Skandapurana 14.3

Sūta said: / Having heard the word of the great-souled Vasiṣṭha, Himācala / reflected on that task of filling the chasm.

Having reflected for a long time, the best of mountains said this to the ṛṣi: / ‘Tell me, what means is there for mountains to go there?

For Indra cut off the wings of all [mountains] long ago. / Therefore, O best of sages, see the determination of this task.’

Vasiṣṭha said: / There is a means, O great mountain, to convey mountains there: / this famous son of yours, Nandivardhana, is there.

He has an exceedingly dear friend known as Arbuda, / a serpent, the best of living beings, who moves through the sky and is mighty.

Possessing upward flight, he will quickly carry [him] in a moment, without a doubt. / Knowing that he is effortless in all tasks, I have come.

Let an order be given to him; you ought not to cause sorrow. / If you are truly devoted, send him there quickly.

Sūta said: / Hearing the words of Vasiṣṭha, Himavat, who loves his sons, / was overcome with great grief, and the mountain thought:

‘Our son Maināka has entered the ocean out of fear; / and now Vasiṣṭha has come to take away the eldest by all means. / What is our duty now? How will welfare arise?

On this side is the fierce fear of a curse; on that side is the sorrow born of [losing] a son. / Better that separation from a son should occur, not a curse born of a twice-born.’

Having thus made a decision, he said to Nandivardhana: / ‘Go, my son, at my word, toward the hermitage of Vasiṣṭha.

A dread chasm is there; fill it quickly, / taking the serpent Arbuda, your friend, the best of living beings.’

Nandivardhana said: / ‘O lord, that region is very wretched, devoid of fruits and roots, / full of palāśa, khadira, dhava, and śālmali trees.’

with extremely cruel human-beasts and various Bhils. / No rivers flow there, and wicked are the people dwelling there. / I am not fit, O best of mountains, to go there under any circumstances."

Then Vasiṣṭha spoke to the terrified Nandivardhana: / "You must not have any fear on account of the wickedness in that country.

My abode will always be there upon your head, / as will sacred fords, rivers, deities, and sacred shrines.

Trees of various forms, endowed with leaves, flowers, and fruits, / and auspicious beasts and birds will always be there.

I myself will bring Maheśvara for your sake; / then all the gods, along with Indra, will indeed dwell there."

Sūta said: / Having heard the words of Vasiṣṭha, Nandivardhana rejoiced, / approached the serpent Arbuda, and spoke these words:

"Let us two go there today, may all be well with you, O humble friend! / I consider this deed, arising for the sake of the twice-born, [to be done] right now."

Arbuda said: / "I will come there out of love for you, O son of the mountain! / And I will reside right there together with you, without a doubt.

However, my brother, hear the request which I will make out of affection; / out of affection it should not be disregarded, if I am dear to you.

May [the place] attain renown by my name; I choose nothing else." / Then he too, having promised, mounted upon him, / and, bowing to both his parents, set out with the sage.

Filled with divine, auspicious trees, crowded with rivers and waterfalls, / accompanied by melodious birds, endowed with gentle beasts,

the best of mountains, completely [filling it] up to the rim of its nose, / was set down into the chasm right there by Arbuda, upon the word of the sage.

When it was released into that chasm by the noble-minded Arbuda, / and the terrible [chasm] was completely filled, the best of sages was delighted.

He said to the serpent Arbuda: "Choose a boon, O one of noble vows! / I am well-pleased with you, O serpent, on account of this deed, auspicious one!"

Arbuda said: / "This alone is a boon for us, that you are pleased, O great sage! / If it must certainly be given, then listen, O best of the twice-born:

Let whatever spring of clear water is on this peak / attain renown everywhere on the face of the earth as Nāgatīrtha.

I shall dwell right here always, O sage, out of love for my friend. / Having bathed there, may a human go to heaven by your grace.

Even a barren woman who merely performs a ritual ablution, / let her become endowed with a son, O brahmin, and possessing happiness and good fortune."

Vasiṣṭha said: / "A barren woman who merely performs a ritual ablution in this full water, / she too shall obtain a son endowed with all auspicious marks.

And on the bright fifth day of Śrāvaṇa, if she worships with fruits, / even a woman of a hundred years will become possessed of sons.

Those who perform a ritual ablution here at this sacred ford with devotion, / they will go to the supreme abode, free from old age and death.

And those who, attentive, perform a ancestral rite here on the fifth day / in the month of Śrāvaṇa, will attain the fruit of the sacred ford."

Sūta said: / Having thus granted him a boon, the venerable sage Vasiṣṭha / approached Nandivardhana and spoke these words:

"Choose a boon, child; I am pleased with you, sinless one. / Out of [your] humility and affection, I will grant whatever is extremely difficult to obtain."

Nandivardhana said: / "Let your word spoken previously be true, O best of sages; / let your presence certainly remain here forever.

And let it be so that I attain renown on the face of the earth as Arbuda; / by your grace, may this be, which rests in my heart."

Sūta said: / Saying to him, "So be it," the venerable sage Vasiṣṭha, / impelled by his word, made his hermitage there.

Abounding in jackfruit, campaka, mango, priyaṅgu, bilva, and pomegranate trees, / filled with various birds, frequented by gods and gandharvas,

there the best of sages dwelt, together with Arundhatī. / The best of sages brought the Gomatī through austerity,

bathing in which even men who have committed extreme sins go to heaven, / especially in the month of Māgha when the sun stands in Capricorn.

Those who perform a ritual ablution here will attain the supreme state.

Whoever especially gives a gift of sesame seeds in the month of Māgha, / that human remains in heaven for as many years as the number of sesame seeds.

What need is there of saying much here? One should merely perform a ritual ablution.

Upon seeing the face of Vasiṣṭha, there is no rebirth. / Arundhatī is to be worshipped, especially to be worshipped.

Thus ends the third chapter, named 'Description of the Filling of the Chasm by Mount Nandivardhana by the Command of Vasiṣṭha,' in the Arbudakhaṇḍa, the third [part] in the Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, the seventh [part] of the venerable Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, in the collection of eighty-one thousand [verses].