Skandapurana 2.1.8

Now begins Śrīnivāsa's wedding adornment performed by Lakṣmī and others.

The glorious Varāha said:

Then the supreme God of gods, having called his passionate consort Lakṣmī, [said]:

"Tell me, auspicious one, what is to be done for the wedding, O fair-eyed one?

Order your friends, O Ramā; perform what is pleasing!"

Hearing Kṛṣṇa's words, Śrī summoned her companions and urged them on.

Then Prīti, commanded by Śrī, took fragrant oil;

Śruti took silk cloth and stood in the Lord's presence.

Taking the ornaments, Smṛti also arrived with joy;

Dhṛti held up a mirror; Śānti brought musk;

Taking yakṣakardama paste, Hrī stood before Hari;

Kīrti held a golden headband and a jewelled crown.

Then Indrāṇī held an umbrella, while Sarasvatī [held] a chowrie;

Gaurī [held] the second chowrie, and Vijayā and Jayā held fans.

Seeing them arrived, Śrī rose up quickly;

Taking fragrant oil, she anointed the Lord from the head downwards.

Rubbing and wiping the Lord's body with fragrant powders,

One hundred golden water-jars, brought by elephants

From holy waters like the heavenly Gaṅgā and perfumed with camphor and other spices,

Ramā took one by one and bathed Hari.

Fumigating his hair with incense, she bound those dark curls;

Anointing the Lord's limbs with fragrant paste of golden hue,

Fastening a yellow silk garment at his waist along with a girdle,

Indirā adorned him with ornaments such as a crown

And jewelled rings on all his fingers.

Dhṛti presented a mirror before the Lord;

Seeing the mirror, the God of gods applied the upward mark himself.

Afterwards, accompanied by Lakṣmī, he mounted Garuḍa.

Now begins Śrīnivāsa's departure for the city of King Viyad together with Brahmā and the others.

Attended by Brahmā, Śiva, Indra, Varuṇa, Yama, and Kubera,

And by chief sages like Vasiṣṭha and yogins like Sanaka,

Accompanied by devotees and worshippers of the Lord, he set out for the city of Nārāyaṇa.

The Gandharva chiefs sang, and hosts of apsarases danced;

Celestial kettledrums sounded then in the Lord's presence;

Chanting auspicious Vedic hymns, sages accompanied him.

The Lord, accompanied by the host of gods and attendants such as Viṣvaksena,

Surrounded by female companions seated in chariots, headed by Bakulā,

Reached the beautifully decorated city of King Ākāśa.

Now begins the section on the marriage with Padmāvatī.

Seeing the Lord arrive, and the maiden seated on Airāvata

Who, having circumambulated the city, had arrived at the gateway of the city tower,

Seeing this, King Ākāśa brought bride and groom together,

And stood together with his kinsmen upon beholding Lord Keśava.

With a smile, Viṣṇu took the garland around his neck in his hand

And cast the mass of flowers onto Kamalā's shoulder.

Taking a garland of jasmine, she placed it around his neck.

Having done this three times, and having dismounted from their mounts,

They stood upon a seat for a moment and then entered the auspicious house.

Accompanied by hosts of gods headed by Brahmā, the earth-born maiden and Hari,

Having the lotus-born Brahmā perform the marriage rites,

Beginning with the tying of the auspicious thread and the offering of sprouts, and concluding with the fried-grain oblation,

Having fully understood the instructions for their vow, Kamalā and Hari lay down to rest.

On the fourth day, having completed everything, the four-faced Brahmā,

taking leave of Viyadrāja and mounting Hari upon Garuḍa,

set out with the gods to accompany the Lord together with the two goddesses.

Reaching Vṛṣabhācala amid the sounds of celestial kettledrums,

the hosts of gods, headed by Brahmā, praised the Lord of the lords of the gods.

The groups of sages, headed by Śuka, praised Puruṣottama;

and, being praised, the Lord entered the jewelled pavilion.

Together with Ramā and the daughter of Dharaṇī, he ascended the lion-throne there.

Now the bridal gifts and other presents presented by Viyadrāja to the bride and groom:

Then Ākāśarāja also, together with the gods led by Mahendra,

undertook to offer gifts for the pleasure of his daughter and Viṣṇu:

Grains of cooked rice born of fine paddy in golden cauldrons,

numerous vessels of mudga beans, and hundreds of pots of ghee,

thousands of pitchers of milk, many jars of curd,

heavenly mangoes, plantains, and coconuts,

myrobalan fruits, gourds, and royal plantains,

jackfruits, citrons, and pots filled with sugar,

gold, gems, pearls, and millions of linen garments,

thousands of female and male servants, and tens of millions of cows.

He gave ten thousand horses of a colour as white as a swan or the moon,

and more than a hundred tall, perpetually rutting elephants.

Women from the inner quarters skilled in dance and song,

four thousand [in number], he gave to Śrīnivāsa, Viṣṇu;

and having given all these, the powerful king stood before the Lord.

Now the attainment of the boon of devotion by Viyadrāja through the grace of Śrīnivāsa:

Seeing all that, the Lord Hari, together with the two goddesses,

well-pleased, spoke to the king, his father-in-law, Lord Veṅkaṭeśvara:

“O King, my elder, choose a boon from me if you so desire.”

Hearing this speech of the Lord of Śrī, Viyadrāja said to the almighty Lord:

“O Lord, may my service to you alone in this world be unswerving!

May my mind be fixed on your lotus feet, and let me indeed have devotion to you!”

The Blessed Lord said:

“Whatever you have said, O king of kings, all of that will come to pass.”

Having granted him this boon and honoured him fittingly,

Now the departure to their own abodes of Brahmā and others who had arrived for the marriage:

Having duly worshipped all the gods, headed by Brahmā and Īśa,

Hari joyfully granted them permission to return to the heavenly world.

When all of them had departed, accompanied by Śrī and the daughter of Bhūmi,

sporting as before on the bank of the Svāmipuṣkariṇī,

the Lord dwells in his heavenly abode, indeed worshipped by Guha.

Thus ends the eighth chapter, entitled “The Description of Śrīnivāsa’s Journey to the City of Viyadrāja with Brahmā and Others, the Marriage to Kamalālayā, and the rest” in the dialogue between Dharaṇī and Varāha, in the Veṅkaṭācalamāhātmya, in the second section, the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.