Skandapurana 17.16

The king said: / Now, when that brahmin Vāmana entered the deep forest, / what wonder did he perform there alone? Tell me that.

Sārasvata said: / Then that brahmin Vāmana, having gone to Mount Raivataka, / and having bathed according to rule in the waters of the river Svarṇarekhā,

having worshipped the god with devotion using fragrant flowers, incense, and the like, / stood before him alone in the desolate forest, O king,

a forest filled with all kinds of creatures, swarming with reptiles, / resounding with many calls, echoing with the cries of peacocks,

charming with the cries of cuckoos, noisy with wild cocks, / illuminated by fireflies, shaken by monkeys,

calmed in places by bamboo-fires, with blossoming trees in places, / its branches touching the sky, free from the heat of the sun,

with wild boars and śambara deer wandering in terror from the strikes of hunters, / skillful in providing places of safety for hosts of delighted Kṣatriyas.

Endowed with many wonders, he remembered Hari with his mind. / Knowing him to be frightened, as it were, Narasiṃha arrived.

For the protection of that brahmin, standing before him, he spoke: / 'You must not fear, O brahmin; tell me, what shall I do for you?'

The brahmin said: / 'If you are pleased and a boon is to be given to me by you, O Narasiṃha, / protection must always be granted here to all dwellers at the sacred ford.

You must always remain before the deity as long as the fourteen Indras [endure].' / Saying 'Let it be so' to him, Hari then acted accordingly.

Therefore, Narasiṃha is worshipped before Dāmodara; / the forest was made tranquil by him, and he protects the sacred ford.

No dwelling of bhūtas, pretas, and the like occurs in that forest; / by the power of Narasiṃha, fear arising from lions and other beasts was destroyed.

In the month of Kārttika, on the day of Viṣṇu, on the twelfth lunar day, after breaking his fast, / having bowed to Dāmodara, he then went to behold Bhava.

Having bathed on the fourteenth lunar day and worshipped Bhava with devotion, / the sin arising from worldly existence was reduced to ashes from the worship of Bhava.

His heap of sins diminished from beholding the deity; / [he saw] that tranquil one standing before Bhava and likewise Vastrāpatha.

Having worshipped that Kālamegha, he then went to Vastrāpatha; / having worshipped the deity with mantras declared in the Vedas, according to rule,

with incense, lamps, food offerings, and the like, Vāmana performed everything. / Having performed a hundred circumambulations, he stood before Bhava.

As he looks upon everything, he beholds the mountain, / Ujjayanta, the best of mountains, the brother of Maināka,

renowned in the land of Surāṣṭra, situated first at the beginning of the yuga, / a mountain joined with hills, adorned with rocks and trees.

Having seen it, that Vāmana reflected upon the subtle dharmas, / requiring little effort, bringing abundant results, bestowing sons and prosperity:

'When [these duties] are performed, one's own dharma arises inevitably: / having seen a river flowing to the ocean and having bathed, one is freed from sins;

having touched a cow, having bowed to a brahmin, having worshipped the guru and deities, / an ascetic, a restrained renouncer, a Veda-knowing scholar, a celibate student;

having fed father, mother, sister, her husband, daughter, husband, / nephew, grandson, friends, relatives, and kin, householders are freed from all sins.

A king, an elephant, a horse, a mongoose, a chaste woman, a bull, mountains, / a mirror, trees with milky sap, and those who continually provide food—

these purify as soon as they are seen, [as do] those who always speak the truth; / having heard a discourse on the dharma of the Vedas, they bestow enjoyment and liberation upon men.

Remembering Hari and Hara and the Gaṅgā, performing cleansing by its bank, / going to the vigil of Viṣṇu and giving a gift according to one's capacity,

offering betel, flowers, a lamp, food offerings, and tulasī leaves, / and performing singing, dancing, and instrumental music in the temple of the god—

these are remembered as the subtle dharmas which, when performed, bring great prosperity. / Therefore, I shall behold the lord of mountains, the auspicious abode of all the gods.'

Heaven is in the palm of their hand—those men who ascend the peak. (30)

Knowing this, Vāmana climbed to the mountain summit, / where water had gushed forth from the impact of Airāvata's foot. (31)

Then, to see Bhavānī, mother of Skanda, seated on the peak, / that Vāmana went up to the sky-reaching summit. (32)

The higher men ascend upon the excellent mountain, / the more all embodied beings are freed from their sins. (33)

Resolving thus in his mind, the brahmin went to the mountain summit. / Devoted to Bhava, he beheld Bhavānī, the mother of Skanda. (34)

"Mother!" says Skanda, and after him all the other gods, / all mortals on earth, and all serpents in Pātāla. (35)

Therefore indeed she is celebrated as 'Ambā' and worshipped on the mountain summit. / Having worshipped her with various choice fruits of diverse kinds, the twice-born (36)

stood upon the sky-touching peak filled with wonder. / Alone on that peak, he stood with his arms raised up, (37)

beholding the whole earth together with mountains and oceans, / [and gazing upon] the primordial, eternal god Bhāskara, composed of the three guṇas, (38)

consisting of all radiance, the god of all, bowed to by the gods, / wandering without support, the instigator of the measurement of time. (39)

While the brahmin looked at him, just then he beheld Śaṃkara, / the sky-clad god Bhava, concealed on every side by stones, (40)

the god endowed with the appearance of the Buddha, omniscient, adorned with virtues, / lean-limbed, matted-haired, gentle, standing himself in the sky. (41)

Śrī Śiva said: / Listen, Vāmana! I am pleased; I will grant you various boons. / You shall have prosperity pervading the three worlds, there is no doubt. (42)

The Vedas shall be revealed to you, as well as song, dance, and the like. / You will have steadfast power that accomplishes what is impossible. / Moreover, go to Vastrāpatha and behold the sacred fords. (43)

Vāmana said: / Whatever sacred fords there are in Vastrāpatha, O Mahādeva, / declare them to me in detail, O God, if you have compassion for me. (44)

Rudra said: / In the north-western corner of Vastrāpatha is a divine lake. / In its western quarter is a thicket dense with leaves, (45)

consisting of bilva trees; within it is an earthen liṅga / where that hunter of old attained perfection and went to my abode. (46)

By merely viewing it, the sin of killing a brahmin is destroyed, / [the liṅga] where Indra, the slayer of Vṛtra, was freed from the sin of killing a brahmin. (47)

In the northern quarter from it is the liṅga established by Kubera, / famous in the three worlds; and there is the trident-bearing Goddess, (48)

by merely beholding whom his son Nalakūbara / came to have a noose fastened around his hand, and made the god trident-bearing. (49)

In the south-western corner of Bhava, the attendant named Heramba / was first established by Yama while making the liṅga. (50)

Wondrous is its māhātmya; Chitragupta was utterly amazed / upon seeing it, having come of old to see that earthen god. (51)

A liṅga was also fashioned by him in that sacred field, O best of brahmins, / named Chitragupteśvara, famous in the three worlds. (52)

To the west, the noble-minded Prajāpati erected on high / the liṅga called Kedāra, situated on Mount Raivataka; / Prajāpati himself stood there on the mountain ridge. (53)

Rudra said: / I shall narrate the māhātmya of Indreśvara; listen to it, / well-known in the north-eastern corner of Bhava, known to me. (54)

Vāmana said: / Why did Indra come, and how did Hari make Hara? / Narrate this story in full detail to me, O Lord. (55)

Rudra said: / Formerly, the hunter attained perfection through keeping vigil on Śivarātri. / Then an aerial chariot with attendants arrived from the world of Śiva; (56)

it travelled everywhere, very charming, resonant with songs of divine women. / Mounting it, he came to see that city of Hari, (57)

in which a battle had occurred between the attendants [of Śiva] and the servants of Yama. / Knowing that he was arriving, the king of gods thought: (58)

"He must be worshipped like Hara by all, including Chitragupta and Yama." / Indra mounted his elephant, while Yama went on a buffalo. (59)

Placing his pen behind his ear by the order of Yama, Chitragupta / then summoned all the attendants who had been brought from the surface of the earth. (60)

Distressed by their own offense, they went facing south. / "Hospitable worship must be performed when the hunter comes to our home. (61)

Indeed, if he goes away unworshipped, Hara will curse me. / Therefore, I shall perform worship so that Śaṃkara is pleased." (62)

He beheld him who had come to see the god, stationed not far off, / mounted on an aerial chariot, having the form of Hara, brilliant as ten million suns, (63)

being praised with deeds of Śivarātri and of Śiva, / when vigil was kept on the fourteenth of the dark fortnight in the month of Māgha: (64)

"All this comes about in this way on the face of the earth, O Lord of the gods!" / Thus a certain celestial woman, declaring [this] to Purandara, / holding back the lordly elephant by raising her hand, she of beautiful eyes [said]: (65)

"What use are many gifts bestowed? What use are vows? What use are services to the gods? / What use are yogas, and what use are austerities and celibacies, O Lord of the gods? (66)

What use is the offering of rice-balls at Gayā, or death at Prayāga? / What use is going to Someśvara on the Sarasvatī at the time of a lunar eclipse? (67)

What would come of going to Kurukṣetra when the sun is seized by Rāhu? / What would come of giving gold equal to one's weight, or of recitation of the Vedas? (68)

What of that release of a bull, by which all sins are destroyed? / What does the gift of a cow achieve in this way, and likewise the gift of water? (69)

What sort of fruit is there at the solstice, the equinox, or the transit of the sun, / compared to that which is attained when vigil is kept on the fourteenth in the month of Māgha?" (70)

Seated upon his buffalo, Yama addressed [him] with these words: / "Look at the māhātmya of Rudra, Chitragupta; reflect upon it!" (71)

"This is that hunter by whom Hara was worshipped long ago. / Listen about the sacred ford celebrated in the Surāṣṭra country as Vastrāpatha.

Mount Ujjayanta is there, and likewise Mount Raivataka. / Between them is a great thicket, as I have heard.

There is an earthen liṅga, and he was worshipped at night by this [hunter], / who came for a certain purpose to keep a vigil at night.

How can that be spoken by us? The gods themselves know it." / Excellent women, desiring to see the chosen one, selected one another; / having come swiftly from Indra's abode to the Nandana garden,

"A certain person is coming, possessing the splendor of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śaṃkara, / in bodily form, to see the city of the lord of the gods. Is this my husband, or is he your lord?"

Awakened in the palace of the king of gods by praises with the sounds of mṛdaṅgas, lute, and kettle-drums, / the women saw: "This god is Hara, not a mortal in the form of Hara. Is he yours? Or what, is he ours?"

Some sing, some laugh, some dance, some recite aloud; / some speak with various words accompanied by shouts of 'Victory!' in the presence of the guru.

One praises Śiva, another praises Śivā; then another asks: "Is this fruit of yours from a bilva leaf, / or from fasting? Or is this fruit of yours from the loss of sleep?"

Various words of theirs are heard in the Nandana grove. / And having engaged in conversations about Brahmā's world and others, thereafter

the lord of the gods, filled with curiosity, spoke again to the hunter: / "In which country, on which mountain is the thicket where the liṅga is? Show it [to me]."

The hunter said: / "In the famous country of Surāṣṭra, in which country the Sarasvatī, / bearing the submarine fire on her head, entered the salty ocean;

where that Gomatī flows, where Gandhamādana stands; / where Ujjayanta, the best of mountains, is, and where Mount Raivataka is;

there is the sacred field Vastrāpatha; Bhava is situated there. / There stands the earthen liṅga in the midst of the thicket, O best of gods."

Indra said: / "Together [with you] I must go there; I myself will worship Bhava. / And show me the liṅga in the midst of the thicket, O hunter.

The sin of touching another's wife and so on, incurred in destroying the Daityas / and in the slaying of Vṛtra—all that I will wash away."

Having said this, all together reached the top of the mountain. / Leaving behind their vehicles, they set out on foot.

The king of elephants came to the peak of Mount Ujjayanta. / Then, for a specific purpose, he placed his forefoot upon its summit.

Pressed down by him, that best of mountains discharged pure water. / The water born from the elephant's foot will be permanent forever.

Thus it was spoken by the lord of the gods, desiring the welfare of the worlds. / All of them arrived there, where the thicket was situated.

Having worshipped with various flowers on the fourteenth day in the month of Māgha, / and having kept a vigil on it, Hari became pure.

Having worshipped Bhava at Vastrāpatha, and Hari on Mount Raivataka, / and having installed Indreśvara, he returned to his own abode.

The hunter too reached the abode of Hari in an aerial chariot. / Having spoken thus, the god Bhava vanished right there.

Then Vāmana also performed a plunge in the sacred ford there. / Just as Śiva was seen in the solar disc, space-clad,

seated in the lotus posture, tranquil, so remembering him there, / having installed the great form, he worshipped him for a day.

For the sake of attaining the desired goal of his heart, he then obtained perfection. / That Vāmana gave it the name 'Neminātha-Śiva'.

In the western part of Bhava, nearby on the surface of the earth, / Vāmana then made his dwelling at the sacred ford Vastrāpatha.

Therefore the sacred ford is declared by the gods together with Indra to be greater by a barley-corn, / because Indra came before Bhava and worshipped the god.

By the command of Bhava, this sacred ford is greater by a barley-corn than Prabhāsa. / By Śiva's command, it will be six times [greater than] other sacred fords.

All this has been related; what else do you ask?"

The king said: / "This power of Śivarātri has been described as incomparable. / Formerly it was heard [that it was] observed unknowingly by that hunter.

Now tell me, O lord, how is it to be observed by other men? / What is to be accepted, and what should be avoided on Śivarātri? Tell me."

The Sārasvata said: / "Having attained human birth, and having known the god Maheśvara, / Śivarātri, which bestows enjoyment and liberation, must always be observed.

Such religious merit arises from one [observance] performed, O king. / For those mortals who observe it always, their merit is endless.

This vow must be observed for twelve years, year after year. / If, because the life of men is fleeting, one is unable to do so,

then this vow is completed in twelve months. / The commencement is made on the fourteenth day in the month of Māgha, O king.

Then it should be performed each month, and concludes at the end of Pauṣa. / If an obstacle should arise midway somehow through the working of destiny,

there will be no breach of the vow; it must be resumed immediately afterwards. / Keeping track of the count, twelve in all should definitely be performed.

What is done in this world does not perish, whether it is auspicious or inauspicious. / Having performed the morning rites on the dark fourteenth,

the rule of fasting must be undertaken, and ritual ablution in a river is prescribed. / In the absence of that, one should perform a ritual ablution according to one's capacity in a pond or the like.

Rubbing with oil should not be done, nor should any travel be undertaken anywhere. / Service to a sacred ford should be performed, and arriving there is auspicious.

Śivarātri must always be observed by men at a self-manifest liṅga; / in the absence of that, at a highly meritorious liṅga older than a hundred years."

A liṅga that is on a mountain, in a forest, by the sea, in a river, or in an abode of Śiva, / is indeed a self-manifest liṅga, situated there by itself.

A liṅga made of sand and the like, when worshipped, is traditionally held to yield fruits. / Having worshipped it diligently by day with flowers, incense, and other offerings, a man,

Should avoid liquor, gambling, women, and the clipping of nails. / Dedicated to celibacy and tranquil, [such people] must observe the fast.

Going before the deity at night, seven mountains should be made, / smeared with cooked food, fruits, betel, flowers, incense, and the like.

A lamp with ghee should be prepared for the purpose of destroying sin, / for the māhātmya of the lamp is to be known as bestowing liberation.

A lamp should always be maintained by men in the home and in a temple; / by day, by night, and at twilight, a lamp is to be made according to one's ability.

By mere slight illumination, the gods on the earth are pleased. / First, a lamp must be made for the ancestors in the śrāddha rite.

A vigil should be kept at night so that sleep does not occur. / This power of Śivarātri should be listened to in the presence of Śiva.

The deeds of Śiva should be listened to in great detail at night; / song, dance, and instrumental music should likewise be performed in the presence of Śiva.

In this way that night is spent, for keeping vigil is primary; / gifts should indeed be given according to one's capacity at night during that vigil.

Having bathed again at dawn, the worship of Śiva is to be performed; / and ascetics should be honoured with food, clothing, and the like.

Food should be given to practitioners of tapas by householders; / twelve, eight, four, or even just one should be fed.

Even a single celibate student who knows Brahman and worships Śiva, / when fed with devotion in the house, is equal to thousands.

One should oneself eat food on a leaf without alkaline or salt, restraining speech, / having first given food to sons, friends, and wives.

According to this rite Śivarātri is to be observed by those observing the vow of Śiva. / When these twelve are completed, then vessels of sesame seeds

—twelve indeed—should be given to the guru, brahmins, and kinsmen. / At the conclusion of the vow, a cow should be given: black, with its calf, and sturdy,

Endowed with garments and ornaments, adorned with bell-ornaments, / [along with] a ring, clothes, an umbrella, sandals, and a water-pot.

A sacrificial fee should be given to the guru, and to the brahmins according to one's ability. / Having done this, food should then be given to the ascetics; / having given various sweet dishes and asked their forgiveness, one should dismiss them.

For one who truly acts thus, no sin exists; / having obtained excellent offspring and enjoyed unsurpassed pleasures,

Mounted on a celestial aerial chariot, surrounded by celestial women, / he is led to the temple of Śiva with the resounding sounds of motion and musical instruments.

This meritorious vow of Śivarātri has thus been told by me, / through the performance of which the destruction of all sins occurs for men.

Thus ends the sixteenth chapter, named 'Description of the Māhātmya of Śivarātri', in the second [sub-section], the Vastrāpathakṣetramāhātmya, of the seventh section, the Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.