Skandapurana 16.148

Īśvara said: / Then, O great goddess, one should go to the well arisen from the earring, / on the northern side of that very [place], near Brahmakuṇḍa,

where the stealer of the beautiful earring attained perfection, O great goddess. / Having bathed there, O goddess, a man is freed from the sin committed by theft.

For seven births, O queen of gods, there is no arising in his lineage / of any cruel thief, through the power of bathing there.

Especially on Śivarātri, one should perform the rite of offering funeral cakes and the like / there for the liberation of sinners and those slain by weapons.

The goddess said: / How did the form of the earring come to fame on earth? / Tell me this in detail, O god, best of speakers!

Īśvara said: / Hear, O goddess, the highly meritorious story that destroys sin, / hearing which a man is freed from sin acquired across a hundred births.

On account of the māhātmya of Prabhāsa-kṣetra, having fasted on Śivarātri, / there was a wise king, Sudarśana, the sole monarch on earth.

He was indeed fortunate and wealthy, and he protected the subjects with care. / His kingdom was highly prosperous, adorned with brahmins, / opulent, endowed with prosperity, free from scoundrels and thieves.

In that delightful country was the auspicious, blessed city, / furnished with the four castes and adorned with city walls.

In that delightful, excellent city, Sudarśana, endowed with prosperity, / together with his kinsmen, ruled the kingdom free of thorns, / he who was the son of Hiraṇyadatta, born of a Gāndhāra girl.

His beloved wife was virtuous, devoted to her husband's vows, / the auspicious daughter of the king of Kāśi, renowned by the name Sunandā.

With her indeed the king of kings constantly enjoyed pleasures. / While he was enjoying pleasures, a long time passed then.

He performed great sacrifices and gave abundant gifts. / In this way his time passed along with his wife, O lady of good vows.

Once, during the month of Māgha, on Śivarātri, O fair-faced one, / he remembered his previous birth, and having summoned his wife, he spoke:

Sudarśana said:
O goddess, O fair-faced lady, the Śivarātri vow must be performed by me. / Truly, through the power of this vow, kingdom was obtained by me.

The queen said:
Great is its power, O lord of kings! Thus it has been spoken to me by you. / Tell me the reason for this; wonder dwells in my heart.

The king said:
Hear the māhātmya of the sacred ford, from fasting on Śivarātri, / in that delightful Śivapura, the exceedingly beautiful gateway to heaven,

in Prabhāsa, the primeval sacred ford, the supreme, wish-granting sacred ford.

In that prosperous city constantly attended by dharma, / [I] went on Śivarātri, O queen, the highest lunar day among lunar days.

Whatever mortals dwelt in the city and realm there, / they came there, O lady of fair hips, to fast on Śivarātri.

A certain merchant named Dhana always lived right there; / rich in wealth, he was righteous-minded, always devoted to dharma.

Together with his wife, he fasted there on Śivarātri. / His wife was a virtuous woman, endowed with beauty and youth,

with a trembling girdle and necklace, adorned with all ornaments. / Together with that wife, free from passion and wrath,

having stepped before Prabhāsa, bathed, clad in white, purified, / according to the prescribed rule, he remained devoid of sleep through devotion.

There was I, in the form of a thief, a sinner addicted to theft; / born into a family of good Śūdras, a worshipper of gods and brahmins,

yet always attached to unlawful action owing to the connection of past karma. / On that night, I was stationed there in the midst of the crowd,

lying coiled up there, watching for an opening, O fair-faced lady, / intent on seeking a weak moment in that merchant's wife.

While he remained awake, that night passed for me in that lonely spot, / amidst the sounds of song, dance, and other arts, and reciters of Vedic blessings,

with the clapping of hands, poetic compositions, and readers of sacred texts. / As the remainder of the night lingered thus,

afflicted by the urge [to relieve herself], distressed, that sweet-smiling woman, / the wealthy man's wife, tormented by the urge, went outside the temple.

Tearing off her two earrings, I leapt and stood in the water. / Thereupon, a great clamour was raised by the inhabitants of the city.

Hearing the clamorous sound caused by the tearing of the ear[rings], / the guards, enforcing the king's command, ran there at once.

By them, weapons in hand and torches in hand all around, / I was watched closely, but the gold kept in my mouth was not recovered.

Having then severed my head with a sharp-edged sword, / looking with torches in hand, they could not see even a particle of gold.

Leaving me, they all departed, and having gone, they reported to the king: / 'Nothing was found there, and he was slain by us instantly.'

Having reported [this], they all went back to their respective places. / Then indeed, by a relative there, with a mind stricken with fear,

my head, together with my body, was buried right there; / having made a pit there, my dear, to the north of Brahmatīrtha,

I was concealed right there in Prabhāsa, the supreme sacred ford. / By the power of Śivarātri, I attained remembrance of that [past] birth.

A kingdom free of thorns, prosperous, has been obtained, O lady of fair complexion. / This is the māhātmya of Prabhāsa from the fasting on Śivarātri; / this fruit was obtained by me; therefore, having gone, I shall fast [there].

The queen said:
Let the two of us go right to that place where your skull fell. / And if gold is seen when the skull is broken open, / then I shall have firm conviction; your statement [will be] beyond doubt.

The king said:
For a bone endures for an aeon, until the dissolution of the earth. / Arise, go! May good befall you, to Prabhāsa, the supreme sacred field.

Hearing that speech of his which was uttered by the king, / she set her mind upon going, for the fasting on Śivarātri.

Then, having mounted a chariot adorned with gold and yoked with swift horses, / along with his wife he went to the sacred field of Prabhāsa.

Having observed the vow in Prabhāsa according to rule, O lady of fair complexion, / having arrived at Brahmatīrtha and then raised up the whole [corpse],

having broken open the corpse himself, he showed her the gold.

Īśvara said:
Full conviction arose in the wife of that king. / She went to the supreme abode where the highest auspiciousness resides.

All the people also were astonished, having seen that wondrous marvel.

A river named Citrapathā arose there, O fair-faced lady, / to the east of Citrāditya and to the north of Brahmatīrtha.

In it [that well] remains there, destroying all sins.

When the month of Śrāvaṇa has arrived, in that well, according to the rule, / whoever performs a bath, O goddess, and especially a śrāddha there,

having worshipped Citrāditya, is honoured in the world of Śiva.

All this has been told to you: the great fruit of Śivarātri, / bestowing enjoyment and liberation, meritorious, destroying all sins.

Whatever mortal recites this daily or even hears it, / completely freed from all sins, is honoured in the world of Rudra.

Thus ends the one hundred and forty-eighth chapter, entitled 'Description of the Māhātmya of Kuṇḍalakūpa', in the first [part], the Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya, of the seventh section, the Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skandapurāṇa, a compendium of eighty-one thousand [verses].