Skandapurana 2.9.5

Skanda said:

Anciently, O sage, there was a king named Uparicara Vasu,

the son of Āyu, the ruler of the earth, celebrated as Amāvasu,

a friend of Indra, who attained devotion to the Lord Nārāyaṇa.

Righteous, devoted to the ancestors, propitiating ancestors and gods,

devoted to good conduct, capable, forbearing, free from malice,

benefactor to all, tranquil, devoted to celibacy, pure,

free from anger, moderate in eating, gentle, devoid of vices, a sage,

free from dualities, free from modifications, devoid of pride, resolute, knower of the Self,

free from deceit, respectful to others, a yogin, ascetic, who had conquered his senses;

detached from wealth, sons, wife, kinsmen, and the like,

that king chanted the Nārāyaṇa-mantra daily with devotion.

Then, pleased with him, the Blessed Lord Vāsudeva himself gave him

an empire; he, unattached to it, worshiped Him with reverence.

Concentrated during the five times [of day] according to the prescribed rule,

he worshiped the Lord of gods, and with the remnants of that [offering], the gods and ancestors;

with the remnants of theirs, having distributed to the brahmins and dependents,

he ate the food remnants, devoted to truth, non-violent toward all living beings.

The king recognized the fault in eating the meat of any living being

as equal to a great sin, and he spoke accordingly to his subjects.

With his whole being he worshiped Janārdana, the God of gods,

without beginning, middle, or end, the maker of the worlds, imperishable.

He made his mind firm upon the feet of glorious Vāsudeva,

and the king constantly applied his two ears to hearing the story of the Blessed Lord;

his two eyes to the darśana of Mukunda and of His devotees;

the lord of the earth set his speech to singing the virtues of Hari;

upon the fragrance of tulasī flowers that touched Nārāyaṇa's feet,

the king set his breath, and never upon other fragrances;

his own skin to the touch of garments and other things enjoyed by the Lord of Śrī;

he applied his tongue to food offered to Nārāyaṇa;

likewise, the king directed his two feet to going into the immediate vicinity of the Lord's temple and sacred field,

and his two hands to the service of Hari;

he placed his head in bowing to the feet of Viṣṇu,

and he formed supreme friendship with the great devotees of the Lord.

Not even a single moment of that royal sage passed

without devotion to the Lord of Ramā, as he observed his vows.

With great provisions indeed, he celebrated Viṣṇu's birthday festivals;

for that purpose he constructed gardens, temples, and pleasure groves.

To him who bore such devotion to Nārāyaṇa, O best of brahmins,

the king of gods himself offered a seat on his own couch.

Indra gave him the extremely beautiful Vaijayantī garland,

made of unfading lotuses, and also abundant jewels.

"One's self, kingdom, wealth, wife, vehicles, and the like—

all that belongs to the Lord": thus he always regarded them.

Desire-prompted, occasional, and perpetual supreme sacrificial rites—

he performed them all with concentrated mind, following the Sātvata injunctions.

Chief brahmins knowledgeable in the Pañcarātra, in the house of that great-souled one,

regularly ate first what was offered to the Lord.

While he, the slayer of his foes, was ruling the kingdom righteously,

no untruthful speech arose, nor did his mind turn wicked,

nor did he commit even an atom of sin with his body.

For the nourishment of devotion to the Lord, the great treatise Pañcarātra

the king listened to daily from the mouth of a devotee of the Lord.

Establishing pure righteousness and gladdening all his subjects,

he protected the earth just as Indra protects heaven.

Even among the seven kinds of meat-eaters, in his kingdom

there was not a single person, nor were there any wearing the guise of heretics.

Intractable women, adulterous men,

and those who cause confusion of caste duties were unheard of in his kingdom.

Of the eleven kinds of liquor and the three kinds of surā,

no one in this realm even smelled any while he ruled the kingdom.

Yet, though possessing such virtues, on one occasion out of partiality for the celestials,

due to a false statement he fell from heaven and entered the bowels of the earth.

Having gone underground, he, ever fond of righteousness,

became devoted to Nārāyaṇa and chanted his mantra with steady mind.

By his grace alone, he rose up once again;

having attained heaven, he enjoyed there the happiness desired by his heart.

Becoming the lord of Cedi once again on earth due to a curse of the ancestors,

he unweariedly worshipped Hari according to the rites enjoined in the Pañcarātra.

Then the king attained the heavenly world in a divine body,

and together with the hosts of supreme seers residing there,

confirming his worship of the Lord, he dwelt there for some time.

Then he attained the supreme, fearless abode of Vāsudeva.

Thus ends the fifth chapter, titled "Description of the Virtues of Uparicara Vasu," in the Vāsudeva-māhātmya of the second [section], the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.