Skandapurana 2.2.38

Jaimini said:

"Having thus granted that boon to King Śveta in ancient times, O brahmins,

Hari, remaining inside the temple, disappeared.

She who is Śrī of all the worlds, the cause of creation, maintenance, and destruction,

the matchless power of Viṣṇu, is the one who serves the food.

Lord Nārāyaṇa eats the well-cooked food that is like nectar;

the consumption of the remnants of His food indeed brings about the destruction of all sins.

There is no holy object equal to that on the surface of the earth.

It is not defiled by contact with those who perform the rites of sinners.

By the presence of Padmā, all those are held to be pure.

Even if fallen outcasts and others touch that nirmālya

situated in the temple of Viṣṇu, it is not corrupted; it is just as Viṣṇu Himself.

Those observing vows, widows, and all classes and stages of life,

consecrated priests and Agnihotrins, are purified by eating it.

Whether poor or miserly, a householder or a ruler,"

Whether locals or foreigners, all who have arrived there

should not entertain pride regarding eating the offerings made to Viṣṇu.

Whether out of devotion, greed, curiosity, or to appease hunger,

eaten even up to the throat, it indeed purifies from all sins.

It alleviates all diseases, increases sons and grandsons,

removes poverty, is supreme, bestows learning, longevity, and prosperity, and brings auspiciousness.

Great is the partiality there of Viṣṇu of boundless splendour:

those fools, fancying themselves learned, who revile that nectar,

upon them he himself wields punishment; he tolerates no transgressors.

If his punishment falls upon them here, their ruin is indeed certain.

They are cooked in the dreadful, exceedingly terrible Kumbhīpāka hell. / Its selling or purchasing is not praised, O brahmins.

“Without eating the offerings of the Lord of the World, I shall eat nothing”:

the person who makes this solemn vow and eats it every day,

freed from all sins, his inner faculty purified,

gradually attains the pure realm of Viṣṇu, no doubt.

Even if kept for a long time, completely dried, or brought from a distant land,

consumed in whatever manner, it expels all sins.

If that food falls down, dropped from the mouth of a dog,

it should be eaten even by a brahmin; what need to speak of others?

Whether one is observing a fast or not fasting,

whether impure, devoid of good conduct, or committing sins in mind,

as soon as it is obtained it must be eaten; no hesitation should be made in this regard.

The offered food of the Sustainer of the World and the water of the Gaṅgā—both are equal:

from sight comes attainment of heaven and other realms, and from eating comes destruction of sins.

For whatever is cooked by the Bearer of the World in the well-consecrated Vaiṣṇava fire,

is eaten daily by the Discus-Holder throughout the yugas, manvantaras, and other ages.

In all the earth of seven continents, there is no such presence of Hari

as there is in this Nīlagiri, where he acts under the guise of a human.

The supreme Brahman in wooden form, visible to the eyes of all,

shines forth, O sages, neither seen nor heard of anywhere else.

To him, the supreme Self, Brahman embodied as active worldly manifestation,

Śrī, the power embodied as active manifestation, offers the oblatory food;

Jagannātha eats that, and his remnant removes all sins.

What wonder is there here, O brahmins, that it is called the cause of liberation?

Faith in this does not arise in those with little merit.

Indeed, this was proclaimed for the ages dominated by Vedic conduct;

the Veda does not know its greatness, especially—hear this—in the Kali [age].

In that dreadful Kaliyuga, three-quarters of dharma is ruined;

dharma exists on only one foot, and out of fear of that [age] it moves about only in some places.

All are intent on untruth, hypocritical, subsisting on mere words,

mostly averse to dharma, devoted to the tongue and the genitals;

they never meditate, perform austerity, or keep vows.

Full of adharma, all are violent and exceedingly greedy;

they rejoice in censuring others, without doing anything virtuous of their own.

Through association or in sport they ruin another’s work;

out of desire for their own petty aims, they obstruct the tasks of others.

Despising a charming wife obtained according to dharma in their own house,

they cling to reprehensible women of others, behaving like beasts.

The agnihotra and other rites, or other vows, are rarely found anywhere;

it is merely a livelihood for the twice-born, or else [a rare act] for those concerned with the other world.

By one who has studied the Vedas without observing vows, with wealth acquired unjustly,

and performed with deceitful miserliness, it does not yield fruit in that manner.

In the Kaliyuga, kings are mostly averse to protecting their subjects,

always intent on levying taxes, exceedingly wicked, and thievish in conduct.

All are born of intermixed classes, almost like śūdras, in the Kali age;

the kings themselves are plunderers, and śūdras are the king’s ministers.

Vedic and traditional rituals are not properly observed in that way

in the fourth age, O brahmins, which was intended for the other world.

Indeed, this duty of giving is supreme; no other duty is praised.

By deed, mind, and speech, one should desire the welfare of the twice-born.

For thus spoke the Lord: 'The brahmin is my body;

with whomsoever the brahmins are pleased, with him am I also pleased.

One should regard both alike: the brahmin and Janārdana.

Whatever word the twice-born speak, the Lord himself speaks that.'

In whatever manner he conducts himself, the brahmin is the guru of the castes;

even the Lord, ruler of the gods, is visibly fond of brahmins.

Janārdana always manifests an incarnation for the sake of brahmins;

for their protection he surely restrains the wicked age after age.

The Four-faced [Brahmā] created brahmins first, at the beginning of creation;

afterward, all the other castes were born separately in their lineages.

Therefore in that Kali age the brahmin and Viṣṇu indeed—

both are the refuge of all; and Hari is the refuge of brahmins.

Hari alone is the refuge of all here once the Kali age has arrived;

in sacred fields such as Śālagrāma he is remembered and also praised.

In that holy sacred field, Nīlācala, which has the body of the Knower of the Field,

he exists as the life-breath of all, bearing a body under the guise of wood.

To destroy the taint of the Kali age mostly for those who have committed evil deeds,

he grants liberation through darśana, praise, and the eating of his food offerings.

He whose body is suffused with the remnant of the Lord of the gods,

having that as food and having that as self, is never stained by sins.

In other images of the Lord, an offering is made;

even that is declared purifying, but [here] the remnant is liberating.

Here alone the Lord actually eats; elsewhere he beholds with his eye.

Formerly, this god was petitioned by surrounding yogins:

'Through enjoying your flower offerings and remnants may we conquer your māyā!'

He gives liberation effortlessly to those whose eyes are completely fixed [in meditation].

He takes delight with Śrī through lying down, sitting, eating, and the like;

let it be held that the activity of the Lord here is the meaning of the Veda.

For he never acts transgressing the Veda;

his descent age after age is indeed for the purpose of protecting the Veda.

The Lord being an authority, how could he act contrarily?

If he were to act contrarily, the entire world would become likewise.

For by proper conduct the meaning of the Veda is fixed and has attained its station.

Formerly, an excellent brahmin born in Madhyadeśa came here,

exceptionally pure through orthodox conduct, thoroughly versed in the meaning of the scriptures,

always calm, always restrained in body, speech, and mind, a householder.

Having worshipped the god according to the rule of the sacred ford, maintaining his sacred fire,

he stayed here for three nights, devoted to the worship of Viṣṇu, pure.

[Thinking,] 'According to scripture, householders must eat the remainder of sacrifice,'

he did not accept the god's remnant out of suspicion of another's cooking:

'How can that which is to be prepared by deities here become fit for God?

And because of unfitness, the food offering must surely not be accepted.'

And when the food offering was not accepted by that learned brahmin, O brahmins,

all his attendants also did not eat what had been offered.

Then, overwhelmed by disease, with his body trembling,

he along with his family became mute, afflicted by offense against the Lord.

He reflected thus in his mind: 'How indeed without cause has there been for me,

along with my family, an affliction breaking every limb?'

As he was thinking thus, at the end of three nights the thought occurred:

'Such affliction of disease would not happen to all at once!

What offense has been committed by us against this Puruṣottama?

Could there be an unwitting [fault] that is the cause of disease for me?'

Having reflected thus repeatedly, he meditated on Lord Nārāyaṇa.

At the conclusion of his meditation, he, who revealed the true meaning of the scriptures, offered praise:

Śāṇḍilya said:

'Even the fourteen branches of learning, which are the means for determining dharma,

are all your words, issued from your lotus mouth.

One should practice dharma only through them—such is the conclusion of the scriptures.

Incarnation after incarnation is indeed for the purpose of protecting that dharma.

He who lives transgressing it is surely one who commits an offense against you.

I, O Lord of the gods of gods, in deed, mind, and speech,

do not act by transgressing the Dharmaśāstra even for wealth and desire.

The heap of sin accumulated through many thousands of births,

I have come here to burn, O Lord, with the forest-fire of your darśana.

What offense was committed, O Lord, by one following the path of your scriptures,

that a fierce disease torments all my limbs without cause?

Knowingly or unknowingly, at your lotus feet,

whatever offense was committed, O Lord, forgive it, O ocean of mercy.

For those whose feet slip on the ground, the ground itself is the support.

For those who have committed offenses against you, you alone are the refuge, O Lord.

And do you yourself forgive my sin born of an offense toward you.

A burn born of the intense heat of fire is cured by the heat of fire;

so then, this miserable state that has begun, born from the seed of sin, O God,

allay with your playful side-glance, the sole cause of liberation.

Deliver me, O Lord of the World, fallen into the ocean of sorrow!

Can a man who has entered the path of your darśana truly grieve?

O ocean of natural compassion, one who has come within the range of your sight,

immersed in the ocean of eternal bliss, neither grieves nor longs.

I am not of small fortune, O Lord, for I have seen you with my own eyes.

This terrifying thing is surely an obstacle to my liberation.

Therefore be gracious, O Lord of the World, toward your servant who always offends;

out of the relationship of master and servant, forgive my offense.

At the end of this praise, his bodily pain quickly departed then.

Then he saw Govinda, Nṛsiṃha, fond of his devotees,

mounted upon a divine throne, adorned with divine ornaments,

taking in his lotus hand the sweet rice offered by Śrī,

and dropping the remnants of each mouthful back into the vessels again and again,

unhurriedly eating whatever collection of food was offered,

with playful, smiling side-glances, [food] placed into his hand by Lakṣmī.

Beholding him, filled with astonishment, that Śāṇḍilya, the best of twice-born,

remembered the transgression committed by himself, consisting of not accepting the naivedya:

"Where am I, of limited wisdom, and where are you, the treasury of all knowledge?

Where are you, the emitter of the cosmic intellect, ego, and the material elements?

How can those whose minds are bewildered by your māyā know, O Lord,

your unbridled, indescribable will consisting of creation and dissolution?"

While he was thus praising, Nṛhari, with that very hand smeared with food remnants,

sprinkled the best of the twice-born over all his limbs with the leavings of his morsels.

Sprinkled with those, which were like a sprinkling of nectar, the brahmin instantly with joy

shone with a divine body, radiant like a sage liberated while living.

Devotees alone indeed know the greatness of devotion;

a barren woman can never experience the great pain of childbirth.

Having said this, himself eating the leftover food of the Supreme Self from his body,

the eminent scholar of the Vedas deemed himself fulfilled.

"The ordinary Dharmaśāstra is not considered in this sacred field;

rather, this is the supreme dharma, which is proclaimed by the Lord.

Dharma arises from conduct, and Acyuta is the master of dharma."

Pondering thus, the brahmin, for the sake of his family, the remainder

gathered up himself with his fist, and his meditation was broken.

Awakening, he contemplated that dream, his mind filled with wonder:

"This indeed was my offense: I disrespected the Lord,

not knowing the supremely wonderful māhātmya of eating the naivedya.

The cosmos of eighteen [and] fourteen [worlds], washing whose lotus feet

with liquid dharma, purified itself with that water—

he whom Śakra and the others worship with supreme divine enjoyments,

eats [food] made by mortals in this sacred field: a great wonder!"

Filled with wonder in this way, O twice-born ones, with that [food]

obtained in the dream, the naivedya, he respectfully anointed his own family.

Then, all of them became free of disease, their minds delighted by good speech;

considering [it] a rebirth, they praised the excellent sacred field:

"There is no sacred field equal to this on the earth of seven continents."

where, by giving his own leftover food, he frees human beings from sin.

The sacred field having the greatness of Puruṣottama is exceedingly difficult to attain,

since heaven, enjoyment, and liberation indeed rest in one's hand.

For those afflicted in the wilderness of worldly existence who have reached here by good fortune,

satisfied by various enjoyments, the path of liberation becomes easy.