Skandapurana 2.2.37

Jaimini said:

Hereafter I will describe the excellent southern solstice.

The twenty kalās prior to the ingress [of the sun] are considered

the solstice, this auspicious time for those performing meritorious acts.

There, O brahmins, one should bathe the God with the five nectars as at [the time of his] sleep.

One should smear his whole body with aloe, camphor, and sandalwood,

and with fragrant garlands, ornaments, lovely garments, and lamps,

and with various eatables and offerings one should worship the Supreme Lord.

One should hold up high a flame of camphor near the face of Hari.

Then one should salute [him] with sprouts of dūrvā grass, unbroken rice grains, and the waving of lights;

accompanied by auspicious songs, dances, and the like, women should make the huluhulī sound.

Whoever sees Puruṣottama being worshipped or having been worshipped,

to him Janārdana will grant merit a hundred times that of the worship.

Those [who behold] the Husband of Śrī being worshipped during that southern solstice,

leaving behind all sins, go to the realm of Viṣṇu.

Whether small or great, every pilgrimage-festival of Hari grants liberation.

The Lord beheld on this and that day surely grants liberation.

For the sake of generating faith in the ignorant, these pilgrimage-festivals

which destroy the sins of wrongdoers were declared by the compassionate Viṣṇu, O brahmins.

Those lowest of men who consider merit to be produced [only] by toil

The kitchen should be consecrated here for the dining of the Lord of Lakṣmī.

Having established the Vaiṣṇava fire and measured out the excellent caru,

he should perform the Vaiśvadeva rite to prepare the cooking for the Lord.

To Brahmā, to the lord of the homestead, and likewise to the lord of creatures,

and to Viṣṇu, the creator of the universe, one who is pure should offer oblations into the pure fire.

The ācārya appointed by the king, devoted to Śrauta and Smārta rituals,

[should offer] to the door-keepers and Pracaṇḍa, and in the north-east to the guardian of the field;

and in the south to Virūpa, and likewise to the lord of birds;

and in the south-west he should present [oblations] to Durgā and Sarasvatī.

In the eastern direction, the offering is ordained for Mahālakṣmī and Mahendra;

then to the attendants of Viṣṇu, and likewise to the lord of beasts;

the offering of gifts [should be made] in the north; then in the west to Nārada;

in the south-east he should offer to Agni, and in the north-west to the Witness of the universe;

and in the middle to the creator of the universe, who is embodied in the five vital breaths.

He should offer water at the beginning and end in every ritual offering.

Having offered the bali, he should have the excellent cooking done in that fire,

for the sake of the caru for the worship of the Lord at the three junctures of the day.

Indeed, the accessories for preparing the caru—eatables, beverages, and so forth—

the king, belonging to the three twice-born classes, should not employ ordinary people there in the world,

whether noble, pure Śūdras, or classes of serving attendants.

This is merely a conventional worldly practice; indeed, Śrī herself cooks [for him].

Embodied, Nārāyaṇa constantly eats what is cooked by her.

That food offering is indeed nectar; by wearing it upon the head, it destroys sin.

By eating it, it destroys great sins such as the drinking of intoxicating liquor;

by smelling it, mental sin [is destroyed]; likewise, by seeing it, sin born of sight;

by tasting it, it removes sin committed [by the tongue] and through hearing;

by touch, sin committed by the skin, and likewise that born of speaking falsehood;

by anointing the limbs with it, it burns away bodily sin, without doubt.

Whoever employs what has been offered to Hari, which is exceedingly pure, in rites for the ancestors and gods,

for him the ancestors and the gods are satisfied, and they attain the world of Madhusūdana.

There is no substance purer than this among offerings to gods and ancestors, O twice-born ones;

assuming human forms, the celestials eat of it.

Great is the affection there of the discus-bearing God of gods.

Anciently, in the Tretāyuga, there was a great king named Śveta.

Though strictly observant of vows, he showed great devotion to Puruṣottama.

Following the measure of the offerings prepared by Indradyumna,

he joyfully arranged offerings every day for the Lord of Śrī,

manifold eatables and beverages, well-prepared with the six tastes,

variegated garlands, fragrant unguents,

and exceedingly numerous divine songs, instrumental music, and dances.

There were royal services of many kinds for Hari on various occasions,

demonstrating his attitude of devotion with great expenditure of wealth and effort.

Diverse and manifold offerings prescribed in the various Vaiṣṇava scriptures

were arranged by that king, who was a sun to the lotuses of learned men.

At the time of morning worship, he went to behold Hari;

one day, the king saw him being worshipped.

Having bowed to the God of gods with folded hands in joy,

the best of kings stood near the door of the temple.

Having beheld the matchless services personally arranged by himself,

and the thousands of presentations set forth before Hari,

he reflected in his mind, slightly immersed in contemplation:

"Will Hari truly accept the offering prepared by a mortal?

He who cannot be adequately reached even by the gods with celestial offerings in the rites of worship,

whom those of restrained vows worship with mental offerings—

an external sacrifice corrupted in feeling is surely not for his pleasure."

While the king was reflecting thus, [he saw] the all-pervading Lord seated on a celestial throne,

eating an abundance of food and drink, served attentively by Śrī,

who was adorned with celestial garlands, clad in divine fragrant silk,

filling the temple of the gods with the tinkling of her priceless gem-encrusted anklets,

and respectfully serving delicacies with a golden ladle.

and surrounded by beings resembling the Lord, eating.

Seeing that wonder and considering himself to have attained his goal,

opening his eyes, he saw again what he had previously seen.

From then on, that king attained supreme peace.

Having offered his blessings, steadfast in his vow, he performed very great austerity

for the destruction of untimely death and for the liberation of the dead in his kingdom.

Constantly chanting the king of mantras, the wish-granting tree for those who take refuge,

at the end of a hundred years he saw Nṛhari, the remover of sins,

abiding on the lotus of a yogic posture, with Śrī seated on His left side,

all His limbs adorned divinely, His body spotless as crystal,

praised by the thirty [gods] and by perfected and liberated beings, His face smiling.

Bewildered by wonder and awe, with a voice faltering from joy,

crying, "Be gracious, O Lord!" he fell upon the surface of the earth.

Seeing him emaciated by austerity and bowed down,

the lion-man, affectionate toward His devotees, wished to speak to the stainless king of the earth.

The blessed Lord said:

"Arise, my child! Know that through your devotion, I, the Lord, am pleased.

When I am pleased, nothing is unobtainable. Therefore, ask for a boon!"

Having thus heard the words of the Lord, the king then arose.

With folded hands, bowed low, he spoke with devotion to Janārdana.

Śveta said:

"O Lord, if Your most rare grace has arisen toward me,

then having attained similarity of form, I shall dwell in Your presence.

As long as I remain in kingship, may no person anywhere in my realm,

no living being, die before their time; and when their time comes, may they attain liberation."

Having heard that, the Lord said to the excellent king Śveta:

"O Śveta, may your wish be granted! Stand at my right side.

Having enjoyed your very prosperous realm for a thousand years,

with the accumulation of all your sins destroyed through the enjoyment of my nirmālya,

with an inner heart made exceedingly pure, you shall attain union with me.

Between the banyan tree and the ocean, in the most rare place of liberation,

opposite my first incarnation, Viṣṇu in the form of the Fish,

dwell indeed, having a body spotless as crystal.

You will become renowned in the mortal world by the name of Śvetamādhava.

The human beings who cast off their life-breaths between the two of you,

and even animals or insects, will surely attain liberation.

Where immortals desire death, how much more so humans?

To the north of you is the lake that wipes away sin;

having bathed there and sipped water on its southern bank,

purified by the gaze of both, one who gives up the life-breaths is liberated.

All around, this sacred field grants liberation anywhere [in it];

for the foolish-minded to have faith, this chief spot has been declared.

Moreover, those people in your realm who eat my nirmālya

shall never suffer untimely death."

Thus ends the thirty-seventh chapter in the Glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, in the collection of eighty-one thousand [verses], in the second Vaiṣṇava section, in the praise of the sacred field of Puruṣottama.