Skandapurana 3.1.25.1

3.1.25.1

.. śrīsūta uvāca .. ..
śivatīrthe naraḥ snātvā brahmahatyāvimokṣaṇe ..
svapāpajālaśāṃtyarthaṃ śaṃkhatīrthaṃ tato vrajet .. 1 ..
yatra majjanamātreṇa kṛtaghno'pi vimucyate ..
mātṝḥ pitṝngurūṃścāpi ye na manyaṃti mohitāḥ .. 2 ..
ye cāpyanye durātmānaḥ kṛtaghnā nirapatrapāḥ ..
te sarve śaṃkhatīrthe smiñchuddhyaṃti snānamātrataḥ .. 3 ..
śaṃkhanāmā muniḥ pūrvaṃ gaṃdhamādanaparvate ..
avartata tapaḥ kurvanviṣṇuṃ dhyāyansamāhitaḥ.. 4 ..
sa tatra kalpayāmāsa snānārthaṃ tīrthamuttamam ..
śaṃkhena nirmitaṃ tīrthaṃ śaṃkhatīrthamitīryate .. 5 ..
tatra snātvā sakṛnmartyaḥ kṛtaghno'pivimucyate 1.
atretihāsaṃ vakṣyāmi purāṇaṃ pāpanāśanam..6..
yasya śravaṇamātreṇa naro muktimavāpnuyāt..
purā babhūva vipreṃdro vatsanābho mahāmuniḥ..7..
satyavāñchīlavānvāgmī sarvabhūtadayāparaḥ..
śatrumitrasamo dāṃtastapasvī vijiteṃdriyaḥ..8..
parabrahmaṇi niṣṇātastattvabrahmaikasaṃśrayaḥ..
evaṃ prabhāvaḥ sa munistapastepe nijāśrame .. 9 ..
sa vai niścalasarvāṃgastiṣṭhaṃstatraiva bhūtale ..
paramāṇvaṃtaraṃ vāpi na svasthānāccacāla saḥ .. 3.1.25.10 ..
sthitvaikatra tapasyaṃtamanekaśatavatsarān ..
tamācakāma valmīkaṃ chāditāṃgaṃ cakāra ca .. 11 ..
valmīkākrāṃtadehopi vatsanābho mahāmuniḥ ..
akarottapa evāsau valmīkaṃ na tvabuddhyata .. .. 12 ..
tasmiṃśca tapyati tapo vāsavo munipuṃgavāḥ .1

Śrī Sūta said:
Having bathed in Śivatīrtha, which frees from the killing of a brahmin,
a man should then go to Śaṅkhatīrtha to quell the web of his sins,
where by mere plunging even an ungrateful person is freed.
Deluded people who do not revere mothers, fathers, and teachers,
and whatever other wicked, ungrateful, shameless people there may be,
they all become purified in this Śaṅkhatīrtha merely by bathing.
Formerly, a sage named Śaṅkha lived on Mount Gandhamādana,
performing austerity, meditating on Viṣṇu with a concentrated mind.
There he fashioned an excellent sacred ford for the purpose of bathing;
the sacred ford created by Śaṅkha is called Śaṅkhatīrtha.
Having bathed there even once, a mortal—even an ungrateful one—is liberated.
Here I shall relate an ancient tale that destroys sin,
merely by hearing which a man attains liberation.
Formerly there was a foremost brahmin, the great sage Vatsanābha,
truthful, virtuous, eloquent, devoted to compassion for all beings,
equal toward enemy and friend, restrained, ascetic, with conquered senses,
versed in the Supreme Brahman, taking refuge solely in Brahman the Reality.
Endowed with such power, that sage performed austerity in his own hermitage.
Standing motionless in all his limbs on the ground right there,
he did not move from his place even by the distance of an atom.
As he remained in one place performing austerity for many hundreds of years,
an anthill crept over him and covered his limbs.
Even though his body was covered by an anthill, that great sage Vatsanābha
performed austerity alone, and did not notice the anthill at all.
While he was performing austerity, O foremost sages, Vāsava,