Skandapurana 16.101

Īśvara said:
At that very time, the blessed seer Nārada,
mind-born son of Brahmā, celebrated in the three worlds,

a wanderer through all worlds, youthful, reverenced by gods,
and wandering everywhere at will—

to see Vāsudeva, that best of seers
always came to the city of Dvāravatī together with seers, with passion.

Now, as he approached quickly, all the Yadu youths,
Pradyumna and the rest, stood with bowed faces,

and for lack of arghya and water for the feet, they offered worship from all sides.
But Sāmba, on account of the inevitability of that curse...

He constantly showed disrespect to the great-souled Nārada; / he was always engaged in amorous play, arrogant with his beauty and youth. 6

Seeing him ill-mannered, Nārada thought: / 'I will teach this ill-mannered boy proper discipline.' 7

Having thus reflected, he then spoke to Vāsudeva: / 'These sixteen thousand women that exist, O best of gods, 8

the affections of all of them are constantly fixed on Sāmba, O god. / Sāmba is peerless in beauty in this world with its moving and unmoving beings. 9

And those noble women constantly deserve the darśana of him.' / Hearing this speech from Nārada, Keśava reflected: 10

'What truth can there be in what Nārada has spoken? / Yet it is heard in the world that fickleness exists in women. / These two verses were sung of old by brahmins who knew the minds of women: 11

"Due to unchastity, extreme fickleness, and ignorance born of their very nature, / even when guarded with effort, they indeed act perversely towards their husbands. 12

They do not examine beauty, nor do they care about age; / whether handsome or deformed, they enjoy him simply because he is a man." 13

Īśvara said: / Reflecting thus in his mind, Kṛṣṇa spoke to Nārada: / 'I do not believe this that was just spoken.' 14

To the god speaking thus, Nārada replied: / 'I shall act in such a way that you will believe.' 15

Having spoken thus, Nārada departed as he had come; / then, after several days, he came back to Dvārakā. 16

On that day, the god too, together with the women of the inner apartments, / having enjoyed water-sports, was drinking in secret 17

in the delightful Raivataka park, adorned with various trees, / constantly perfumed with flowers of all seasons, fulfilling all desires, 18

adorned with elongated ponds radiant with various blossoming water-lilies, / resonant with swans and sārusa cranes, beautified by cakravāka birds. 19

There the god took delight, surrounded then by women / adorned with necklaces, anklets, armlets, girdles, and other ornaments, 20

the excellent women adorned especially on every limb. / Staying there, he drank delightful liquor endowed with a pleasing aroma. 21

Meanwhile, perceiving that the women were intoxicated by wine, / Nārada spoke to Sāmba: 'Stay here, young prince. 22

The god is calling for you; it is not fitting for you to remain here.' / Not grasping the meaning of those words, urged on then by Nārada, 23

Sāmba went quickly and bowed to his father. / He occupied the seat pointed out to him affectionately by Viṣṇu. 24

Meanwhile, those women who were deficient in purity of mind, / all became agitated at once upon seeing Sāmba. 25

He had not been seen before by those who resided in the inner apartments; / then, due to the fault of wine, and likewise from a great loss of memory, 26

the loins of those women, who were naturally deficient in moral strength, began to ooze. / And this verse, celebrated in the purāṇas on earth, is heard: 27

"Even of a woman observing celibacy, or a female ascetic, through heedlessness, / upon seeing an eminent man, the private parts become moist." 28

In the world, too, this is seen: from the indulgence in wine, / even modest women cast off shame and become shameless. 29

Through meals with meat, rich foods, drinks like sīdhu, surā, and āsava, / and fragrant, charming garments, passion expands in women. 30

Liquor should not be given in excess by a wise man, / since women by nature are already intoxicated by passion. 31

Nārada too, having sent Sāmba, with haste / came to that very place, right on Sāmba's footsteps. 32

Seeing the sage approaching on his own, the dear friend of pleasant mind, / all the women, though intoxicated by wine, stood up at once. 33

As they rose, before the eyes of Vāsudeva, / their priceless garments tore and fell into their drinking cups, 34

and clinging to their hips, they slipped down one by one. / Seeing that, Hari was enraged and then cursed the women: 35

'Since your minds, forsaking me, have gone elsewhere, O women, / therefore at the end of your lives you will not reach the worlds earned by your husband. 36

Cast down from the world of your husband and likewise from the path to heaven, / becoming utterly helpless, you will fall into the hands of robbers.' 37

Then, due to the evil effect of that curse, when Hari went to heaven, / those women were carried off by thieves from the land of the five rivers while Arjuna watched. 38

Those women who were deficient in moral strength were ruined. / Rukmiṇī, Satyabhāmā, and likewise Jāmbavatī, O beloved, 35

did not fall into the hands of robbers, protected by their own moral strength. / Having thus cursed those women, Kṛṣṇa also cursed Sāmba: 40

'Since all these women became agitated upon seeing your exceedingly charming form, / therefore, may you be afflicted with leprosy!' 41

Hearing that speech of his, Sāmba, filled with shame, / spoke laughing, remembering the best of ṛṣis: 42

'Without cause, father, and free from any evil intent, / I have been cursed; Durvāsas, angry at me, would not speak otherwise.' 43

Having spoken thus to the lotus-eyed Kṛṣṇa, / Sāmba, filled with dispassion and overwhelmed with anxiety and grief, 44

went to the Prabhāsa sacred field, the destroyer of all sins. / Having thus reached that sacred field, he performed very severe tapas. 45

Having installed the thousand-rayed god, the destroyer of sins, / he then worshipped him, observing the highest vow. 46

At the three junctures of the day, he worshipped him with divine perfumes and ointments; / with devotion, he continually praised the lord of the day with this hymn. 47

Sāmba said: / 'Salutations to the lamp of the three worlds! Salutations to you, O destroyer of darkness! / Salutations to the lord of the lotus! Salutations to the enemy of the night-lotus! 48

Homage to the foundation of the world, homage be to you, the sustainer of the world! / God of gods, I bow to Sūrya, the lamp of the three worlds.

Having the color of the sun, the protector of the universe, this wondrous first of the gods, / Hiraṇyagarbha, the great-souled Puruṣa—he is truly proclaimed beyond darkness.

Thus praised at that time, Sūrya, with a gracious heart, / approached and appeared before Sāmba, the son of Jāmbavatī, and said:

“O Sāmba, O Sāmba of mighty arms, listen, O son of Govinda! / I am pleased by this hymn; choose the boon you desire.”

Sāmba said: / “O best of gods, I was cursed by Kṛṣṇa, being a sinner of wicked mind. / Bring an end to my leprosy, O Lord, if you are pleased with me, O master!”

The venerable Bhānu said: / “Once again, O fortunate one, you shall become free from disease, / endowed with the very form you had before, through my grace.

From this day onward, you must never look upon those wives of Viṣṇu; / you must never stand in their sight, O delight of the Yadus.

Overcome with jealousy toward them, Viṣṇu, the all-powerful Lord, / that great soul, inflicted leprosy upon you, O best of the Yādavas.

Whoever comes and praises me with this hymn / will have no one born in his lineage afflicted with leprosy.

Now learn properly the twelve names of Āditya; / and likewise the twelve others, I shall speak of them in full.

Āditya, Savitṛ, Sūrya, Mihira, Arka, Pratāpana, / Mārtaṇḍa, Bhāskara, Bhānu, Citrabhānu, Divākara,

and Ravi: thus is the twelve-named one known by his general names. / Viṣṇu, Dhātṛ, Bhaga, Pūṣan, Mitra, Aṃśu, Varuṇa, Aryaman,

Indra, Vivasvat, Tvaṣṭṛ, and Parjanya is remembered as the twelfth. / Thus are the twelve Ādityas declared individually to you.

They always rise in succession during the twelve months: / Viṣṇu shines in Caitra, and Aryaman always in Vaiśākha;

Vivasvat in the month of Jyeṣṭha, and likewise Aṃśumat in Āṣāḍha; / Parjanya in the month of Śrāvaṇa, Varuṇa in the month named Prauṣṭhapada;

Indra in the month of Āśvayuja, and Dhātṛ shines in Kārtika; / likewise Mitra in Mārgaśīrṣa, and Pūṣan the Divākara in Pauṣa;

Bhaga is to be known in Māgha, and Tvaṣṭṛ shines in Phālguna. / Viṣṇu always blazes with twelve hundred rays;

Aryaman blazes with a thousand rays plus three hundred; / Vivasvat with fourteen hundred, and Aṃśumat with fifteen hundred;

Parjanya is like Vivasvat, and Varuṇa is like Aryaman; / Indra shines with twice six, that is, twelve hundred rays;

and Bhaga is like Mitra; Tvaṣṭṛ has one thousand and one hundred rays. / During the sun’s northern course, his rays always increase; / during the southern course, the rays of the sun diminish again.

Abiding thus in twelve forms in the midst of Prabhāsakṣetra, / renowned as Sāmbāditya, I shall remain through successive manvantaras.

On the fifth day of the bright fortnight of Māgha, O best of the Yādavas, / a single meal is prescribed, and on the sixth day an evening meal is declared.

Having observed a fast on the seventh day in the presence of Sāmbārka, / the performer of the great observance, with karavīra flowers mixed with red sandalwood,

and offering frankincense, the wise one should worship Bhāskara, / after also feeding brahmins with divine food according to his ability.

Whoever thus properly performs the worship of Sāmbāditya, / endowed with perfect faith, shall attain the entire fruit.”

Īśvara said: / Having spoken thus, the thousand-rayed one vanished right there; / and Sāmba, freed from disease, returned again to Dvārakā.

Thus has this great rising of Sāmbāditya been told, O goddess; / heard, it removes sins and grants health.

Thus ends the one hundred and first chapter, entitled “Description of the Māhātmya of Sāmbāditya,” in the first part, the Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya, of the seventh section, the Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.