Skandapurana 1.4.62: adhyāyaḥ 64

While the grandson of Bhīma remained thus on the bank,

intent on propitiating the Goddess and devoted to the worship of the seven liṅgas,

after some time the Pāṇḍavas, having been defeated at dice,

came in due course to that land in order to bathe in the sacred fords.

First reaching the goddess Caṇḍikā, situated northeast of the sacred field,

weary from the journey, those [brothers], with Draupadī as the fifth,

arrived there, where the host of Caṇḍikā was also seated at that time.

And Barbarīka saw those heroes who had arrived,

yet he did not recognize the sons of Pāṇḍu, nor did the Pāṇḍavas recognize him,

because since birth there had been no meeting between the sons of Pāṇḍu and him.

Then, having entered there and approached the Goddess, the Pāṇḍavas,

having deposited their bundles and other luggage there, looked for water due to thirst.

Then Bhīma stepped into the middle of the pool to drink water.

As he was entering, Yudhiṣṭhira spoke these words to him:

“Bhīma, draw up the water and wash your feet outside,

and then drink; otherwise a great transgression will overtake you.”

Bhīma, his eyes bewildered by thirst,

without even listening to this word of the king, entered into the middle of the pool, desiring water.

And having seen the water, determined to drink right there,

he washed his face, hands, and feet for purification.

Because whatever water is drunk by men without first washing [themselves],

ghosts and piśācas, entering that form, drink that up. // 11

While Vṛkodara (Bhīma) was thus washing his feet there,

Suhṛdaya, standing above, then spoke these true words: // 12

"O evil-minded one, why are you doing this, bent on sin,

that you wash your face, feet, and hands in the Devīkuṇḍa? // 13

For the goddess is always bathed by me with this water.

Throwing dirt into it, are you not afraid of the sin of defilement? // 14

Water smeared with dirt is indeed untouchable even by human beings;

how could that sin be touched by the gods? Speak truly! // 15

Quickly get out of this pool, stay outside, and drink.

If you are so foolish and sinful, why do you wander in sacred fords?" // 16

Bhīma said:

"Why do you speak such cruel, harsh words, lowest of rākṣasas?

For water exists solely for the use of living beings. // 17

And it is declared by the best of sages that ritual ablution should be performed in sacred fords.

Washing the limbs is called ritual ablution; why do you revile me? // 18

If drinking and washing the limbs are not done,

then for what purpose are charitable works undertaken by righteous men?" // 19

Suhṛdaya said:

"One must bathe in principal sacred fords; this is true, there is no doubt.

However, [it is done] by entering moving waters, but remaining outside in stationary waters. // 1.2.64.20

Even among stationary waters, ritual ablution is not prescribed by entering into them

where water is gathered by devotees for the ceremonial bath of a deity; // 21

and in a lake that is more than one hundred cubits across, it is prescribed there.

Even in entering, this is the rule: having washed the feet outside, // 22

then ritual ablution should be performed; otherwise, it is said to be a fault.

Did you not hear the verse spoken by the lotus-born [Brahmā] in ancient times: // 23

'Those who discharge filth, urine, feces, phlegm, spittle, tears,

and mouthfuls of rinsed water are equal to slayers of brahmins.' // 24

Therefore, get out quickly. If you are so uncontrolled in your senses,

then why, O foolish, ill-behaved man, do you roam about in sacred fords? // 25

He whose hands, feet, and mind are well restrained,

and all of whose actions are pure, obtains the fruit of a sacred ford." // 26

Bhīma said:

"Let it be unrighteousness or righteousness, I cannot go out at all.

My hunger and thirst can never be restrained." // 27

Suhṛdaya said:

"Why do you commit sin for the sake of life? Tell me!

Have you not heard the verse uttered by Śibi: // 28

'A man should live even for a moment by pure action;

he should not live even for a cosmic age by an action harmful to both worlds.'" // 29

Bhīma said:

"My ears have become deaf from your cawing like a crow.

I will certainly drink the water here; lament as you please, or wither away!" // 1.2.64.30

Suhṛdaya said:

"I was born in the lineage of kṣatriyas, protectors of dharma.

Therefore, I will by no means allow you to commit sin. // 31

So, wretched one, get out of this pool at once! // 32

Otherwise, I will quickly smash your head with pieces of brick."

Having said this, he took a brick and hurled it at his head. // 33

Bhīma, dodging it, leaped out and came forward.

Then the two of formidable prowess, threatening each other, // 34

both masters of combat, fought with their long arms;

both broad-chested, long-armed, and skilled in wrestling, // 35

they struck each other with fists, kicks from their heels, and knees.

Then, after a moment, the Pāṇḍava, scion of the Kurus, began to weaken. // 36

Losing ground, Bhīma rose up again and again.

He was worn down further, my dear, while Barbarīka grew stronger. // 37

Then Barbarīka, uprooting Bhīma as if by sheer force,

Then, enraged, he crushed him, and it was like a wonder.

And taking him thus unconscious, trembling again and again,

he set out for the ocean to throw him into its deep water.

The Pāṇḍavas did not see this, their eyes constrained by the goddess.

When the foremost hero of the Kurus was thus seized by that hero of wondrous prowess,

there was amazement in heaven among the gods, after seeing him in the vault of the sky with the goddesses.

Then, seeing Barbarīka gone to the shore of the ocean at that time,

the blessed Rudra, standing in the sky, addressed him:

“O tiger among rākṣasas, O mighty Barbarīka,

release this best of the Bharatas, Bhīma, your grandfather!

For wandering on a pilgrimage to sacred fords, joined by his brothers,

and by Kṛṣṇā, he came to this sacred ford merely to bathe.

Therefore, the delight of the Kurus is in every way worthy of honor.

Whether sinless or sinful, a grandfather is surely to be worshipped.”

Sūta said:

Hearing this speech of Rudra, he quickly released him,

fell at his feet, and said: “Alas! Woe! Woe!”

And he said again and again: “Forgive me! Forgive me!”

and striking his own head, he wept repeatedly.

As he was grieving thus, fainting again and again,

Bhīmasena embraced him, smelled [his head], and spoke these words:

“We do not know you, nor do you know us from the time of your birth.

And your dwelling here, O son, was heard from Ghaṭotkaca and from Kṛṣṇa.

Yet all was forgotten by us, bewildered by various sorrows;

for all memory is clearly lost in the sorrowful.

Therefore, this sorrow of ours is due to the ordinance of all-controlling Time.

Do not grieve, my son; there is not even an atom of fault in you.

For anyone standing on a wrong path is to be punished by a kṣatriya.

Even one’s own self is to be punished by the virtuous if it has set out on an evil path—

what to speak of father, mother, friend, brother, son, and the like?

Great is this joy of mine; blessed am I, and blessed are my ancestors,

who have such a grandson, knower of dharma and protector of dharma!

You are worthy of a boon, worthy of praise; be so among other good men as well.

Therefore, abandoning this grief, you should become composed.”

Barbarīka said:

“O grandfather, a sinner viler even than the killer of a brahmin,

unpraiseworthy—you ought not even to look at me or touch me here, O lord.

Expiation is proclaimed by the wise for all sins whatsoever;

yet for one who has no devotion to his parents, no expiation exists.

Therefore, with that very body by which I tormented my grandfather,

I will cast it off right now at the confluence of the Mahī and the ocean,

lest I become a sinner in other births too.

No one ought to turn me back from this resolve,

since one who prevents [another] from expiation is stained by a portion [of the sin].”

Having spoken thus, the mighty one leapt up and went straight to the ocean.

Even the ocean trembled, [thinking:] “How shall I kill him?”

Then the fourteen goddesses of Siddhāmbikā there,

embracing and steadying him, spoke together with Rudra:

“When a sin is committed unwittingly, O chief of heroes, there is no guilt.

This statement is declared in the scriptures; you must not do otherwise.

And behold your own grandfather following close behind you,

calling ‘O grandson! O grandson!’ and ready to die after you.

If you now cast off your own body, O hero,

then Bhīma also will abandon [his]; that great sin would be yours.

Knowing this, preserve your body, O wise one!

Or, if you still desire to cast it off, hear our word in that regard too:

In only a short time, from Kṛṣṇa, the son of Devakī,

the fall of your body is foretold; wait for that, if you wish.

For the fall of the body from the hand of Viṣṇu, O dear child, is supreme.

Therefore, wait for that time, requested also by us.”

Addressed thus, Barbarīka too turned back despondent in mind.

To Rudra, the Goddesses, and Cāmuṇḍā, he spoke a reproachful word:

"O Goddess, you yourself know that [the Pāṇḍavas] are protected by the Wielder of the Śārṅga Bow;

The Pāṇḍavas [are protected] for the purpose of winning the earth. Why then was that disregarded by you,

And approaching, this Vṛkodara was protected by you?"

The Goddess said:

"I too shall protect my devotee from death at Kṛṣṇa's hands.

And since a great battle was fought by him in the service of Caṇḍikā,

Therefore, by the name Caṇḍila, he shall be worthy of the universe's worship."

Having spoken thus, all the gods and goddesses vanished from sight.

Bhīma also, taking him along, told everything to the sons of Pāṇḍu.

The Pāṇḍavas, filled with wonder, worshipped him again and again,

And without sloth performed the ritual bath in the sacred ford according to the prescribed rule.

Where he was liberated by Rudra, there Bhīma also installed

A radiant liṅga, celebrated as Bhīmeśvara.

Fasting on the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight in the month of Jyeṣṭha,

One who worships Bhīmeśa at night is liberated from the sins of a lifetime.

Just as the seven chief liṅgas well-worshipped here yield great fruits,

So too this liṅga, Bhīmeśvara, removes all sins and is worthy of high worship.

Thus ends the sixty-fourth chapter, entitled 'Description of the Glory of Bhīmeśvara', in the Kaumārikākhaṇḍa of the first [section], the Māheśvarakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.