Skandapurana 2.2.7

The sages said:

In which yuga did that King Indradyumna live, O sage?

In which country was his city, and how did he go to Puruṣottama

and cause the image of Viṣṇu to be made?

Tell all this in detail, O great sage,

faithfully according to the truth, O all-knowing one; for great indeed is our curiosity.

Jaimini said:

Excellent, excellent, O best of the twice-born, that you ask about the ancient

auspicious history that removes all sins, is holy, and grants enjoyment and liberation!

I shall relate his life as it happened in the Kṛtayuga.

Listen, all you sages, attentive and with senses subdued.

In the Kṛtayuga, O brahmins, there was a great king named Indradyumna,

born in the solar dynasty, righteous, the fifth descendant of the Creator.

He spoke the truth, had good conduct, was pure, foremost among the virtuous;

he always protected his subjects justly, like his own offspring.

A knower of the supreme Self, expert in knowledge, heroic, victorious in battle,

ever active, always a worshipper of brahmins, devoted to his ancestors,

like another Bṛhaspati in the eighteen branches of learning,

a ruler of gods in majesty, and Kubera in the accumulation of treasure;

handsome, fortunate, well-mannered, generous, an enjoyer, speaking kindly,

a performer of all sacrifices, devoted to the brahmins, true to his word,

dear to men and women like the moon on the full-moon night,

dazzling like the sun, difficult to gaze upon, causing the destruction of enemy ranks,

a Vaiṣṇava, endowed with truth, having conquered anger and controlled the senses.

He sacrificed with the Rājasūya, the best of rites, and a thousand horse-sacrifices,

the supreme, glorious [king], desiring liberation, intent upon righteousness.

Thus endowed with all virtues, that king protecting the earth

dwelt in the city named Avantī, renowned on earth in Mālava,

abounding in all precious gems, like a second Amarāvatī.

Residing there, the king offered supreme devotion to Viṣṇu,

most wonderful, in thought, speech, and action.

Conducting himself thus, once at the time of worship of the all-pervading Lord of Śrī,

inside the sanctuary for worshipping the deity,

together with scholars and poets, and those celebrated for pilgrimage,

with astrologers and Vedic scholars, to the domestic priest standing by,

he, showing respect, said: 'Let that excellent sacred field be known

where we may see the Lord of the World directly with this very eye.'

Thus addressed by the foremost of kings, the Vaiṣṇava priest,

looking at the company of pilgrims, spoke humble words:

'O you who are devoted to wandering through sacred fords, righteous and skilled in sacred fords,

surely you have heard that which this lord commands.'

Having understood his intention, a certain eloquent man who had visited very many sacred fords,

with hands joined in reverence, spoke joyfully to the king:

'O King, O Lord, I have wandered through many sacred fords

on the surface of the earth since childhood, and [visited] those heard of from others.

Known as the Oḍhra country in the division named Bhārata,

on the shore of the southern ocean, is the sacred field of the glorious Puruṣottama,

where there is [a mountain] named Nīlagiri, surrounded on all sides by forests;

in its lap stands the wish-granting tree, measuring a krośa all around.

Stepping into its shade, one dispels the sin of killing a brahmin.

To its west is known the sacred pool called Rauhiṇa,

filled with primordial causal waters, granting liberation by touch alone.

Standing upon its eastern bank, fashioned from sapphire,

is the physical form of illustrious Vāsudeva, directly bestowing liberation.

Whoever bathes in that sacred pool and beholds Puruṣottama,

obtains the fruit of a thousand horse-sacrifices and is liberated.

There exists an excellent hermitage known as Śabaradīpaka,

in the western direction from the Lord, surrounded by the dwellings of the Śabaras,

from which goes a footpath by which one may reach the abode of Viṣṇu,

where Jagannātha himself, bearer of the conch, discus, and mace,

bestows liberation upon living beings by [his] darśana, he who is a treasure of compassion.

I dwelt there in holy Puruṣottama for a year, O King,

keeping vows as a forest-dweller to please the God of gods.

Every night, when the denizens of heaven come

for the darśana of the Blessed One, O Great King, divine, superhuman fragrance,

words of varied hymns of praise, and a rain of Kalpa flowers are perceived.

Such greatness does not manifest anywhere else in any abode of Viṣṇu.

And an ancient event of the Purāṇas was heard by me there, O protector of the earth:

even a crow, having an animal's body, beholding Mādhava, is liberated.

Lacking any right to meritorious deeds, and destitute of knowledge, O king,

afflicted by thirst, it came to drink water at the Rauhiṇa pool;

yielding up its life-breaths under the power of Time, it attained similarity of form with Viṣṇu.

Formerly I was a fool, but now, by his grace,

perhaps Śeṣa would be my match across the eighteen branches of learning.

My mind has become stainless; I see nothing other than Viṣṇu.

Since you are a devotee of Viṣṇu and always firm in your vows,

I have come to your presence for the sake of instructing you.

Neither wealth nor land is solicited from you now.

Do not regard this as false; worship Śrīdhara who resides there."

Having spoken thus, the ascetic with matted hair, while all were looking on,

instantly vanished; and the king, [filled with] supreme wonder,

having become agitated in mind [pondering], "How shall this be accomplished for me?"

spoke this to his royal priest for the accomplishment of that very matter:

Indradyumna said:

"Having just heard this superhuman account from a superhuman being,

my mind hurries to that place where that Gadādhara resides.

Indeed, my virtue, wealth, and pleasure depend on you, O best of the twice-born;

unobstructed, the threefold aim has been accomplished by me through your favor.

If you, O best of brahmins, go now for this purpose,

the complete fourfold aim would now be attained by me."

The royal priest said:

"Certainly I shall do this, so that you may behold Keśava,

the all-pervading Lord who directly bestows liberation, with eyes covered by mail [of flesh].

I shall endeavor in this matter so that all of us

will reside together with our companions in the sacred field of holy Puruṣottama.

What greater fruitfulness than this could there be, O King, for a living being's birth?

You shall directly behold the Person beyond darkness, Mādhava.

My younger brother, named Vidyāpati, will go

right now, together with your spies accustomed to wandering through the regions.

Having gone there and beheld Jagannātha as he is on the mountain,

and having surveyed the terrain and the settlement of thorny dwellings,

he will swiftly bring back the news, [and] it will be for our welfare."

Hearing those words of his, the king spoke again:

Indradyumna said:

"Well done, O brahmin! Having collected your thoughts, an enterprise has been resolved upon.

I myself, immediately upon hearing this, had already made up my mind:

'I shall dwell in that sacred field in the presence of the Blessed One.'

Therefore let your brother go; he will accomplish what is desired."

Having said this, the king entered the inner apartments, filled with joy.

The royal priest, too, in due order and as prescribed,

honoured all of them by order of the king and sent them back each to their own hermitage.

And at an auspicious hour determined by the astrologer,

he sent forth his brother, for whom rites of benediction had been performed by the brahmins.

Accompanied by trustworthy spies, seated in a flower chariot,

that brahmin Vidyāpati, O brahmins, set out.

Seated in the chariot, he reflected in his mind:

“Ah, fruitful is my birth, and fortunate is my night,

since I shall behold the lotus-face of the Blessed One, which removes sin!

He whom ascetics, striving day and night by means such as hearing,

behold stationed in the lotus of the heart—

Him today, abiding on the peak of the blue mountain, bearing a form

that removes connection with physical bodies—the bearer of the discus—I shall behold directly!

Whose form cannot be established even by the words of the Śruti, Smṛti, Itihāsas, and Purāṇas—

having seen that never-before-seen form of that treasure of Śrī, I shall cross over the ocean of worldly existence!

By singing whose name the threefold mass of sins perishes for those who remember Him—

Him today, the immeasurable Lord of the Universe dwelling on the mountain, I shall see face to face!

For one who does not cling to His lotus feet, who acquires suffering at every step,

the darkness arising from dense delusion, resting in the soul, is never destroyed by actions.

Having worshipped Him, the subtle one dwelling in one's own cave [of the heart], enveloped by the five sheaths, seated within the self,

whom the voice of the Vedānta proclaims yet does not know—I bow to the primeval one who is known only by self-knowledge.

Whose body hairs are encircled by a garland of universes, who has a thousand heads, feet, and eyes, the ancient one,

from whose breath of wind the mass of Vedas arose, the Lord of all phenomenal creation—to Him I surrender!

By whose māyā this deceptive form, delighting in creation, dissolution, and maintenance, was fashioned;

who is devoid of the investigated, superposed, and base forms, having the true nature of the Praṇava;

approaching whom by chance, even for the sake of quenching an animal's thirst,

one attained liberation of having the same form in that very body—Him I shall bring into the range of my sight!

Ah, indeed, my fortune is proclaimed, since the merit accumulated in a crore of births

has truly arisen for me; with these eyes of flesh I shall behold the root cause of the universe!”

While the brahmin was thinking thus with a delighted inner self,

because of the chariot's speed he did not notice the long path that was traversed.

When midday had passed and the long day was declining,

there appeared ahead on the road a land that was an ornament of the world,

named Oḍhra, O brahmins, which purifies the earthly realm.

Thus beholding the edges of forests and the mountain fortresses situated along the road,

at the time of sunset he arrived at the bank of the Mahānadī.

Stepping down from the chariot, the brahmin dutifully performed his daily rites,

and having performed the evening twilight prayer, he meditated upon Madhusūdana.

Having spent the night resting in the back of the chariot, filled with haste,

he crossed the Mahānadī and, having completed his morning duties,

he set out, mounted on the chariot, still meditating on Govinda,

beholding the road of the Blessed One, and the villages of Vedic scholars, sacrificers,

and brahmins resplendent with the splendour of fire, adorned with betel nut trees.

As soon as that brahmin arrived, having crossed the forest of Ekāmraka,

he saw people bearing the conch, discus, mace, and lotus;

and he perceived himself transformed, having assumed a divine form as if in another birth.

Quickly descending from the chariot and prostrating with eight limbs,

his eyes filled with tears of joy, he saw nothing else.

Beholding Viṣṇu solely in his mind and outwardly as well, O brahmins,

as the brahmin was thus proceeding, meditating, seeing, and praising Hari,

he beheld the Nīlācala, crowded with forests, adorned with the wish-fulfilling banyan tree,

scraping the sky, destroying the sins of those who gaze upon it.

Most wonderful! Living beings directly endowed with the forms of Hari dwell there.

Having ascended to the foot of the hill, searching all around, the brahmin,

eager to behold Mukunda, did not find the path.

Then, having spread kuśa grass upon the ground, he lay down in silence;

for the darśana of that God, he took refuge in Him alone.

Then from behind the mountain he heard a superhuman voice,

as people conversed with one another on the subject of devotion to the Blessed One.

Then Vidyāpati, overjoyed, followed it and went on.

O brahmins, he saw [the place] surrounded on all sides by the dwellings of the Śabaras,

an island settlement of the sacred field, renowned as Śabaradīpaka.

Going there slowly, the brahmin entered, filled with humility,

and saw those devotees of Viṣṇu bearing the conch, discus, and mace.

Bowing his head, the brahmin then stood with folded hands.

Then a Śabara named Viśvāvasu, his limbs grey with age,

having completed the worship of Hari, adorned with the remnants of the worship,

arrived at that very moment from the midst of the mountain, O brahmins.

Seeing him, the brahmin felt joy and reflected:

“This man has come from the abode of Hari, weary, adorned with the nirmālya.

From this foremost Vaiṣṇava I shall obtain the rare news of Viṣṇu.”

Even as he was reflecting thus, the brahmin was addressed by the Śabara.

The Śabara said:

“From where have you come, O brahmin, to the depths of this forest, so hard to traverse?

You are utterly exhausted with hunger and thirst; please sit comfortably here for a while.”

Offering water for the feet, a seat, and the respectful arghya offering to the brahmin,

Viśvāvasu spoke in a humble voice, introducing the matter at hand:

“O brahmin, let your sustenance be with fruits or with cooked food.

Whatever pleases you, O twice-born, will surely be given here by me.

Today is my good fortune, O venerable one, and my life has become fruitful,

since you have reached my house, O brahmin, like another Viṣṇu in person!”

To the Śabara who spoke thus, the best of brahmins replied:

“I have no need of fruits or of cooked food, O best of Vaiṣṇavas!

Make fruitful, O virtuous one, the purpose for which I have come from afar.

Of King Indradyumna, who resides in the city of Avantī,

I am the domestic priest; I have come longing for the darśana of Viṣṇu.

Indeed, in the presence of the king, on the occasion of an assembly of pilgrims,

it was introduced then by someone in the context of sacred fords and sacred fields.

Thus the sacred field was described before the king by an ascetic with matted hair.

And that brahmin related all of it in proper succession.

For this purpose, O virtuous one, by the eager king indeed,