Skandapurana 2.1.34

Now the power of the Agastyatīrtha and of Agastyeśvara.

Arjuna said:

Even though drinking the nectar of your speech again and again with the folded cups of my ears,

my mind does not attain satisfaction, through longing to hear further. // 1

May my repeated desire to listen to your words

not cause mental distress to you whose nature is filled with compassion. // 2

Now I wish to hear, O great sage: in this river,

which sacred fords are efficacious for destroying sin? // 3

Which holy rivers are joined with her, O sage?

Where, having cut down their sins through ritual ablution, do people have no fear of Yama? // 4

And what holy abodes of the gods, beginning with Hara and Acyuta,

and whatever holy places there are, stand on both of her banks? // 5

The fruit that is attained by men in those sacred fields,

Through auspicious rites such as ritual ablution and gifts performed according to the rules,

All this, along with the narrative, has been understood, O best of the knowers of the Veda.

Great delight has arisen in me; explain it to me in full detail and in due order.

Bharadvāja said:

What has been asked by you, O Pārtha, is told in full detail and in due order,

The majesty of the multitude of sacred fords of this [river], beginning from Agastya-tīrtha, the foremost of sacred fords.

By the great-souled Agastya, who is the embodiment of unbroken knowledge, / who desires the welfare of all worlds,

And who is worthy of honor by gods and demons—

When it first descended to the earth from that mountain,

Where, having bathed in the great river, one attains the fulfillment of one's purpose,

That is declared in the three worlds to be the purifying Agastya-tīrtha;

By ritual ablution there, purification will occur even for perpetrators of great sins.

Casting off the heap of great sins / committed throughout many births,

People devoted to ritual ablution there rejoice in heaven.

Those self-restrained ascetics who, having performed ritual ablution in that sacred ford,

Bestow great gifts such as cows, land, sesame seeds, and gold,

Attain entirely, O Arjuna, a hundredfold the fruit of the gifts

Performed by focused persons at the Gate of the Gaṅgā.

Here resides the Lord Īśa, renowned by the name Agastyeśa,

Installed by the sage Agastya, who causes joy to the world.

Those who, having bathed in that great river, worship that liṅga,

They obtain the fruit of ten horse-sacrifices.

Now, the determination of the time for ritual ablution in the Suvarṇamukharī:

When the sun, leaving the sign of Sagittarius,

Enters Capricorn, that meritorious northern course is proclaimed.

On that day, those restrained and focused persons who, having bathed in the river,

Behold Pārvatī's lord, Agastyeśa, worshipped by the gods,

Having attained the fruit of a thousand Agniṣṭoma sacrifices and a hundred Vājapeya sacrifices,

Rejoice in heaven, worshipped by hosts of gods.

At the time of the sun's entry into Capricorn, by men desiring auspiciousness

The darśana of Agastyeśa must certainly be performed.

Now, the māhātmya of the Deva, Ṛṣi, and Pitṛ sacred fords:

To the northeast of that sacred ford, at a distance of one krośa, O Arjuna,

There is a triad of sacred fords, known by the names of Devas, Ṛṣis, and Pitṛs.

The gods, seers, and ancestors, worshipped there by that sage,

With joyful minds granted all desired wishes.

Then it was declared in his presence by the gods, seers, and ancestors:

“This triad of sacred fords, in due order, shall be praiseworthy by our names.”

Those who, having bathed in that triad of sacred fords and offered tarpaṇa rites,

Are completely freed from the three debts, go to imperishable heaven.

Now, the description of the confluence of the Veṇā and the Suvarṇamukharī:

Then, on the ground to the northeast, at a distance of two yojanas,

The great river named Veṇā reached the Suvarṇamukharī;

Trees on its banks felled by the forceful impact of its lofty current,

The forest inundated by torrents of water surging from water-channels,

Crowded with flocks of ruddy geese playing on the high slopes of its sandbanks,

Resounding with the playful hum of swarms of bees eager for the fragrance of lotuses,

Having passed beyond many lofty mountains,

Beautiful with abundant waters, it joined the Suvarṇamukharī.

Those who perform ritual ablution according to the rules at the confluence of the two rivers

Shall attain the complete fruit of ten horse-sacrifices.

Joined with the Veṇā, the holy river Suvarṇamukharī,

Flowing northward, proceeded along an impassable mountain path.

Passing along an uneven path through the midst of the mountains,

That river shone over an extent of four yojanas.

To the east of that place, in a region of one and a half yojanas,

On the charming north bank of the great river that flows to the east,

There is the famed liṅga of the foe of Tripura named Agastyeśvara,

The remembrance of which dispels all sins for gods and mortals.

Those men who, having bathed there in the great river with senses controlled,

behold the Lord of Pārvatī installed by Agastya,

casting off the accumulation of sin acquired across many previous births,

rejoice in the abode of the gods for imperishable time. // 35

Then turning northward, the Suvarṇamukharī flowed

half a yojana across this region, accompanied by an assemblage of sacred fords. // 36

Now, the confluence of the Suvarṇamukharī and the river named Vyāghrapadā.

In that region, delightful with hintāla, tāla, and sāla trees,

the Suvarṇamukharī and the river named Vyāghrapadā met,

skillful in warding off manifold sins that are hard to avert, // 37-38

adorned with dense groves of reed-thickets along its banks,

rich with the playful plunge of the wives of Siddhas and Gandharvas,

shining with flowers offered as oblations by the daughters of ascetics, // 39

resounding with the clamor of flocks of swans, karaṇḍavas, and krauñcas,

flowing eastward, having arrived by a path running between mountains. // 40

The best among men who perform a ritual ablution there at the confluence of the two rivers

obtain the full fruit of ten horse-sacrifices. // 41

Now, the description of Śaṅkhatīrtha.

There on the bank of the river named Vyāghrapadā, which removes the impurities of the world,

shines the faultless Śaṅkhatīrtha, destroyer of all sins, // 42

the constant dwelling-place of brahmin-seers, visited by gods and Gandharvas,

bestowing boundless joy through sighting, bathing, drinking, and the like. // 43

There abides the divine Lord named Śaṅkheśa, O Phālguna,

installed in the form of a liṅga by the eminent sage named Śaṅkha. // 44

Those who, having bathed well in that sacred ford, behold the One whose mount is a bull,

attain the merit born of ten horse-sacrifices and go to the abode of the gods. // 45

Joined with that [river] called Vyāghrapadā, having gone thence across an area measured at a yojana,

resorted to by eminent sages, with auspicious, clear waters, she went near Mount Vṛṣabhācala. // 46

Thus ends the thirty-fourth chapter, named 'Description of the māhātmya of Agastyatīrtha and various sacred fords,' in the Śrīveṅkaṭācalamāhātmya, in the second section, the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, of the glorious Skandamahāpurāṇa comprising eighty-one thousand verses. // 34