Skandapurana 2.2.34

Jaimini said:

To the south of the pool that was a limb of the horse sacrifice and south of Nṛsiṃha,

seated there, the Blessed Lord, as if descending once again,

shone in that divine form, unfathomable to gods and asuras.

Then, having worshipped Jagannātha with offerings of worship

and with foods to be chewed and eaten and the like, one should gratify [him] with songs and dances,

with diverse floral offerings and fragrant unguents,

with incense made from black agallochum, and with lamps of fragrant oil,

one should gratify the Lord of the worlds with numerous offerings.

Janārdana remains for seven days on the bank of that Bindutīrtha;

formerly, he himself granted this boon to the king:

"O king of kings, I shall dwell on the bank of your sacred ford every year,

and while I remain, all sacred fords will abide in it.

Having bathed according to rule in that sacred ford, which purifies the multitude of sacred fords,

those who gaze for seven days upon [me] seated in the Guṇḍicā pavilion—

upon me, Rāma, and Subhadrā—shall attain union with me."

Therefore, in that exceedingly holy [place] that destroys all sins,

which yields the singular fruit of all sacred fords, is auspicious, and pleases Viṣṇu,

one who has bathed, offering water to the ancestors and gods according to rule without negligence,

having worshipped and bowed to that Narasiṃha standing on the bank,

a man should go to the great altar, having performed the rites of purification and sipping water.

O brahmins, he should worship as before, or bow with devotion;

any man or woman [who does so] for seven days is no ordinary human:

by the command of the Enemy of Mura, such a person attains union with Viṣṇu.

The darśana of him by day is meritorious; by night it is tenfold [so].

Whatever rite is performed in the presence of the Lord of the world,

whether very small or abundant, becomes multiplied millions of millions of times.

Whosoever gives great gifts, such as the gift of a man's weight in gold [or other valuables],

even if only a single gift is bestowed, O twice-born, everything becomes given.

Every gift is equal to Mount Meru; all brahmins are equal to Vyāsa;

when Kṛṣṇa has gone to the great altar, this conjunction is indeed very difficult to obtain.

The auspicious conjunctions such as Ardhodaya, described by Skanda,

do not equal a sixteenth part of the conjunction known as Mahāvedī.

Hereafter I shall explain the supreme duty towards the ancestors,

a fruit which cannot be obtained on earth even by life-long śrāddhas at Gayā.

Whether dwelling in heaven, in hell, or having entered an animal womb,

or standing in the human species—all fathers and grandfathers,

renowned through a hundred generations, desire that [rite] performed by their sons.

I shall explain that excellent procedure to you; listen, O sages:

Maghā is indeed the lunar mansion of the ancestors, granting supreme delight to them;

a śrāddha offered there by joyous sons delights [them].

The fifth lunar day is also excellent, causing prosperity through śrāddha;

if there is a conjunction of both, that lunar day is exceedingly meritorious,

on which, when a śrāddha is performed by sons, the deliverance of the ancestors takes place.

In that [place] containing all sacred fords, in the presence of the Enemy of Mura,

if one performs a śrāddha with faith between Nīlakaṇṭha and Nṛsiṃha,

in that most pure region, during this supremely rare conjunction,

having delivered a hundred generations, he is honored in the world of Brahmā.

The kutapa period, when the sun has diminished in intensity, is recommended.

Or, if unable, a pure person should give gold dedicated to the ancestors,

having properly gratified them with sesame seeds for their supreme ancestral delight.

Alternatively, he should feed brahmins or give the value of the food;

or he may give food for a thousand to a single virtuous man.

However, during this conjunction, no discrimination between virtue and lack of virtue is prescribed.

During that exceedingly rare conjunction, all brahmins are equal to sages.

On the fifth day of the bright fortnight of Āṣāḍha, when the constellation belonging to the ancestors [Maghā]

joins the Lord of the World's arrival at the Great Altar (mahāvedī),

if these three occur together at the Indradyumna lake,

the conjunction is known as 'four-footed' (catuṣpāda), granting inexhaustible benefit to the ancestors.

Men do not languish in ancestral duties after performing śrāddha here.

Hear another thing, O brahmins; in this connection I tell you:

Whoever performs [a śrāddha] on the new moon of Nabhas (Bhādrapada), or on any of the four Yuga-beginnings (yugādis),

offering śrāddha dedicated to the ancestors at [the lake] born as part of the horse-sacrifice—

the fruit of a thousand Gayā-śrāddhas performed with faith

is indeed equal to this; there should be no doubt here.

Giving gifts, offering oblations, and chanting mantras also dispel all sin.

During the seven days that Kṛṣṇa resides in the pavilion here,

each successive [day's] merit is higher than the preceding one.

On the third day of the bright fortnight of Āṣāḍha, one should perform morning ablution

on the bank of Indradyumna lake, in the supreme sacred field of Nṛsiṃha.

A person should undertake this vow, having formed the resolve according to rule.

It is named the 'forest-vigil' (vanajāgaraṇa), increasing the Lord's delight,

quelling all sins, and bestowing the fruit of all vows.

For seven days, he should observe silence, having performed ablutions at the three junctures of the day.

And he should worship the god in a water-jar at the three sandhyās, filled with devotion.

He should kindle [a lamp] with cow's ghee or with sesame oil;

day and night, the observer of the vow should diligently tend it before Hari.

Day after day he should dwell in silence, and night after night he should keep vigil;

the vow-holder should chant the Bhāgavata-mantra in intervals between daily duties.

Devoted to fasting, the observer of the vow should spend seven days.

On the eighth day, rising in the morning, he should perform the consecration.

Having bathed at that very best of sacred fords and returned home again,

he should place the water-jar on a sarvatobhadra mandala in the east.

Invoking Hṛṣīkeśa there, he should worship Him with offerings.

And to the west of it, upon an earthen altar prepared according to rule,

having brought the fire according to the domestic ritual rule, surrounded by brahmins,

he should perform the fire ritual with kindling-sticks, ghee, and sacrificial cooked grains (caru).

He should offer a thousand oblations into the fire, or one hundred of each;

the ritual of oblations is prescribed using the Vaiṣṇava Gāyatrī.

Having tasted the remains, he should give a sacrificial fee: a cow, cloth, and gold.

And at the end he should feed brahmins for the gratification of the Witness of the Universe.

Having performed this king of vows according to this rule, O brahmins,

whichever desires one wishes for, one attains the four aims of life.

Even a woman endowed with faith who observes the Great Altar Festival,

who performs this excellent vow, attains that same fruit.

Whatever fruit belongs to the performer of the pilgrimage belongs to the performer of the vow as well.

This has been told to you, O best of brahmins, as you are filled with joy.

Thus ends the thirty-fourth chapter in the conversation of the sage Jaimini, in the Glorification of the Puruṣottama Field, in the second section, the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, in the eighty-one-thousand-verse compendium.