Skandapurana 14.13

Pulastya said: / Then one should go, O best of kings, to the sacred ford renowned in the three worlds, / which destroys sins, in the north-east of the royal seer Ambarīṣa.

Where Hṛṣīkeśa himself, in the period called the Kali [age], / abides in person at the sacred ford, bound by his word.

In ancient times, in the Kṛta age, there was a king named Ambarīṣa; / he worshipped Hari and practiced very severe austerity.

At that sacred ford, that lord of kings, eating moderately and having subdued his senses, / lived eating [only] fruits for a thousand years.

Then, O king, he lived for two thousand [years] eating [only] fallen leaves; / then again for two thousand [years] water became his sustenance.

For three thousand [years], O king, he subsisted on air, / contemplating the Lotus-eyed One in his mind with faith.

Then, at the end of ten thousand years, O best of kings, / the blessed Viṣṇu was pleased, and he granted him his darśana.

Assuming the form of the lord of the gods, mounted on the elephant Airāvata, / he said to King Ambarīṣa, 'I am a granter of boons.'

Indra said: / 'Choose a boon, hail to you, O king, whatever is desired in your heart. / Seeing you endowed with devotion, I have arrived without doubt.'

Ambarīṣa said: / 'You are unable to grant liberation, O slayer of Vṛtra. / By your grace, O lord of gods, my three worlds exist! / Welcome, [now] depart, O lord of gods; I take no pleasure in your boon.

When the four-armed one is pleased, he will grant me a boon by all means; / then I shall accept it. Depart, O god, obeisance to you!'

Indra said: / 'Choose a boon, O royal seer, whatever is in your mind. / I am the lord of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and the Three-eyed One, O best of men!

And of the other gods and of the three worlds I am the master. / Therefore choose a boon very hard to attain through my favor.

When I am pleased, O king of kings, all the deities are pleased. / Obey my word, O king, and accept an excellent boon!'

Ambarīṣa said: / 'You are the king of all the gods and likewise the ruler of the three worlds. / I am the king of [the earth] possessing the seven continents, O slayer of Vṛtra.

Know me with certainty, dear sir, to be a true devotee of Hṛṣīkeśa; / and when Hṛṣīkeśa has come, he will undoubtedly grant me a boon.'

Indra said: / 'If you do not accept the boon from me while I offer it, O protector of the earth, / I, having resolved upon your slaying, will hurl my thunderbolt at you!'

Having spoken thus, the thousand-eyed one, licking the corners of his mouth, / brandished the thunderbolt, seizing it in his right hand.

As it was being brandished in this way, great portents occurred; / then mountain peaks shattered on all sides.

The sky was covered then with clouds that shook the earth; / nothing could be seen there, as everything was enveloped in complete darkness.

At that very time, that king devoted to Hari / closed his eyes and became absorbed in deep meditation.

Then, pleased, the Lord of the World became visibly manifest in person; / that Airāvata instantly became Garuḍa.

Hṛṣīkeśa, wielding the conch, discus, and mace, / spoke to that best of kings absorbed in meditation with a voice deep as a thundercloud:

The Blessed Lord said: / 'I am highly pleased with you, dear one, O lord of men of exclusive devotion! / Choose a boon, hail to you, even if it be very hard to attain.'

Ambarīṣa said: / 'If the Blessed Lord is pleased, if a boon is to be given to me, / then become the granter of a boon to deliver me from the ocean of worldly existence, O Hari!'

Pulastya said: / Then the blessed Viṣṇu spoke to Ambarīṣa, the ruler of men, / of the extensive yoga of knowledge, which brings an end to worldly existence,

Upon the arising of which a man is instantly liberated from worldly existence, O king. / Having heard that, the king, bowing reverently, spoke to Keśava:

Ambarīṣa said: / 'O Blessed Lord, this yoga which you have described to me in detail / is difficult for men to understand, O god, especially in the Kali age.

Moreover, if you are very pleased, speak to me of the yoga of ritual action, / for the sake of delivering the worlds, O wielder of the conch, discus, and mace!'

Pulastya said: / Then Janārdana Keśava properly explained to that lord of men, / O best of kings, the yoga of ritual action.

Having heard that, Ambarīṣa, his heart delighted, spoke these words:

Ambarīṣa said: / 'If you are pleased, O Blessed Lord, in this form, O Mādhava, / always be present in my hermitage, O lord of the gods!

For I shall worship an image of you in accordance with the prescribed rules; / people will worship you, the wielder of the conch, discus, and mace.'

Pulastya said: / Being told "So be it" by Mādhava, he constructed a temple to Hari; / he worshipped the image with fragrant pastes, flowers, and ointments.

Then, after a long time, the king, along with his son and relatives, / attained the abode of Viṣṇu in that very body.

Even today, the blessed Lord Viṣṇu, by the king's true promise, / is ever present there during this Kali [age], O ruler of the earth. 36.

Beginning from that time, O great king, in the time named Kali, / the yoga of ritual action in the form of images was set in motion on the face of the earth. 37.

Whoever worships Hṛṣīkeśa on Arbuda with devotion, O king, / attains dwelling in the same world as Viṣṇu by the grace of Hari, O king. 38.

Whoever constantly observes a night vigil on the eleventh lunar day, O great king, / standing fasting before Hṛṣīkeśa, / shall go to the supreme realm that is difficult to attain even for the gods. 39.

The merit which comes from giving a brown cow at Jyeṣṭhapuṣkara on the full moon of Kārttika, / that fruit a mortal obtains from the darśana of Hṛṣīkeśa. 40.

Whether in the bright fortnight or in the dark, when the day of Hari has arrived, / whoever sees Hṛṣīkeśa obtains the fruit of an horse sacrifice. 41.

Therefore, one should worship [him] according to the rules with every effort. / Whoever, devoted to the rite, worships Hṛṣīkeśa properly there / for the four months is not born again. 42.

One person visits all sacred fords, O best of kings, / [while] another, collected in mind, gazes upon Hṛṣīkeśa throughout the Cāturmāsya. 43.

One gives all gifts to brahmins, / [while] another, collected in mind, gazes upon Hṛṣīkeśa throughout the Cāturmāsya. 44.

One gives away a thousand maidens [in marriage] according to the rite, / [while] another, collected in mind, gazes upon Hṛṣīkeśa throughout the Cāturmāsya. 45.

One gives an unsurpassed gift at Kurukṣetra during a solar eclipse, / [while] another, collected in mind, gazes upon Hṛṣīkeśa throughout the Cāturmāsya. 46.

One sacrifices with the Agniṣṭoma and other rites accompanied by priestly fees, / [while] another, collected in mind, gazes upon Hṛṣīkeśa throughout the Cāturmāsya. 47.

One goes to the Himālaya and abandons one's own body, / [while] another, collected in mind, gazes upon Hṛṣīkeśa throughout the Cāturmāsya. 48.

One casts off one's body at an excellent sacred ford by throwing oneself from a precipice, / [while] another, collected in mind, gazes upon Hṛṣīkeśa throughout the Cāturmāsya. 49.

One human being casts off the vital breaths by fasting unto death, / [while] another, collected in mind, gazes upon Hṛṣīkeśa throughout the Cāturmāsya. 50.

One, hearing [the teachings] and skilled in knowledge, discourses on knowledge of Brahman, / [while] another, collected in mind, gazes upon Hṛṣīkeśa throughout the Cāturmāsya. 51.

One performs the Gayā-śrāddha during the fortnight of the ancestors, O best of kings, / [while] another, collected in mind, gazes upon Hṛṣīkeśa throughout the Cāturmāsya. 52.

One, collected in mind, performs a thousand Cāndrāyaṇa penances, / [while] another, collected in mind, gazes upon Hṛṣīkeśa throughout the Cāturmāsya. 53.

One human being properly observes a vow of austerity for a thousand years, / [while] another, collected in mind, gazes upon Hṛṣīkeśa throughout the Cāturmāsya. 54.

One brahmin properly recites the four Vedas, / [while] another, collected in mind, gazes upon Hṛṣīkeśa throughout the Cāturmāsya. 55.

What is the use of saying much here? Listen in brief, O king: / On one side is all [of that], on the other is the darśana of Hari. 56.

Therefore, with every effort one should dwell in the presence of Hari, / at the sin-destroying abode of the royal seer Ambarīṣa. 57.

On one side is Hṛṣīkeśa, on the other is Karṇikeśvara; / the mortals, the human beings who die between the two, O best of kings, 58.

even after committing great sin, go to the presence of Hari. / Having beheld Hṛṣīkeśa, one attains liberation immediately. 59.

And whoever offers a single flower to Hṛṣīkeśa, O king, / is endowed with happiness and good fortune in this world and the next. 60.

Whoever applies an ointment to Hṛṣīkeśa with devotion / will go to the supreme realm free from old age and death. 61.

And whoever, collected in mind, sweeps before him, / for as many dust particles as are there, for that many hundreds of years / he rejoices, dwelling in the world of Viṣṇu; no doubt should be entertained on this. 62.

In the month of Kārttika, in the bright fortnight, on the eleventh lunar day, O best of kings, / whoever offers a lamp before Hṛṣīkeśa, O king, 63.

just as it shines, so the sin acquired in other births / goes to destruction completely from his body. 64.

Whoever performs worship to Hṛṣīkeśa with the five nectars, / or with curd and milk, is not born again. 65.

Therefore, one should worship Hṛṣīkeśa with every effort. / A human being obtains liberation from the bond of worldly existence, O king. 66.

Worship of Hṛṣīkeśa should especially always be performed. 67.

Thus ends the thirteenth chapter, named 'Description of the Glory of Hṛṣīkeśa', in the Arbuda Section, the third [part] of the Prabhāsa Section, in the Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses. 13.