Skandapurana 2.9.15

Brahmā said:

"Having repeatedly reflected upon the Vedas, I have arrived at this conclusion: O delight of Ramā, when living beings have very firm devotion to you,

only then do imperishable masses of pleasures, the eternal worlds, and the ultimate goal, the Supreme Person, belong to them.

Not knowing this, however, people filled with passion and darkness worship even us gods, O Hari, through various paths of austerity and rites;

they are called fools; nowhere do they obtain imperishable happiness. Therefore, I hold you alone, Keśava, in my heart."

Śaṃkara said:

"The three Vedas, Sāṃkhya, Vedānta, Yoga, the Purāṇa, and likewise the Pañcarātra, O Lord, and the treatises on dharma—

they constantly sing with devotion only your supreme majesty, who are one, in manifold ways.

From you alone, O Lord, the Infinite One, did these scriptures arise in the primeval kalpa, having you as their sole foundation;

I worship you, the primeval Vāsudeva, whose lotus feet are served by Ramā, who are the source of scriptures.

Dharma said:

"Your tale, liberating from the bonds of worldly existence, is indeed nectar to embodied souls scorched by the threefold miseries;

destroying the heap of sins of many births, it quickly expands devotion and knowledge of you.

May it, issuing from the mouth of your devotees, always enter the cave of my heart through the path of the ears, O You whose name is Infinite;

and may it dispel desires other than for you. Homage to you, the ocean of compassion, the all-powerful Lord."

The Prajāpatis said:

"Blessed are these wish-fulfilling trees, whose shade you have resorted to along with Śrī;

blessed indeed is the maker of this pavilion for you, and blessed is this ground where your throne is placed, O Lord!

Blessed indeed in this world is this ocean, by whom his own daughter was given directly to you;

and blessed are we who behold you; we bow to you, the blessed Lord, the husband of Śrī."

The Manus said:

"That indeed is the highest duty among all duties, O Mādhava,

from which unblemished devotion to you arises on the field of dharma.

O Blessed One, the soul of dharma, the bearer of dharma's burden, and the protector of dharma,

to whom dharma is exceedingly dear beyond all, we praise you, the source of dharma."

The seers said:

"One who is devoid of devotion, turned away from you, yet seeking knowledge, though toiling repeatedly, does not attain success in it;

how then could one attached to desire-prompted action attain imperishable happiness, O great ocean of bliss?

Therefore, through dharma, austerity, the Vedas, and the like, endowed with faith, we constantly

meditate with devotion on you alone—beyond māyā, the controller of time, the noble Lord, the beloved of Śrī, higher than the highest."

Indra said:

"O Blessed One, we were deeply afflicted indeed due to our slighting of Durvāsas.

Without you, these [gods] headed by Brahmā and Rudra were truly unable to protect us.

Bereft of all wealth, devoid of food, reduced to the level of low wretches on earth,

we have instantly had our misfortune removed by you alone. Praise be to you, O Śrī Hari!

Agni said:

Since food, the sustenance of gods, dānavas, humans, and others, was created by you alone, the wise

perform worship of you with it in sacrifices, and then offer your remnants to the other gods of heaven.

Even those sacrificers engaged in desire-prompted rites are quickly freed from the bondage of those actions and attain

the state of Brahman; but those other than them are thieves. I bow down to that you, the auspicious Spirit of sacrifice.

The Maruts said:

Your exclusive devotees in the imperishable supreme abode do not desire residence, sovereignty, and the like, nor exalted pleasure devoid of service to you, nor even the liberation of isolation.

Connected with that [service], they consider even birth in an outcaste dog-cooker's family to be truly superior for themselves; we have approached that you, the auspicious Great Person, the refuge of exclusive duty.

The Siddhas said:

To you, the uncaused cause of the creation and other states of multiple universes,

abiding within them and distinct from them, the controller, we bow down.

The Rudras said: / We bow to you, the infatuator of Māyā who deludes all, yet free from delusion,

the Death of even Mahākāla, the Supreme Person.

The Ādityas said:

Illuminated by whom we illuminate the worlds, by you, O Lord of Ramā,

we bow down to you, self-luminous, of vast brilliance, whose form is light.

The Sādhyas said:

The ruler of kings, of great serpents, of the lords of Daityas, and of the lords of gods;

indeed, of Manus and of Prajāpatis: homage be to you, King of kings!

The Vasus said:

Whenever on earth a great slaughter of the righteous keepers of the celebrated eternal duty is caused by fractions of asuras,

then and then you yourself descend. We bow to the protector of dharma.

The Cāraṇas said:

Devotees sing in various compositions the auspicious deeds of you, who have assumed manifold forms;

which immediately purifies listeners and speakers alike, to that you of virtuous renown we bow.

The Gandharvas and Apsarases said:

Those people, O Lord, who abandon stories of you and praise or listen to other songs,

become miserable, bound by the fetters of saṃsāra. We have bowed down to you, the refuge.

The Ocean said:

O Unconquered One, if a person gladly performs even slight service to you or to your devotee, even once, by means of wealth, water, food, clothing, or bowing,

even if he is insignificant, he attains the exalted status of the great; I bow to that compassionate one.

The Attendants said:

You are our ancestors, you are our kinsman, you are our revered teacher, friend, and master of our soul;

you are our supreme Lord, you are our wealth, you are our everything.

Mūrti said:

By connection with whom even women, śūdras, asuras, low birds and beasts, and beings born of sin attain an exalted station praised by the great;

deprived of whom even the lords of the gods become immediately abandoned by worship: I continually worship in my heart that very Lord of Goloka, you.

Sāvitrī said:

At the time of creation, having awakened prakṛti and puruṣa by your glance, then, through them,

having created the principles beginning with mahat, you created multiple cosmic beings in many ways through those presiding deities.

Assuming the role of the creator of the world in the form of the Virāj, [creating] gods, asuras, humans, and serpents,

you made the motionless and moving, O Lord. I have taken refuge in you, the primal creator.

Durgā said:

Those on earth who perform contemplation of you in their heart with supreme love, O All-pervading One,

do not desire the bliss of Brahmā, nor the bliss of heaven, nor sole kingship over the earth.

Even when this peerless bliss is forcibly granted by you and attained,

they are unable to abandon that [contemplation] even for a moment; I bow to that leader of the Sātvatas.

The Rivers said:

O Granter of boons, those who perform mere bowing or chanting of your name, whether knowingly or unknowingly—

we have today approached you, Nārāyaṇa, the companion of Nara, who protects even them from the fear of birth, death, and Yama.

The Wives of the Gods said:

The birth of you who have assumed a form on earth is auspicious, and your conduct is marvelous and purifying to the world;

all of yours is free from the guṇas, because you are the supreme Brahman beyond the guṇas.

Through refuge in you, people who are tāmasic, rājasic, or sāttvic

indeed become beyond the guṇas; therefore, we worship you who are transcending the guṇas.

The Wives of the Seers said:

Of Viṣṇu alone is the pacification of all afflictions for those distressed by great sins and the three kinds of suffering.

Your lotus foot, O infinite God of gods, is that [refuge]! / Therefore, we have indeed sought refuge in it. // 35

The Earth said:

Whose face is like the full autumn moon, whose eyes are long like the petals of an autumn lotus,

Who delivers from manifold distress born of separation from Śrī—to that sole Vāsudeva I take refuge. // 36

Sarasvatī said:

O Acyuta, my two eyes have become cakora birds upon your exceedingly beautiful face, the cool-rayed moon.

They do not go elsewhere; therefore, let only this form remain always in my heart, and never any other! // 37

Skanda said:

Praised thus by all the gods, he delighted them with his glance alone,

and said to Śrī: “O auspicious one, look upon these gods and the rest.” // 38

Then, looked upon affectionately by her with a sweet glance,

all the inhabitants of the three worlds became prosperous, just as before. // 39

Householders and renunciants alike attained their respective prosperity,

and Dharma and the other [virtues] moved about joyfully, as formerly. // 2.9.15.40

And the Lord gave his own chest as an abode for that Śrī.

Abiding right there, she pervaded the three worlds with her own prosperity. // 41

Then, by the majesty of the birth of Śrī from himself,

the ocean (Ratnākara) truly became true to its name, possessing inexhaustible gems in abundance. // 42

With excellent foods of four kinds, possessing many flavors and resembling nectar,

he respectfully satisfied all who had assembled there. // 43

Priceless garments, jeweled ornaments, and household furnishings

he lovingly gave to the gods and others, individually to each and every one. // 44

For the ocean, raining wealth like a cloud,

there was nothing at all that could not be given to his dependents for the satisfaction of his son-in-law. // 45

The Lord too, having given to the brahmins the vast wealth

and dowry given by him, vanished along with Śrī. // 46

Exceedingly delighted by Lakṣmī and Nārāyaṇa, the gods,

Indra and the others, went to heaven, and the others departed to their respective abodes. // 47

And having attained their respective offices, just as before,

all became happy through the grace of the Lord of Kamalā. // 48

And Garuḍa, by the command of the Lord, playfully carried Mount Mandara

back to its own place and set it down. // 49

In this way, O brahmin-seer, the fortune that had been lost by Indra

due to the brahmin’s curse was regained through the grace of Nārāyaṇa. // 2.9.15.50

Whoever hears this sacred story of the Lord, O sage,

or recites it with a disciplined mind, both attain prosperity. // 51

For householders there will be attainment of wealth, and for renunciants, as they desire,

there will surely be the attainment of devotion, knowledge, dispassion, and the rest through this. // 52

Thus it has been related to you, O brahmin, how Indra regained his fortune.

How the seer Nārada also went to Śvetadvīpa,

all that I shall tell you; listen with an attentive mind. // 53

Thus ends the fifteenth chapter, named “The Exposition of the Hymn of Praise to Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa,” in the Vāsudevamāhātmya of the second [section], the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, a compendium of eighty-one thousand [verses]. // 15