Skandapurana 3.1.53.52

3.1.53.52

48 atha rāmanāthamāhātmyaprasaṅgena pāṇḍyadeśādhipaśaṃkararājavṛttāntavarṇanam kadāci- nmṛgayārthaṃ vane vicaratā śaṃkarabhūpena vyāghracarmāvṛtasya kasyacicchākalyamunestathā-vidhāyā eva vyāghracarmāvṛtāyāstatpatnyāśca vyāghraśaṃkayā hananam svapitarau hatau dṛṣṭvā tayorbālakasya rodanam, tadrodanaṃ śrutvā śaṃkaranṛpasya tatsamīpaṃ pratyāgamanam, tatratyairmunibhirbālakasamīpaṃ pratyetya dhanurdharaṃ rājānaṃ mṛtau pitarau rudantaṃ bālakaṃ ca nirīkṣya bālakasya tattvajñānopadeśena sāntvanakaraṇapūrvakaṃ mātāpitroraurdhvadai-hikārthamājñākaraṇam, munīnāmājñayā tena muniputreṇa pitroraurdhvadaihikaṃ kṛtvā hālāsyatīrthe rāmeśvarasthale pitrorasthinidhānapūrvakaṃ śrāddhādividhikaraṇam, tatprabhā-vena tatpitrormuktivarṇanam, atha brāhmaṇaiḥ śaṃkarabhūpasya dhikkārapūrvakaṃ brahmahatyāpano-dāya vahnipraveśārthamājñākaraṇam, tato brāhmaṇājñayā śaṃkarabhūpena svamaṃtriṇo nijarājye svaputrasyābhiṣekārthamājñāpyāgniṃ prajvālya tasminpatituṃ prayatne kṛte satyākāśa-vāṇyā śaṃkarabhūpasya vahnipatanato nivāraṇapūrvakaṃ strīhatyābrahmahatyādoṣanivṛttaye rāmanāthadarśanārthamājñākaraṇam, tato brāhmaṇānāmapi tathaivānumodane sati śaṃkara-bhūpenaikavarṣaparyantaṃ śrīrāmeśvaraliṅgasevanam , tatstutiprabhāveṇa śaṅkarabhūpasya mukhato vinirgatāyāḥ strīhatyāsamanvitabrahmahatyāyā bhairaveṇa śivājñayā hananam, atha pavitrasya śaṃkarasya śrīrāmanāthena bhagavatā''virbhūya varapradānam, śrīrāmanāthaprasā-dācchaṃkarabhūpasya śivasāyujyaprāptivarṇanam .. .......... 89 1

48. Now, in the context of the glory of Rāmanātha, the account of King Śaṃkara, the ruler of the Pāṇḍya country, is described: once, wandering in the forest for hunting, King Śaṃkara killed a certain sage Śākala clad in tiger-skin, along with his wife who was likewise clad in tiger-skin, mistaking them for tigers; seeing his parents slain, their young son wept; hearing his weeping, King Śaṃkara approached him; the sages dwelling there came near the boy, and seeing the bow-bearing king, the dead parents, and the weeping boy, they consoled the boy with instructions on knowledge of reality and commanded him to perform the post-funeral rites for his parents; by command of the sages, that sage’s son performed his parents' post-funeral rites, deposited his parents' bones at the sacred site of Rāmeśvara in the Hālāsya sacred ford, and performed the śrāddha and other rites; by the power thereof, the liberation of his parents is described; then the brahmins, censuring King Śaṃkara, commanded him to enter fire to remove the sin of killing a brahmin; then, by order of the brahmins, King Śaṃkara commanded his ministers to consecrate his son in his kingdom, kindled a fire, and made an attempt to leap into it, whereupon a voice from the sky checked King Śaṃkara from leaping into the fire and commanded him to behold Rāmanātha for the removal of the sins of killing a woman and killing a brahmin; then, upon the approval of the brahmins likewise, King Śaṃkara worshiped the liṅga of glorious Rāmeśvara for one year; by the power of his hymn of praise, the sin of killing a brahmin together with the sin of killing a woman issued from King Śaṃkara's mouth and was slain by Bhairava by order of Śiva; then the glorious Lord Rāmanātha manifested before the purified Śaṃkara and granted boons; by the grace of glorious Rāmanātha, King Śaṃkara's attainment of union with Śiva is described. 89. 1