Skandapurana 2.7.20

The story of Vālmīki's previous birth.
The hunter said:
"Were living beings created by the omnipresent Lord by the millions and thousands?
Eternal, they are seen to have diverse actions and various paths. / 1
Whence do these [beings] have not a single nature, O highly intelligent one?
To me who ask all this, speak in full according to the truth." / 2
Śaṅkha said:
"Living beings are threefold indeed, possessing the qualities of rajas, sattva, and tamas.
Rājasic beings perform rājasic actions; likewise, tāmasic beings perform tāmasic actions. / 3
Sāttvic beings perform sāttvic actions, each in due order.
And sometimes, an inequality of qualities arises for them in the cycle of worldly existence. / 4
Performing high and low actions by that very reason, they share in their fruits:
sometimes happiness, sometimes misery, and sometimes both together. / 5
These men attain [such states] solely through the inequality of the qualities.
Abiding in material nature, these living beings are bound by these three qualities. / 6
According to quality and action, there is a variation of fruits for actions.
By the conformity to their qualities, these people repeatedly return to material nature. / 7
Abiding in material nature, bound to material nature, bewildered by qualities and actions,
they go to the material destiny; indeed, there is no departure from material nature. / 8
Tāmasic beings are full of misery, ever having tāmasic conduct,
pitiless, harsh in the world, ever living solely on malice. / 9
Beginning with the rākṣasas and ending with the piśācas, they certainly attain a tāmasic destiny.
Rājasic beings have mixed minds, performers of merit and sin. / 10
Through merit they attain heaven, and sometimes through sin, torment.
Therefore, these unfortunate ones revolve again and again. / 11
Righteous in conduct, compassionate, full of faith, free from envy,
sāttvic beings remain practicing sāttvic conduct. / 12
And they, spotless and possessed of great splendor, go upward when the qualities depart.
And therefore, beings of diverse actions have diverse states of various kinds. / 13
According to their qualities and actions, Lord Viṣṇu, the supreme master,
truly impels them to deeds, the omnipresent one, so they may attain their true nature. / 14
Partiality and cruelty do not belong to Viṣṇu, whose desires are fully fulfilled;
he carries out creation, preservation, and destruction with complete impartiality. / 15
Solely through their own qualities do all of them partake in the fruit of action,
just as [rain] falls equally on all the trees planted in a garden. / 16
Watered by a single channel, dear one, the trees follow their own nature;
there is no partiality or cruelty whatever in the planter of the garden." / 17
The hunter said:
"When can there be liberation for people who have fully experienced their fruits, O sage?
Is it at the time of creation, or at the time of end, or of maintenance? / 18
And also, Brahman, explain to me in detail the time of creation, dissolution, and maintenance—
speak of this activity of the Lord." / 19
Śaṅkha said:
"A thousand sets of four yugas is said to be a day of Brahmā,
and his night is of equal length; a day and night constitutes [one full] day. / 20
Fifteen days they call a fortnight; a month consists of two [fortnights].
Two months they call a season, and three seasons an ayana. / 21
Two ayanas make a year. If a hundred such years
pass for this Brahmā, they know that as a brahmakalpa. / 22
The period of dissolution is of equal length: such is the view of knowers of the Veda.
Dissolution is declared to be threefold: human, at the end of a Manu's period; / 23
the second is daily, at the end of Brahmā's day;
and after the dissolution of Brahmā, they know it as the brāhma dissolution." / 24

In a muhūrta of Brahmā, however, they know of the dissolution of a Manu. / When fourteen dissolutions have passed in succession, / they speak of the daily dissolution, and again of the duration of the dissolutions. / The dissolution of the three worlds takes place in a manvantara; / then there is destruction of conscious beings, but not a destruction of the worlds. / And there is filling up with waters, just as before, so again / at the end of a manvantara there is the rebirth of conscious beings. / In the daily dissolution, O hunter, there is destruction of everything. / Except for Satyaloka, all worlds perish along with their regents, / along with sentient beings and elemental spirits, when the four-faced one has fallen asleep. / The gods presiding over the principles and some sages likewise, / situated in Satyaloka, remain asleep, all of them. / Having entered sleep, beyond the senses, they remain for as long as a kalpa. / Again, at the end of night, Brahmā fashioned as before / the seers, the gods, the ancestors, the worlds, the duties, and the classes separately. / Again, the ten incarnations of the lord Viṣṇu, holder of the discus, / these occur by fixed rule, and likewise many others. / And the deities and seers, unto the end of the kalpa of the lord of speech, / turn back again, attaining liberation together with Brahmā. / And the virtuous kings who attained perfection and achieved the supreme, / turn back likewise, dwelling in Satyaloka. / Those belonging to that collection go again under that name, established in the Vedas. / They are born in those respective lineages, always devoted to those respective actions. / For all the Daityas too, when the end of the Kali age arrives, / they go to their own state, dwelling in hell, together with Kali. / And those belonging to their collection, and others bearing their names, / are born according to their own karma, performative of those respective acts. / I shall declare the time of creation and likewise the time of liberation / of Brahmā and the other gods; become concentrated in mind. / The closing of the eyes of the god of gods is considered equal to a kalpa of Brahmā; / at the end of that is the opening of the eyes of the crest-jewel among the gods of gods. / At the end of the closing of the eyes, there is the wish to create the worlds resting in his belly. / In his own belly he saw all the multitude of beings manifoldly, / those to be created and those liberated, who have attained the dissolution of the subtle body, / all asleep, those situated in the cycle of birth, and also those in darkness in every way. / In the previous kalpa, those from Brahmā downwards who attained dissolution of the subtle body, / reaching down to humans, the sheaths of living beings, both living-liberated and destined for liberation, / and those liberated in a previous kalpa, from Brahmā down to humans, / remain established in meditation, even while inside Viṣṇu's belly. / In the first part of the eye-opening, the all-pervading lord, having assumed the form of the four emanations, / by his primordial excellence and from Vāsudeva who is part of the emanation, / having bestowed upon Brahmā liberation named sāyujya, the great all-pervading lord, / having then given sāyujya and knowledge of reality to the noble-minded ones, / and sārūpya to some, and sāmīpya likewise, the all-pervading lord, / and having given sālokya to others, the divine Janārdana / looked upon all the worlds situated under the control of Aniruddha. / Giving [creation] over to the control of Pradyumna, he set his mind to create; / Hari himself wedded Māyā, Jayā, Kṛti, and Śānti.

Through the four emanations, Vāsudeva and the rest, possessing complete qualities in succession, / united with them, the great Viṣṇu, the all-pervading lord composed of the four emanations, / his desires fulfilled, brought forth the world with its diverse receptacles of action. / At the end of the eye-opening, Viṣṇu, resorting again to Yogamāyā, / through Saṃkarṣaṇa belonging to the emanation, withdraws this universe of moving and unmoving beings. / All this has been declared: the work of the Great Soul to be meditated upon, / which is unthinkable and difficult to comprehend even by yogins such as Brahmā.
The hunter said: / What are the duties of the Bhāgavatas, by which Viṣṇu is pleased? / I wish to hear them now; speak to us, O sage.
Śaṅkha said: / That by which there is purity of mind, which is beneficial to the good, / know that to be sattvic duty, and that which is blameless by anyone. / That which is enjoined by Śruti and Smṛti, if it is free from desire, / and that which is not opposed to the world, they know that to be sattvic duty. / For these duties are fourfold according to the division of classes and stages of life. / Regular, occasional, and optional: thus they are considered threefold. / When all those duties of one's own are surrendered to Viṣṇu, / then indeed they should be known as sattvic, auspicious Bhāgavata duties. / Duties having other deities as their divinity, accompanied by desire, are considered rajasic. / Having yakṣas, rakṣasas, piśācas, and the like as deities, cruel to the world, / consisting of violence and censured: those duties are recorded as tamasic. / Situated in sattva, people perform sattvic duties, pleasing to Viṣṇu and auspicious, / constantly without selfish longing; they indeed are recorded as Bhāgavatas.

Those whose mind is always on Viṣṇu, whose tongue bears the name of the lord, / and whose feet and heart are set on him: they indeed are remembered as Bhāgavatas. / And those who are devoted to right conduct, beneficial to all, / and always free from possessiveness: they indeed are remembered as Bhāgavatas. / Those who have faith in scripture, in the guru, in good deeds, / who are constantly devoted to Viṣṇu: they indeed are remembered as Bhāgavatas. / Those by whom duties that are eternal and dear to Viṣṇu are approved, / and those enjoined by Śruti and Smṛti: those duties are regarded as eternal. / Wandering through all regions, witnessing all actions, / hearing all duties, for those whose minds are attached to sensory objects,

effects nothing for them, just as excellent women [are nothing] to a eunuch. / Merely by the sight of the virtuous, the mind of the good surely melts,

as the moonstone [melts] from contact with the moonlight of the moon.

Sometimes, from hearing good scriptures, the mind is devoid of sense-objects;

it stands indeed for virtuous men, luminous in form and stainless,

like the sunstone from contact with the radiance of the friend of the lotus.

For by those desireless persons who have resorted to it with faith,

which is constantly dear to Viṣṇu, duty is considered to be of the Bhāgavatas.

By them are seen many duties granting fruit here and in the hereafter.

Pleasing to Viṣṇu, subtle, releasing [one] from all suffering. (69)

Extracting the essence of the religious duty belonging to Vaiśākha like [churning] essence from curds,

the Lord spoke [it] to Ramā in the milk-ocean out of a desire for [the world's] welfare: (70)

Providing roadside shade and giving water-booths,

fanning with fans, and offering resting places; (71)

the gift of an umbrella and shoes, the gift of camphor and fragrant scents,

the construction of stepped wells, wells, and tanks according to one's wealth; (72)

the gift of sweet cooling drinks in the late afternoon, and flowers;

the gift of betel that destroys sins, and especially dairy products; (73)

the gift of salted buttermilk to one exhausted on the road,

performing oil-massage, and washing the feet of brahmins; (74)

the gift of a mat, a blanket, and a bed, and the gift of cows;

and the gift of sesame mixed with honey, which destroys sins; (75)

the gift of sugarcane stalks in the late afternoon, and of cucumber;

the distribution of elixirs, and likewise offerings to the ancestors. (76)

These religious duties too have been taught to disciples in this month dear to Mādhava.

Having bathed at sunrise in the morning, listening to what is recited by the foremost brahmin, (77)

and having performed daily rites in this way, one should worship Madhusūdana.

With an attentive mind, one should listen to the narrative concerning the month of Mādhava. (78)

One should avoid oil-massage and eating from a bronze vessel;

one should avoid forbidden foods, and idle conversation. (79)

Bottle gourd, carrot, garlic, and sesame paste,

fermented rice-water, *bhissaṭa*, and *ghṛtakośātakī* gourd, (80)

Indian spinach, *kaliṅga*, and drumstick leaves—these one must avoid;

flat beans, horse gram, and lentils one must also avoid. (81)

Eggplants, watermelons, and kodo millet one must avoid;

*taṇḍulīyaka* greens, safflower, and radish; (82)

cluster-fig fruit, bael fruit, and the fruit of the *śleṣmātaka* tree—

a wise person should strictly avoid all these in this month dear to Mādhava. (83)

Eating any one of these, he certainly becomes an outcaste;

he passes through a hundred animal wombs; on this there is no doubt. (84)

Thus one should observe the monthly vow for the pleasure of the slayer of Madhu.

And when the vow is thus concluded, one should have an image of the Lord made, (85)

dedicated to Madhusūdana, accompanied by garments and an offering of fees,

and, having worshipped it well with all resources, present it to a brahmin. (86)

On the bright twelfth day of Vaiśākha, one should duly offer curd-rice,

along with a water jar, betel, fruit, and a sacrificial fee: (87)

“I give [this] to Dharmarāja; through this may Yama be pleased.”

Then, having recited from the sacred thread over the right shoulder the name and lineage of one's father, (88)

one should give imperishable curd-rice for the satisfaction of the ancestors;

likewise one should give to teachers, and afterwards to Viṣṇu: (89)

“This excellent curd-rice with cold water, kept in a bronze vessel,

together with a fee, betel, food-offerings, and fruit, (90)

I give to you, Viṣṇu, out of a desire to attain Viṣṇu's world.”

Having given thus according to one's capacity, one should also give a cow to a householder. (91)

Whoever performs the monthly vow in this manner, free from deceit,

is freed from all sins, and, having delivered a hundred ancestors of his lineage, (92)

piercing the solar disc before the very eyes of all living beings,

he goes to the supreme abode of Viṣṇu, difficult of access even for yogins. (93)

While the best of brahmins was thus explaining the duties belonging to Mādhava,

the exceedingly beneficial duties pleasing to Viṣṇu and others, inquired about by the hunter, (94)

that banyan tree, a five-branched tree, suddenly fell to the earth before their very eyes, oh wonder!

From that tree, indeed, a certain dread serpent with a long body dwelling inside the hollow,

instantly shedding his body and sinful womb, stood with palms joined and head bowed. (95)

Thus ends the twentieth chapter, named “Recounting the Bhāgavata Duties”, in the glorification of the month of Vaiśākha, in the Vaiṣṇava section of the venerable Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, in the compilation of eighty-one thousand [verses], in the dialogue between Nārada and Ambarīṣa. (20)