Skandapurana 2.2.2

Jaimini said:

Then Brahmā went swiftly to where the Blessed Lord was present in person.

Just as he had seen the Lord at the conclusion of his hymn of praise, so he beheld him then.

Delighted by recognition upon beholding that Supreme Lord,

he became a treasure of the most wonderful knowledge, O best of brahmins.

As he began to praise him, his eyes blossoming with joy,

just then an excellent crow arrived from somewhere.

Plunging into that pool filled with water of mercy,

and beholding Mādhava, whose radiance is that of a blue sapphire, the treasure-house of compassion,

it cast off its crow body, rolling repeatedly upon the ground,

and, with conch, discus, and mace in hand, took its place at his side.

Seeing that destiny of a beast, which is very hard for lords of yogins to attain,

he thought, O sages: "Creation will gradually come to an end."

A doubt arose regarding the Vedānta teaching that liberation belongs to human beings alone:

"Indeed, nothing is difficult to attain here for a devotee of Viṣṇu.

He became visible, O best of brahmins, when the ancient Puruṣa appeared,

by proclaiming whose name a person is freed from all sins.

When he is seen, O brahmins, is liberation really difficult to attain?

Meditating on Viṣṇu in his mind and giving up his life breaths, one is liberated.

When the Blessed Lord is perceived directly, what wonder is it that one attains liberation?

Wondrous is the majesty of the sacred field named Puruṣottama,

where even a crow sees Hari directly, O brahmins!

This sacred field is very difficult to attain and grants liberation even to the ignorant.

Oh, the māhātmya of the sacred field, which gives complete liberation even to a crow!

What then of those who are constantly endowed with peace, dispassion, and knowledge?"

The seers said:

Having seen Mādhava called Nīla, what did the grandfather do?

and [seeing] the crow, whose bodily bondage was destroyed in an instant upon that darśana? 13

Jaimini said:

Seeing that very wondrous [sight], while he was meditating on Mādhava,

just then the Lord of the Ancestors, distressed about the restraint belonging to his office, 14

with a miserable face and sighing, went there in haste.

Seeing Mādhava on Nīlādri and bowing down with all eight limbs, 15

he praised the Lord of the World for the firm establishment of his own office.

Yama said:

Salutations to You, O Lord of the gods of gods, O Cause of creation, maintenance, and destruction! 16

All this is strung upon You, like rows of pearls upon a thread.

By You the world is sustained, by You it was created, and by You it is nourished. 17

In the form of the moon, the sun, and the rest, You constantly illumine the universe.

The Lord of the Universe, the source of the world, the abode of the universe, the teacher of the world, 18

the witness of all, devoid of beginning and end—I bow to Him.

Salutations to the ocean filled with the water of supreme compassion, 19

whose power transcends both higher and lower, who is the origin of the universe, 20

the sun to the frost of worldly misery, the friend of the wretched,

who produced the entire existence through His own māyā, the rope of the guṇas! 21

Salutations to Him whose pure yellow garment is like the filament of a lotus,

the discus-wielder whose discus cuts the shoulders of enemies in great battle, 22

who lifted the earth-supporting mountains with His tusk, who embodies the three Vedas, salutations!

Salutations to the Sacrificial Boar, whose eyes are the moon, sun, and fire, 23

to Narasiṃha, who routed enemies with His form fierce with tusks,

by the mere play of whose side-glance creation, maintenance, and dissolution take place; 24

for this world, consisting of high and low, arises repeatedly [from Him].

To that one, radiant like a dark cloud, whose body is of sapphire gem, 25

dwelling in the cave of Nīlācala, a treasury of mercy, I bow down;

bearing the conch, discus, mace, and lotus, granting what is auspicious, 26

tearing away the flood of all sins of those who bow to Him, the enemy of Mura!

Salutations to You, whose eyes are refined by union with the side-glances of Kamalā,

whose broad chest captivates the mind, shining with the Śrīvatsa and the Kaustubha! 27-28

Possessing sovereign power by resorting to the pair of His lotus-feet,

Śrī, resorted to by men, continually bestows diverse riches;

she who is Your prakṛti, divided into higher and lower, through Your desire to create 29

readily produced the changeless supreme Brahman as modified [creation].

Complete with all auspicious marks, distinguished by auspicious marks,

eternally dwelling on the chest of the Lord of Lakṣmī—to that Lakṣmī I bow down. 30

Jaimini said:

Having thus been propitiated by the King of Dharma, the Beloved of Śrī

directed Śrī, who was standing by His side with a lute in hand, with a corner of His eye. 31

Honored by Him, Lakṣmī, the destroyer of worldly sorrow,

sportfully said to Yama for the welfare of all the worlds: 32

Lakṣmī said:

That for the sake of which you praise us both is indeed impossible in this kṣetra.

This kṣetra, Śrīpuruṣottama, cannot be abandoned by us two. 33

Even at the end of a kalpa, we two are indeed held fast by the Supreme Lord.

Mastery of the lords of the quarters, Brahmā and others, does not exist here. 34

Here, the ripening of karmas never occurs.

For men, and even for lower creatures who do evil deeds, residing here, 35

[their sin] is burnt completely, just like a heap of cotton in a blazing fire.

Those who are bound day and night by the two chains of sin and merit— 36

for them, you were indeed fashioned formerly as Yama, the restrainer.

Having seen here directly in visible form the God Nārāyaṇa, 37

charming like a blue sapphire, one is liberated from the bondage of karma.

Your mastery, O son of the Sun, is in the world of karma elsewhere than this! 38

In this king of kṣetras, do not fall into despair concerning your restraint, O Yama!

The Lord Creator himself, your great-grandfather, 39

watches with wonder an animal attaining sameness of form with Viṣṇu.

This lotus-born [Brahmā] knows the ripening of the karma of all beings; 40

knowing the māhātmya of the kṣetra, he praises the mace-bearing God.

Creatures worthy of coming under your control do not remain here.

O son of Vivasvat, those liberated while living and those desiring liberation dwell here."

Addressed in this manner by her, Viṣṇu in female form,

Yama, humbled by [the loss of] ego and shame, then spoke: / 42

Yama said:

"O Mother, that which you commanded—this was not heard by me before. / 43

Afflicted by ignorance, how can I know the supreme secret?

Whose essential nature neither the Vedas nor the Grandfather knows, / 44

how can I, bewildered by egotism, know his greatness?

This sacred field, which has been taught, O queen of gods, as granting liberation / 45

on account of the presence of Vāsudeva—the Lord's will is unrestrained,

since Viṣṇu gives bondage elsewhere, yet gives liberation here. / 46

He is the creator of myself, of the hells, and of heaven.

If there is liberation for those who die here, then [tell] me that at full length, O mother: / 47

the extent and layout of the sacred field, the fruit of dwelling there,

what sacred fords are here, or what other secret is there; / 48

what deity presides over the sacred field—tell me all of that,

so that, avoiding it completely, I may wander without fear." / 49

Thus ends the second chapter in the dialogue between the sage Jaimini and others, in the Māhātmya of Puruṣottama Sacred Field, in the second section, the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, in the collection of eighty-one thousand [verses]. / 2