Skandapurana 14.1

Obeisance to the blessed Gaṇeśa.

Now begins the third section, the Arbudakhaṇḍa.

Vyāsa said:
Om, reverence to the infinite, subtle Creator, attainable through knowledge, / to the pure, universal-formed Śambhu, god of gods.

The seers said:
The expansion of the lineages of the Moon and the Sun has been related by you, / along with all the Manvantaras and the manifold creation.

Now we wish to hear the supreme māhātmya of sacred fords: / which sacred fords on this earth are meritorious, O wise one?

Sūta said:
There are various sacred fords in this world, of which there is no [finite] count; / formerly their number was counted as thirty-five million.

Sacred fields, rivers, mountains, and streams / have attained supreme greatness by the power of the seers' austerity.

Among them, the one named Arbuda destroys all sins, is sinless, / and remains untouched by the defect of Kali due to the power of Vasiṣṭha.

Just as all sacred fords purify through ritual ablution, giving gifts, and the like, / Arbuda destroys all sins of men merely by being seen.

The seers said:
Of what size is Arbuda, in what region is it situated, / and how has it become celebrated upon the earth through the māhātmya of Vasiṣṭha?

What principal sacred fords are there on Mount Arbuda? / Tell us everything in detail, for great indeed is our curiosity.

Sūta said:
And I shall relate the sin-destroying story, / O best of the twice-born, and the māhātmya of Arbuda just as it was heard.

There was a divine seer named Vasiṣṭha, born from the Grandfather [Brahmā]; / he formerly came to the earth and performed very severe austerity.

Restrained, eating regulated food, devoted to the welfare of all beings, / he dwelt in the open air during the rains, and stayed in water in winter;

He practiced the five fires in summer, devoted to silent recitation and oblations. / Then after some time, his milch-cow— / the auspicious, wish-yielding cow well-known as Nandinī—

Once wandering upon the surface of the earth in search of grass, / fell into a terrible, bottomless chasm shrouded in darkness.

At that very time, the lord of sharp rays [the Sun] / set, O best of sages, and Nandinī had not returned.

With her milk, morning and evening every day, that twice-born sage, / having mastered his vows, would offer oblations into the well-kindled fire.

Then, anxious out of fear of [incurring] expiation, / the brahmin searched in that forest, through even and uneven ground.

Arriving at that chasm, he heard a lowing sound. / The best of sages said to her, “How did you fall, auspicious one?

Distressed about the fire sacrifice, I came out to look for you.” / She said, “O brahmin seer, grazing in desire for grass,

I fell in here, O lord; save me from this intolerable distress!” / Hearing that speech of hers, that sage entered into meditation.

He fixed his mind on the Sarasvatī, the river that purifies the three worlds; / contemplated with the mind by that sage, she, at that very moment there,

Filled that chasm all around with spotless waters; / then, when the chasm was completely filled, Nandinī emerged.

Rejoicing, she went towards the hermitage together with the sage.

Seeing that interior of the chasm deep [and perilous], the great sage, / being wise, thought about completely filling the chasm.

As he reflected, O brahmins, this thought arose: / “Only by bringing a mountain and placing it [here] can this chasm be filled; / therefore, I shall go quickly to Himavat, the best of mountains.

That mountain-king himself will send a mountain here, / so that by that noble one this chasm may be filled.”

Then that sage went to Himavat, the best of mountains; / seeing Vasiṣṭha coming, Himavat, joyful in mind, / honored him with water for hospitality, water for the feet, and other rites, and said this:

“Welcome to you, O best of sages! Today my life is fruitful, / since you, who are worthy of worship by all the gods, have arrived at my home.

State your business, O best of sages! Even my own life / I will surely give to you; give me a command.”

Vasiṣṭha said:
Near my hermitage there is a very dreadful, / bottomless chasm; Nandinī, the excellent cow, fell into it.

With effort she was pulled out from it; out of fear of her falling again, / I have come to your presence; no other lord of the earth is fit [for this].

Therefore, send some excellent mountain, a mountain-bearer, there, / by which that chasm may be filled; send such a one quickly.”

Himavat said:
What are the dimensions of the chasm, O sage? Tell me its breadth and length; / after considering, I will send some mountain of that measure.

Vasiṣṭha said:
It is two thousand [yojanas] in length and three thousand in width; / below, there is no limit to it, O best of mountains.

Himavat said:
How was a great hole formed of such dimensions? / A curiosity has arisen concerning it; tell me everything in detail.

Thus ends the first chapter, named 'Description of the Origin of the Account of the Hole Situated Near Vasiṣṭha's Hermitage', in the third Arbuda Section of the seventh Prabhāsa Section in the Skanda Mahāpurāṇa containing eighty-one thousand verses.