Skandapurana 2.2.46

Jaimini said:

Hereafter I shall declare the pilgrimage that grants imperishable liberation

without effort to the foolish whose minds are bound by latent desires.

In the bright fortnight of the month of Vaiśākha, in the middle of the night of the second [lunar day],

one should make a four-cornered pavilion, smeared with plaster and furnished with an altar,

and then enclose it with clean, well-washed cloth like a curtain,

provided with good steps and fitted with a beautiful canopy.

In its middle one should firmly set down an excellent, auspicious seat.

On it, covered with a robe, one should place a golden vessel.

On the western side of it, indeed, a pure brahmin should seat himself comfortably.

In another vessel he should take twenty-five [palas] of sandalwood,

finely ground, and take more than a pala of black oil.

There should be half as much agallochum as saffron, and half as much incense-resin as saffron;

the measure of musk and camphor should equal the incense-resin.

He should grind all this together with water derived from trumpet flowers.

Then he should add two palas of excellent oil of agallochum;

having stirred it together, he should deposit it in the previous vessel.

Covering it with ketakī leaves, he should wrap it in Chinese silk.

He should protect it with the mantra 'Gandhas te soma' and the Garuḍamudrā.

Thus he should deposit the preparatory offering in that pavilion.

Then, at the time of dawn, he should take it into the presence of Kṛṣṇa.

Having circumambulated the temple with conches, fly-whisks, umbrellas, and the like,

and placing it before the Lord, he should worship Puruṣottama.

He should then uncover the cloths and gaze with a divine vision;

he should consecrate what was sprinkled with the king of mantras by snapping fingers and other [protective rites].

Having worshipped [him] with perfume, flowers, and unbroken grains, he should anoint [him] with the hymn of Śrī,

with a soft touch, slowly, slowly on all the limbs of the Lord of Śrī.

The Vaiṣṇavas then praise Hari with cries of victory;

the learned praise him with various hymns and Upaniṣads.

With flutes, lutes, and various dances, songs, and instrumental music,

with fans, fly-whisks, umbrellas, and diverse other offerings,

pleasing Jagannātha, he should anoint him at the start of the third [lunar day].

He, by the mere thought of whom the torments of embodied beings are destroyed—

he indeed removes the torments of men by his darśana then, O twice-born ones.

Inconceivable is the majesty of Viṣṇu, ever beyond 'it is such or such'.

Then, with fine garments, garlands, chewable and solid foods, beverages,

and various agreeable items, boiled and auspicious cow products,

and with well-prepared betel, he should then worship the God.

At that time, those men who behold Kṛṣṇa with devotion

have no return, even in hundreds of millions of kalpas;

attaining the form of Viṣṇu, they indeed dwell in the world of Viṣṇu.

Formerly in the Kali age, O brahmins, the progenitor named Dakṣa,

seeing human beings deeply miserable with internal and other afflictions,

went there, moved by compassion, and celebrated [his] glory.

He indeed was the first, O twice-born ones, to do so according to the injunction spoken by me:

having smeared sandalwood on the limbs [of the Lord] in the bright fortnight of the month of Mādhava

on the third [lunar day], he joyfully sang this praise to Jagannātha.

Dakṣa said:

'O God of gods, O Lord of the world, spotless with innate bliss,

save us who are immersed in the ocean of worldly existence, O Supreme Lord!

Tormented by varied afflictions are these human beings;

by your thought of pity for me, and with your auspicious, nectar-like glance,

Nourish [these men], who are dried up like withered grass, O Kṛṣṇa, [rain-]cloud! Homage to you!

In order to deliver those confounded by the impurities of the Kali [age], O Lord of the worlds,

This incarnation has taken place within the cavern of the Nīlācala mountain.

Of immense sins grown over a long time, difficult to abandon,

You alone are capable of burning the heap, O compassionate one towards the miserable and helpless!

In this great yoga consisting of your darśana, free of the eight limbs beginning with restraint,

Those whose mind is resolved on the sole attainment of the four aims of life

Do not grieve in the boundless, terrifying wilderness of worldly existence.

Knowledge of the Self independent of rites, O Lord of gods, does not liberate;

This darśana of yours, O Lord, would liberate even without rites.

Victory, O Kṛṣṇa! Victory, O Lord! Victory, O imperishable one! Victory, O unalterable one!

Be pleased! Show grace to these miserable, foolish, and mindless people!”

Having praised him thus, he fell like a rod before his lotus-feet,

Proclaiming: “Be pleased, O Lord! Be pleased, O Lord! Be pleased, O Lord!”

Then the Blessed One spoke to the Prajāpati in a sweet voice:

“Arise, my child! The rare boon that you have desired

Is granted to you: by my grace it will be so, without doubt.

My grace is hard to attain for those of little merit, as you well know.

You are born from my limb, and you have petitioned me;

Having pleased me with my festival, I therefore grant it to you:

Those who with devotion and joy behold this inexhaustible festival procession

Shall obtain at that time whatever they desire in their mind.

Just as anointing with sandalwood paste removes burning heat,

So this festival of mine, O Dakṣa, destroys the threefold affliction.

Your intellect was impelled by me, and so you performed the festival;

Indeed, this was conceived by me in mind for the deliverance of the wretched.

I shall give you all that was desired by you, O Prajāpati.

These twelve great festival processions, beginning with Guṇḍicā, are purifying;

Each one bestows liberation; all promote virtue, love, and wealth.

Whoever beholds with devotion even one among them

Crosses the ocean of worldly existence by that one alone and goes to the realm of Viṣṇu.”

Jaimini said:

Having spoken thus to the lord of creatures, the Blessed One vanished.

Dakṣa Prajāpati too, being full of faith, by his command,

Dwelt on the mountain for a year and witnessed the great festivals.

Becoming an omniscient brahmin in the best lineage of Kauśika,

He engaged the people according to rule in the great sacrifices.

The festival processions are proclaimed for the faith of those of small intellect;

And he, the guru of the world, whose form is the Supreme Brahman manifest,

Was propitiated by the lord of the gods for the grace of the world.

In whatever way he enters one’s range of vision, he certainly bestows liberation;

He indeed fulfills all desires of women, there is no doubt about this.

The Blessed One Madhusūdana, true to his promise, resides there;

Seeing whom, one overcomes the sorrow arising from the ocean of worldly existence.

What use are vows? What use are austerities and gifts? What use are penances and sacrifices?

What use is eight-limbed yoga? What use is the ultimate Sāṃkhya?

Having bathed in the waters of the king of sacred fords in the sacred field of holy Puruṣottama,

And seeing with physical eyes the wooden Brahman

Dwelling in his abode at the base of the banyan tree, one is freed from the bondage of the body.

Thus ends the forty-sixth chapter in the Puruṣottamakṣetramāhātmya of the second section, the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skandapurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.