Skandapurana 14.9

Pulastya said: / Then one should go, O best of kings, to the sacred ford renowned throughout the three worlds, / celebrated as Kedāra, which takes away all sins of mortals,

where the holy Mandākinī joins with the Sarasvatī. / A man who bathes there, O king, is freed from all sins.

Hear, O king, an ancient narrative as it occurred, / sung in many ways by the seers on the excellent mountain Arbuda.

Ajapāla was the best of kings, born in the solar dynasty; / he protected the earth with its seven continents—there is no doubt about this.

There were no elephants, no foot-soldiers, and no horses for that lord of the earth; / and there were no chariots, O great king, nor treasuries of such a kind.

He took no tax from his subjects beyond [what was just], O king; / he conducted such a rule, intent upon the welfare of all people.

If any transgressor ever arose on the face of the earth, / the weapons went of their own accord and instantly subdued him.

While this ruler of men was thus abiding on the earth's surface, / people lived in happiness, the thorns [of danger] having been destroyed in his kingdom.

The rain cloud rained at will, crops were full of sap, / and cows yielded abundant milk while that lord of men was present.

Then, after some time, the venerable sage Vasiṣṭha / came to his house on the occasion of a pilgrimage to sacred fords.

Seeing him, he worshipped him according to the way prescribed in the scriptures, / by rising up to meet him, greeting him reverently, and offering water for the arghya and water for the feet.

Thus worshipped by him with supreme devotion, O king, / seated comfortably and rested, Vasiṣṭha, the best of sages, / related stories of royal seers and likewise of divine seers.

Then, at the conclusion of a story, O best of kings, / endowed with humility, he questioned that sage of celebrated vows.

Ajapāla said: / "O brahmin, the past, the future, and likewise the present— / you know it all, O holy one, by the power of the practice of austerity.

Curiosity has arisen in my heart, O foremost of sages; / grant me your favor and tell me out of graciousness."

Vasiṣṭha said:
Speak, O tiger among kings, whatever is in your mind. / I will tell you everything, even if it is very difficult to obtain.

The king said:
Through the ripening of what action is this excellent kingdom of mine / free from thorns, always secure, and endowed with all desires?

No one is wretched, none stricken by grief, and none seized by disease; / neither is there any poor man in my kingdom, O great sage.

This virtuous woman, my wife, is dearer [to me] even than my life-breaths; / her mind is set on me, her life-breath devoted to me, always delighting in my welfare. / Tell me in detail, O brahmin, everything thought of by her.

Is it through the power of gift, or of a vow or sacrifice, O sage, / or of austerity, O best of sages, or of a vow and restraint?

The merit earned in another birth indeed arouses my supreme curiosity. / Tell [it] graciously in detail, O best of the twice-born!

Vasiṣṭha said:
Listen to everything, O protector of the earth, as it is told in detail. / You must not feel anger nor shame, O noble-minded one.

In another body, O king, you were born in the Śūdra caste; / and this virtuous woman, your wife, was formerly born in the Śūdra caste.

Then, at a certain time, when a famine arose, / all people were afflicted by hunger through the loss of food, O great king.

Then you went together with your wife to another country; / and climbing with difficulty up to a certain mountain stream,

a charming, auspicious lotus forest was seen by you. / Having bathed there and drunk the water, the ancestors and gods were propitiated.

Indeed, this was thought in your mind: "Taking the lotuses, / I shall make a sale, by which I may have food in every way."

Then, taking many lotuses along with your wife, / you went, O best of kings, to where many people had gone.

Afflicted by the famine, none among the people took [them]. / You wandered everywhere and, being weary, fell into despondency.

Then, at the close of the day, you took shelter in a cave. / Having thrown the lotuses on the ground, overcome by hunger, you fell asleep.

At that very time, there came to your ears / the sound of the Vedas and Purāṇas being recited by foremost brahmins.

Hearing that and rising suddenly, realising there was a night vigil, / you took the lotuses and went right there to the temple of Śiva, along with your wife.

There a courtesan named Nāgavatī, devoted to Śivarātri, / was keeping a night vigil at Kedāra with supreme devotion.

A maidservant standing by her side was asked by you, O lord of men: / "O maiden, for what purpose is this night vigil in front of the god?"

By her it was said: "Indeed, on Śivarātri this fair-complexioned courtesan, / Nāgavatī by name, keeps a vigil at night with devotion.

Whoever, endowed with faith and devotion, keeps a night vigil / after worshipping Mahādeva, attains the supreme abode.

A person who fasts and worships Tryambaka with lotuses / goes to the realm of Rudra, attended by hosts of apsarases.

One with desires obtains desires very difficult even for the gods to obtain. / So you, give me the lotuses and, taking three palas of gold / as their price, maintain your life!"

Then you were addressed by your wife when the gold was about to be accepted: / "The price of these must not be accepted by you under any circumstances, O lord!

A fast has occurred by force for both of us due to the absence of food. / With these lotuses Hara must certainly be worshipped today by both of us!

This must be done by you today; her gold should be rejected!" / Hearing his wife's word, Śiva was worshipped with those lotuses.

With faith, a vigil before Śiva / was kept by you, O great king, together with your wife in the temple of Śiva.

Hearing of the Purāṇa took place there, O best of kings; / and on Śivarātri, O great king, Śiva was worshipped with lotuses.

Likewise, a vigil was kept at night before Kedāra / with devotion and a concentrated mind by you, O great king.

Then, when morning came, having begged alms, the breaking of the fast / was performed by you before Śiva, along with your wife, O great king.

Then, in the course of time, you met your death; / and this wife of yours entered the fire along with you.

Then, O great king, she was born as the daughter of the lord of Daśārṇa; / and you were born as the king in the city of Vaideha, O best of kings,

known by the name Ajapāla on the surface of the earth; / and you are dear to all living beings, O best of kings.

For this reason, this wife, dear as life, was born / again as yours, about which you ask me.

Through the māhātmya of that god Kedāra, O ruler of the earth, / your kingdom gives happiness to men and is free of thorns.

It was obtained by you, O great king, through the grace of Kedāra, / by which you protect the earth even without an army.

Pulastya said:
Hearing that speech of his, that king, filled with wonder, / made up his mind to go to Kedāra, O ruler of the earth.

Going to that delightful mountain and worshipping that all-pervading lord, / he became fully devoted to Śivarātri year after year.

Having installed his son in the kingdom, he then went to Arbuda; / and through its power he, along with his wife, later attained liberation.

All this māhātmya of Kedāra has been told to you, O lord of the earth, / granting auspiciousness to men and destroying all sins.

Between Māgha and Phālguna, on the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight, / is that which is known as Śivarātri on this earth, O noble-minded one.

On that day, O king, one should certainly undertake a pilgrimage to him; / one should perform the worship of Kedāra, O great king, O ruler of men.

Whoever keeps a vigil there on the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight of Māgha, / having observed a fast, O king, goes to the world of Śiva.

Having bathed at the confluence of the Gaṅgā and Sarasvatī, which grants all desires, / those who behold Kedāra shall go to the supreme state.

Whoever drinks the pure water in the pool named Kedāra / redeems seven preceding and seven succeeding ancestors.

And whoever hears this daily with supreme devotion, O king, / even he is freed from sins by the power of Kedāra.

Thus ends the ninth chapter, titled 'Description of the Glory of Kedāra,' in the third section Arbuda, in the seventh section Prabhāsa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa of eighty-one thousand verses.