Skandapurana 2.5.4: adhyāyaḥ 4

Brahmā said:

"Having marked oneself with the heated discus, being initiated,

and [wearing] a garland of lotus seeds and tulasī, what is the fruit? Tell [me], O Keśava." // 1

The Blessed Lord said:

"Whatever twice-born wears a garland made of tulasī wood,

even if impure or of improper conduct, goes to me alone; there is no doubt. // 2

A garland made of emblic myrobalan fruit, [or] made of tulasī wood—

on whose body it is seen, that man is indeed a bhāgavata. // 3

He who wears upon his neck a garland made of tulasī leaves,

especially one offered and removed from me, is worthy of reverence by the gods. // 4

A garland made of tulasī leaves or made of emblic myrobalan fruits

gives liberation to sinners; how much more to my servants? // 5

He who wears a garland made of tulasī leaves, removed after being offered to me,

attains the fruit of ten horse sacrifices for every single leaf. // 6

A man who wears a garland made of tulasī wood—

O dear one, I grant [him] daily the fruit that arises at Dvārakā. // 7

Having offered with devotion to me a garland made of tulasī wood,

the man who wears it with devotion has no sin at all. // 8

I am always pleased in mind with him, for he is dearer than life to me.

The man who wears a garland made of tulasī wood—

there is no expiation for him, nor is there impurity in his body. // 9

An ornament of wood made of tulasī wood for the head,

on the arm, hand, or body of a mortal: he is dear to me. // 10

Adorned with garlands of tulasī wood, one should perform a meritorious act;

the merit for the ancestors and the deities becomes multiplied ten-millionfold. // 11

Upon seeing a garland of tulasī wood, the messengers of the King of the Dead

flee far away, like a leaf driven by the wind. // 12

In whose house there is tulasī wood or leaf, dry or fresh,

in that house sin never enters in the Kali [age]. // 13

Adorned with garlands of tulasī wood, he wanders on the earth;

he has no bad dream, bad omen, or fear of enemies anywhere. // 14

Those rationalists of sinful intellect who do not wear the garland,

burnt by the fire of my anger, do not return from hell. // 15

Therefore, with effort one should wear a garland made of tulasī,

or made of lotus seeds, with devotion, [or] of emblic myrobalan fruits, which bestows great merit. // 16

Endowed with the vertical mark, conch, and so forth, at the base of a tulasī plant,

he should perform the twilight worship and other rites with kuśa grass in hand, remembering me. // 17

Having performed the twilight worship and other rites, the devotee should then worship me;

if the guru is present there, he should first go and bow to the guru. // 18

Having offered some present, he should joyfully prostrate like a stick;

having sipped water, he should enter the worship pavilion with a focused mind. // 19

Having sat down on a pleasant seat of black antelope skin covered with kuśa grass,

properly seated in the lotus posture, he should perform the purification of the elements. // 20

Having performed three breath controls with the mantra, having subdued the senses,

and then facing north, [meditating on] the unexcelled heart-lotus,

he should cause it to blossom in the heart by means of the sun of knowledge. // 21

In the pericarp, he should place the sun, the moon, and fire;

a Vaiṣṇava man should meditate on that triad within what possesses the threefold nature.

Above them, he should place a seat composed of various jewels. // 22

On it, very soft and smooth, with a radiance like the morning sun,

he should place an eight-petaled lotus representing the eight sovereign powers, consisting of the syllables of the mantra. // 23

On it, [he should meditate on] the God seated, resembling ten million cool-rayed moons,

four-armed, bearing a great lotus, conch, discus, and mace, // 24

with wide eyes like lotus petals, marked with all auspicious marks,

with the Śrīvatsa and the Kaustubha upon the chest, clad in yellow garments—on me, // 25

adorned with varied ornaments, adorned with divine embellishments.

with limbs smeared with celestial sandalwood paste, adorned with heavenly flowers,

decorated with a garland of forest flowers and tender tulasī leaves,

radiant like ten million rising suns, beautiful alongside divine Śrī,

his auspicious body embraced by her who bears all auspicious marks.

Having meditated thus, pure and with a concentrated mind, he should mutter the mantra;

he should recite the mantra a thousand or a hundred times according to his capacity.

Having performed the worship in the mind alone, he should then carry it out according to the ritual rules:

in accordance with tradition, having placed a conch in front of me,

filled with scented water, dūrvā sprouts, and flowers;

and the teachers should place a vessel of perfume and flowers on the right;

on the left side one should set a pot purified with a cloth and sweetly scented.

In front of me [one should place] a bell, and arrange lamps in the directions;

and one should place all other implements in their proper places.

For the purpose of arghya, pādya, ācamanīya, and madhuparka,

one should indeed place four vessels in front of me:

white mustard, unbroken rice, flowers, tips of kuśa grass, sesame, sandalwood,

fruit, and barley—O Four-faced One, one should cast these into the arghya vessel.

Dūrvā, viṣṇupadī, śyāmā, and lotus as the fourth—

the teacher should place these in the pādya vessel for my satisfaction, my son.

Kaṅkola, clove, and fruit produced from the mālatī plant—

one should indeed place them with faith in the vessel for ācamanīya, my son.

Cow’s milk, curd, honey, and ghee mixed with sugar candy—

the worshipper should indeed offer these with faith in the vessel for madhuparka.

If the stated substances are not obtained, [using] leaves and flowers

with the visualization of each respective substance, the expert in the rites should always perform it.

Then he should perform karanyāsa and likewise aṅganyāsa;

he should perform the fivefold or sixfold placement according to tradition.

Remembrance of me is to be made; he should meditate on himself as equal to me;

at the beginning of worship, O Four-faced One, a man should recite the auspicious benediction.

Then he should worship the conch, Pāñcajanya, who is dear to me;

from whose worship, my child, my supreme joy arises.

In the worship of the conch, my child, he should utter these mantras:

‘You were born from the ocean of old, held in hand by Viṣṇu,

and fashioned by all the gods; homage be to you, O Pāñcajanya!

At your sound clouds tremble, as do gods and asuras;

O you who possess the brilliant radiance of ten thousand moons, homage be to you, O Pāñcajanya!

The embryos of the wives of the enemies of the gods dissolve in a thousand ways

in Pātāla at your roar; homage be to you, O Pāñcajanya!’

By the mere sight of the conch, how much more when it is touched,

sins dissolve away just as snow at the rising of the sun.

Having bowed to the conch and holding it in his hand with these mantras, a Vaiṣṇava

who bathes me with devotion—his merit is endless.

He should then perform anointing with fragrant oil;

he should perform rubbing and the like with musk and sandalwood.

Having bathed [me] with auspicious waters perfumed with sweet scents and accompanied by mantras,

and having then offered arghya, pādya, and ācamanīyaka, my child,

he should then offer madhuparka, and then all the services of worship.

Having adorned [me] duly with celestial garments and ornaments,

he should worship the seat with flowers, and placing the God there,

he should offer to me with faith garments, ornaments, perfumes, and the like;

he should offer various kinds of food-offerings mixed with milk rice and cakes,

and with devotion he should present betel with camphor;

and with devotion he should properly present fragrant flowers,

ten-ingredient and eight-ingredient incense, and a most charming lamp.

Having circumambulated, bowed, and then praised with hymns with reverence,

and having laid [me] down upon the couch, he should present the auspicious arghya.

Thus ends the fourth chapter, titled ‘Description of the Ritual of Conch Worship’, in the Mārgaśīrṣamāhātmya of the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, in the dialogue between Brahmā and Viṣṇu, in the venerable Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.