Skandapurana 2.2.24

Jaimini said:

Having arrived before Jagannātha, his mind longing for a long time,

he bowed down like a staff, covered in an armor of dense horripilation:

"Reverence to the god friendly to brahmins, and for the welfare of cows and brahmins,

for the destruction of the affliction of the bowed, the sole cause of the four aims of life;

to the one having the form of Hiraṇyagarbha, the Spirit, the Primal Matter, and the manifest!

Oṃ, reverence to Vāsudeva, whose essential nature is pure knowledge!"

Uttering this praise, the king, with eyes filled with tears of joy,

making circumambulation again and again, bowed down repeatedly.

Then the other deities who had arrived there, filled with joy,

bowed down with palms joined in reverence, and praised the god with delight.

The gods said:

The Puruṣa has a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, and a thousand feet.

Pervading the earth on every side, he stood beyond it by ten fingers.

That Puruṣa who is sung as the supreme Brahman, the Supreme Self—

past, present, and future: all that is the Puruṣa alone.

Such is his greatness; yet greater than that is the Puruṣa, the Lord.

One quarter of him is all beings; three quarters of him are the immortal in heaven.

From you the Vedic meters were born, and from you the sacrificial Puruṣa also.

From you horses were born, as well as cows, sheep, and the rest.

The brahmins were born from your mouth; the kṣatriyas arose from your arms.

The vaiśyas arose from your thighs; likewise the śūdras came forth from your feet.

The moon was born from your mind, the sun from your eye.

From your ears the wind [arose], with the vital breaths; and from your tongue the bearer of oblations.

From your navel the atmosphere arose, and the sky from your head.

From your feet the earth was born, and the eight directions proceeded from your hearing.

Seven were its enclosing sticks, and thrice seven its kindling-sticks from you.

All things moving and unmoving were indeed born from you alone.

You alone are the Lord of the worlds; you alone are the protector;

and with a fierce form, you alone are the destroyer, O Supreme Lord!

You alone are the sacrifice, the sacrifice's share; you are the Lord of sacrifice, higher than the highest.

You are beyond the Sound-Brahman, yet you are the Sound-Brahman, the ruler of the universe.

You are the self-ruler, the emperor, Jagannātha, the cosmic sovereign, O Lord of the world!

Below, above, and across—all has been pervaded by you, O you whose essence is the world!

Sacrificers who worship you attain the supreme abode.

You are the food, the enjoyer, the oblation, the priest, the offering, and the bestower of fruits.

You are the enjoyer of all actions; you consist of all actions, O Lord!

You are the instrument of all actions, the bestower of the fruits of all actions.

You are indeed the instigator of action, the bestower of the attainment of duty, pleasure, and wealth.

Except for you, who else can grant liberation? O Hṛṣīkeśa, homage be to you!

Homage to the endless one of a thousand forms, with a thousand feet, eyes, heads, thighs, and arms!

Homage to the Puruṣa of a thousand names, the eternal one, the sustainer of thousands of crores of cosmic ages!

Having fallen from our offices, we have resorted to you for refuge, O Lord!

Save us, O lotus-eyed one; become the refuge of the refuge-less!

You alone are the refuge of a creature fallen into worldly existence, O Lord!

In all your creation there is no one like you who protects the distressed.

You are the sole refuge of the helpless and distressed, the father of the world, O Lord!

You alone, O Lord, are the protector, the nourisher, the averter of all calamities.

Save us, O Viṣṇu, Lord of the world! Save us, O Supreme Lord!

Except for you, O beloved of Kamalā, who is capable of protecting us?

Homage to the inner controller! Homage to the treasury of all splendour!

While praising [him] thus, those gods, having bowed down again and again,

along with Indradyumna, went outside, O best of brahmins.

Having gone to the sacred field of venerable Narasiṃha and prostrated before him,

having paid homage with supreme devotion and worshipped the man-lion,

they went to the peak of the Nīlācala mountain, where the supreme temple stood,

together with the treasure-spirit Padmanidhi, for the purpose of [gathering] materials.

They saw [the temple], towering exceedingly high, encompassing the vault of the sky,

as if it were the Vindhya mountain rising to block the path of the sun,

pervading all quarters, brilliant with wonderful construction,

wondrous with patterns of auspicious motifs that had endured over a great length of time.

And then that Vaiṣṇava Indradyumna reflected:

“Long ago I went from here to Satyaloka for the purpose of [its] construction.

After a very long time, this complete, excellent temple has come into the range of my vision.

This is indeed due to the grace of the Lord; human effort has no role here.

Where is the end of a manvantara, which obstructed [even] the sun, moon, and Indra?

Even so, this temple, so hard to attain, still stands!

For temples built by men are like anthills:

they crumble from growing trees, their lifespan lasting but a short time.

Indeed, out of compassion for me, the dwelling of Hari has been preserved.”

Then he addressed those companions with humble words:

"Know that a temple for the Lord of the universe has been built by me.

The Lord himself manifested with a form made of wood.

Then a bodiless voice resounding in the sky spoke to me: // 36

'Have a temple measuring a thousand cubits built upon the summit of Nīlādri,

for the dwelling of the Lord of the universe.' // 37

In the rite of consecration of this [temple], he will come here in person—

the lotus-born [Brahmā] himself, together with the Siddhas, the brahmin seers, and the gods. // 38

Therefore, what provision is to be made here? How is it known?"

To him who had spoken thus, the gods, deprived of their offices, said: // 39

The gods said:

"Even we do not know that. Our teacher is the preceptor [Bṛhaspati];

he is not under our control now, for he is devoted to heaven and its welfare." // 40

Padmanidhi said:

"Master, by the instruction of Brahmā, I have come with you.

What must be done by me here, or what material is awaited?" // 41

Jaimini said:

As they were conversing thus, Nārada stood before them,

sent previously by Brahmā, expert in all sacred scriptures. // 42

"O sage, prepare all the materials of provision according to the scriptures;

the treasure Padmaka will provide them at your command." // 43

Seeing him, the son of Brahmā, filled with joy, they stood up;

the best of kings worshipped him with the worship of the sixfold offering. // 44

Those gods bearing human form also bowed down to him.

Indradyumna too spoke to him concerning the items for the consecration ritual: // 45

"I do not know, O best of sages, having long been abandoned by my family priest;

direct me in proper order, O brahmin, whatever is to be procured." // 46

Thus ends the twenty-fourth chapter in the conversation of the sage Jaimini, in the Glorious Field of Puruṣottama, in the second Vaiṣṇava Section of the Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses. // 24