Skandapurana 16.237

Īśvara said: / Then one should go, O great goddess, to the excellent Yādavasthala, / where fifty-six crores of Yādavas perished,

where the god Vajreśvara was perpetually worshipped by Vajra, / [and] where there was the hermitage and lineage of the seers endowed with divine vision.

The goddess said: / How did the Andhakas perish together with the Vṛṣṇis, / O Blessed One, along with the Bhojas, the great chariot-warriors, while Vāsudeva looked on?

By whom were those heroes cursed, so that the Vṛṣṇis, Andhakas, and others / and the Bhojas perished, O Mahādeva? Tell me in detail.

Īśvara said: / When the thirty-sixth year arrived in the Kali [age], the Andhakas and Vṛṣṇis, / impelled by Time, slew one another with iron pestles.

The Bhojas headed by Sāraṇa saw Viśvāmitra, / Kaṇva, and the glorious Nārada, who had come to Dvārakā.

Having adorned Sāmba like a woman, they brought [him] along, / and, afflicted by divine punishment, approached and spoke:

'This is the wife of Babhru of boundless splendour, who desires a son. / O seers, accurately discern: what will she give birth to?'

Addressed thus, O goddess, provoked by the deceit, / those sages replied to them. Hear that as it truly happened.

The seers said: / 'For the destruction of the Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas, this Sāmba, / the heir of Vāsudeva, will give birth to a dreadful iron pestle,

by which you wicked, cruel men, filled with wrath, / shall exterminate your entire race, except for Rāma and Janārdana.

Abandoning you, the glorious plough-weaponed one will leave the earth; / and Jarā will pierce the illustrious Kṛṣṇa as he lies asleep.'

Thus they spoke, O goddess, having been mocked by those evil-minded ones; / then those sages, their eyes red with wrath, looked at one another.

Having been addressed thus, those sages then went to Keśava. / Having heard this, Madhusūdana then said to the Vṛṣṇis:

'That which is destined to be, shall be so.' / Having spoken thus, the wise Hṛṣīkeśa, knowing it, entered his house again.

The Lord of the universe did not wish to alter the decree of Destiny. / On the following day, Sāmba indeed brought forth that iron pestle,

by which the men in the race of the Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas were reduced to ashes— / a great [pestle] resembling a messenger of Yama, meant for the destruction of the Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas.

He gave birth to that terrible thing born of a curse, and reported it to the king. / Then the king, despondent, had it ground into fine powder.

A man directed by the king cast it into the ocean there. / Then, by the command of Āhuka,

and of Janārdana, Rāma, and the high-souled Babhru, he proclaimed in his city: / 'From this day forth, in the houses of all the Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas here, / no liquor or distilled spirit is to be made by any inhabitants of the realm.

And whatever man among you is known to do so anywhere, / he, having done so himself, shall be impaled alive on a stake along with his kin.'

Then, out of fear of the king, all the men made a vow there, / having learned the command of Rāma of untiring deeds.

While the Vṛṣṇis along with the Andhakas were thus taking precautions, / Time constantly wandered about all their houses:

a frightful, hideous, shaven-headed man of dark and reddish-brown hue, / with a broom as his great banner, wearing a China-rose as an ear-ornament,

having a chameleon for his mount, and wearing a guñjā berry as an ear-ornament. / Having looked at the houses of the Vṛṣṇis, he was no longer seen anywhere.

Great archers shot at him with arrows by hundreds and thousands, / but he, who is the perpetual dissolution of all beings, could not be pierced.

Terrible and hair-raising great winds arose day after day / in abundance, portending the destruction of the Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas.

Rats multiplied, the clay water-jars in the streets were broken open, / and at night [rodents] gnawed the hair of sleeping men and young women.

Mynas in the houses of the Vṛṣṇis shrieked 'cīcīkūcī'; / and that sound did not cease, whether by day or by night.

Owls imitated crows in the houses of the Vṛṣṇis, / and goats imitated the howling of jackals, O spirited lady!

Pale-bodied birds with red feet, impelled by Time— / pigeons thus wandered about the houses of the Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas at that time.

Donkeys were born from cows, and young camels from she-mules; / cats were born from female dogs, and mice from female mongooses.

The Vṛṣṇis, committing sins that lead to the threefold affliction, / hated brahmins, ancestors, and the gods alike.

They also showed disrespect to their elders, though not to Rāma and Janārdana; / wives transgressed against their husbands, and men likewise against their wives.

The fire, when blazing, turned to the left, / giving off distinct blue, red, and madder-coloured flames.

At sunrise and sunset the sun was constantly overthrown [and eclipsed]; / it was seen by men surrounded by headless trunks.

O spirited lady, when food was prepared and dressed in the kitchens, / worms were seen in it as it was being served, O fair-faced one!

While an auspicious day was being proclaimed and great-souled men were reciting, / rushing sounds were heard, but no one was seen.

They all saw one another's asterism repeatedly struck / by the planets, but by no means their own.

The fire did not cook the offering presented by the Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas; / from all sides, donkeys brayed with terrible sounds.

Seeing these inversions of Time that had arrived, / Hṛṣīkeśa, beholding that thirteenth [tithi] as the new moon, spoke this:

'This thirteenth day has been made the fifteenth again by Rāhu; / it occurred then in the Bhārata war, and today it has arrived for our destruction.'

Reflecting on that time, saying 'Fie, fie!', Janārdana, / the slayer of Keśin, considered that the thirty-sixth year had arrived, / [recalling] what Gāndhārī, afflicted with grief for her sons, had spoken:

Seeing this come to pass, Hṛṣīkeśa [recalled] / what Yudhiṣṭhira had said had now also arrived,

Formerly, having seen dreadful portents when the battle arrays were deployed: / 'Other than listening to a sacred text, an expiatory fire offering, purification,

and ablution in a pure sacred ford, there can be no other good.' / Having said this, wishing to make that very truth come about, / Vāsudeva, the subduer of enemies, then ordered a pilgrimage to the sacred ford.

By Keśava's command, men proclaimed there, / O woman of fair complexion: 'A pilgrimage must indeed be made to Prabhāsa.'

Now I shall tell of the portents regarding the city of Dvāravatī. / A black woman with pale teeth, entering the city at night,

robbing women in their dreams, ran toward Dvārakā, / and into the sanctuary of the sacred fire and pure dwellings.

Devouring the Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas, the terrifying woman was seen in dreams, / making a dreadful screech, accompanied by roosters and dogs.

Likewise, fearful four-armed rākṣasas and guhyakas / were born by the thousands from the wombs of women.

Ornaments, parasols, banners, and armor / were seen being carried off by dreadful rakṣases.

And the discus of iron with an adamantine navel given to Kṛṣṇa by Agni / ascended into heaven as the Vṛṣṇis watched then.

As Dāruka watched, the celestial, fearful chariot yoked [and] having the luster of the sun, / [and] the four foremost steeds, swift as thought, sped across the surface of the sea.

The two great banners—the palm tree and Suparṇa—greatly worshipped by Rāma and Janārdana [vanished]; / apsarases sang loudly night and day, and spoke these words: 'Go on a pilgrimage to the sacred ford.'

Then, desiring to depart, those great chariot-warriors of the Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas, / the bulls among men, set their minds on the pilgrimage together with their harems.

Then, delighted and devoted to meat, the Vṛṣṇis prepared drinks / of many diverse kinds in their homes, and diverse meats.

Likewise, with liquor packed [for travel], the illustrious ones of fierce splendor / went out of the city with vehicles, horses, and elephants.

Then the Yādavas, together with their wives, dwelling in Prabhāsa / each in his appointed place and quarters, had abundant food and drink.

Hearing that they had settled there at the shore of the sea, the knower of yoga, / Uddhava, skilled in what is beneficial, took leave of those heroes and departed.

To that great-souled one who had set out, greeting with folded hands, / Hari, knowing the destruction of the Bhojas, did not wish to stop him.

Then those great chariot-warriors of the Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas, seized by time, / saw Uddhava departing, illuminating heaven and earth with his splendor.

The food that was prepared for the sake of brahmins, O fair-faced lady, / they gave to their horses, mixed with the smell and taste of liquor.

Then, filled with hundreds of musical instruments and crowded with actors and dancers, / a great drinking bout of those of fierce splendor commenced at Prabhāsa.

In the presence of Kṛṣṇa, Rāma drank together with Kṛtavarman, / and Yuyudhāna, Gada, and Babhru as well.

Then in the midst of the assembly, Yuyudhāna, intoxicated with drink, / spoke to Kṛtavarman, mocking and disdaining him:

'What kṣatriya, considering himself [one], would slay sleeping men like corpses? / No descendant of Hṛdīka should condone that; how was that well done by you?'

When this was spoken by Yuyudhāna, Pradyumna, the foremost of chariot-warriors, / praised that speech, and then rebuked the descendant of Hṛdīka.

Then Kṛtavarman, enraged again, spoke to him, / pointing scornfully at him with his left hand:

'How was Bhūriśravas, whose arm was severed in battle and who was seated for the vow of death, / slain by you out of enmity, like by a cruel hunter?'

Hearing his words, Keśava, the slayer of enemy heroes, / that impartial person, glanced askance with an angry look.

And how Sātyaki reminded Madhusūdana / of the Syamantaka jewel, which belonged to Satrājit!

Hearing that, the virtuous Satyabhāmā, weeping, went to Keśava's lap, / agitated and inciting Janārdana to anger.

Then, rising in anger, Sātyaki spoke these words: / 'For the sake of the five sons of Draupadī, of Dhṛṣṭadyumna, and of Śikhaṇḍin,

I go upon this path, ever adhering to your truth! / And those who were asleep were slain during the night attack by that evil-souled

wicked Kṛtavarman, the companion of Droṇa's son! / Today his lifespan and also his fame are ended, O woman of slender waist!'

Having said this, striking near Keśava with a sword, / he furiously cut off Kṛtavarman's head.

As he was striking others all around as well, / Hṛṣīkeśa rushed after Yuyudhāna, wishing to restrain him.

Then, having united, impelled by the turn of time, / the Bhojas and Andhakas surrounded the descendant of Śini, O great king.

Seeing them rushing swiftly in great fury, Janārdana, / of great splendor, did not become angry, knowing the turn of time.

And overcome with the intoxication of drink and impelled by wrath, / they then struck Yuyudhāna even with the leftovers of their meal.

While the descendant of Śini was being struck, the son of Rukmiṇī, enraged, / ran into their midst, wishing to rescue the son of Śini.

He joined battle with the Bhojas, and Sātyaki with the Andhakas; / but because of their numbers, both heroes were slain as Kṛṣṇa looked on.

Seeing the descendant of Śini and his son slain, the joy of the Yadus, / Keśava, then grasped a fistful of erakā grass in rage.

That became a terrible iron club resembling a thunderbolt; / with it Kṛṣṇa also struck down whoever stood before him.

Then the Andhakas, Bhojas, Śinis, and Vṛṣṇis, / driven by destiny, struck down one another with clubs amid loud shrieks.

And whatever blade of grass any man angrily seized, / O goddess, it appeared turned into an adamantine club at that time, O beloved.

Even a tiny blade of grass was seen there turned into a club. / Know that all this was brought about by the curse of the brahmins, O spirited lady.

Hurling repeatedly, O queen of gods, they discharged missiles; / then they saw the solid club turned into an adamantine weapon.

Son killed father, and father killed son, O spirited lady; / intoxicated, they roamed about fighting one another.

Like moths into fire, the bull-like Yadus fell; / no one who was being struck had any thought of fleeing.

Looking upon that, however, and knowing the turn of destiny, / the mighty-armed Madhusūdana stood leaning upon his club.

And seeing Sāmba, Cārudeṣṇa, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha / slain, Mādhava then grew furious, O spirited lady.

Filled with intense anger toward the Yādavas lying on the ground, / the wielder of the bow, discus, and mace then annihilated them without remainder.

Thus, O great goddess, the Yādava-sthala came to be there; / that [area] of just one gavyūti, O goddess, is considered the funeral pyre of the Yādavas.

Indeed, by the heaps of their bones it took the form of a raised ground; / resembling an accumulation of ashes, it became thereby the Yādava-sthala.

It was filled with divine jewels, packed with gems and rubies, / with the diadems of the Yādavas, and permeated with divine perfumes.

For their protection, indeed, are the Gaṅgā and Gaṇapati; / of all the Yādavas, Vajra alone remained alive.

Then, at the end of his life, having consecrated his own son / renowned by name as Mahadbala on the throne, he too came to Prabhāsa kṣetra.

A liṅga was established even by him, the wise lord of the Yādavas, / renowned as Vajreśvara, situated at the Yādava-sthala.

Right there, by the instruction of Nārada, he performed copious austerity / for a very long time in Prabhāsa, which destroys sin.

That king, the best of the Yādavas, attained supreme perfection. / The person who, having bathed properly right there in the waters of the Jāmbavatī,

and having worshipped Vajreśvara, feeds brahmins there / in the vicinity of the Yādava-sthala, obtains the fruit of [gifting] a thousand cows.

A hexagon should be drawn there with a finger at the Yādava-sthala; / endowed with proper faith, he attains the fruit of pilgrimage.

Thus ends the two hundred thirty-seventh chapter, named 'Description of the Glory of Vajreśvara at the Origin of Yādava-sthala', in the first [part], the Prabhāsa-kṣetra-māhātmya, of the seventh section, the Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, a compendium of eighty-one thousand [verses].