Skandapurana 3.1.52.1.1

3.1.52.1.1

.. śrīsūta uvāca .. ..
bhūyo'pyahaṃ pravakṣyāmi setumuddiśya vaibhavam ..
yuṣmākamādareṇāhaṃ śṛṇudhvaṃ munipuṃgavāḥ .. 1 ..
sthānānāmapi sarveṣāmetatsthānaṃ mahattaram ..
atra japtaṃ hutaṃ taptaṃ dattaṃ cākṣaya mucyate .. 2 ..
asminneva mahāsthāne dhanuṣkoṭau nimajjanāt..
vārāṇasyāṃ daśasamāvāsapuṇyaphalaṃ bhavet .. 3 ..
tasmiṃsthale dhanuṣkoṭau snātvā rāmeśvaraṃ śivam ..
dṛṣṭvā naro bhaktiyuktastridināni vaseddvijāḥ .. 4 ..
puṇḍarīkapure tena daśavatsaravāsajam ..
puṇyaṃ bhavati vipreṃdrā mahāpātakanāśa nam ..5..
aṣṭottarasahasraṃ tu maṃtramādyaṃ ṣaḍakṣaram ..
atra japtvā naro bhaktyā śivasāyujyamāpnuyāt .. 6 ..
madhyārjune kuṃbhakoṇe māyūre śvetakānane ..
hālāsye ca gajāraṇye vedāraṇye ca naimiṣe .. 7 ..
śrīparvate ca śrīraṃge śrīmadvṛddhagirau tathā ..
cidaṃbare ca valmīke śeṣādrāvaruṇācale .. 8 ..
śrīmaddakṣiṇakailāse veṃkaṭādrau haristhale ..
kāṃcīpure brahmapure vaidyeśvarapure tathā .. 9 ..
anyatrāpi śivasthāne viṣṇusthāne ca sattamāḥ ..
varṣavāsabhavaṃ puṇyaṃ dhanuṣkoṭau naro mudā ..3.1.52.10...
māghamāse yadi snāyādāpnotyeva na saṃśayaḥ ..
imaṃ setuṃ samuddiśya dvau samudrāviti śrutiḥ ..11..
vidyate brāhmaṇaśreṣṭhā mātṛbhūtā sanātanī ..
ado yaddārurityanyā yatrāsti munipuṃgavāḥ .. 12 ..
viṣṇoḥ karmāṇi paśyaṃtī setuvaibhavaśaṃsinī ..
śrutirasti tathānyāpi tadviṣṇoriti cāparā .. 13 ..
itihāsapurāṇāni smṛtayaśca tapodhanāḥ ..
ekavākyatayā setumāhātmyaṃ prabuvaṃti hi .. 14 ..
caṃdrasūryoparāgeṣu kurva nsetvavagāhanam ..

Śrī Sūta said: / Once again I shall declare the majesty concerning the Setu / out of regard for you, O eminent sages; listen! (1) / Even among all holy places, this place is greater; / what is muttered in japa here, offered in oblation, practiced in austerity, or given in charity is said to be inexhaustible. (2) / In this very great place, from plunging into Dhanuṣkoṭi, / the meritorious fruit equal to ten years' residence in Vārāṇasī is obtained. (3) / Having bathed at that site in Dhanuṣkoṭi, and having seen the auspicious Rāmeśvara, / if a man full of devotion resides there for three days, O twice-born, (4) / the merit born of ten years' residence in Puṇḍarīkapura / is his, O chiefs of brahmins, destroying great sins. (5) / Having muttered the six-syllable primal mantra one thousand and eight times / here with devotion, a man attains union with Śiva. (6) / The merit born of living for a year in Madhyārjuna, Kumbhakoṇa, / Māyūra, Śvetakānana, / Hālāsya, Gajāraṇya, / Vedāraṇya, Naimiṣa, (7) / Śrīparvata, Śrīraṅga, / the glorious Vṛddhagiri, / Cidambara, Vālmīka, / Śeṣādri, Aruṇācala, (8) / the glorious Dakṣiṇakailāsa, / Veṅkaṭādri, Haristhala, / Kāñcīpura, Brahmapura, / Vaidyeśvarapura, (9) / and elsewhere in places of Śiva / and places of Viṣṇu, O best of men, / a man joyfully obtains undoubtedly, / if he bathes in Dhanuṣkoṭi in the month of Māgha. (10) / With reference to this Setu, the Śruti passage 'There are two oceans' (11) / exists, O best of brahmins, being ancient and mother-like. / There is another [Śruti passage], O eminent sages, 'That which is wood', (12) / and that which mentions the Setu's glory: 'Beholding the acts of Viṣṇu'; / there is another Śruti, and yet another: 'That [supreme foot] of Viṣṇu'. (13) / The Itihāsas, the Purāṇas, / and the Smṛtis, O rich in austerity, / proclaim the majesty of the Setu in complete consensus. (14) / Performing ablution at the Setu during eclipses of the moon and sun...