Skandapurana 17.15

Sārasvata said: / Then that brahmin Vāmana, having attained knowledge in the worship of Bhava, / went to that delightful forest belonging to Mount Raivataka,

where there were trees of many kinds, with long branches and bearing fruit: / banyans, udumbaras, bilvas, sarjas, arjunas, kadambas,

palāśas, aśvatthas, nimba trees, dhavas, aṭīvāruṇīs, / śamī, kaṅkola, lime, bījapūra, and pomegranate trees,

jujubes, lemon, areca palms, plantains, śallakīs, auspicious trees, / palmyra and hintāla palms, śirasas, bījakas, bamboos, and khadira trees,

ajagas, asanas, clumps [of reeds], iṅgudīs, koraveṅgudas, / palāśas (brahmavṛkṣa), kurubakas, karañjas, and putrajīvas,

aṅkollas, coral trees (pāribhadra), kalambas, and jackfruit trees, / bright ones, turmeric plants, gaṅgaḍīs, and vāyava trees,

tesuṇḍakas, śirīṣas, date palms, and karavandas, / sevālīs, silk-cotton trees, śālas, madhūkas, and vibhītakas,

myrobalans (harītakī), kaṭāhas, karyaṣṭas, and āṭarūṣakas, / vikacchavas, wood-apples, rohiṇīs, and canes,

emetic nut trees (madanaphala), nirguṇḍīs, pāṭalas, nandi trees, / cloves, cardamoms, lavalīs, santānas, and agallochum trees,

sandalwood and camphor trees, wish-fulfilling trees, the best of trees; / shade-providing trees worshipped by gods were then seen by Vāmana,

whose shadow is never obstructed at sunrise or at sunset; / by merely beholding them, the destruction of all sins occurs.

They fall within the range of vision only of those people whose deeds are virtuous. / Looking upon these trees, he then went to Mount Raivataka.

As he looked at its lofty peak, on its summit / the brahmin beheld a great wonder, terrifying to the world:

he saw five men standing amid smoke and flame, / black-limbed, moving through the air, ferocious, adorned with black agallochum,

mounted upon dogs, with hands like elephant trunks, wearing girdles, / with swords and shields in their hands, making sounds with ḍamarus and terrible noise,

making the mountain resound with the movement of feet wearing small ringing bells, / of radiant form accompanied by howls, with curly hair like kāśa grass,

their palates busy swallowing the marrow, fat, and flesh of humans, / whose eyes were fierce with the smell and recognition of people.

By the power of divine sight acquired through the practice of the five fires, / the foremost of brahmins, understanding the succession of duties, beheld the gods.

These are the five guardians of the sacred field, created by Mahādeva, / very powerful, who dwell constantly on Mount Raivataka.

They turn away mortal men on the mountain who act according to their own whim, / so that they do not see Hari, Hara, the river, the goddess, or the mountain.

Having seen and understood [them], he meditated on the lord Maheśvara and uttered a hymn of praise: / 'Victorious are those who bear bodies marked by meditating on battle with wicked lords of Daityas, / those five brothers who possess valour equal to Indra's!

Born from the mouth of Rudra, capable, destroyers of Dakṣa's sacrifice, / celebrated by Brahmins terrified when their oblations swallowed by their own [flames] were ruined!

With limbs smeared with saffron, agallochum, and camphor, well-adorned, / divine beings whose limbs are intoxicated by the fragrance of wine, performing dances and songs!

Tired from wandering across the cosmic egg, their movements terrifying by their own scent, / swift as thought, moving at will—victorious are those kṣetrapālas!'

Pleased by these and other words, they stood before the twice-born and [one said]: / 'I am Ekapāda, the first, and the second is Giridāruṇa;

The third is Meghanāda, and Siṃhanāda is the fourth; / I, the fifth, am Kālamegha. Tell us, what shall we do for you?'

The twice-born said: / 'If you are pleased with me, if a boon is truly to be granted, / oh, consecrated by me, you must remain here until the dissolution of the universe!'

First, out of great joy, Ekapāda took his place on the slope of the mountain; / while he dwelt on the mountain in that dwelling-place, Giridāruṇa also,

Having been installed and propitiated, that granter of boons took his stand himself. / Meghanāda went of his own accord to the summit of Mount Ujjayanta;

Likewise, Siṃhanāda entered the delightful Bhavānīśaṃkara; / he was assigned before Bhava in Vastrāpatha itself.

The mighty Kālamegha [took his stand] on the bank of the river Svarṇarekhā; / in ancient times, the sacred ford was established for the welfare of all the worlds.

Vāmana himself went and worshipped the kṣetrapālas. / Formerly, at the beginning of the yuga, O king of kings, all the gods assembled,

Arriving in the country of Surāṣṭra at the sacred mountain Raivataka, / for the protection of all the worlds and the destruction of the enemies of the gods.

Then a garland of victory was placed around the neck of Viṣṇu by the foremost gods; / the renowned, supreme name "Dāmodara" was bestowed upon Hari.

There, first, on a day beloved of Viṣṇu during the bright fortnight of Kārttika, / having fasted along with the gods, that sacred ford was created by Viṣṇu.

There flows the sacred river Svarṇarekhā, consisting of all sacred fords, / granting enjoyment and liberation, auspicious, bestowing the world of Viṣṇu,

Washing away all sins, destroying disease and poverty— / Dāmodara on Raivataka, bestowing supreme bliss.

Those who behold it are carried in aerial chariots to the abode of Viṣṇu. / The [observances of] Kārttika should not be performed at home, especially the Bhīṣmapañcaka.

The Dvādaśī is superior to the Pañcaka; it should be observed in the water of Dāmodara. / When Kārttika arrives, morning ablution should be performed by people.

A month-long fast should be undertaken by ascetics, celibate students, / chaste wives, and widows who desire the abode of liberation,

Or by [eating] a single meal, or at night, or [eating only] unasked-for food, / or by fasting, severe penance, or eating vegetables,

Viṣṇu should be served in Kārttika by people intent on offering lamps. / If the month is spent by men devoted to celibacy,

Then residence in the city of Viṣṇu is attained alongside Viṣṇu. / Five fasts should be observed when the Bhīṣmapañcaka arrives,

Beginning with the Ekādaśī up to the fifth day, the day of the full moon. / This is declared to be the Pañcaka that removes all sins of mortals.

Among all months, and compared to the Pañcaka of Kārttika as well, / the Ekādaśī of Kārttika observed at Dāmodara is holy.

Sweet food should be given in Kārttika, and sacrificial food soaked with clarified butter, / gold, silver, clothing, water, food, and fruits.

At the end of the month, various gifts should be given: a cow, sesame seeds, and flowers. / Whatever merit [is earned] in all gifts, whatever fruit [is gained] at all sacred fords,

And whatever [fruit is attained] through sacrifices such as the horse sacrifice, or by offering funeral cakes at Gayā— / that fruit arises for mortals when Dāmodara is beheld, O king.

Having bathed on the Ekādaśī, one should be devoted to the worship of the deity; / having bathed [him] with the five nectars and then with water from the sacred ford,

Mixed with saffron, agallochum, sandalwood, and camphor water, / and then having worshipped him with fragrant, hundred-petalled flowers,

With white jasmine flowers and abundant tulasī leaves, / having offered garments and a sacred thread, one should burn incense.

One should offer a lamp with clarified butter, or even with oil if clarified butter is absent; / various offerings of food should be presented, along with fruits and betel.

Worship of the temple should be performed by dedicating a banner and other offerings, O king; / then a cow with its calf, which carries one across the ocean of worldly existence, should be given.

Then, having circumambulated with sounds of singing and instrumental music, / and with recitations of the Vedas, Purāṇas, expositions, divine narratives, and the like,

A night vigil should be kept before the deity, and a lamp should be placed on high pedestals. / Seven mountains made of the seven grains, accompanied by lamps,

Filled with fruits, betel, and cooked delicacies, should be prepared / by learned men, Vedic scholars, disciplined brahmin householders,

And by women, O tiger among men; a narrative of Viṣṇu should be listened to. / Thus a night vigil should be kept, free from passion and anger.

Having observed the night vigil, when the disc of the sun has risen, / having bathed and performed the morning twilight devotion, one should attend to the midday rites.

Having duly made water offerings to the gods, ancestors, and human beings, / and having performed the ancestral rite for the ancestors, one should give gifts according to one's capacity.

Having worshipped the god Dāmodara again with flowers, incense, and the like, / and having worshipped the god Narasiṃha, one should also worship Garuḍa.

Having kept the night vigil, having awakened Madhusūdana, / and having obtained the meal of Dvādaśī, the breaking of the fast should be performed by people.

Having fed brahmins, together with sons and kinsmen, / food should be given according to one's ability to the disabled, the blind, and the destitute.

Whoever thus undertakes a pilgrimage to Dāmodara on Raivataka, in the waters of the river Svarṇarekhā, / hear the meritorious fruit of that person:

A slayer of a brahmin, a drinker of liquor, a destroyer of village boundaries, / one who betrays the king, one who betrays the teacher, and one who keeps false vows,

he who gives false testimony, and he who appropriates a deposit, / a brahmin who kills a child or a woman, one devoid of twilight prayers and ritual ablution,

he who steals the property of deities or brahmins, he who sells the Vedas, / he who sells his daughter, and he who reviles deities and brahmins,

a brahmin who betrays trust, one who eats the food of a Śūdra, a hunter, / a seducer of others' wives, one who takes back what he himself gave,

one who indulges in sexual intercourse on sacred days, likewise a breaker of dams, / he who does not himself approach his wedded wife who has bathed after her courses,

a young brahmin widow who does not uphold the sacred tradition— / these and many others are great sinners, O king.

Having bathed in the waters of the Svarṇarekhā, having beheld Hari as Dāmodara, / and having kept a night-vigil, one is liberated from all sins.

But those evil-doers who do not assemble for the vigil / at the sacred ford on the ocean of worldly existence do not go to the city of Hari.

As a man keeps the vigil, so do the gods contemplate his residence in the city of Viṣṇu / for the sake of the Vaiṣṇava realm, in an abode resounding with the sound of mṛdaṅgas and songs.

Bearing mace, sword, conch, and discus, four-armed, assuming the form that removes the pride of the Daityas, / praised in song by divine beauties, touching the bodies of celestial wanderers, they go to the sky.

In the Vārāha Kalpa, at the beginning of the yuga, Dāmodara first became renowned on Raivataka; / this is that river which is the best among rivers; this is that Hari who is the maker of the world.

A man who recites or listens to this Purāṇa is led in aerial chariots to the abode of Madhusūdana, / supported by the arms of divine maidens, four-armed, praised by hosts of gods.

Thus ends the fifteenth chapter, named 'Description of the Glory of Śrī Dāmodara' in the Rules for Pilgrimage to Sacred Fords Proclaimed by Sārasvata, in the Vastrāpathakṣetra-māhātmya, in the second [sub-section of the] Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa, in the Mahāpurāṇa of Śrī Skanda, in the Saṃhitā of eighty-one thousand [verses].