Skandapurana 2.1.39

Now begins the manner of the austerity performed by Añjanā for the sake of a son.

Śrī Sūta said:

Formerly, Añjanā, being sonless and sorrowful, was engaged in austerity.

Seeing her, the tiger among sages Mataṅga, devoted to Viṣṇu,

spoke thus to the woman named Añjanā who was engaged in extremely fierce austerity.

Mataṅga said:

Rise, O lady Añjanā! For what purpose are you engaged in austerity?

Tell [me], O highly fortunate lady, O fair-faced one, what you seek to accomplish.

Añjanā said:

O Mataṅga, tiger among sages, please listen to my words!

My father is a rākṣasa named Kesarī, devoted to Śiva.

He performed terrible, most difficult austerity dedicated to Śiva for the sake of a son.

Śambhu, accompanied by Pārvatī and seated upon his bull,

manifested then, and the god granted him an auspicious boon.

Śambhu said:

Listen, O king! I shall tell what has been ordained for you by fate.

In this birth you are destined to be sonless; nevertheless, I give you something else:

a daughter renowned in all the worlds shall be yours;

her son of great intellect shall bring you delight.

Having granted him this boon, Hara vanished right there.

Having obtained me, O brahmin, my father became fulfilled.

Then, after some time, O brahmin, a great monkey named Kesarī

begged me of my father, saying, “Give [her to me]!” Thereupon my father

gave me to him, and he bestowed a bridal dowry:

the high-minded one gave a hundred thousand cows, a hundred thousand elephants,

a hundred million horses, and likewise a hundred million chariots,

many garments and jewels, a thousand male and female servants,

women of the inner quarters skilled in dance and song,

and a thousand garments along with me, O highly intelligent one.

As I sport with my husband, O sage, a long time has passed.

Sonless and sorrowful, O brahmin, various vows

were performed by me there in the great city of Kiṣkindhā.

In the month of Māgha, O lord among brahmins, and likewise in Vaiśākha and Kārtika,

ritual ablutions, gifts, vows, and the like, as well as the Cāturmāsya vow,

obeisance, O brahmin, and peerless circumambulation,

gifts of food before the śālagrāma, and likewise gifts of lamps,

gifts of cows, gifts of sesame, and gifts of garments, O great sage,

gifts of land, and gifts of water, and having offered flowers and other items, O sage—

whatever principal Vaiṣṇava vows there are,

all of them were performed by me desiring the fruit of a good son.

Whatever vow was declared by noble brahmins during [the asterism of] Śravaṇa and other times,

that too was performed by me, O best of brahmins, for the pleasing of the enemy of Madhu.

Whatever various principal fruits there are,

all were given by me desiring the fruit of a good son.

Countless diverse vows were performed by me.

Even so, not having obtained a son, I remain in austerity, sorrowful.

How, O brahmin, will a son renowned throughout the three worlds come to be?

Bowed low before you, O best of sages, I implore you.

"Speak, tiger among sages! I am wretched and committed to austerity."

Śrī Sūta said:

To her as she spoke thus, Mataṅga, the best of sages, replied:

"Hear my words, O lady, which bestow sons and grandsons.

To the south from here, at a distance of ten yojanas,

is the abode of Nṛsiṃha known as Ghanācala.

Upon it, fortunate lady, is the charming Brahmatīrtha.

And to the east of that, at a distance of just ten yojanas,

flows the river Suvarṇamukharī, foremost among rivers.

To the north of it lies the mountain named Vṛṣabhācala.

In front of it is an auspicious lake named Svāmipuṣkariṇī.

Having gone and seen its auspicious waters, you will attain purity of mind.

Having bathed there according to the rules and bowed down to Varāha,

and having paid homage to Veṅkaṭeśa, go further, O fair-faced one.

To the north of the Svāmitīrtha, abounding with lions and tigers,

with auspicious mangoes, punnāgas, breadfruits, bakulas, and āmalakas,

with sandalwoods, agurus, nimba trees, palmyras, hintālas, and kiṃśukas,

and with kapitthas, aśvatthas, bilvas, and iṅgudas, O fair-faced one—

adorned with such sacred and manifold auspicious trees,

there shines a unique sacred ford known as Viyadgaṅgā.

In that sacred ford, O lady Añjanā, having first performed the ritual vow,

having bathed and drunk of the auspicious ford, standing facing the ford,

perform austerity directed toward Vāyu, O lady of lovely face.

By gods, rākṣasas, brahmins, mortals, and foremost sages,

by bees, birds, and various auspicious missiles and weapons,

your son will be unslayable through your austerity; there is no doubt."

Śrī Sūta said:

Thus addressed, the lady Añjanā, bowing down to him again and again,

went quickly with her husband to the mountain called Veṅkaṭācala.

Reaching Kāpilatīrtha and bathing with a pure mind,

she ascended Mount Veṅkaṭa and went to Svāmipuṣkariṇī.

Having bathed, bowed down to Varāha, and paid homage to Veṅkaṭeśa,

remembering the words of the seer Mataṅga again and again,

sweet-spoken Añjanā quickly went to Viyadgaṅgā.

Having bathed and drunk the auspicious water, turned toward its bank,

she performed austerity with restrained vows, directing it toward the breath-wind.

Subsisting on fruits, subsisting on water, and thereafter taking no food at all,

fixing her gaze on the tip of her nose, she performed austerity for a thousand years.

Her auspicious companion named Vipulā attended upon her.

And at the end of the thousand years, the wise god Vāyu,

the great-minded one, then appeared, speaking to her,

when the sun reached its entry into Aries, O best of sages,

on the holy lunar day called the full moon, conjoined with the constellation Citrā:

"I will grant your desire; choose a boon, O faithful observer of vows."

Hearing his words, the virtuous Añjanā then said:

"Grant me a son, O fortunate one, O god Vāyu, O wise one!"

Hearing her words, the wind-god then replied:

"I will become your son; I will bring you renown, O fair-faced one."

Having granted her the boon, the mighty one remained right there.

Then the gods headed by Brahmā, the guardians of the worlds headed by Indra,

great souls headed by Vasiṣṭha, yogins headed by Sanaka,

eminent brahmins headed by Vyāsa, and the Lord of the universe accompanied by Lakṣmī,

wives of sages, wives of gods, and likewise wives of seers,

mounting each their own vehicle, together with wives, servants, and sons,

those great souls came to see her engaged in austerity.

Exclaiming, "A wonder! A wonder!", all the hosts of gods headed by Brahmā,

beholding from afar in the sky, stood then, headed by Brahmā and Maheśa.

Thus ends the thirty-ninth chapter, entitled "The Description of the Manner of Añjanā's Austerities and Other Matters," in the Veṅkaṭācalamāhātmya of the second section, the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa comprising eighty-one thousand verses.