Skandapurana 2.3.2

Skanda said:

How did this arise, and by whom was this sacred field frequented? (1ab)

Or who is its presiding lord? Tell this in detail. (1cd)

Śiva said:

This is established from beginninglessness, just like the Vedas, the body of Hari. (2ab)

Hari is directly its presiding deity, and it is frequented by Nārada and others. (2cd)

Long ago, at the beginning of the Kṛta age, the Creator [desired] his own daughter; (3ab)

endowed with beauty and youth, he prepared to violate her. (3cd)

Seeing him like that, out of fury, with a sword, in five parts (4ab)

I cut off that head. As the murder of a brahmin arose, that skull— (4cd)

taking it in hand, I went swiftly there to frequent the sacred fords, (5ab)

in heaven, on earth, and in Pātāla, preceded by the practice of austerities. (5cd)

The murder of a brahmin did not leave me, and the skull remained like that in my hand. (6ab)

Then I went to Vaikuṇṭha to see Hari, the lord of Lakṣmī. (6cd)

Having bowed low with humility, bowing down again and again, (7ab)

I related that entire calamity to him, the compassionate one. (7cd)

Taking the instruction he gave, I arrived at Badarī. (8ab)

At that moment, the murder of a brahmin trembling repeatedly before me, (8cd)

disappeared, and that skull fell away from my hand. (9ab)

From then on, at that sacred field, respectfully together with Pārvatī, (9cd)

having undertaken austerity, I abide, bringing delight to the seers. (10ab)

Just as [my] delight is in Vārāṇasī, and likewise on the peak of Śrīśaila,

so on Kailāsa, together with Śivā, it is infinitely greater.

Elsewhere liberation comes from maintenance [of rites] preceded by the rule of one’s own duty;

from the mere darśana of Badarī, liberation rests in the hand of men.

Where there is the presence of the feet of Hari, there Vaiśvānara himself [abides];

there my liṅga is established in the form of Kedāra.

From the darśana, touch, and worship of Kedāra, through the disposition of devotion,

the sin accumulated in ten million births turns to ashes in that very moment.

I dwell especially in that sacred field with only a single part;

here indeed, fifteen parts abide within the bodily form.

The Śiva-yogins, having conquered the fear of the bringer of death, wearing splendid garments made from the skins of deer,

adorned with excellent sacred ashes and matted locks, themselves worship the wearer of matted locks.

Content with fruits, leaves, water, and air, their fatigue from death overcome by minds fixed on Śiva,

subduing their minds while dwelling on the best of mountains, possessing a great dawn of expanding, pure intellect,

their lotus-faces possessing the gentle radiance of lotuses, their overwhelming enemies vanquished by the grace of Śiva,

with folded hands held at the crest and their gaze on Śiva, they worship Śiva at dusk.

Holding rosaries in their hands, partaking of peace and contentment, offering salutations, with constant, supreme prayers to the Moon-crested God,

their minds turned away from passion which afflicts people, their forms made of discerning knowledge through meditation on the lotus-feet of Hara, [they worship him] entirely through every state of being.

For those who die in Vārāṇasī, that which is named the saving Brahman arises;

there, for people, it arises from the worship of my liṅga.

The fiery sacred ford shines brightly near the feet of the Lord;

having seen the great liṅga called Kedāra, one will not partake of [another] birth.

Skanda said:

How did the glorious Vaiśvānara, the sole cause of all the worlds,

come to settle at Badarī? Tell me that, O noble-minded one!

Śiva said:

Formerly, an assembly of celibate seers took place,

where the divine Gaṅgā unites with the Kālindī,

at the sacred ford named Daśāśvamedhika, renowned in the three worlds.

There the lord Fire-eater, bowed down with modesty,

stood before the seers and began to ask:

Vaiśvānara said:

Having seen [all things], you best knowers of Brahman here possess single-sighted knowledge;

full of compassion for the wretched, moist of heart, merciful,

how can there be liberation from hell for me, O best of the knowers of Brahman,

whose mind is smeared with the sins born of all inauspicious signs?

The lord of munis came to all those excellent seers;

having bathed in the water of the Gaṅgā, he spoke these words:

Vyāsa said:

There is one supreme means for your expiation of sin,

for the fault called the eating of everything: seek refuge in Badarī,

where the divine Lord Janārdana, the God of gods, is present in person,

Madhusūdana, the destroyer of the sins of both devotees and non-devotees.

Having bathed there in the waters of the Gaṅgā and performed circumambulation of Hari,

by falling prostrate like a stick, the destruction of all sins shall take place.

Then, having heard from the mouth of Vyāsa and through the endorsement of the seers,

Fire, facing the north, went to Gandhamādana.

Then, having reached Badarikā and bathed in the waters of the Gaṅgā himself,

having gone to the hermitage of Nārāyaṇa, the devout one bowed down and spoke:

Agni said:

The mass of pure consciousness, ancient, eternal, the Lord and Guru of the creators of the universe,

manifold and one, the sole protector of the world, whose pure intellect shelters the Infinite—him I revere;

who, resorting to illusory power, is called the creator of the universe through the employment of passion,

the cause of its maintenance through goodness, and the fierce swallower of it through darkness—him I praise.

I, whose soul is deluded by ignorance regarding the universe, take refuge through ignorance in the Lord,

the soul, who is of the sole form of knowledge, extended across the three worlds, all-knowing because he rests on knowledge.

To him who reveals bodily union through the desire of his devotees, whose union of yoga is offered for extensive enjoyment,

whose power is served by yellow silk garments, the beloved one composed of the eight manifold powers—him I praise.

Then the Lord, dwelling in the hearts of all, pleased by the hymn of praise,

spoke sweet words to the Fire, who was seeking purification:

Glorious Nārāyaṇa said:

Choose a boon, fortune attend you; I have come as the granter of boons.

I am pleased by this hymn and by your humility, O sinless one. (38)

Agni said:

The Lord already knows everything, the purpose for which I have come;

nevertheless, obeying the command of the Lord, I shall state it: (39)

I am indeed an all-devourer; how, then, can there be expiation?

From this an exceedingly great fear arises within me. (40)

Glorious Nārāyaṇa said:

By mere darśana of the sacred field, living beings incur no sin.

By my grace, moreover, may no sin ever attach to you. (41)

From that time forth, the Fire-god, the self of beings, everywhere intensely,

remained here through a portion [of himself], freed from all defilements. (42)

Whoever, having risen at dawn, pure, hears this or causes it to be heard,

attains without doubt the fruit of a ritual ablution performed at Agnitīrtha. (43)

Thus ends the second chapter, entitled "Description of the Hymn to the Lord Composed by Agni," in the Badarikāśrama-māhātmya of the second [section], the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, in the Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses. (2)