Skandapurana 2.2.11

Jaimini said:

Having thus heard about supreme devotion to the Lord from Nārada, the son of Brahmā,

Indradyumna too, filled with supreme joy, spoke to him:

Indradyumna said:

"Association with the virtuous has been taught to me by the wise as that which destroys the disease of worldly existence;

O venerable one, that has now been realized for me right at this moment.

You by whom Viṣṇu, the supreme Self beyond the highest, has been directly perceived—

since you have come to my palace, what other virtuous man is there here [equal to you]?

O venerable one, through your presence my darkness has gone to destruction,

in that my mind is urged to worship Nīlamādhava.

You know all the occurrences of the universe, wandering through all the worlds;

therefore let us both mount a chariot and behold Nīlamādhava.

The auspicious and decorated [abode] of the sacred field named Puruṣottama—

that there are sacred fords there has been told to me by many;

if I learn it from your words, they will become fruitful for me."

Nārada said:

"Ah, I shall show you the sacred field and the things situated in the sacred field,

the sacred fords, the forms of Śakti and Śambhu, and the māhātmya of the sacred field itself.

Directly you shall behold the Lord of gods, who gives himself to his devotee,

manifested into four forms soon out of grace toward you;

upon seeing whom a mortal becomes a vessel of devotion."

Thus, at the conclusion of their conversation, both being pleased, they completed their daily duties, and

having determined on the journey favorable [for departure] on the fifth lunar day, a Wednesday,

in the bright fortnight of the month of Jyeṣṭha, under the Puṣya constellation, at an auspicious rising-sign,

the king and Nārada passed the night sleeping in the same place.

Then at bright dawn, Indradyumna, the best of kings,

caused a proclamation to be made throughout the kingdom, together with his relatives,

concerning the march to the Blue Mountain according to one's resources, with armies:

"We shall dwell there for the duration of our lives—this is firmly resolved.

Whatever livelihood has been allotted to each, let him live there by that means:

the kings together with their harems, ministers, and retinues,

with chariots, elephants, horses, treasuries, and foot-soldiers;

let the brahmins equipped with their Agnihotra fires depart thither,

merchants with their goods and wares, who live by trade;

those skilled in state affairs, expert in royal policies,

astronomers, masters of dance, and those proficient in the science of polity;

those of sharp intellect in the four arts of dance, song, and instrumental music;

and those versed in the excellent science of medicine for elephants, horses, and men;

those skilled and of proven practice in all the eighteen sciences,

and likewise in the subsidiary sciences, jugglers and curious entertainers;

highwaymen, thieves, and other pickpockets;

those who live by telling wondrous tales, flatterers, and court bards;

those who live by arms, and likewise surgical extractors of arrows;

gamblers, loose women, courtesans, and courtiers who follow prostitutes;

cultivators, keepers of cows, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys;

bird-tamers, and keepers of monkeys, tigers, and leopards;

snake-charmers, cowherds, Śabaras, and barbarian tribes;

and all others born in the land of Mālava who follow my command—

let them all go to reside on the Blue Mountain, having their house-plots marked out each for himself."

Having thus given the command, the king, being resolved upon the journey,

came together with Nārada and spoke this to the astrologer:

"O astrologer, as the auspicious moment was determined by you earlier,

bring together properly all the auspicious articles for it,

while in this moment what is needed according to the view of the family priest is sought."

Commanded by him, the astrologer, assisted by the family priest,

brought together all the auspicious articles, O best of brahmins.

Meanwhile, the royal sage, seated upon a celestial throne,

underwent the auspicious bath for departure, previously directed by the brahmins,

with the Śrīsūkta and the Vahnisūkta, and with the hymn to the water-deities,

with the Pāvamānī and the Abdhisūkta, which distinctly promote good fortune,

with waters from sacred fords, herbs, and all kinds of perfumes, each separately.

Then the king, consecrated and having the water removed with a Chinese silk cloth,

shone brightly with his radiant body like a smokeless fire.

Clad in white garments, having sipped water according to rule and wearing a pavitraka,

having worshiped the classes of ancestors facing the Nāndī according to injunctions,

having carefully offered the Jayā and Rāṣṭrabhṛt oblations and the Gaṇahoma,

he [approached] the fire filled with the sound of conches and fragrant scents, white-colored and devoid of smoke,

and circumambulated the fire with flames turning clockwise,

which was visibly granting victory to the king who sought victory.

At the conclusion of the sacrifice to the nine planets, attended by the planetary water-pot, for the destruction of the malice of the planets and the increase of prosperity,

with mantras proclaimed in astronomical treatises and directed by the astrologer's rules,

he then proceeded to the donning of auspicious attire.

Having put on his armor over a cloak of Chinese silk,

[he wore] a bright turban radiant with an excellent jeweled crown,

with ear-ornaments on both ears adorned with jeweled earrings,

a priceless necklace and a string of pearls adorned with a central gem.

Then that best of kings wore armlets, bracelets, and signet rings;

around his waist, touching the three folds, he wore a threefold golden cord;

endowed with golden bells and festoons of pearl garlands,

he then wore a beautiful girdle well-crafted with various gems.

He placed priceless anklets upon his two feet.

In a mirror held before him, he looked upon himself thus adorned.

In order to perform the auspicious ceremony, he sat upon a golden stool,

facing east, meditating upon Lord Śrīdhara, the slayer of Madhu,

Viṣṇu, the abode of auspiciousness, the cause of all good fortune,

by whose remembrance even manifold sins are destroyed.

Then a delightful seasonal garland, renowned for its fragrance,

consecrated with mantras by his priest, the king first put on.

Then earth, a lamp, fruit, dūrvā grass, curd, and yellow orpiment,

all consecrated with mantras, protected with white mustard seeds,

[he looked upon], and the king saw his reflection in cow's clarified butter.

Then, having seen himself in the consecrated mirror, that lion of kings,

whose auspicious future was elevated by the chanting of peace-mantras by the Ṛgvedic priests,

protected on his way by the Yajurvedic priests with the hymn for the path,

with his valour and firmness bolstered by the king through auspicious Puranic words,

his prowess manifest through the recitation of praises by the bards,

holding in the lotus of his heart the bird-bannered [Viṣṇu], the taker of the Pārijāta flower, accompanied by Satyā—

meditating thus, the king put forward his right foot.

Having circumambulated the sage Nārada who stood before him,

he approached the central gateway, surrounded by mace-bearers.

Shown the pathway, preceded by the agnihotra fire,

there he saw brahmins standing to his right,

reciting auspicious hymns, shining white and clad in pale garments,

scattering puffed grain with flowers before the king and pronouncing blessings.

Standing on the left side were courtesans with hands busy holding flywhisks,

wearing bright ornaments and garments, with auspicious smiling lotus-faces.

Bowing with devotion, O best of brahmins, he honored the brahmins;

with garments, ornaments, garlands, and fragrant ointments,

he gratified those brahmins who were absorbed in contemplation of the Lord.

To the courtesans, bards, the poor, and the destitute,

the minister distributed wealth appropriately according to the king's command.

White pigeons, swans, a white horse, and a white elephant

adorned with mango sprouts, white garlands, and fruits

stood beneath an archway bound with plantain trunks; [these] the king [beheld].

The king, seeing full pitchers and many auspicious things,

his head shielded from the heat by a white parasol, / 56

heard, accompanied by the blowing of hundreds / of conches all at once,

many kinds of musical instruments joined together, / 57

as well as auspicious songs and cries of victory. / Then the king entered the temple to behold Nṛsiṃha, / 58

Then he entered the temple to behold Nṛsiṃha.

remembering whom a mortal becomes a vessel of all blessings. / Seeing Nṛhari from afar, seated upon a celestial lion-throne, / 59

Having seen Nṛhari from afar seated upon a divine lion-throne,

bowing down with his eight limbs, pleasing [him] with the words of the Upaniṣads,

and [seeing] Durgā standing at [his] right side, who frees [beings] from all distress, / 2.2.11.60

the king paid homage at [her] feet as she looked on with compassion. / Then the royal priest took down an auspicious garland from the god's limb / 61

then the family priest, taking down the auspicious garland from the body of the deity,

and placed it around [the king's] neck, anointed him with fragrant unguent,

performed the lustration ritual, and gladly bound a turban upon the king's head. / 62

Circumambulating the two deities once more, that best of kings / placed them upon a palanquin and set forth, having honored them. / 63

placed [it] upon a palanquin and set out at the head [of the procession].

Coming out to the outer gate and seeing the chariot well equipped,

yoked with ten horses swift as the wind, / 64

the king circumambulated it and mounted it along with Nārada. / Ḍhakkā drums, mṛdaṅgas, kettle-drums, bherīs, paṇavas, gomukha horns, / 65

Ḍhakkās, mṛdaṅgas, niḥsāṇas, bherīs, paṇavas, and gomukhas,

madhurīs, carcarīs, and conches were sounded by the thousands. / Millions of chariots belonging to dependent kings / 66

chariots by the crores there belonging to the dependent kings,

shone, drawn up in ranks on all sides of Indradyumna's chariot,

equipped with various weapons, adorned with banners, / 67

with high flagstaffs, with gold, silver, nets of jingling bells, and mirrors,

fitted with various mechanisms, producing deep, resonant sounds. / 68

Of infantry, elephants, and wind-swift horses—

by the clappings of the foot soldiers, the trumpeting of elephants, and the neighing of horses, / 69

mingled with the great rumble of chariots, the sounds of musical instruments / were heard by the people like the roar of the ocean at the end of an aeon. / 2.2.11.70

equal to the roaring of the ocean at the end of an aeon, were heard by the people.

At that moment the citizens, prepared with their respective provisions,

set out with small horses, donkeys, camels, and draught animals. / 71

Litters and palanquins, and millions of horses,

were seen formed in ranks amidst the bustling departure of the realm. / 72

The hundreds of royal harem ladies, accompanied by chamberlains,

mounted upon various conveyances and guarded by officials, / 73

encompassed by large armies, came forth from the royal palace. / The sacrificers, having placed their sacrificial fires, kept in śamī wood, / 74

And the sacrificers [carried] the agnihotra fires mounted upon wooden carts in crowds;

in wagons in crowds, set forth together with their wives,

as well as loads of books and baskets for deity worship. / 75

Fuel sticks, barhis grass, kuśa grass, vessels, and provisions collected for the oblation

they had transported by wagons, porters, and brahmins. / 76

Tributary kings, ministers, servants, the royal priest, and officiating priests,

the king's retainers, and those appointed to royal services / 77

were seated with all the provisions for service, while others marched on. / Those appointed to the treasury took the entire store of wealth, / 78

and those appointed over the treasury [carried] the entire collection of treasures;

and the king's personal attendants departed quickly. / All the garland-makers and the merchants, / 79

all the garland-makers and others, and likewise the merchants and traders,

taking their respective wares, departed as royal servants. / Heads of guilds and others, along with the inhabitants of towns and villages, / 2.2.11.80

all the eminent guilds and others, along with the inhabitants of cities and market towns,

came forth together, conducting their respective trades and pleasures. / Sounded at the time of King Indradyumna's march, / 81

[heard the instruments] sounded at the time of King Indradyumna’s departure.

filling all directions of the compass—

hearing the bherī drums, mṛdaṅgas, and paṭaha drums, all the people dwelling in the country, in great haste, / 82

placed the king's command upon their heads and set out for Nīlaparvata. / Whoever had a direct path went by that very way; / 83

And whichever path was direct for each, by that very one he went.

by the king's command, they did not look for the royal highway in their haste. / Even by a difficult path leading to Nīlādri, they proceeded. / 84

They departed even by the difficult route leading to the Nīla Mountain.

King Indradyumna too, surrounded by all the city dwellers

and by joyful fourfold armies, [set forth]. / 85

In a chariot positioned amidst a line of chariots belonging to rows of kings,

the royal sage shone forth, his retinue equal to Śakra's.

With songs of auspicious rites, parched grain, and flowers [scattered] by city women,

and with the splendours of auspicious rituals, his pure mind was joyful.

He set out joyfully in a chariot yoked to horses swift as the wind,

over the ground, pleasant and cool with the dense shade cast by a favourable breeze,

free from dust, with its crossroads leveled.

Shown the way by men familiar with the region's routes

and knowing the interior of the forests, the king,

his eyes filled with delight, looked repeatedly upon the regions and forests lining both sides of the path.

In the middle of the forest, dividing the border of the Utkala country,

he reached [the goddess] Carcikā stationed by the road, adorned with a garland of severed heads.

Descending from his chariot, bowing at Nārada's command,

the king prostrated himself before her with an eight-limbed obeisance and, joyful in mind, praised her:

Indradyumna said:

Salutations to you, O ruler of the gods, remover of all calamities,

who are proclaimed under forms beginning with Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva!

O primeval cause of the worlds, be gracious, O supreme goddess!

Without you, O Śivā, this universe cannot endure for an instant.

The accomplishments of all enterprises and blessings, O eternal one,

are indeed the fruit of worshipping your feet in the world of mortals, not otherwise.

You are the power of Viṣṇu, the lord of the moving and unmoving, O supreme goddess,

by which the all-pervading lord creates, protects, and dissolves the universe.

Bestow your grace upon me, O goddess, so that with my own eyes

I may behold the god, the guru of the moving and unmoving, who dwells upon the Blue Mountain.

Jaimini said: