Skandapurana 3.1.10

Glorious Sūta said:

Having bathed in the Vetālavarada sacred ford, O best of brahmins,

a person should then proceed slowly to Mount Gandhamādana,

which Gandhamādana exists in the ocean in the form of the bridge.

It is the path to the world of Brahmā, fashioned by the Creator of the universe.

Hundreds of thousands of millions of lakes and rivers,

and most meritorious oceans, forests, and hermitages,

holy sacred fields such as Vedāraṇya and others,

sages headed by Vasiṣṭha, siddhas, cāraṇas, and kinnaras,

the Blessed Madhusūdana accompanied by Lakṣmī and the Earth,

the Four-Faced [Brahmā] accompanied by Sāvitrī and Sarasvatī,

Heramba, Ṣaṇmukha, the gods preceded by Indra,

the planets headed by Āditya, and likewise the eight Vasus, O brahmins,

the ancestors, the world-protectors, and other hosts of deities,

reside on this Gandhamādana mountain day and night,

which destroys heaps of great sins and purifies the world.

Here Gaurī, ever pleased, dwells together with Hara.

Here the sport of the kinnara women awakens continually;

merely by its sight, humans attain joy of mind.

The women of the siddhas and cāraṇas, having made their dwelling on its crest,

worship Śaṃkara, the husband of Girijā, at all times.

Crores of murders of brahmins and crores of forbidden liaisons

are destroyed when touched by the breezes of Gandhamādana.

Standing in the midst of the surging waves of the great ocean,

this Gandhamādana was formerly frequented only by hosts of sages.

Then, when the bridge was built by Nala, it fell within its path;

by Rāma's command, it came to be visited by all human beings as well.

One should pray to that mountain Gandhamādana which is in the form of the bridge:

'O bearer of patience, greatly meritorious, revered by all the gods,

whom even the gods headed by Viṣṇu attend with faith,

upon you, O best of mountains, I tread with my feet.

Forgive out of compassion the treading of my feet, sinful-minded as I am;

reveal to me Śaṃkara, whose dwelling is upon your summit!'

Having thus prayed to the best of mountains in the form of the bridge,

a person should then walk with gentle steps upon purifying Gandhamādana.

Having bathed there in the ocean on Mount Gandhamādana,

a person should then offer a funeral cake, even one the size of a mustard seed.

His ancestors attain satisfaction until the end of the yuga.

Or he may offer funeral cakes to the ancestors equal in size to a śamī leaf;

those residing in heaven attain liberation, and those residing in hell attain heaven.

Then, above it is a great sacred ford renowned in the worlds...

the best of all sacred fords, meritorious, named Pāpavināśana.

O brahmins, on the sacred Gandhamādana there is a most holy [ford]—

by the mere recollection of which dwelling in a womb does not occur.

Having reached it, a man should bathe to destroy the impurities of his body.

From bathing there a man goes to Vaikuṇṭha; of this there is no doubt.

The seers said:

O Sūta, speak of the glory of the sacred ford named Pāpavināśana.

For instructed by Vyāsa, O great sage, you know everything.

The venerable Sūta said:

Occurred at the site of the hermitage of Brahmā, on an auspicious side of the Himavat,

I shall tell you an auspicious story, O best of brahmins.

In the auspicious site of Brahmā's hermitage, this sacred hermitage site

was crowded with various kinds of trees, on an auspicious side of the Himavat,

covered with numerous shrubs and creepers, frequented by deer and elephants,

resounding with Siddhas and Cāraṇas, delightful, a blooming forest,

filled with many enclosures, adorned with ascetics,

and by highly fortunate brahmins resembling the sun and fire,

thronged with practitioners of austerity endowed with restraints and vows,

initiated for sacrifice, of restrained diet, of perfected self,

surrounded by Vedic scholars accomplished in the recitation of the Vedas,

by celibate students, householders, forest-dwellers, and mendicants,

devoted to the customs of their own stage of life, performing what is prescribed for their caste,

and with Vālakhilya sages and descendants of Marīci who had arrived.

In that hermitage long ago, O twice-born ones, a certain śūdra named Dṛḍhamati,

daring, approached the presence of the brahmins with joy.

Having arrived at the hermitage site, and honoured by the ascetics,

the śūdra named Dṛḍhamati bowed down prostrate with all eight limbs.

Seeing those hosts of sages, equal to gods and of great majesty,

performing various sacrifices, that śūdra rejoiced.

Then the thought arose in him to perform peerless austerity.

Approaching the ascetic sage who was the head of the hermitage, he said:

Dṛḍhamati said:

O rich in austerity, homage to you; protect me, O ocean of compassion.

By your favor I wish to practice dharma, O bull among the twice-born.

Therefore, initiate me who have approached you into a sacrifice, O one of good vows.

O brahmin, I belong to the lowest caste; I am a śūdra by birth, O best of men.

I wish to render service; be gracious to me who have surrendered.

When this was spoken by the śūdra, the brahmin then said to him:

The head of the hermitage said:

A śūdra, born of low status, cannot be initiated into a sacrifice.

Listen, if this is your inclination: become devoted to service.

Instruction should never be given to one deficient in caste.

A great fault accrues to the preceptor from giving instruction.

A wise man should not teach a śūdra, nor officiate at a sacrifice for him;

likewise, he should not teach a śūdra a treatise such as grammar,

or poetry, or drama, or poetics;

nor should he teach a śūdra a Purāṇa or an epic.

If a brahmin should ever teach these to a śūdra,

the brahmins would banish that brahmin from the village populated by brahmins.

One should shun like an outcaste a twice-born man who instructs a śūdra,

and one should avoid from afar a śūdra endowed with letters.

Therefore serve the brahmins with faith, blessings be upon you;

service to the twice-born was declared for a śūdra by Manu and others.

For you ought not to abandon the duty born of your nature.

Addressed thus by the sage, the śūdra then reflected:

What must be done by me now? For my faith has long been set upon vows.

I will strive today so that higher knowledge may be mine.

Having thus resolved in his mind, the śūdra Dṛḍhamati then,

having gone far from the hermitage site, made an auspicious leaf-hut.

There indeed [he built] a shrine to the gods and sacred sanctuaries,

and flower gardens and the like, as well as the digging of ponds and so on,

he caused to be made with faith for the sake of the success of his own austerity.

Ceremonial ablutions, observances, and fasts and the like,

and offering oblations and sacrificing into the fire, he worshipped the deities.

Endowed with resolves and vows, subsisting on fruits, with senses subdued,

regularly with tubers, roots, flowers, and fruits,

he properly honoured guests who arrived.

In this way, indeed, a very long time passed for him.

Then, to his hermitage came [a brahmin] named Sumati by name,

a twice-born born in the lineage of Garga, truthful of speech, with senses subdued.

Having honoured the sage with a welcome and gratified him with fruits and the like,

narrating holy stories, he enquired after his welfare.

Thus worshipped with attentions such as prostrations,

delighting him with blessings and accepting his hospitality,

having taken leave of him, joyful in spirit, he returned to his own hermitage.

Thus, day after day, the brahmin, showing partiality towards this Śūdra,

went to his hermitage to see that one of Śūdra birth.

For a long time there was association between the twice-born and the one of Śūdra birth;

fallen under the sway of affection, he did not transgress what the Śūdra said.

Then the Śūdra said to the twice-born who had arrived, brought under the sway of affection:

"Tell me, O lord of sages, the entire rule for offerings to gods and ancestors,

for the purpose of rites for the ancestors and for the purpose of rites for the gods.

Teach me the mantras, as well as the rite of the Mahālaya,

the ritual of the Aṣṭakā śrāddha, and whatever is Vedic;

tell me all this secret, for you are considered my guru."

Thus addressed by the Śūdra, he taught all this;

he also had him perform the ancestral rites and the like.

When the ancestral rites were performed, dismissed by him, the twice-born departed.

Then, having been supported for a long time by that one of Śūdra birth,

abandoned by the hosts of brahmins, this twice-born met his death. / Carried away by the soldiers of Vaivasvata, he was cast into the hells.

For thousands of millions of kalpas and hundreds of millions of kalpas,

having experienced the hells in turn, at the end of that he became an immobile thing.

Then he was born as a donkey, and after that as a village pig;

then he was born as a dog, and afterwards he attained the state of a crow.

Then he attained the state of a Caṇḍāla, and then went to a Śūdra womb;

subsequently he attained the state of a Vaiśya, and immediately after that he was a Kṣatriya.

Afflicted by strong [karmas], he then indeed became a brahmin.

Invested with the sacred thread by his father in his eighth year from conception, that twice-born,

residing in his father's house and intent on the practice of his proper conduct,

while walking once in a dense forest, was seized by a brahmarākṣasa.

Weeping, wandering, stumbling, bewildered, laughing aloud, lamenting,

and constantly crying 'Alas, alas!', he abandoned Vedic duties.

Seeing his son become thus, the father was tormented by grief;

taking his son, out of affection he went to Agastya for refuge.

Bowing with devotion to the sage, the father of that son

reported to him the strange behaviour of his son.

And then the brahmin said to the pitcher-born one, the best of sages:

"O brahmin, this son of mine has been seized by a brahmarākṣasa.

He finds no comfort, O brahmin; protect him with a compassionate glance.

Nor do I have another son for release from the debt to the ancestors.

Tell me, O pitcher-born one, the means to destroy his suffering.

There is no one equal to you in devotion to austerity in the three worlds.

You are indeed declared by the great seers to be foremost among Śiva's devotees.

Without you, there is no salvation for my son.

Bestow grace upon the father, for good people are of a compassionate nature."

Śrī Sūta said:

Thus addressed then by him, the pitcher-born one engaged in meditation.

Having meditated for a very long time, he then said to the brahmin:

Agastya said:

"In a previous birth, O noble-minded one, this son of yours was a brahmin.

This brahmin, named Sumati, gave counsel to a śūdra;

he indeed instructed [him] in all the Vedic rites. // 78

Therefore, having experienced the hells for thousands of crores of kalpas,

at the end of that he was born on earth in stationary and other wombs. // 79

Now, by the remnant of his karma, he has been born as your son, a brahmin;

and here he has been seized by a brahmarākṣasa sent by Yama, // 80

truly on account of the cruel sin committed in a previous life.

I will tell you the means for the destruction of the brahmarākṣasa. // 81

Listen, endowed with faith, having focused your mind.

O brahmin, in the southern ocean there is a great mountain in the form of a bridge, // 82

the purifying Gandhamādana, worthy of being served by the deities.

Upon it there is a great sacred ford named Pāpavināśana, // 83

which is auspicious, famous, and the destroyer of great sins.

Of bhūtas, pretas, piśācas, vetālas, brahmarākṣasas, // 84

and also of great diseases, that sacred ford is traditionally known as the destroyer.

Taking your son, go to that sacred ford situated in the middle of the bridge; // 85

having purified yourself, bathe your son in the sacred ford Pāpavināśana.

By ritual ablution there for three days, the brahmarākṣasa will be destroyed. // 86

Indeed, no other means exists on earth for its destruction;

therefore, go swiftly to Rāma's Bridge, the giver of liberation. // 87

There, bathe your son in the sacred ford called Pāpavināśana.

Do not delay here; go with haste, O twice-born one.” // 88

Thus addressed, that twice-born bowed down to Agastya like a staff on the earth,

and permitted by him, he departed for Gandhamādana. // 89

Having gone with his son to Pāpavināśana, the best of brahmins,

having bathed his son for three days with the preliminary ritual vow, // 90

the father himself also bathed in Pāpavināśana, O best of brahmins.

Then his son there was freed from the brahmarākṣasa; // 91

he became free of disease, healthy, and endowed with a handsome form.

Enriched with all prosperity, having enjoyed numerous pleasures, // 92

at the end of his body he attained liberation through ritual ablution in Pāpavināśana;

the father also, through ritual ablution there, attained liberation at the end of his body. // 93

The śūdra who was instructed by him, having successively experienced the hells

and having been born in many vile wombs, // 94

afterwards obtained birth as a vulture on Mount Gandhamādana.

Once, in order to drink water at the sacred ford Pāpavināśana, // 95

he arrived, drank the water, and sprinkled his own body.

Instantly obtaining a divine body, adorned with all ornaments, // 96

wearing divine garlands and garments, anointed with red sandalwood,