Skandapurana 3.1.45

Śrī Sūta said: / When the liṅga had thus been consecrated by Rāma of untiring deeds, / Māruti quickly arrived, bringing an excellent liṅga. (1) / Having bowed to heroic Rāma, son of Daśaratha, that Māruti / then bowed to Vaidehī and Lakṣmaṇa, and saluted Sugrīva. (2) / Then, seeing the scion of Raghu worshipping that sandy liṅga / together with the sages, the son of the wind became furious. (3) / Extremely distressed with sorrow, his toil rendered vain, / Hanūmān, son of Añjanā, spoke to righteous Rāma: (4) / Hanūmān said: / “Ill-born was I, O Rāma, in vain, solely for affliction in the world! / I have often been tormented, O Lord, by the demons of cruel deeds. (5) / May no woman ever bear a son like me, / through whom endless sorrow is experienced in the ocean of worldly existence! (6) / I was tormented earlier by service, and even more so by battle; / now there is endless sorrow because you disregard me! (7) / By Sugrīva for the sake of a wife, and by the demon, / the younger brother of Rāvaṇa, for a kingdom, you were served, O scion of Raghu. (8) / By me you have been served without motive, O Rāma, O broad-minded one! / Among the many monkeys, I was indeed commanded by you today (9) / to bring a Śivaliṅga from Kailāsa, the supreme mountain. / Having gone swiftly to Kailāsa, I did not see the wielder of the Pināka. (10) / Having pleased him, the one accompanied by Ambā, whose mount is the bull, through tapas, / and having obtained the liṅga, O lord of the Raghus, I quickly returned. (11) / But now, having consecrated another liṅga made of sand, / you are worshipping it, O lord, along with the sages, gods, and gandharvas! (12) / In vain was this liṅga brought by me from Mount Kailāsa! / Ah, my body has become a burden to this earth, / O unfortunate as I am, O great king, O delight of Jānakī, O sovereign! / I am unable to endure this grief, O scion of Raghu! (14)”

“What shall I do? Where shall I go? I have no refuge.

Therefore, disregarded by you, I shall abandon my body!” (15)

Śrī Sūta said:

Having thus lamented repeatedly, O brahmins, the son of the wind,

prostrated on the ground like a stick, overcome by anger and grief. (16)

Seeing him, the lord of the Raghus too, smiling gently, said this,

while all the gods, sages, monkeys, and demons were watching,

consoling Māruti there and wiping away his sorrow: (17)

Śrī Rāma said:

“I know all the actions of oneself and of another, (18)

of what is born, what is being born, and even what is dead at all times, O monkey!

A creature is born and dies alone by its own karma; (19)

and it goes to hell, while the supreme Self is free of attributes.

Having ascertained the truth thus, do not grieve, O monkey! (20)

Free from the three liṅgas, the single light, taintless,

without support, immutable—behold that Self constantly! (21)

Why do you succumb to grief, an obstacle to the knowledge of truth?

Remain ever steadfast in the knowledge of truth, O best of monkeys! (22)

Continually meditate, O monkey, on the Self which is self-luminous!

Cast off the sense of ‘mine’ in the body and the rest, which opposes the knowledge of truth! (23)

Ever practice righteousness; abandon violence toward living beings;

serve virtuous persons; and conquer all the senses! (24)

Always abandon the recounting of the faults of others;

worship the deities, Śiva, Viṣṇu, and the rest at all times, O monkey! (25)

Speak the truth constantly; cast away sorrow, O monkey!

Knowledge of the oneness of the inner self with Brahman [destroys that which] arises from the object of delusion. (26)

The delusion of agreeable and disagreeable is imagined in this [world] as if real;

one superimposes agreeableness upon an object through the power of delusion. (27)

Affliction arises in deluded men, O best of monkeys!

Bound by the force of passion and aversion, subject to merit and demerit, (28)

mortals go to hell, [or are reborn as] gods, animals, humans, and so on.

Exceedingly pleasing substances such as sandalwood, agallochum, and camphor (29)

turn to filth through contact with the body; how can that body bring happiness?

All kinds of food, both chewable and eatable, are exceedingly splendid;

yet through contact with it they turn into feces—how then can that body bring happiness?

Fragrant and cool water turns into urine through contact with it;

tell me now, O monkey: how could that lump [of flesh] be beautiful?

Indeed, garments that are exceedingly white and clean

become soiled with sweat through contact with it—how could it be beautiful?

Listen to the supreme truth from me, O Hanūmat, son of the Wind!

In this pit of saṃsāra, no happiness at all is to be found.

First a living creature meets with birth, and after that, childhood;

afterwards he attains youth, and then experiences old age;

thereafter he meets death, and then undergoes birth again.

It is solely through the power of ignorance that man experiences suffering;

upon the cessation of that ignorance, however, he attains supreme bliss.

The cessation of ignorance comes from knowledge alone, not from ritual action.

Knowledge is truly the supreme Brahman; knowledge is born of the statements of the Upaniṣads.

And that knowledge arises in one who is dispassionate, not in any other,

truly in one who is qualified foremost, by the grace of the teacher.

When all desires that abide in his heart are released,

then a mortal becomes immortal, and here itself attains the supreme Brahman.

Whether waking, sleeping, eating, or standing still,

cruel Death drags this person away constantly.

All accumulations end in depletion; all elevations end in fall;

unions end in separation; and life ends in death.

Just as for ripe fruits there is no fear other than falling,

so for men who are born there is no fear other than falling [into death].

Just as a house with firm pillars perishes when it decays in time,

so men perish, subject to old age and death.

Through the passing of day and night, the lifespan of men is destroyed;

grieve for yourself! Why do you grieve for another?

Lifespan perishes whether standing or running, O lord of monkeys:

death walks together with [man]; death sits together [with him];

having travelled to a distant land, death returns along with [him].

Wrinkles have come upon the body, the hair has turned white;

the body decays through old age, and through breathing difficulty, coughing, and the like.

Just as two pieces of wood might come together in the great ocean,

and having come together, drift apart through the course of time, O monkey,

so wife, son, daughter-in-law, fields, and wealth

meet together somewhere and then depart elsewhere, O monkey.

Just as someone standing along the road [says] to a traveler walking on the way:

“I too will travel along with you,”

and the two, having joined together for a time, depart elsewhere again,

even so the union with wives, sons, and others is transitory, O monkey.

Along with the birth of the body, death is certainly born;

there is never any counteracting an inevitable death.

When this body falls, the embodied soul follows the course of its karma;

having obtained another body, my child, it abandons the former body.

Living beings do not dwell constantly in one place, O monkey;

all are separated one by one according to their own karma.

Just as the bodies of living beings perish and come into existence,

the self has no birth and death, O best of monkeys.

Therefore, O son of Añjanā, meditate day and night on griefless, non-dual,

pure Brahman whose nature is being.

Action done by you is action done by me; what is done by me is done by you;

therefore the installation of my liṅga is the installation of your liṅga, O monkey.

Because the auspicious moment was passing, the sandy liṅga made by Sītā

was installed here by me; therefore, do not feel anger or sorrow.

Install the liṅga brought from Kailāsa on this auspicious day;

let this liṅga become renowned in the three worlds by your name!

Having seen Hanūmadīśvara, Rāghaveśvara must be seen.

The hosts of Brahmarākṣasas were slain by you, O monkey;

Therefore, by establishing a liṅga in your own name, you will be liberated.

Given personally by Hara, the Śiva named Hanūmat,

a man who beholds it and Rāmanātha will have accomplished his purpose.

Even at a distance of a thousand yojanas, by remembering Hanūmat's liṅga,

and remembering Rāmanātheśvara as well, he will attain union [with Śiva].

He has performed sacrifices with all rituals and carried out austerity completely,

by whom the two Great Gods, Hanūmadīśvara and Rāghaveśvara, have been seen.

The liṅga made by Hanūmat, the liṅga made by me,

the liṅga belonging to Jānakī, and the liṅga Lakṣmaṇeśvara;

that which was made by Sugrīva, and by Nala the builder of the bridge;

made by Aṅgada, by Nīla, and likewise by Jāmbavat;

and the jewel-liṅga established by Vibhīṣaṇa;

the liṅga made by Indra and the gods, and that established by Śeṣa and others—

thus this Śiva manifests directly in eleven forms.

For Maheśvara is always present in these liṅgas.

Therefore, install Maheśvara for the purification of your multitude of sins.

Moreover, if you, O fortunate one, will uproot the liṅga

made of sand by Sītā and installed here by me, my child,

I will then install this liṅga brought by you.

Reaching Pātāla, Sutala, Vitala, and Rasātala,

and piercing Talātala, this [liṅga] firmly stands.

Who could have the strength to break the liṅga consecrated by me?

Arise, monkey! Uproot this liṅga installed by me,

and quickly install the liṅga brought by you; do not grieve!"

Addressed thus, having bowed to him, the monkey, unaware of its true reality, [thought]:

"I will swiftly uproot the excellent sandy liṅga,

and respectfully install the liṅga brought from Kailāsa.

What burden could the uprooting of a sandy [liṅga] be for me?"

Having reflected thus in his mind, Hanūmat, the son of the wind-god,

as all the gods, sages, monkeys, and rakṣasas were watching,

as Rāmacandra looked on, and as Lakṣmaṇa looked on,

and as Vaidehī looked on, that mighty one forcefully seized

that sandy liṅga with his hand swiftly, using all his effort.

Even shaking it with great effort, the son of the wind-god

was unable by his power to move the sandy liṅga.

Then, making a clamorous shout, the bull among monkeys,

raising his tail, hurled it with his hands, using his own strength.

Even shaking it in numerous ways thus, the monkey,

the son of the wind, was not at all able to move it.

Wrapping it with his tail and touching the earth with both hands,

the monkey, the son of the wind, then flew up swiftly into the sky,

shaking the entire earth with its seven continents and mountains.

At a mere krośa from the liṅga, swooning and vomiting blood,

Hanūmān fell upon the ground, O brahmins, his limbs trembling.

From the mouth and from both eyes of the falling son of the wind,

from his nostrils, ear-holes, and anus, O best of the twice-born,

a stream of blood flowed forth, and that became a pool of blood.

Then a cry of distress arose from all, including gods, asuras, and humans.

Both Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, running along with the monkeys

accompanied by Jānakī, O brahmins, were then agitated with grief.

Accompanied by Sītā and the mighty monkeys, the two heroes

shone then upon Mount Gandhamādana, O brahmins,

like the moon and sun accompanied by the host of stars in the night.

They saw Hanūmat, his body shattered,

fallen on the ground in a swoon, vomiting blood from his mouth.

Seeing him, all the monkeys, crying out in grief, fell to the ground.

With both hands, Sītā compassionately touched Hanūmat, the son of the wind,

who had fallen upon the surface of the earth, saying, "Dear child! Dear child!"

Rāma too, having seen Hanūmat, the lord of monkeys, fallen down,

placed him in his lap and stroked his body with both hands.

Shedding water born of his eyes, O brahmins, he spoke to the son of the Wind:

Thus ends the forty-fifth chapter, titled 'The Description of the Teaching of the Knowledge of the Absolute Truth by Rāmacandra', in the Setumāhātmya in the Brahmakhaṇḍa, the third [part] of the auspicious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.