Skandapurana 2.7.9

The Maithila said:

"How was the birth of that burnt Kāma brought about, O lord?

What suffering befell him in that [birth] due to transgressing the act? (1)

Tell me this, O holy one, for I am curious to hear."

Śrutadeva said:

"I shall speak of the birth of Kumāra, which destroys sin upon hearing, (2)

which brings renown, bestows sons, conforms to dharma, and destroys all diseases.

When Kāma was slain by Śambhu, his wife named Rati, (3)

she fainted on seeing her husband reduced to ashes before her.

Having regained consciousness after a moment, she lamented in diverse ways,

at whose lamentation even the forest shared her grief then.

And wishing to abandon her own body in the fire of his funeral pyre, she remembered Mādhava,

her husband's friend, to perform the rites due at that moment.

He, the mighty lord, came to prepare the pyre for the hero's wife.

Terrified at the sight of his friend's wife, he fell into a faint for a moment,

and then comforted Rati with various words of consolation:

“I am like a son to you, auspicious lady; while I am here, you ought not

to abandon your body, which is the instrument of dharma.” Though thus [comforted] in many ways,

Rati, restrained by him, by no means set her mind on living.

Seeing her resolve, Vasanta prepared a pyre on the riverbank.

She plunged into the heavenly river, performed all the necessary rites,

restrained the collection of her senses, placed her mind firmly upon the Self,

and began to mount the funeral pyre. Then a bodiless voice arose:

“Do not enter the fire, auspicious lady, devoted as you are to your husband!

Your husband will have two births in succession,

from Hara and then from the Yādava Viṣṇu. There, in the latter birth,

he will be born of Kṛṣṇa, the Great Viṣṇu, through the daughter of Bhīṣmaka, named Pradyumna.

And you, through the curse of Brahmā, will dwell in Śambara's abode,

and you will be united with your husband named Pradyumna.”

Having spoken thus, the voice resounding in the sky fell silent.

Having heard it, though resolved upon death, she turned back.

Then, their own purpose served when Kāma was slain by Hara, the gods assembled,

led by the preceptor, Indra, and Agni, observing what Rati had done.

They restrained the chaste woman by granting her a great boon:

“Though bodiless, he will become embodied; though dead, he will become visible to your eyes.”

Having thus dissuaded her, they instructed her in dharma:

“In a previous kalpa, this king named Sundara was a mighty lord,

and you alone were his wife even then, having caused a mingling of menstrual blood.

Because of that, this condition has befallen you; perform expiation now:

perform morning ritual ablution in the Mandākinī during the month of Vaiśākha;

worship Madhusūdana, and listen likewise to the divine narrative;

undertake the observance named Aśūnyaśayana, radiant lady!

By this righteous conduct and by the observance in the month of Mādhava, auspicious lady,

the recovery of your husband will surely come to pass for you; there is no doubt.”

Having thus granted her a boon, the gods departed as they had come.

Having thus turned back from her severe ordeal, that goddess, Kāma's chaste wife,

performed ablution in the Gaṅgā when the sun stood in Aries,

and the high-minded lady [undertook] the observance named Aśūnyaśayana.

By the power of that religious merit, immediately Kāma became visible to her eyes,

O great king, possessing irresistible valor in the world.

In a previous kalpa too, he was a king devoted to righteousness;

because he did not perform the great duties prescribed for Vaiśākha, Smara

suffered the destruction of his body, even though he was a son of the Supreme Self,

when Vaiśākha was passed in vain while the sun stood in Aries.

If this was the plight of the gods, what then of human beings?

After Tryambaka disappeared, the mountain's daughter was despondent;

seeing her standing silently and bewildered, the Himavat mountain

was astonished, embraced her with both arms, and took her to his own home.

Having seen the beauty, generosity, and virtues of the great-souled Hara alone,

with her mind devoted solely to him, thinking, “May he alone be my husband,”

she went to the bank of the Gaṅgā to perform austerity, holding fast to her vows,

though she was dissuaded by her father, her mother, and her kinsmen.

Worshiping the great liṅga, taking no food, bearing matted locks,

at the end of a thousand divine years Maheśvara became visible to her.

Assuming the form of a celibate student, the omnipresent Lord, at dusk, at the entrance to her leaf-hut,

tested the firmness of her mind devoted to him through various arguments;

recognizing her eagerness for the boon, the great lord said: “Choose a boon, auspicious lady!”

Then that fair-faced lady chose Rudra as her husband, saying: “Be thou [my husband].”

Having granted the boon in just that way, he remembered the seven seers.

Those sages also came and stood before him with folded hands.

He instructed the seers to ask Himālaya for the maiden.

Thus commanded by the Lord, for the sake of the maiden, to Himavat's home

they all arrived through the sky, illuminating the ten directions.

That mountain went out to meet those seven, foremost among knowers of Brahman.

Having worshipped them all according to rule, once they were comfortably seated, he asked:

“Blessed am I, my purpose accomplished, since you have come to my home.

I consider your coming to be indeed the fruit of my birth.

There is nothing to be done by us for great souls whose aims are already fulfilled.

Nevertheless, tell me your task, what must be done by me now.”

Addressed thus, they spoke accordingly to Himavat, the great mountain:

“Words worthy of yourself have surely been spoken by you, O lord of mountains!

We shall tell you the reason for our coming, O highly exalted one.

Your daughter named Pārvatī was formerly Satī, the daughter of Dakṣa.

Born as your maiden, she had abandoned her body at the sacrifice.

In the three worlds, none other than Śambhu is competent to take her hand in marriage.

That goddess should be given by you, desiring immortality, to Śambhu.

Good deeds were performed by you in thousands of past lives;

now, by your good fortune, they have come to fruition.”

Hearing those words of theirs, the great mountain, delighted at heart,

spoke again: “My daughter, wearing bark garments,

fasting on the bank of the Gaṅgā, performs severe austerity,

desiring Śambhu as her husband. Indeed, this is her desire.

The maiden is given by me to that three-eyed, great-souled one.

Going quickly to where Śambhu, the great lord, is,

and announcing: ‘Accept her, given with love by Himavat,’

you yourselves must perform this marriage rite.”

Addressed thus by Himavat, they took leave of him and went to Śiva.

All the women, led by Lakṣmī, and the deities, led by Viṣṇu,

the six mothers, and the sages went to see the great festival.

Śiva, accompanied by all the hosts of immortals, the sages, and the mothers,

mounted upon a bull, surrounded by hosts of Pramathas,

with drums, conches, mṛdaṅgas and the like, with kāhalī trumpets, paṭahas and other instruments,

with Vedic chants and praise-singers, entered Himavat's city.

At an auspicious moment, during an auspicious ascendant, aspected by auspicious planets,

the mountain conducted the marriage with a heart full of joy.

Then there was a great festival for living beings throughout the three worlds, O king.

When the great festival had concluded, Śaṃkara, who brings welfare to the world,

sported with the goddess at his pleasure, conforming to worldly ways.

In the prosperous abode of Himavat, which was like the palace of Indra,

at night, on the bank of the Nandinī, in rows of forests

adorned with the humming of intoxicated bees and birds and the cries of peacocks,

the all-pervading lord sported at his pleasure for thousands of divine years.

Because women lacked Indra’s boon at that time, O best of kings,

from union with a man, women's embryos certainly miscarry.

Alas, because of lovemaking every day, no embryo formed from Hara in the goddess.

Anxiety arose among the gods because a son was not obtained by virtue of the boon, O lord.

All assembling and taking counsel, spoke thus among themselves:

“Like an impassioned man, Hara, the sovereign lord, has become constantly attached to lovemaking with the goddess.

Our objective is not accomplished because of the constant discharge of the embryo.

Let it be arranged by us so that lovemaking does not take place again.”

Having spoken thus among themselves, they deliberated here for a moment.

Deciding upon Agni for the task, they spoke to him with honor:

“O Agni, you are the mouth of the gods; you are their kin and refuge.

Even now, go to where Hara is sporting.

Show yourself at the end of their lovemaking, so that lovemaking does not recur.

Seeing you, the goddess will feel ashamed and will surely withdraw from there.

Then, having become a disciple at the end of lovemaking, question the slayer of Smara about the ultimate truth.

Under the pretext of asking questions about truth, pass much time, O lord!”

When much time has passed, the goddess will give birth to Kumāra."

Thus entreated by the gods, Agni said, "Om," and went to Hara. 64.

Even before the discharge of semen, the fire-god arrived during their lovemaking.

Seeing him, the goddess, ashamed and unclothed, went away dejected. 65.

Then Rudra, abandoning their lovemaking in haste and extremely enraged,

said to the fire-god: "Take this that has been emitted, O wicked one! 66.

My semen is hard to bear, O sinner; an obstacle was made by you in our lovemaking.

And I cast my semen into your mouth, O bearer of oblations!" 67.

Having spoken thus, Hara discharged his semen into the mouth of the fire-god.

Bearing that ferocious semen in his belly, burning intensely, 68.

the person of sacrifice went to the abode of the gods, brooding.

Barely surviving, he reported that to the gods. 69.

Hearing what was spoken by the fire-god, the gods experienced both joy and sorrow:

There was joy that the semen was preserved, but "how will birth take place?" 70.

Such was the sorrow then; and in the belly of the fire-god that [seed] belonging to Śambhu,

the cast-in fiery energy, grew; then ten months passed. 71.

Engrossed in immense suffering, he saw no means of delivery.

He indeed took refuge with the gods for the sake of releasing the embryo. 72.

Those gods, along with the fire-god, approached the glorious Gaṅgā.

They quickly entreated Gaṅgā with a hymn of praise: 73.

"You are the mother of all the gods; you alone are the protector of the worlds.

For the sake of the gods, O auspicious one, bear the fiery energy of Śambhu! 74.

The embryo is growing inside the fire-god, and since he is not female, there is no delivery for him.

Therefore, deliver him and all of us; have compassion!" 75.

Entreated in this way, the goddess spoke the word: "So be it."

Then the gods recited to the fire-god the mantra that releases the embryo. 76.

Extracting the embryo by that mantra, the bearer of oblations discharged

into Gaṅgā the fiery energy of Śambhu, resplendent and extremely hard for the worlds to bear. 77.

Having borne it for a few months, she was unable [to bear it] beyond that;

deprived of water by its power, her body burst into blood. 78.

Distressed by intense pain, the goddess, the sole purifier of the worlds,

by the power of her devotion to her husband, drew out the embryo staying in her womb 79.

and cast it into a thicket of reeds, burning all around.

Split by the reeds, it was indeed divided into six parts. 80.

Prompted then by Brahmā, the six Kṛttikās arrived.

Uniting the sixfold-divided [seed] of Śambhu in the thicket of reeds, 81.

making it into a six-faced person having a single body, distinctly—

the Kṛttikās, commanded by the Creator, made him firmly so. 82.

That body, having the form of a person, six-faced, lying in the reeds,

remained indeed in the reeds for a long time, guarded. 83.

Once Pārvatī and the Supreme Lord, mounted on the bull,

with minds intent on going to Śrīśaila, passed by that place. 84.

Then Goddess Pārvatī’s breasts suddenly flowed with milk.

Astonished, she said to Rudra: "Why have my breasts flowed with milk? 85.

Tell me the reason, O soul of the universe!" Thus addressed, Hara said: 86.

"Listen, O goddess, I shall explain: your son is down below. 87.

Before the semen was discharged into you, the bearer of oblations arrived.

Seeing him, you became ashamed and entered another place. 87.

Out of anger, the ferocious semen was discharged by me into the mouth of the fire-god;

and by the grace of the gods, the all-pervading [fire-god] discharged it into Gaṅgā. 88.

Gaṅgā, burning, cast it into the midst of the reeds.

There it was split sixfold and made firm by the mothers; 89.

it assumed the form of a person. Seeing him, your breasts flowed with milk.

He of great prowess, whose valor equals Viṣṇu's, is to be protected. 90.

He truly shines as your legitimate son, undoubtedly.

Therefore, take him quickly; by him your renown will be very great." 91.

Thus commanded by Śambhu, she swiftly took that child;

placing him on her lap, the goddess suckled him at her breasts. 92.

Bewitched by the god, the goddess became devoted to maternal love for her son.

The consort of Śaṃkara returned again to Kailāsa with the Lord. 93.

Fondling her son, the goddess attained supreme satisfaction.

Thus the wondrous birth of Kumāra has been narrated to you by me. (94)

Whoever constantly hears this auspicious birth of Kumāra

attains the increase of sons and grandsons; there is no doubt about this. (95)

Since there was great sorrow even for Hara at his birth,

even one who has devoutly heard the religious duties of Vaiśākha becomes peerless. (96)

Therefore, the religious duty of Vaiśākha indeed destroys multitudes of all sins;

it prevents widowhood, is meritorious, and bestows all prosperity. (97)

By its power, even Anaṅga regained his bodily form.

He whose month of Vaiśākha passes without bathing and without giving, (98)

even if he performs other religious duties, there will be a succession of miseries.

Every religious duty will be beneficial if this one alone is observed. (99)