Skandapurana 3.1.44

The seers said:

O knower of the truth of the meaning of all the Vedas! O crosser of the ocean of the Purāṇas!

O one whose inauspiciousness was dispelled by bowing to the pair of lotus feet of Vyāsa!

O benefactor of all living beings through instruction in the meaning of the Purāṇas!

We have indeed been graced by you through the recitation of the Purāṇas.

Now, especially through the recitation of the Setumāhātmya, O sage,

we have attained our purpose, O disciple of Vyāsa, O great-minded one!

How Rāma, the son of Daśaratha, established the liṅga—

we desire to hear that; tell it to us now.

The venerable Sūta said:

The purpose for which the liṅga was installed on Mount Gandhamādana

by Rāmacandra, O best of brahmins, that I shall now tell you.

His wife having been taken from the forest by the mighty Rāvaṇa,

Rāma, resolute and exceedingly powerful, accompanied by an army of monkeys and by Saumitri,

reached Mount Mahendra and looked upon the ocean.

Having built a bridge across that shoreless ocean, the scion of Raghu,

proceeded by it to the city of Laṅkā, which was guarded by Rāvaṇa.

When the thousand-rayed sun had set on the full moon night, at the onset of evening,

Rāma, along with his army, O brahmins, climbed Mount Suvela.

Then, seeing the lord of Laṅkā standing on his palace at night, the mighty

son of the Sun threw down his diadem to the surface of the earth.

His diadem shattered, the rākṣasa entered the interior of his house.

When the lord of Laṅkā had entered the house, Rāma, accompanied by Sugrīva,

together with his younger brother and his army, descending from the slope of the mountain,

the heroic Rāma encamped his army near Laṅkā.

Then, against those monkeys as they were being encamped, the followers of Rāvaṇa,

of massive bodies, armed, and with their soldiers, advanced:

Parvaṇa, Pūtana, Jṛmbha, Khara, Krodhavaśa, Hari,

Prāruja and Āruja, and Prahasta, as well as others.

Then, as those wicked ones rushed forward invisibly,

Vibhīṣaṇa struck them down in their state of invisibility.

Rendered visible, by the powerful monkeys striking from afar,

they were slain and fell dead on all sides.

Unable to endure it, Rāvaṇa then marched out with his army;

having arranged [his forces], he checked all those monkeys with arrows.

Then Rāghava, having set forth with his troops drawn up in battle array, against the ten-faced one

fought back with speed; then a single combat took place.

Then Indrajit, the son of Rāvaṇa, fought with Lakṣmaṇa;

Sugrīva with Virūpākṣa; and Kharvaṭa with the son of Tārā;

Nala with Pauṇḍra there, and Panasa with Puṭeśa;

and other heroic monkeys, having engaged in single combat with the rākṣasas,

fought a very tumultuous battle that increased the fear of the timid.

Then the rākṣasas, shattered by the monkeys of terrible valor,

quickly fled from the battlefield to Laṅkā, ruled by Rāvaṇa.

When all the armies were broken, urged on indeed by Rāvaṇa,

by his son Indrajit in battle with exceedingly terrible serpent-missiles

both those sons of Daśaratha, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, were pierced, O brahmins;

they were freed by the son of Vinatā, the great-souled Garuḍa.

There Prahasta, swiftly approaching Vibhīṣaṇa,

struck him with a mace, roaring, harsh in battle.

Struck by that mace possessed of terrible speed, the wise,

mighty-armed one did not tremble, firmly situated like the Himālaya.

Then, seizing a vast spear adorned with eight bells,

consecrating it with a mantra, Vibhīṣaṇa hurled the great lance towards his head.

As it fell swiftly like a thunderbolt, the rākṣasa,
his head severed, was seen like a tree broken by the wind.

Seeing that night-roamer Prahasta slain in battle,

Dhūmrākṣa rushed with great speed against the monkeys.

Observing the monkey army fleeing, the son of the Wind

swiftly struck Dhūmrākṣa with an arrow at the head of battle.

Seeing Dhūmrākṣa slain, the night-roamers who survived the slaughter

reported everything that had happened to King Rāvaṇa.

Then the lord of Laṅkā awakened Kumbhakarṇa, who was sleeping,

and, once he was awakened, Rāvaṇa dispatched him to battle.

When Kumbhakarṇa arrived, Lakṣmaṇa, however, with the weapon of Brahmā,

slew him in battle, enraged; and he fell, bereft of life.

There, the two younger brothers of Dūṣaṇa, crushing with the swiftness of wind,

equal to Rāvaṇa, were slain in battle by Hanūmat and Nīla.

Nala, the son of Viśvakarman, completely slew Vajradaṃṣṭra,

and Kumuda, the bull among monkeys, killed Akaṃpana.

Defeated on the sixth [day], the king then entered the city.

And Atikāya was slain by Lakṣmaṇa, as well as Triśiras.

Devāntaka and Narāntaka were slain in battle by Sugrīva;

both sons of Kumbhakarṇa were slain in battle by Hanūmat.

Makarākṣa, the son of Khara, was slain by Vibhīṣaṇa.

Then Rāvaṇa urged on his son Indrajit.

Indrajit, having confounded those two brothers, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa,

stood in the sky, his mount having been slain with terrible arrows by Aṅgada.

Together with Kumuda, Aṅgada, Sugrīva, Nala, Jāmbavat, and the others,

all the monkeys fell down, struck by him.

Having thus struck down Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa with their army in battle,

Meghanāda, of great might, then vanished into the sky.

Then Vibhīṣaṇa, to Rāma, the ornament of the Ikṣvāku lineage,

spoke with folded hands, bowing down again and again:

"Taking this water, by the order of the King of Kings,

a Guhyaka has come to your presence, O Rāma, tamer of foes.

Kubera offers this water to you, O great king,

in order to see hidden beings, O scorcher of foes.

One whose eyes are touched with this will see even hidden beings;

you will see them, or to whomever you shall give this,

he too will see beings hidden in the sky."

Saying 'So be it,' Rāma then took that honored water;

he washed his eyes, and Lakṣmaṇa of great might [did so],
as well as Sugrīva, Jāmbavat, Hanūmat, and Aṅgada,

and Mainda, Dvivida, Nīla, and whichever other monkeys there were.

All of them, their eyes cleansed with the water given by Rāma,

saw the heroic son of Rāvaṇa concealed in the sky.

Then the son of Sumitrā ran towards him who had come into sight.

Then Lakṣmaṇa, enraged, distinguished by auspicious marks,

his eyes purified by the waters sent by Kubera, struck [him].

Then a great battle took place between Lakṣmaṇa and Indrajit,

exceedingly wondrous and marvelous, like that between Śakra and Prahlāda.

Then on the third day, with great effort, O twice-born,

Indrajit was slain in battle by the mighty Lakṣmaṇa.

Then the entire reserve force was destroyed by the wise Rāma.

Then the ten-necked [Rāvaṇa], enraged when his dear son was struck down,

mounted his chariot and marched out of the city accompanied by a vast army.

Rāvaṇa, eager to slay Jānakī, had been restrained by Vindhya.

Then, with a chariot yoked to bay horses and possessing the splendour of the sun,

Mātali, the charioteer of Śakra, approached Rāma in battle.

Ascending the chariot of Indra, Rāma, the foremost of upholders of dharma,

cut off the heads of the king of the rākṣasas in battle with the Brahmā weapon.

Then, to Rāma, the son of Daśaratha, who had slain the ten-necked [Rāvaṇa],

the gods, preceded by the seers, with blessings accompanied by [wishes of] victory,

praised [him], exceedingly delighted, as did the siddhas and vidyādharas.

They showered Rāma, whose eyes are like lotus petals, with rains of flowers.

Rāma, together with those hosts of gods and surrounded by his soldiers,

along with Sītā and the son of Sumitrā, and having mounted the Puṣpaka [vimāna],

and having thus consecrated Vibhīṣaṇa as king in Laṅkā,

surrounded by the monkey army, Rāma went to Gandhamādana.

And having tested Vaidehī on Mount Gandhamādana,

to Rāma, whose eyes are like lotus petals, who stood surrounded by the monkeys,

the hero who had slain the lord of Laṅkā, accompanied by his younger brother and Vibhīṣaṇa,

with his wife, and attended upon by multitudes of gods and foremost sages,

the sages dwelling in the Daṇḍaka forest arrived to see him.

Placing Agastya at their head, they praised the husband of the princess of Mithilā.

The sages said:

Homage to you, Rāmacandra, who bestow grace upon the worlds,

who descended to the earth to rid the world of Rāvaṇa!

To the destroyer of Tāṭakā's body, the protector of the sacrifice of Gādhi's son,

homage to you who conquered Mārīca and took the life of Subāhu!

To the dust of whose lotus feet grants liberation to Ahalyā,

homage to you who playfully broke the bow of Hara!

Homage to you who were adorned with the festive marriage to the princess of Mithilā!

Homage to you who brought about the defeat of the son of Reṇukā!

Accompanied by Lakṣmaṇa and Sītā, due to Kaikeyī's two boons,

homage to you who went to the forest to make true the word of your father!

To you who gave the pair of sandals at the prayer of Bharata,

homage to you, the sole cause of Śarabhaṅga's attainment of heaven!

Homage to the destroyer of Virādha, to you the friend of the king of vultures,

who tore apart the limbs of the very cruel Mārīca in the form of an illusory deer!

Who cast off his body in battle against the lord of the world who abducted Sītā—

having cremated Jaṭāyus, [homage to you] who bestowed isolation upon him!

Homage to the destroyer of Kabandha, whose feet were worshiped by Śabarī,

to you who attained the friendship of Sugrīva and brought about the slaying of Vālin!

Homage to you who built the bridge across the ocean, the abode of Varuṇa,

the destroyer of all rākṣasas, the taker of Rāvaṇa's life!

To you whose lotus feet are the boat for crossing over the ocean of worldly existence,

homage to the remover of the distress of devotees, whose form is being, consciousness, and bliss!

Homage to you, Rāmabhadra, the cause of the prosperity of the worlds,

who take away the sins of those who chant your holy names such as Rāma!

Homage to you who bring about the creation, maintenance, and destruction of all the worlds!

Homage to you, the embodiment of compassion, consecrated to protecting devotees!

Homage to you who are with Sītā, who bestow happiness upon Vibhīṣaṇa;

for by the slaying of the lord of Laṅkā, O Rāma, the world has indeed been protected by you!

Protect, protect, O Lord of the Universe! Protect us, O lord of Jānakī!

Having thus praised him, all the sages, the best of brahmins, fell silent.

Śrī Sūta said:

Whoever recites this hymn of praise to Rāmacandra uttered by the sages,

at the three twilights with devotion, attains enjoyment and liberation.

No fear arises for one who recites it at the time of departure [on a journey].

By the recitation of this hymn of praise, bhūtas, vetālas, and the like [perish],

diseases perish, and the accumulation of sin is destroyed.

One who desires a son obtains a son; an unmarried woman finds a good husband;

one who desires liberation attains liberation; one who desires wealth attains wealth.

reciting this hymn with devotion, he obtains all desires. (81)

Then Rāma, having bowed with folded hands, said to the sages:

“I should be attained by all men for the sake of purification; (82)

a creature that enters within the range of my sight becomes a recipient of eternal liberation.

Even so, O sages, with a mind always filled with devotion, (83)

I bow down to the virtuous, the greatest friends to all beings, contented in the attainment of their own Self,

free from egotism, peaceful, whose semen is drawn upwards. (84)

Since I am the deity benevolent to brahmins, I always honor the brahmins.

I ask you something; after reflecting upon it, please speak: (85)

What sin has accrued to me from the slaying of Rāvaṇa, O brahmins—

tell me an expiation for that [sin] born of the slaying of the descendant of Pulastya,

by performing which I may be freed from that sin, O foremost of sages.” (86)

The sages said:

“O one true to vows, Lord of the world, bearer of the burden of the world's protection! (87)

For the welfare of all the worlds, O Rāma, perform worship of Śiva.

Upon this Gandhamādana peak, which is exceedingly auspicious and grants liberation, (88)

you should perform the consecration of a Śiva-liṅga, wishing for the maintenance of the world's order,

O Rāma, for the removal of the defect of the slaying of the Ten-necked one. (89)

Even the four-faced [Brahmā] is unable to describe the merit

arising from the installation of a liṅga; how much less then, O lord of men! (90)

The liṅga which will be installed by you on the Gandhamādana mountain,

the sighting of it by men will yield tenfold millions more fruit

than the sight of the liṅga of Kāśī; of this there is no doubt. (91)

And by your name may this liṅga attain renown in the world, (92)

resembling fire for burning the fuel called merit and sin.

This liṅga shall become renowned in the world as Rāmeśvara. (93)

Therefore do not delay in the act of installing the liṅga,

O highly fortunate Rāmacandra, whose form is full of compassion!” (94)

The venerable Sūta said:

Having heard those words of the sages, O chiefs of sages, Rāma,

the lord of the world, having ascertained the auspicious time of two muhūrtas, (95)

sent Hanumān to Kailāsa, the abode of Śiva,

in order to bring a Śiva-liṅga for the purpose of installation, that descendant of Raghu. (96)

Rāma said:

“O Hanumān, son of Añjanā, son of the Wind, of great strength,

go swiftly to Kailāsa and bring a liṅga without delay!” (97)

Thus commanded by Rāma, the valiant lord of monkeys,