Skandapurana 16.130

Īśvara said: / Then one should go, O great goddess, to the god Pāśupateśvara, / situated to the east of Ugraseneśvara, O goddess.

Likewise in the southeast from Gopāditya, situated to the south from Dhruveśa, / removing all sins, O goddess, situated in the eastern quarter.

Likewise, from Gopāditya, the liṅga grants all desires upon darśana; / in this yuga it is celebrated by the name Saṃtoṣeśvara.

Because the Lord was pleased there with those ascetics, / therefore it is renowned on the face of the earth by the name Saṃtoṣa.

It is a liṅga of the yuga, O great goddess, an abode of perfections of great radiance, / the seat of the Pāśupatas, and medicine for those afflicted with the disease of sin.

Four sages attained perfection at that liṅga, O illustrious lady: / Vāmadeva, Sāvarṇi, Aghora, and Kapila— / they attained perfection at that liṅga, Anādīśa, the taintless one.

Near that god, in the forest known as Śrīmukha, / is the abode of Lakṣmī, O great goddess, frequented by those with perfected yoga.

There the excellent Pāśupatas are devoted to the worship of my liṅga; / and for their dwelling, that forest was created by the goddess.

In the midst of it, O fair-hipped lady, stands an east-facing liṅga; / there the Pāśupatas attained perfection, the great seers Aghora and the rest; / in this very body they went to Śiva's abode.

There, in the sacred field of Prabhāsa, frequented by gods and Siddhas, / I ever delight in dwelling in that auspicious sanctuary, / most delightful, most dear among all abodes.

There the Pāśupatas, O goddess, are wholly devoted to meditation upon me; / and all of them, endowed with celibacy, are my sons.

Self-controlled, tranquil, with anger subdued, those brahmins are ascetic; / by the power of that liṅga, they attained supreme perfection.

Therefore the best of the twice-born residing in the sacred field should worship it constantly.

The Goddess said: / O Lord, O Lord of the gods, who ferry across the ocean of saṃsāra, / in the great sacred field of Prabhāsa, of those observing your vow,

their great holy abode, as well as the Pāśupata yoga, / tell me by your grace, [and] the supreme māhātmya of the liṅga.

What is the primordial name of the god? How is he to be worshipped by the best of men? / How did the Pāśupatas go to heaven there with their bodies?

Tell me this, O Lord of the gods, having shown compassion to me, O master.

Īśvara said: / The great Pāśupata yoga that is inquired about by you, O auspicious one, / and what the power of those [ascetics] is, as well as of the liṅga, O lady of good vows—

the primordial name of the god of great radiance is Anādīśa; / and at that liṅga, O goddess, those who have taken refuge in my vow,

for a long time, O fair-hipped lady, uphold the great Pāśupata vow, / the perpetual rule as prescribed, which causes wonder to me; / to show favor to them, my mind rushes forth.

Sūta said: / Having heard Hara's words, the goddess was filled with wonder; / she spoke words, O brahmins, to her husband, the lord of all the worlds:

Curiosity has arisen in me as well, O god: what did you do then? / Tell me that, O Mahādeva, if I am dear to you.

Having heard those words of hers, Mahādeva said to her: / Listen, O goddess, I shall describe the deeds of my devotees.

Having seen their steadfastness in austerity, the god, the primordial Lord of gods, / spoke words to those standing by his side bowing down:

Īśvara said: / Go quickly, Nandikeśa, where those sons of mine / are practicing that terrible vow of mine, which is very difficult to perform.

By the power of that sacred field and by devotion to me constantly, / those sages, practitioners of good vows, have attained perfection in their own bodies.

Therefore, by my word, O Nandin, go to auspicious Prabhāsa; / invite them all and bring them quickly to Kailāsa.

Take this lotus with its stalk, radiant with a bud; / having placed this on the crown of the liṅga, bring the lotus-stalk here.

Sent then by Śambhu, the god of gods, / Nandī went from that abode of Kailāsa to the sacred field of Prabhāsa.

And having seen once more the liṅga of the god of gods, the trident-bearer, / and having seen those lords of yogins, he was filled with supreme wonder.

Some were engaged in meditation there, some had taken refuge in yoga; / some were offering exposition, and others were engaging in inquiry.

Others were performing worship of the liṅga, and others likewise bowing down; / they circumambulated and bowed down with eight limbs [touching the ground].

Some offered praise with sacrifices of the heart, and others likewise; / some performed worship with auspicious, uninjurious flowers.

They performed ritual ablution with ash and bathed [the liṅga] with mouthfuls [of water]; / thus the circle of ascetics was thrown into agitation.

Then, seeing them behaving in that manner, Nandī was filled with amazement; / observing everything about them, he reflected in his mind:

"I have arrived in this region, yet no one looks at me; / no one has asked me: 'Whence have you arrived, and whose [attendant] are you?'

All of them are shrouded in pride and do not speak to me at all." / Having pondered thus in his mind, he approached the side of the liṅga.

Severing the lotus stalk offered to the liṅga, Nandī, / having worshipped that liṅga of Pāśupateśvara / and carefully taken hold of the stalk, spoke these words to the seers:

Nandikeśvara said: / "By command of the God of gods, I have come to your presence; / the Lord of gods gives an order to the circle of ascetics:

'You must go to that place where the eternal God is; / taking you all with me, I will proceed to the abode of Bhava.

Arise quickly, let us go to Kailāsa, the supreme mountain.'" / Then, remaining silent, all the twice-born replied to him by gesture: / "Go ahead, Nandī; we shall come afterwards."

Thus addressed by the sages, Nandī departed very swiftly; / with an inner self filled with anger, he recounted everything:

Nandikeśvara said: / "O God, I went indeed to where those yogins abide; / staying there, I was not greeted with welcome by anyone at all.

O God, they do not look at me, nor do they speak to me in any way; / O God, a lotus was placed there by me on the head of the liṅga.

O God, O Maheśvara, I said to those kings of yogins: / 'You have been ordered by the God of gods: come here without delay.'

Having heard this speech, O Master, all the great seers there [said]: / 'We shall come indeed; go on ahead without delay.'

When it was thus spoken by them, O God, I quickly came here; / hear this, take [it], and do with me as you please, O Lord.

O God, you ought now to dispel one doubt of mine; / O Mahādeva, how will they come without me? / This is my doubt, O Mahādeva; tell me, O Maheśvara."

Īśvara said: / "Listen, Nandī, to the wonder of those whose souls are purified; / these perfected beings cannot be seen, except by me, even by the gods.

Absorbed in my nature, they attain Śāṃkara yoga; / behold this marvel, Nandī: I will show it to you now.

Inside that stalk which was brought by you, having entered like subtle particles / into that stalk, they all have arrived through the power of yogic sovereignty."

Thus addressed at that time, Nandī, his eyes wide with wonder, / saw the great seers situated inside the stalk like minute atoms.

Just as minute atoms are seen inside a ray of the sun, / so the seers were seen individually within that stalk.

Seeing thus, Nandī, his eyes wide with wonder / and having attained supreme astonishment, said nothing further at all.

Seeing that wonder, the Goddess spoke these words: / "What is being seen, O Mahādeva? Why are you joyful, O Maheśvara?"

When these words were spoken by the Goddess, Maheśvara said this:

Īśvara said: / "These great souls are united in yoga, established in Pāśupata yoga; / having worshipped me who dwell in the Prabhāsa sacred field, / they have attained such perfection, moving about with unimpeded motion."

When the Lord of gods had said this, those seers of great splendor, / having emerged from the lotus stalk, all through yogic power, / performed circumambulation around the God, excluding the Goddess.

The Goddess said: / "For what reason do these ill-behaved twice-born not look at me? / This is an amazement, O Mahādeva; tell me out of your grace."

Īśvara said: / "Because of [your] being Material Nature, these perfected beings of great austerity do not look [at you]." / When the mountain-born [goddess] was thus addressed by the God of gods who bears the trident,

she of beautiful hips became angry at them and, her face inflamed with wrath, cursed them: / "Ill-behaved and arrogant ones, through longing for women you will meet your ruin!

Attached to gifts from kings, devoted to the worship of deities merely as a livelihood, / when the Kali age arrives, you will live on the property of the liṅga!

Attached to courtesans, bewildered, and expelled from all society, / you will bring ruin to the property of the deities in the Kali age!"

When that curse had thus been laid upon the great-souled seers, / all those lords of the gods propitiated Gaurī.

At the word of the God of gods, she became pleased once more; / and the God, taking up the stalk, hurled it in the southern direction.

That stalk fell right into the midst of the Prabhāsa sacred field; / that very [stalk] became a liṅga, renowned as Mahānāla.

And when the Kali age arrived, it came to be known as Dhruveśvara, / situated to the northeast of that Pāśupateśvara.

Formerly its name was Anādīśa, and later Pāśupateśvara; / it stands in the great sacred field of Prabhāsa, destroying sins.

This is the supreme, foremost place where my observance is practiced; / this liṅga, known as Anādīśa, is the supreme Brahman.

Here brahmins attain perfection and liberation, without doubt; / with this very body, one attains perfection within six months.

Let this liṅga be beheld for liberation from the cycle of worldly existence; / it is hard to attain for all worlds, the supreme bestower of liberation; / this Pāśupata wisdom is established in this liṅga.

And whoever worships it with devotion constantly in the month of Māgha / obtains the fruit of all sacrifices and gifts.

Gold should be given there by those who desire the full fruit of the pilgrimage.

Thus, O Goddess, has been recounted this sin-destroying māhātmya / of Pāśupateśvara, which brings about liberation from the bondage of the individual soul."

The brahmin is declared to be venerable among all four classes; / and he alone has authority over this Pāśupateśvara. // 75

Since this Pāśupata universal vow became the first purifier among the deities, / I have declared this absolute path, by which the gods attain all the worlds. // 76

Even having drunk wine, approached the wife of one's guru, committed theft, or killed a brahmin, / one covered with ash, lying upon a bed of ash, and reciting the Rudra hymns is freed from these sins. // 77

Taking the ash with the formula beginning 'Agni is [ash]', one should touch the limbs; / and from a carefully kept fire one should take the ash of householders. // 78

'Fire is ash, wind is ash, water is ash, earth is ash, indeed all this became ash.' / One who is uninitiated must not touch these eyes. // 79

It must be taken up by brahmins, but never by śūdras; / a śūdra never has authority regarding the Pāśupata vow. // 80

Authority regarding the auspicious Pāśupata vow belongs to brahmins; / assuming a brahmin body, I am born age after age. // 81

Whether in an outcaste's dwelling, a cremation ground, on the king's highway, in the middle of a road, / or fallen into dried cowdung, the lowest of men attain the realm of Śiva—of this there is no doubt. // 82

Thus ends the one hundred and thirtieth chapter, named 'Description of the Glory of Pāśupateśvara,' in the first [part], the Glory of the Prabhāsa Sacred Field, of the seventh section, Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, in the Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses. // 130