Skandapurana 14.22

Pulastya said: / Then one should go, O best of kings, to Śrīmātā, praised by the gods, / who grants all desires to mortals in this world and in the hereafter.

And she who is the all-pervading Śakti, by whom this universe is pervaded, / she herself chose to dwell visibly upon that mountain.

Long ago, in the age of the gods, there was a dānava king named Kaliṅga. / He was free from old age and death, and terrifying to the gods.

All this world of the three realms, with moving and unmoving beings, was pervaded by him. / By his strength and might, heaven was conquered by him, and the sovereign of the gods, / together with all the gods, reached Brahmaloka.

All gods and men were terrified by that Daitya. / That Daitya named Kaliṅga himself became Indra.

The Vasus, Maruts, Sādhyas, Viśvedevas, and divine seers— / all were appointed as Daityas by him according to their proper stations, O lord of men.

Those dānavas themselves consumed all the sacrificial shares. / And then, for the sake of austerity, all the gods went to Mount Arbuda.

Even today Devatākhāta has attained renown in the three worlds. / There, all were devoted to vows, eating leaves, roots, and fruits.

Hidden, out of extreme fear, they remained meditating. / Some were practitioners of the five fires, devoted to their vows there.

Others took food once a day, fasted completely, or subsisted on air; / others fasted for a month, devoted to the cāndrāyaṇa vow.

Others were steadfast in the kṛcchra and sāṃtapana [penances], or performers of the great parāka vow; / some drank water, some subsisted on air, some drank foam, and others drank steam.

Others were devoted to recitation and oblations, and others intent on meditation, / with offerings of food, oblations, perfumes, and incenses, O lord of men,

worshipping the supreme Śakti, the Goddess, for the sake of their purpose. / Thus, for those established in vows, whose souls were purified through austerity, / there came release, O king, from the bondage of karma for all of them.

Then, at the end of a full thousand years, O best of kings, / the goddess became visible, bearing the form of a young maiden.

First arose a terrifying form of smoke, O great king, / then a flame, and then a maiden clothed and anointed in white. / Seeing her, the gods then praised her with palms joined in reverence: 15

“Homage be to you, O all-pervading Goddess! Homage to you who are worshipped by all! / Homage to you who go wherever you wish, who are beyond thought, O refuge of the thirty [gods]! 16

Homage to you, supreme Goddess! Homage, homage to the source of Brahmā! / Homage, homage to the half-mora in the syllable [Oṃ], and to its very half! 17

Homage to you whose eyes are lotus petals! Homage, homage to the Mother of the universe! / Homage to you who grant boons, O Goddess, composed of rajas, sattva, and tamas! 18

O Goddess established in your own essential nature, you are the mark of worldly existence. / You are intellect, you are resolve, patience; you are svāhā, you are svadhā, forgiveness. 19

You are prosperity, you are the path, the creator, Śacī, Lakṣmī, and Pārvatī. / You are Sāvitrī, and Gāyatrī, the invincible destroyer of sin. 20

Whatever else here in the three worlds is designated as ‘existent,’ / that is your form, O Goddess, and [you are] abiding in the mountains. 21

Just as wood is pervaded by fire and cloth by thread, / so is the world pervaded by you; concealed, you abide everywhere.” 22

Pulastya said: / Praised in this manner, the Mother of the universe said to those foremost of the gods: / “Quickly ask of me the boon you desire, O best of the gods! 23

Why do you remain here in hiding, dwelling inside a pit? / My devotees have no fear, even in the three worlds of moving and unmoving beings.” 24

The gods said: / “O Goddess, we have been repeatedly repulsed in battle by the Kaliṅga [demon]; / by him all this threefold world, moving and unmoving, has been pervaded. 25

Our sacrificial share has been seized and allotted to the Daityas. / By him heaven has been overrun, and all the gods driven away. 26

Act in such a way, O highly fortunate one, that Śakra may slay the Daityas and regain his abode; / this is the boon we desire.” 27

The Goddess said: / “Just as you were created by me, even so was this great Asura; / I have no partiality between the two of you, O best of the gods. 28

Therefore, I shall ward them off from heaven again, starting with Śakra.” / Having spoken thus, O king, she of fair hips dispatched 29

a messenger to the Kaliṅga Daitya: “Leave heaven at once!” / He went and addressed concilatory words to the Daitya Bāṣkali: 30

The messenger said: / “That all-pervading Goddess who is the embodiment of Śakti, of pure smile, / Śrīmātā, the Mother of the worlds, the supreme one worshipped by the gods, / being pleased with them, has addressed this word to you: 31

‘Go swiftly to your own abode! Let Śakra go to heaven! / At my word, O foremost of Dānavas, godhead shall not belong to you.’” 32

Pulastya said: / Hearing the messenger's words, the Dānava, proud with insolence, 33

thinking, “I am the lord of the worlds,” spoke this with arrogance: 34

Bāṣkali said: / “Who is this Śrīmātā? Who are the gods? I will not abandon heaven for this! / I know neither her nor them; go and tell [her so] by my command! 34

I will by no means give up heaven to you. / A messenger must not be killed by kings, even in the fiercest enmity; / for this reason, O messenger, I do not deprive you of your life. 35

If, O messenger, you show me Śrīmātā, / then I will grant your desires; I speak only the truth! 36

I shall go along with you to where she is dwelling, / and I will subdue her; my word is the truth!” 37

Pulastya said: / Having spoken thus, maddened with insolence, that Dānava / set out quickly with the messenger for Arbuda, filled with great rage. 38

Seeing Bāṣkali arriving, the gods led by Śakra, / though restrained then by the Goddess, were intent on flight. 39

Overcome by great fear, they fled in all directions. / Then that Bāṣkali arrived, surrounded by a mighty army, 40

at the mountain named Arbuda where Śrīmātā was staying. / And he dispatched a messenger, whom the ruler of men addressed: 41

Bāṣkali said: / “Go, excellent messenger, speak to Śrīmātā of charming smile: / ‘Become my wife, O fair-hipped one! I shall always remain obedient to you. 42

Indeed, my entire kingdom shall be under your control. / Otherwise, I shall overpower you along with all the foremost gods! 43

What use is Indra of little prowess? What use are the others, O lovely-faced one? / The thousand-eyed [Indra] is not my equal, nor are the gods and Asuras equal to me!’” 44

Pulastya said: / Hearing this, the messenger then went and reported / everything to her exactly according to the words spoken by him, O lord of the earth. 45

Then, having heard it and smiled, the passionate lady reflected: / “This lord of Daityas was made free from old age and death by Śambhu; 46

how is his subjugation to be accomplished by me for the sake of the gods?” / While the Goddess was thus pondering about the Dānava, / he swiftly arrived there, flooded with lust. 47

Then, casting her gaze, the Goddess / looked upon the lord of Dānavas; thereupon her resolve was formed. 48

Then that Goddess laughed softly, O best of kings. / From her mouth then issued a most terrifying army: 49

elephants, excellent horses, foot-soldiers of various kinds, / warriors mounted upon a thousand chariots, and thousands of others. 50

By them the entire army of the lord of Dānavas was struck down with weapons, / while that Daitya, that Asura, looked on motionless. 51

When that army and its force were slain, the dwellers of heaven led by Indra / addressed these words to her: “O Goddess, you should kill the Dānava! / While he lives, our sovereignty in heaven cannot be, O Goddess.” 52

Pulastya said: / Hearing those words of theirs, knowing him to be free from death, / she placed a great peak of the mountain upon him herself… 53

She, the Mother of the Universe, Śrīmātā, who assumes any form at will, seated herself [there]. / Even today, O king, for the welfare of the worlds, upon that excellent mountain, / right there she dwells visibly, granting all desires to mankind.

At that very time, all the gods along with Indra, / highly delighted, praised that Great Power, the destroyer of fear.

Then the goddess was pleased with them there, O king: / ‘Let all the gods depart to their respective abodes, free from sorrow; / having reached their own abode, let them all protect [the worlds], free from sorrow.

Choose a boon, O lord of the gods; speak what is in your heart. / I shall grant all that to you; I am pleased with your devotion.’

Indra said: / ‘If you are pleased with me, O eternal goddess, affectionate to your devotees, / please remain right here so long as I am the sovereign in heaven.

I rule the kingdom, O ruler of gods, O eternal one, affectionate to your devotees! / Since the demon is ageless and immortal, O sovereign of the gods,

having been created formerly by Hara, by which he remains motionless, / may the three worlds be free from affliction through your grace.

Here, all of us having assembled together, will worship you; / and having beheld you on the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight of Caitra, may people attain the supreme state.’

Pulastya said: / Having spoken thus, the thousand-eyed [Indra], accompanied by all the gods, / attained heaven rejoicing, by the power of that goddess.

She too, the goddess, remained there wishing for the welfare of the gods.

Whoever beholds her on the fourteenth day of the bright half of Caitra, O king, / goes to the supreme realm, free from old age and death.

What need of observances, or self-restraints, or given gifts, O lord of men? / All of them are not worth a sixteenth part of the darśana of her.

Right there her two divine sandals were deposited by her, O ruler of men; / whoever beholds those two does not see worldly existence again, / and attains all desires in this world and in the next.

Yayāti said: / At what time, O best of the twice-born, were the two sandals left here by the goddess, / and for what reason? Tell me everything in full detail.

Pulastya said: / All mortal men, having gazed upon that goddess, O best of kings, / who practice righteousness, attain the two kinds of supreme perfection.

At that very time, the rites consisting of sacrifices, gifts, and the like, / arising from pilgrimages to sacred fords and observances, perished on the surface of the earth, O king.

All those hells of Yama became empty, / and deprived of their sacrificial portions, the gods met with distress.

Then all the gods, O best of kings, assembled there, / and having gone to Arbuda, spoke there to the Supreme Sovereign, Śrīmātā:

The gods said: / ‘All rites such as the Agniṣṭoma have perished, O sovereign of the gods, / in the mortal world; therefore we are exceedingly tormented by this state of affairs.

Having beheld you, O goddess, even sinful men attain perfection along with their ancestors. / Therefore, so act that we may attain nourishment through your grace,

and the demon Bāṣkali may not emerge.’

Pulastya said: / Having heard their word, and having reflected for a long time then, / leaving her own two sandals there, having made them out of stone, / she spoke, O lord of kings, to the gods, all of whom had fallen into affliction.

The holy Goddess said: / ‘By your request, indeed, this best of mountains is abandoned by me; / the two sandals have been placed, O gods, to guard against that Bāṣkali.

Oppressed by the weight of my sandals, O best of gods, that demon / will not be able to stir from his place, just as he was paralyzed by me.

This entire treatise has been composed by me concerning the sandals, / dealing with the Supreme Self, for the welfare of living beings on the surface of the earth.

And whoever with devotion worships my two sandals in accordance with the path of this scripture, / to him will belong the perfection arising from the darśana of me.

On the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight of Caitra, I shall always, here on Arbuda, / dwell for a day and night, well-hidden in a mountain cave.

This mountain is dear to me, and my mind was not set on leaving it; / nevertheless, it has been completely abandoned by me out of a desire for your welfare.’

Pulastya said: / Having spoken thus, that goddess, being praised on all sides / by gods and kiṃnaras, went to heaven, having left behind those two auspicious sandals.

Even today yogins, intent on meditation, attain perfection, / steadfast in them, their vital breaths absorbed in them, just as from the sight of the goddess.

All this has been recounted to you which you ask of me, / the holy origin of Śrīmātā and of the two sandals, O protector of the earth.

The man who recites this with devotion, or who praises it, / is freed from all sins, O great king, and becomes intent on knowledge.

Thus ends the twenty-second chapter, entitled ‘The Description of the Māhātmya of Śrīmātā’, in the Arbuda section, the third [part] of the seventh [book], the Prabhāsa section, in the holy Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.