ, homage to Detachment.” At the northeast foot: “Oṃ, homage to Sovereignty.” At the eastern foot: “Oṃ, homage to Adharma.” In the south: “Oṃ, homage to Ignorance.” In the west: “Oṃ, homage to Attachment.” In the north: “Oṃ, homage to Lack of Sovereignty.” “Oṃ, homage to Ananta.” “Oṃ, homage to the Lotus.” “Oṃ, homage to the Orb of the Sun.” “Oṃ, homage to the Orb of the Moon.” “Oṃ, homage to the Orb of Fire.” “Oṃ, homage to the Five Mantra-powers beginning with Vāmā and Jyeṣṭhā.” “Oṃ, homage to the Goddess, the Supreme Nature.” “Oṃ, homage to Parameśvara, five-faced as Īśāna, Tatpuruṣa, Aghora, Vāmadeva, and Sadyojāta; universal form containing Rudras, Sādhyas, Vasus, Ādityas, Viśvedevas, and the rest; embodied as unmoving and moving things in the forms of egg-born, sweat-born, plant-born, and womb-born; Oṃ Hūṃ, homage to Śiva, the universal form; homage to the trident, bow, sword, skull-bowl, staff, and axe.”

Then at the spout of the water-channel: “Homage to Caṇḍīśvara.” / Having thus worshipped according to rule, one should then present the arghya offering:

“Accompanied by water, unbroken grains, flowers, and excellent fruits, / accept the arghya offering, O Mahādeva, for the completion of the worship.”

After the arghya offering, if capable, one should worship with the eightfold worship. / Thereafter, one should offer incense, a lamp, and food offerings in due order.

And there he should ring a bell, and then perform the waving of lights (nīrājana); / he should wave it before the God of Gods to the sounds of conches and musical instruments.

And whoever sees the waving of lights to the God of Gods, the trident-bearer, / is freed from all sins—what then of one who performs it?

Even if one performs dancing, singing, and instrumental music imperfectly, / he will be endlessly pleased with him, since from song and music comes fruit.

Then, having praised [him] with hymns, one should bow down on the ground like a rod, / and ask forgiveness of the Lord of Gods: 'Forgive my good and bad deeds.'

He who worships Rudra in this way, especially in this liṅga, / raises up his father, his grandfather, and his great-grandfather

from all sin, and will dwell long in the world of Rudra. / Becoming thus a devotee of Maheśvara, established in the vow of right conduct,

if, with mind fixed on him, he worships for the release from the bonds of individual souls— / he who worships Rudra in this manner has gratified this entire world.

Yet this bears fruit, O king, for one who does not transgress right conduct; / from right conduct dharma bears fruit; indeed, from right conduct one attains heaven.

Indeed, from right conduct one obtains long life; right conduct destroys inauspicious marks. / Sacrifices, gifts, and austerities here do not bring prosperity to a man

who acts transgressing right conduct. / I shall explain a brief outline of it; listen to that, O king.

Effort should be made by a householder in the accomplishment of the three aims of life; / upon their attainment, there is success for the householder here and in the hereafter.

One should awaken at the hour of Brahmā and reflect upon dharma and wealth; / having risen and having thus sipped water after cleansing the teeth,

the wise man, calmed, restrained, and pure, should attend to the twilight ritual: / the morning twilight while the stars are still visible, and the evening twilight while the sun is still present.

He should attend to it properly; he must not abandon it except in distress. / He should avoid falsehood, useless chatter, and harsh words,

service to wicked people, unrighteous arguments, and bad scriptures, O king. / Looking in a mirror, cleansing the teeth, dressing the hair,

and worship of the gods in the forenoon are duties, the great seers have said. / A seat of palāśa wood, wooden sandals, and a tooth-twig [of it] / one should avoid; and a wise man should not drag a seat with his foot.

A wise man should never bring water and fire together.

He should not stretch out his feet toward a guru, a deity, or fire; / a crossroads, a sacred tree, a temple, and an ascetic,

one superior in learning, a guru, and an elder—he should circumambulate these with the right side turned towards them.

Eating, evacuation, and sexual recreation should be done well-concealed by one who knows dharma; / speech, intellect, virility, austerity, occupation, and lifespan are to be kept most secret.

One should discharge both urine and feces facing north by day, / and facing south at night; in this way lifespan is not impaired.

Facing fire, facing the sun, facing a cow, facing an ascetic observer of vows, / facing the moon, water, or the twilight—the intellect of one who urinates is destroyed.

At meals, sleep, standing, the evacuation of feces and urine, / and when walking on a road, one should always rinse the mouth while moist in the five places.

One should not urinate in a river, nor in a cremation ground, nor on ashes, / nor on cow dung, nor on plowed land, nor on unharvested grain, nor on grassy ground.

A wise man should perform purification with water that has been fetched; / [earth taken] from underwater, from a temple, from an anthill, from a mouse hole,

cast-away earth, and earth left after another's purification—one should avoid these five earths. / The wise man should thus perform purification that removes odor and residue.

He should not strike himself, nor should he yield to griefs; / nor should he scratch his head with both hands at once.

The wise man should protect his wife and abandon jealousy toward her without cause; / nor should he perform any religious rites without the sun setting.

With no harm to living beings, or at most very slight harm, / with mind on Śiva, he should acquire wealth, and must not be overly stingy.

He should not be envious, nor ungrateful, nor have an intellect intent on harming others; / he should not be fidgety with hands and feet, nor restless with eyes, nor deceitful;

nor reckless in speech and limbs, nor accessible to the undisciplined; / he should not engage in pointless debate, nor in pointless enmity.

He should accomplish goals through suitable means; force is the last resort when all else fails. / He should avoid a broken seat, a broken bed, and a broken vessel.

He must not pass between two blazing fires or liṅgas, / nor between two fires, nor between two brahmins, nor between a married couple, O best of kings;

nor between the sun and the sky, nor between Hara and the bull; / for passing between these, he incurs sin.

The wise man should not eat wearing only a single garment, nor perform an oblation in the fire, / nor worship the twice-born, nor perform the worship of the gods [thus].

Cutting, grinding, sweeping, purifying water, / cooking, eating, sleeping, rising, walking, sneezing,

undertaking an action and concluding it, speaking pleasant words, / drinking, smelling, touching, hearing, wishing to speak, and sexual intercourse,

purification, recitation, and worship of Sthāṇu: he who performs these twenty [with remembrance of Śiva], / he is to be recognized as a true devotee of Maheśvara; another is merely one who bears the name.

He indeed becomes identical with Rudra and goes to Śiva at the end. / He should not converse with another's wife; if he does speak to her,

the wise man should address her as 'Mother', 'Sister', 'Daughter', or 'Noble Lady'. / Being impure with food remnants, he should touch nothing, nor look at the sun,

nor at the moon, nor at the stars, nor strike his own head. / He should not sit in solitude with his sister, daughter, or mother;

for the group of senses is difficult to conquer; even a learned man is deluded by them. / When a guru arrives at the house, rising up himself with diligence,

he should offer him a seat and bow down to his feet. / A wise man should never sleep with his head toward the north, nor with his head toward the west.

placing Agastya at the head, and likewise Purandara.
Seeing a menstruating woman, touching her, and speaking to her must be avoided.

One should not pass urine or feces in water, nor engage in sexual intercourse [there].
Having worshipped the gods, humans, and seers according to one's wealth,

and the ancestors, a devotee of Maheśvara may then eat the remains,
restraining his speech, pure, having sipped water, facing east or facing north,

with his hands within his knees, attentive, eating the food without disparaging it.
Unless it is spoiled, a wise man should not speak ill of it.

One should not bathe naked, nor sleep [naked], nor walk [naked].
One should not speak of a guru's wrongdoing, and if he is angry, one should propitiate him.

One should not listen to slander, even when others are prattling.
And abandoning even hundreds of tasks, one should always listen to dharma.

For daily [listening to dharma] cleanses [the mind], as if [cleaning] a house or a mirror.
And on the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight, one should always eat only at night.

If unable [to fast for] three nights, a devotee of Maheśvara should act thus:
He should not prepare for himself sweet pudding, rice with lentils and sesame, or meat.

One should eat in the evening and morning, having first fed a guest.
And at the two twilights, one should avoid sleep, study, and eating.

Eating at the two twilights out of delusion, one becomes an abode for asuras.
Having bathed, one should not shake one's hair; upon sneezing, spitting, or walking on a road,

one should touch one's right ear, [and] ask forgiveness from all beings.
One should not wear blue garments, nor wear reversed clothes.

Dirty clothing and clothing lacking fringes must be avoided.
Having washed face and hands, and also feet, and having sat down,

with hands placed within the knees, one should sip water three times and wipe the mouth twice;
with water one should touch the bodily apertures and likewise one's own head.

Sipping water again and again, one should perform all religious rites.
Upon sneezing, spitting, and also when food sticks between the teeth,

and when conversing with fallen persons, one should perform the act of sipping water.
The threefold Veda must be studied constantly; one must be a learned man.

Wealth should be acquired righteously, and one should also sacrifice with effort.
A wise man should never address even an inferior with 'thou';
addressing with 'thou' or slaying—both are equal in the case of gurus.

Truth must be spoken; one should always be friendly; work that causes constant distress must be avoided;
as a day passes in this world, so also the self must be engaged in profound meditation.

By bathing at sacred fords, by fasts and vows, by gifts to a worthy recipient, by oblations, silent prayers, and sacrifices,
by worshipping Bhava, and by special forms of divine worship, the defiled self must constantly be purified.

And in whatever action the self feels no self-reproach while doing it, O king,
that is to be done with detachment—whatever need not be hidden among eminent people.

Thus this summary has indeed been proclaimed to you in brief;
the rest must indeed be heard by you from the Smṛtis and Purāṇas.

For a devotee of Maheśa dwelling in the household and practicing dharma in this manner,
there is attainment of dharma, wealth, and pleasure, and good fortune in the hereafter and in this world."

While Mahākāla was speaking in this way of various kinds of dharma, O Phālguna,
a very great sound arose in the sky.

Hear who arrived there as they watched:
Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Rudra himself, the Devī, and also the hosts of Rudras,

and the gods headed by Indra, the lordly sages headed by Vasiṣṭha,
the foremost [musicians] headed by Tumburu, and the hosts of gandharvas and apsarases.

The noble-minded Mahākāla worshipped all of them, headed by Maheśa,
in various ways, filled to overflowing with an abundance of devotion.

Then, having been seated upon an excellent jeweled throne by the gods headed by Brahmā,
he was consecrated at the confluence of the Mahī and the ocean.

Then, having embraced him and taken him happily into her lap,
the noble-minded Mahākāla was adopted as a son by the Devī, O Pārtha.

And it was said: "As long as this universe remains, O observer of Śiva's vows,
remain in the abode of Śiva like Śiva himself, through devotion to Śiva."

And a boon was granted by the god: "Whoever worships your liṅga,
having conquered his senses and become pure, shall go upward to my world.

Darśana, praise, worship, prostration, and then japa,
and giving gifts performed here at this liṅga, are the cause of my supreme gratification."

When this was said, the amazed gods sang out, "Excellent, excellent!"
And [the gods] headed by Brahmā and Viṣṇu praised Mahākāla.

Then, being praised by the gods and revered by the cāraṇas,
with dancing apsarases and auspicious songs born of gandharvas,

and surrounded on all sides by millions of praising gaṇas,

Mahākāla went to the abode of Rudra, preceded by Bhava.
Thus this great liṅga came into being, O joy of the Kurus.

And the holy well and lake of Mahākāla bestow accomplishments.
Those men who are devoted to the worship of the liṅga here, O Pārtha,

Mahākāla embraces and presents them to Śiva.
This most wonderful liṅga is celebrated in the three worlds.

Seen, touched, and worshipped, [by them] that abode of Bhava is attained.
Thus these seven liṅgas came into being, O Phālguna.

Those best of men who hear and recite this are also fortunate.

Thus ends the forty-first chapter, entitled "The Description of the Attainment of the World of Śiva by Mahākāla Preceded by the Exposition of the Method of Worshipping Śiva and the Duties to Be Performed Daily, in the Dialogue between Mahākāla and Karandhama, in the Māhātmya of Śrī Mahākāla, in the Kaumārikākhaṇḍa of the First Section, the Māheśvarakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.