Skandapurana 3.2.29

Sūta said:

"Now hear further about the exploits of Lohāsura;

I shall narrate the famed [story] of Bali's hundred sons as well.

As those two grown brothers reached the supreme place,

from that time on, the Daitya Lohāsura conceived detachment:

'What shall I do? Where shall I go to a supreme place for austerity,

whose limit the gods, sages, and men do not know?

Which god should be propitiated by me?' he pondered deeply in his heart.

As he was pondering thus, a thought arose in that great-souled one:

'[The one who] bore the Gaṅgā with his head, the sun and the moon in his eyes,

the god Nārāyaṇa in his heart, Brahmā in the region of his waist,

in whose body all the deities headed by Indra are reflected,

and then behold themselves, like the sun in water—

him alone, the taintless one, I shall propitiate, being free from sin.'

Having made this resolve, the Daitya performed exceedingly arduous austerity;

terrified by the dreadful fear of rebirth, [he performed austerity] hard to be done by great-souled ones.

Eating only water, consuming wind, and subsisting on fallen leaves,

when he had performed great austerity for a full hundred divine years,

then the Lord who holds the excellent trident was pleased.

Īśvara said:

"Choose a boon, hail to you, whatever is desired by your mind.

O Lohāsura, there is nothing that cannot be given by me to you because of the power of your austerity."

Thus addressed, the Dānava there spoke these words before Śaṃkara:

Lohāsura said:

"If you are pleased, O Lord of the gods, I choose one boon:

the agelessness of my body, and let me have no fear even of death;

in this birth, O Lord, may you always dwell in my heart."

"So be it," Śiva said there to that lord of Dānavas.

Having obtained a boon from Śarva, by destiny he again performed great austerity

on the charming bank of the Sarasvatī to cross the ocean of worldly existence.

For thousands of years, millions, and hundreds of millions,

the blessed Indra became anxious, terrified by the power of his austerity:

"'May there never be a fall from my position due to the Daitya Lohāsura.'

Maghavan, approaching the forest of the hermitage in a disguised form,

caused an interruption in the austerity by shaking the great Asura.

They struck him on the body with sharp, hard fists.

Then, releasing his meditation, the Daitya looked,

[and saw] all that had been done by Indra to destroy the power of his austerity.

Then a battle took place between him and those fierce ones headed by Indra;

it was one against many, and those gods in battle with him

became soaked in blood on their bodies, battered by his blows.

They sought refuge with Keśava, crying out: 'Protect us, protect us!'"

Sūta said:

"Hearing the word of the gods, Vāsudeva Janārdana,

Keśava, fought with him in battle indeed for a hundred years.

Then, empowered by the boon, he conquered Nārāyaṇa there.

Now the god Nārāyaṇa, defeated by Lohāsura,

deliberated again and again with Rudra and Brahmā.

Having deliberated, the three gods prepared again for battle,

having seen that the body of the Daitya Lohāsura was renewed once more.

Then a great battle took place again between the Daitya and Keśava.

When the Daitya did not die at the hands of the mighty Viṣṇu,

Keśava threw him forcefully down upon the ground.

Seeing him fallen on his back, the Supreme Lord who holds the Pināka,

devoid of form, placed his own form upon his heart.

Then Brahmā stood upon the throat of that Lohāsura,

and Puruṣottama oppressed his feet by his own position.

Then the Daitya rose up, even though bound tightly to the ground.

Seeing the Daitya risen and throwing down the foremost gods,

Virañci, seated upon the lotus, spoke with a divine voice:

Brahmā said:

“O Lohāsura, always preserve the duty of your word repeatedly;

that very thing which was requested by you from Rudra has now arrived!

I, Viṣṇu, and Rudra—these three foremost of gods—

will enter into your body until the dissolution of all beings.

O lord of Dānavas, the attainment of Śiva arises only through devoted bhakti;

how can you intend to shake Śiva?

He who would move what is unshakeable—temples, brahmins, or cities—

is tainted with sin in no time at all.

He should be abandoned like a cremation ground, cast out from truth and duty.

You are true to your word; may there be welfare to you! Do not displace the deities!

The path along which the fathers have gone, along which the grandfathers have gone,

by that path one should go; the course of the virtuous must not be violated.

O lord of Dānavas, your father gave the three worlds to Hari;

bound by the bond of his word, that king of the earth ruled in Pātāla.

Likewise, you are bound by the bond of your word and endowed with devotion to Śiva.

Stay upon the surface of the earth, O king of Daityas; do not incur a failure of your word!

And we shall grant you boons; the deities must not be displaced!”

Vyāsa said:

Hearing that speech of Brahmā, the lord of Dānavas was pleased;

with a gracious voice, he spoke to Brahmā, Keśava, and Hara:

Lohāsura said:

“I remain bound by the bond of my word, not indeed through your strength.

If these three foremost among the gods—Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Rudra—

will abide in my body, then what have I not obtained?

May this body of mine, indeed mounted by the three gods,

become renowned on earth through my power, O foremost of gods!”

Gladdened by the words of Lohāsura, the three gods,

Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara, gave an answer to him:

“Since the Daitya did not swerve from truth due to the bond of his true word,

pleased by that truth, we will grant you what is desired in your heart.”

Brahmā said:

“Just as ritual ablution, knowledge of Brahman, and abandonment of the body [are fruitful] at Gayā,

so too, O Daitya, in Dharmāraṇya, before Dharmeśvara.

The ancestors in heaven praise the libation and the ancestral rite performed at the well,

just as the ancestors are satisfied by the offering of balls of food at Gayā.

They desire a libation at the well in Dharmāraṇya for their purification.

O lord of Dānavas, your body indeed shall become a sacred ford.

Whatever supreme satisfaction of the ancestors arises

when libations are offered twenty-one times at Gayā, O ruler of Dānavas,

tenfold satisfaction shall indeed be had from offering ancestors' libations

once before Dharmeśvara; it is true indeed, there is no doubt!

Let there be imperishable satisfaction for the ancestors here through the offering of balls of food,

in the space of Śiva's form, in Dharmāraṇya on the earth.

The rites of the ancestral rite, balls of food, and water must be performed with faith alone,

and especially the ancestral rite and balls of food in the space between us.

So also [let there be no] worry anywhere on your body; you are true, O you of noble vows!

Difficult to obtain in the three worlds, your truth is established in heaven.”

By our truthful word, it shall be so, O best of asuras!

On the surface of the earth, your [body] has become a sacred ford superior even to Gayā.

Our residence within your body is undisturbed, there is no doubt.

O sinless one, we are bound indeed firmly by you with the snare of truth.

Viṣṇu said:

The fruit is traditionally held to be even greater than that of Gayā, Prayāga, and Kāśī,

from offering piṇḍas at the Lohayaṣṭi on the fourteenth day and the new moon.

By the truthfulness of the son of Bali, great satisfaction indeed [arises] here.

Have no doubt about this: having situated herself directly in your body,

the Sarasvatī, of sacred waters, flows forth from the world of Brahmā.

Closely joined with me, she will bathe the limbs of your body.

Where Dvārakā is situated, Lord Maheśvara is there,

and [where] Virañci is—these three sacred fords upon the surface of the earth,

and in Pātāla, in heaven, and in the abode of Yama,

shall be renowned, O best of asuras, for the purpose of satisfying the ancestors.

Now I will declare another supreme verse recited by the ancestors,

which has the nature of a command for sons. Hear it from me, O sinless one:

The ancestors said:

The place in front of Śaṃkara bestows the world of Rudra upon men,

for the sake of purifying the sinful body of those whose minds are struck down by sin.

There, having been gratified even with water and sesame seeds by a good, wise son,

the ancestors go from hell to a good destination.

They praise the gift of a cow there for the liberation of the ancestors,

having dedicated it to the father and others, after beholding Rudra and Keśava.

"With an offering of sesame paste we will attain supreme satisfaction

on the fourteenth day and the new moon, and likewise through the libation to the ancestors.

One should offer piṇḍas for those whose lineage and birth are unknown;

they too all go to heaven—such is the sacred tradition regarding whoever is offered [a piṇḍa]."

Abandoning all [other] tasks, men desiring merit

should go to the Lohayaṣṭi when the month of Bhādrapada arrives.

Hear this mantra for the piṇḍa for those of unknown lineage and name:

"Those who have died in the paternal line, and likewise in the maternal line,

and those born of gone lineages—may this piṇḍa be presented to them!"

Viṣṇu said:

With this very mantra, O best of gods [or asuras], in front of me,

on the fourteenth day of the waning moon in the month of Nabhasya, one should offer the piṇḍa.

Inexhaustible satisfaction will belong to the ancestors; of this there is no doubt.

Through an offering of sesame paste, the ancestors obtain liberation.

Freed from the three debts, men upon the surface of the earth

will become [liberated], without doubt, by offering water and sesame seeds at the Lohayaṣṭi.

Whoever, having bathed here, performs the rites of piṇḍas and water for the ancestors,

his ancestors are satisfied for as long as a day and night of Brahmā.

Having reached the day of the new moon in the month of Bhādrapada at the lake,

whoever performs the ancestral libation at the Staff of Brahmā,

his ancestors will be satisfied until the dissolution of all beings.

The Lord, the primeval deity Maheśvara, is pleased with them.

Those whose minds are set upon a pilgrimage to this sacred ford,

having bathed with cow's milk and white sesame seeds in the water of the Sarasvatī,

should make libations; inexhaustible satisfaction is produced for their ancestors.

One should also perform a śrāddha with roasted barley meal mixed with milk.

Having reached the day of the new moon, one who wishes for the joy of the ancestors

should then give a cow at Rudratīrtha, garments at Yamatīrtha,

and gold at Viṣṇutīrtha, desiring the liberation of the ancestors.

Without unbroken grains of rice, without darbha grass, and even without a seat,

merely with water at the Lohayaṣṭi, one obtains the fruit of a śrāddha at Gayā.

Sūta said:

This deed of Lohāsura has been told to you, O brahmins,

hearing which a slayer of a brahmin or a slayer of a cow is freed from all sins.

Whatever fruit is obtained by offering piṇḍas twenty-one times at Gayā,

that fruit one completely obtains upon hearing this just once.

Forty million, two hundred thousand, / a thousand, and one hundred:

cows would be given by him / who listens to this māhātmya.

Thus ends the twenty-ninth chapter, entitled "The Completion of the Māhātmya of Lohāsura," in the Dharmāraṇyamāhātmya of the first part of the third [book], the Brahmakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.