Skandapurana 2.7.3

Nārada said:

The mortal who gives a couch to the best of the twice-born,

whereon he sleeps at ease, in comfort, fanned by cool breezes, // 1

and obtains freedom from disease in his body, which is the instrument of dharma—

having given that, casting off all torment, cleansed of taint, // 2

he goes to the unbroken state, difficult of attainment even for yogins.

To the twice-born who are afflicted by the summer heat and exhausted in Vaiśākha, // 3

by giving a splendid couch that dispels fatigue, O lord of men,

he never languishes in the world through birth, death, old age, and the rest. // 4

Where a brahmin, having received it, lies down and dwells for life,

when he is seated [there], all the sin committed knowingly or unknowingly // 5

melts away, O king of kings, just as camphor melts with fire.

Through that bed, that man surely attains the extinction that is Brahman. // 6

He who gives a mattress in the month of Vaiśākha, beloved for ritual ablutions,

endowed with all enjoyments in that very birth, // 7

truly lives along with his lineage unsmitten by diseases and the like.

He gains longevity, supreme health, fame, and steadfastness. // 8

For a hundred generations, no unrighteous person is born in his family.

Having enjoyed all pleasures, he then meets dissolution in death. // 9

His every sin shaken off, he attains the extinction that is Brahman. / He who gives a pillow to a learned brahmin, steeped in scripture, // 2.7.3.10

without which pleasant sleep never comes to mortals anywhere,

having become a refuge for all, he enjoys sovereignty on earth. // 11

Again happy, again an enjoyer of pleasures, again devoted to dharma,

up to seven births he is born victorious everywhere, O king of kings! // 12

Afterward, accompanied by seven ancestral lines, he becomes fit for identifying with Brahman.

Now he who gives a grass mat, or even another kind of mat, // 13

There Viṣṇu himself lies down, dwelling where the Supreme Lord resides.

Just as wool immersed in water is never destroyed by the water,

even so a living creature in saṃsāra is not bound in saṃsāra.

Taking pleasure in sitting and lying down, the giver of a mat is happy in every way.

Whoever gives a mat or a blanket for sleeping in an asylum [or shelter],

by that alone becomes liberated; no doubt should be entertained on this point.

By sleep suffering is destroyed; by sleep weariness is removed.

Such sleep for one lying upon a mat certainly turns into joy.

O king, whoever gives a blanket in the month of Vaiśākha, when Mādhava's arrival has come,

is freed from premature death and death in due time, and lives indeed for a hundred years.

One should give very fine cloth to an eminent brahmin exhausted by heat;

he attains a full lifespan and in the next world the supreme destination.

Therefore, having given divine camphor that removes heat to a twice-born,

he attains liberation and finds relief from suffering.

And whoever gives flowers and saffron to a twice-born

becomes a universal monarch, a king who subdues all worlds.

Having enjoyed the pleasures of sons, grandsons, and the like, he attains liberation.

Sandalwood instantly dispels the burning sensation deep within the skin and bones.

Freed from the threefold affliction by giving it, he attains liberation.

Whoever gives a cup made of kuśa-grass or of uśīra-fiber, fragrant with water,

O lord of kings, he is accompanied by the gods in all his enjoyments;

having achieved the destruction of sin and the destruction of sorrow, he attains bliss.

One who knows the duties of Vaiśākha should give gorocanā and musk;

freed from the threefold affliction, he attains supreme nirvāṇa.

Whoever gives betel-leaf with camphor when the sun is in Aries,

after enjoying the happiness of a universal sovereign, attains supreme nirvāṇa.

A person who gives the centifolia rose and jasmine in the month of Aries

becomes a universal monarch and afterwards finds liberation.

And whoever gives ketakī or mallikā flowers when Mādhava's arrival has come,

he attains liberation by the command of the chastiser of Madhu.

Whoever gives fragrant areca nut to a twice-born,

and a coconut, O king, hear the merit thereof:

For seven births he becomes a brahmin, wealthy and a master of the Vedas;

afterward, along with seven generations, he goes to the world of Viṣṇu.

Whoever makes a resting pavilion and gives it to a twice-born,

I am not able, O king, to describe the fruit of his merit.

Whoever causes to be made a well-shaded pavilion strewn neatly with sand,

along with a water-booth, he indeed becomes a ruler of the world.

A roadside garden, a reservoir, a well, or a pavilion—

he who makes [any of these] is righteous; what need has he of sons?

A well, a reservoir, a garden, a pavilion, and a water-booth,

the practice of true dharma, and a son: these are called the seven kinds of offspring.

In the absence of any one of these, humans do not go upward.

Hearing good scriptures, pilgrimage to sacred fords, association with virtuous people,

the gift of water, the gift of food, the planting of an aśvattha tree,

and a son: these seven are known as offspring by the wise.

One without offspring does not attain the [higher] worlds, even having performed hundreds of pious deeds;

therefore one should seek offspring, or take refuge in one of these kinds of offspring.

Of beasts, of birds, of wild animals, and of trees,

[none] goes to the happiness of the higher realm; what then to say of human beings?

Provided with areca nut, furnished with betel leaves,

combined with camphor and agallochum: one who gives excellent betel

is freed from all bodily sins; of this there is no doubt.

The giver of betel certainly attains fame, steadfastness, and prosperity.

Giving it, a sick person becomes free from sickness, and a healthy person attains liberation.

Whoever gives buttermilk that dispels the heat in the month of Vaiśākha,

is born on earth learned and wealthy; of this there is no doubt.

There is no gift equal to buttermilk in the hot seasons;

therefore buttermilk should be given to a twice-born exhausted by travel,

mixed with the savory juice of lime and blended with glistening salt.

One who gives buttermilk, which dispels tastelessness, attains liberation.

Whoever gives candied curd in Vaiśākha to soothe the heat,

I am not able to describe the fruit of his merit, O king.

Whoever gives fine grains of rice in the month dear to the slayer of Madhu,

he attains a full lifespan and obtains the fruit of all sacrifices.

Whoever gives ghee from cows, the very form of fiery energy, to a twice-born,

he attains the fruit of a horse sacrifice and rejoices in the abode of Viṣṇu.

[Giving] cucumber mixed with jaggery in Vaiśākha when the sun is in Aries,

freed from all sins, he surely dwells in Śvetadvīpa.

And whoever, at twilight, to appease the daytime heat,

gives a sugarcane stalk to a brahmin, his merit is endless.

By giving a sweet cooling drink in the evening during Vaiśākha to relieve fatigue,

freed from all sins, one attains communion with Viṣṇu.

One should give a fruit-infused drink in the evening to a twice-born during the month of Aries;

by that, without a doubt, the ancestors drink nectar.

[If one gives] a sweet drink mixed with fully ripe mango fruit in Vaiśākha,

all his sins are destroyed for certain.

Whoever gives a pitcher filled with sweet drinks on the new moon of Caitra,

by him a hundred Gayā śrāddhas are indeed performed, without a doubt.

Containing musk and camphor, combined with jasmine and uśīra root,

a pot filled with sweet drinks on the new moon of Caitra, a person

should give dedicated to the ancestors; he becomes one who performs the ninety-six [śrāddhas].

Thus ends the third chapter, named 'Description of Gifts', in the dialogue between Nārada and Ambarīṣa, in the glorification of the month of Vaiśākha, in the second Vaiṣṇava section of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, in the collection of eighty-one thousand verses.