Skandapurana 14.12

Pulastya said: / Then one should go, O best of kings, to the unsurpassed Rūpatīrtha, / which removes all sins of men and bestows beauty and good fortune.

There, formerly, an excellent apsaras named Vapuḥ, renowned in the world, / attained perfection, O great king, as is related from of old.

Long ago, there was an Ābhīra woman: deformed, with a distorted face, / pot-bellied, with a crooked neck, and with coarse teeth and hair.

Once, wandering on Mount Arbuda to gather fruit / on the third day of the bright fortnight of Māgha, she fell into a mountain waterfall.

Wearing divine garlands and garments, endowed with celestial limbs, / with lotus eyes, lovely locks of hair, and marked with all auspicious marks,

she was transformed, O great king, by the power of this sacred ford. / At that very moment, Śakra arrived there

for sport on that best of mountains, and saw her of auspicious eyes. / Then, pierced by the arrows of Kāma, he spoke to that slender-waisted woman:

Indra said: / "Who are you, speak, O fair-hipped woman! For what purpose have you come here? / Are you a goddess, or a Nāga maiden, or a Siddha woman, or a Vidyādharī?

My mind has been stolen by you, O woman of lovely brows, with eyes like lotuses! / I am Śakra, the lord of all the gods. Turn your love to me, O sweet-smiling woman!"

The woman said: / "I am an Ābhīra woman, O lord of the thirty [gods], and one of many husbands. / I came for the sake of fruit and fell into the mountain waterfall.

Having bathed, I obtained this beautiful and auspicious form. / Indeed, you are difficult for the gods to attain, how much more so for mortal-born beings?

All the gods are subject to your control; why do you show longing for me? / Turn your love to me, O lord of the thirty [gods], as you desire, O chief of the gods!"

Pulastya said: / Addressed thus by her, Śakra then made love to her. / Having sated his passion, he spoke to that slender-waisted woman:

Indra said: / "Choose a boon, O auspicious lady, whatever is in your heart. / I am pleased by your humility; I will grant an excellent boon."

The woman said: / "On the third day of the bright fortnight of Māgha, whatever man or woman / performs a ritual ablution with devotion, let all the gods be pleased with them;

let a beautiful form be born for them, difficult to attain even for the thirty [gods]; / and take me, O thousand-eyed one, to the abode of the gods, O chief of the gods!"

Pulastya said: / Saying to her 'So be it', and taking her, the chief of the gods / went to heaven along with her in an aerial chariot.

Because a beautiful body (vapus) was obtained by her, therefore, O best of kings, / she became an excellent apsaras renowned by the name Vapuḥ.

On the third day of the bright fortnight of Māgha, in that reservoir of water, / all the gods perform their ritual ablution at dawn, endowed with devotion,

as do other divine maidens and women of the Siddhas and Yakṣas. / Whoever performs a ritual ablution there at that time, O lord of men,

obtains such a form as was obtained by her in the past. / All Siddhas, Vidyādharas, and Uragas will be present there.

To the eastern side of it there is a very splendid cave, / where the maidens of Pātāla come and perform ritual ablution.

Having bathed there and taken water, they enter that cave. / There, at the seat of Vināyaka, is abundant water springing from rock.

A person endowed with that water becomes perfected. / Whoever, having taken that water, goes wherever he pleases,

either in heaven or on the surface of the earth, he is not overpowered by anyone. / At the opening of the cavern there is a tree named tilaka.

By its flowers and fruits, every undertaking is accomplished; / by eating them or by wearing them, a person becomes perfected.

Moreover, the stones inside that cave look like conch shells on all sides; / touched by that water, they become golden.

Whatever barren woman drinks the water there accompanied by [fruit/flowers of] the tilaka, / even if she is a hundred years old, immediately becomes pregnant.

Even a mortal afflicted with disease who performs a ritual ablution there / immediately becomes free from sickness, and one seized by evil planets is released.

The affliction caused by bhūtas, pretas, and piśācas is instantly destroyed; / when touched by that water, all bad deeds are destroyed.

Even worms, winged insects, piśācas, birds, and wild beasts / who are touched by that water will instantly go to an auspicious destination.

Yayāti said: / "Indeed, this wonderful māhātmya of Rūpatīrtha that has been told to me / by you, O brahmin, has never been before and will never be again.

What is the reason here, O brahmin, that it is considered superior to all others? / Tell me everything in detail, for my curiosity is immense."

Pulastya said: / "Formerly, austerity was performed there by Aditi, O best of kings, / when Indra had fallen from his kingdom and Bali was the lord of the three worlds, / [and] the four-armed [lord] descended from Aditi, O best of kings.

When that great Viṣṇu, slayer of the asuras, was born to Aditi, / [she placed him] in hiding at the entrance of a cave out of fear arising from the Dānavas.

As soon as he was born, Hari was placed by her in that mountain stream. / Therefore that sacred ford attained sanctity, granting men their desires.

There is no other reason, O king; this that I have spoken is the truth. / On the third day of the bright fortnight of Māgha, Trivikrama was born there.

The tilaka, the foremost of all trees, was tended like a son; / it was constantly served by Aditi with her own hands with auspicious waters.

All this, the supreme māhātmya of the sacred ford, has been recounted to you. / Therefore, one should perform ritual ablution there with every effort; / it grants all desires to mortals in this world and the next.

Thus ends the twelfth chapter, named 'Description of the Māhātmya of Rūpatīrtha', in the third Arbuda section, in the seventh Prabhāsa section, in the Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses. // 12