Skandapurana 2.1.18

Now begins the description of the majesty of venerable Veṅkaṭeśvara.

The venerable Sūta said:

Now I shall declare the majesty of Veṅkaṭeśvara,

hearing which one is freed from all sins; of this there is no doubt.

That person who sees the god, venerable Veṅkaṭeśvara, even once,

that person attains liberation; he attains union with Viṣṇu.

Whatever merit is performed in the Kṛta age over ten years,

that merit is attained by men in the Tretā [age] in a single year;

in the Dvāpara in five months, and in the Kali age in a single day.

For men, that fruit is multiplied ten million times at every single moment;

without doubt, this will happen for those who behold Śrīnivāsa.

In the divine lord, venerable Veṅkaṭeśvara, all the sacred fords,

all the gods, sages, and ancestors reside.

Whether once a day, twice a day, thrice a day, or constantly,

those who remember the great deity Śrīnivāsa, the granter of liberation,

or praise him, O brahmins, are released from the cage of sins.

They indeed attain the supreme god Nārāyaṇa, Veṅkaṭeśa,

worshipped by the king of conchs, whose embodiment is existence, consciousness, and bliss.

Merely by remembering him, even the torment of Yama will not be.

For those people who worship the great deity Śrīnivāsa even once,

what need have they of gifts, what need of vows, what need of austerities, or what need of sacrifices?

He who does not contemplate the supreme god Veṅkaṭeśa for even an instant,

is ignorant and sinful, mute and deaf;

he should be known as dull and blind, and defect shall ever attend him.

When the great deity Śrīnivāsa is seen but once, O chief sages,

what is gained by Kāśī and Gayā, and what is the fruit even of Prayāga?

Having obtained a human existence, so difficult to attain here upon earth,

those men who behold or worship the supreme god Veṅkaṭeśa,

their birth is fruitful indeed; they have achieved their goal, and not others.

When the supreme god Veṅkaṭeśa is seen or worshipped,

what need is there of Śambhu, or Brahmā, or Śakra, or all the immortals?

Those people who are endowed with devotion to the great god Veṅkaṭeśa,

and the people who are engaged in bowing to him, remembering him, and worshipping him,

do not see sorrows, nor do they go to Yama's realm.

Thousands of killings of brahmins and tens of thousands of drinkings of liquor

go to complete dissolution when the divine Nārāyaṇa is beheld.

Those who always desire enjoyment and sovereignty in the realm of the thirty [gods]

should bow with joy even once to him who dwells on Mount Veṅkaṭa.

Whatever sins have been committed throughout ten million births

all of them perish from the darśana of Veṅkaṭeśvara. // 19

Remembering Veṅkaṭeśa, the great god,

whether through association, curiosity, greed, or even fear, one suffers no grief here or hereafter. // 2.1.18.20

Praising or worshipping the lord of gods upon Mount Veṅkaṭa,

one undoubtedly attains similarity of form with Viṣṇu; of this there is no doubt. // 21

Just as a kindled fire instantly reduces fuel to ashes,

so the darśana of Veṅkaṭeśvara reduces all sins. // 22

Devotion to the god Veṅkaṭeśvara is recorded as eightfold:

affection toward His devotees, delight in His worship, // 23

personally worshipping Him with devotion, physical exertion undertaken for His sake,

a longing for stories of His greatness and respect in hearing them, // 24

the occurrence of emotional transformations in voice, eyes, and body,

and constant remembrance of the god Śrīnivāsa, // 25

[and] living solely by taking refuge in Him who dwells on Mount Veṅkaṭa.

In whomsoever this eightfold devotion exists, even in an outcaste, // 26

he alone attains liberation, O Shaunaka and other mighty sages!

Through undivided devotion, liberation is assured by the knowledge of Brahman // 27

arising from hearing the Vedānta scriptures for ascetics of upwardly directed seed;

and that liberation, without the knowledge born from hearing the Vedānta,

without the ascetic stage of life, O brahmins, and without dispassion, // 28

is granted to all castes and to members of all stages of life

solely through the darśana of the god Veṅkaṭeśvara; // 29

liberation bestowing freedom from rebirth will take place without delay.

Insects and worms, gods, and sages rich in austerity // 2.1.18.30

are equal on the king of mountains, Veṅkaṭa, by the grace of Śrīnivāsa.

Let no fear be felt thinking, 'Many a sin was committed by me!' // 31

Nor let pride be felt by people thinking, 'Merit was performed by me!'

When the great god Veṅkaṭeśa, Śrīnivāsa, is seen, // 32

they are neither lower nor higher, but all become great beings.

On the holy [mountain] named Veṅkaṭa, which destroys all sins, // 33

he who beholds the supreme god Śrīnivāsa with devotion

cannot be equaled on earth even by one versed in the four Vedas. // 34

Whoever worships the lord of gods, Veṅkaṭeśvara, with devotion,

goes along with ten million family members to the abode of Hari. // 35

Indeed, there is no merit equal to or greater than Śrīnivāsa.

He who, seized by delusion, hates Him who dwells on Mount Veṅkaṭa, // 36

has committed ten thousand murders of a brahmin, causing him to fall into hell;

merely by conversing with him, a man goes to hell. // 37

The Vedas are centered upon Śrīnivāsa; the sacrifices are centered upon Śrīnivāsa;

all things are centered upon Śrīnivāsa; nothing exists other than Him. // 38

Abandoning all else, one should take refuge in Śrīnivāsa.

Whatever fruit is attained through all sacrifices, austerities, gifts, and bathing at sacred fords, // 39

that fruit is multiplied ten million times through the worship of Śrīnivāsa.

Meditating for two ghaṭikās on Him who dwells on Mount Veṅkaṭa, // 2.1.18.40

one uplifts twenty-one generations of one's family and is glorified in the world of Viṣṇu.

If ritual ablution in the Svāmipuṣkariṇī sacred ford and darśana of the god // 41

are attained by men, what need is there to serve the waters of the Gaṅgā?

He who never looks upon the supreme god Veṅkaṭeśa // 42

should be known as born of mixed caste, not born of his father's seed.

Therefore, by every effort, Veṅkaṭeśa, the ocean of compassion, // 43

should be seen with great effort by those desiring the other world, O twice-born!

Thus the majesty of Veṅkaṭeśa has been related to you, O brahmins! // 44

He who hears this daily and recites it with devotion

shall obtain the fruit of worshipping the lord of Veṅkaṭa. // 45

Thus ends the eighteenth chapter, named 'The Description of the Majesty of Veṅkaṭeśvara' in the Venkaṭācalamāhātmya of the second section, the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses. // 18