Skandapurana 2.2.1

Now begins the Puruṣottama- (Jagannātha-) kṣetramāhātmya in the second, Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa. (2-2)

Obeisance to the glorious Gaṇeśa.

Now begins the Puruṣottama- (Jagannātha-) kṣetramāhātmya.

Having bowed to Nārāyaṇa, and Nara, the best of men,

and the goddess Sarasvatī, and Vyāsa, one should then recite the victory. 1

The sages said:

O venerable one, knower of all scriptures, knower of the greatness of all sacred fords,

that which was previously spoken of by you when beginning the recitation of sacred fords—

the exceedingly great, supremely purifying sacred field called Puruṣottama,

wherein the Lord of Śrī abides in a wooden form in human play,

granting liberation merely upon darśana, bestowing the fruit of all sacred fords in visible presence—

tell us that in detail: by whom was that sacred field fashioned?

The venerable Lord Nārāyaṇa, the master, in his own visible person is the manifestation of light;

how does the supreme Puruṣa abide in it, made of wood?

Speak, O best among the eloquent, O guru of all the worlds, O sage!

We wish to hear, O brahmin; indeed, our curiosity is supreme.

Jaimini said:

Listen, all you sages; that is indeed a supreme secret.

To non-Vaiṣṇavas, devotion does not arise upon hearing it,

by the mere recitation of which all darkness is dissolved.

Although this Jagannātha is omnipresent and the creator of all,

it was previously narrated by Skanda, having heard it from the lotus-mouth of Śambhu.

There are indeed other sacred fields that destroy all sin,

yet this supreme sacred field has become the body of that Great-souled One.

Embodied in person, he abides there; it is celebrated indeed by his own name.

Those who even desire to stay there have all their sins destroyed;

what then of those who, dwelling there, behold the Wielder of the Mace?

Oh, that supreme sacred field, extending ten yojanas,

has risen from the waters of the king of sacred fords, covered in sand,

resplendent with the great Nīlācala situated in its center,

perceived from afar like a single breast of the earth.

Previously, [the Lord] in the form of the Boar, having lifted up the earth,

making it level on all sides and stabilizing it firmly with mountains,

having created all the moving and unmoving, the sacred fords, the rivers and the oceans,

and having established the sacred fields in their proper places as before,

Brahmā, oppressed by the burden of creation, pondered:

“How indeed might I not undertake this heavy task again?

How are creatures overcome by the three afflictions to be liberated?”

To Prajāpati, pondering thus, came this thought:

“I shall praise Viṣṇu, the supreme Lord, the sole cause of liberation.”

Brahmā said:

Salutations to you, O support of the universe, O bearer of the conch, discus, and mace,

from whose navel-lotus alone I was born as the creator of the universe!

You alone know your true essential nature, O you who comprise the universe!

By whose māyā the entire world, beginning with the intellect, was produced;

from whose exhalation the verbal absolute arose in threefold form;

taking recourse to that very [source], I created the worlds.

Nothing whatsoever—gross, subtle, long, short, and the like—is other than you.

Through various modifications, O Lord, you alone are this moving and unmoving [universe],

just as gold [becomes] bracelets and the like, according to the division of the three guṇas.

You alone here are the creator and that which is to be created, the nourisher and the nourished, O Lord of the universe!

You are the foundation, that which is held, and the holder, O supreme Lord!

Every mind, impelled by you, performs good and evil,

and then attains a corresponding destiny ordained by you alone.

You are the path of this universe, its maintainer, and its witness, O supreme Lord,

O guru of the moving and unmoving, O soul of all living beings, O merciful one!

Be gracious today, O Jagannātha, unto me who ever take refuge in you!

Jaimini said:

Thus being praised by Brahmā, the one whose banner bears Garuḍa,

resembling a dark-blue raincloud, marked with the conch, discus, and other emblems,

mounted upon the lord of birds, with his lotus-face beaming,

appeared, O best of the twice-born, his lips quivering as he was about to speak.

The Blessed Lord said:

That for the sake of which you praise me, O Brahmā, does not appear possible.

Beginningless ignorance is very firmly fixed, difficult to sever through the bonds of karma.

While it prevails, how can death and birth be removed?

Nevertheless, sinless one, if your resolve is made regarding this matter,

I will tell you the means by which it will surely come about in due course.

I am you, and you are I, O Brahmā; and the entire universe is made of me.

Where my mind rests, there it is; reflect that it is not otherwise.

On the northern shore of the ocean, but to the south of the Mahānadī,

that region on earth indeed yields the fruits of all sacred fords.

The wise men who dwell there, O Brahmā,

partake of the fruits of merits accumulated across previous births.

Neither people of little merit nor those lacking devotion to me are born there, O lotus-born one.

From the Ekāmraka forest up to the shore of the southern ocean,

step by step, it is most excellent and progressively supreme in purity.

The Nīla mountain, O Brahmā, which shines on the shore of the sea,

is a hidden place on earth, very difficult even for you to attain.

It is hard for gods and asuras to know, concealed by my māyā.

Relinquishing all attachment, I abide there bearing a bodily form.

Transcending the perishable and the imperishable, I dwell in Puruṣottama.

My sacred field Puruṣottama is overcome neither by creation nor by dissolution.

Just as you see me, O Brahmā, in a form marked with the discus and other attributes,

so having gone there you shall see me, O grandfather.

Within the interior region of the Nīla mountain, at the foot of the wish-fulfilling banyan tree,

in the western direction, is the pool celebrated by the name Rauhiṇa.

Those who see me dwelling on its bank with their physical eyes,

their sins destroyed by its water, shall attain union with me.

Go there, O highly fortunate one; as you meditate upon me after seeing me,

another majesty of that sacred field will become revealed,

and it will also be a supreme wonder for you.

Concealed from the Vedas, smṛtis, itihāsas, and purāṇas by my māyā, it was within the range of no one.

By my grace, now as you praise me, it will be manifested, visible to all.

Whatever merit has been stated for pure souls in vows, sacred fords, sacrifices, and gifts,

all that one obtains by residing here for a single day, and indeed the fruit of a horse-sacrifice by residing for the span of a breath.

Having thus instructed Brahmā, O brahmins, the Lord Puruṣottama

vanished right there while he was looking on.

Thus ends the first chapter in the Puruṣottamakṣetramāhātmya, in the dialogue between the seer Jaimini and others, in the second section, the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, of the Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.