Skandapurana 3.2.41.37

3.2.41.37

36 atha nāradāya brahmadevena hanumatkṛtarakṣaṇaprabhāvāddharmāraṇyasya susthitivarṇanam, yudhiṣṭhireṇa vyāsaṃ prati dharmāraṇyasya kadāpi bhaṅgo jāto na veti praśnakaraṇam, tato
vyāsamaharṣiṇā pūrvakaliyugavṛttāntavarṇanam, tatra kānyakubjādhipasārvabhaumā-
''manāmakarājavṛttāntavarṇanam, tena svagurutaḥ kalidharmaṃ śrutvā kaliprabhāveṇa tenā-
''mabhūpatinā kaluṣitacittatayā vaiṣṇavaṃ dharmamutsṛjya bauddhadharmasvīkaraṇavṛttāntaḥ,
atha tasyāmabhūpasya bhāryāyāmāmānāmnyāṃ ratnagaṅgākhyāyāḥ kanyāyā utpattiḥ,
tasyā ratnagaṅgākhyāyāḥ kṣapaṇakairmohitatayā jainadharmaparāyaṇatāvarṇanam, brahmāvartā-
dhipataye kuṃbhīpālāya ratnagaṅgāyāḥ pradānam, tasyā vivāhe tatpitrā''mabhūpena tatpataye
dharmāraṇyasthitamoherakākhyapurapradānam tataḥ kuṃbhīpālena bhūpena dharmāraṇyaṃ samāgatya moherakanagaraṃ nijarājadhānīṃ kṛtvā tasminnijarājye sarvato jainadharmasya vistāra. karaṇam, tadā sarvavarṇānāṃ jainadharme pravṛttiḥ, śrīrāmacandrasakāśato labdhaśāsana- patrāṇāṃ brāhmaṇānāṃ vṛttilope sati taiḥ sarvairmoḍhabrāhmaṇairmilitvā kānyakubja- deśe sārvabhaumamāmabhūpatiṃ gatvā tasmai rāmadattaśāsanapatravṛttāṃtaṃ nivedya tajjā- mātṛkṛta-nijavṛttilopavṛttāntanivedanam, tata āmabhūpena taddvijadvārā nijajāmātre rāmaśāsanapālanāyājñāpreṣaṇam, kuṃbhīpālāparaparyāyeṇa kumārapālā- khyena dharmāraṇyabhūbhṛtā satyāmapi śvaśurasyājñāyāṃ rāmaśāsanasyānādaraṃ kṛtvā brāhmaṇebhyo vṛttiharaṇārthamudyamya nāstikavādena māruterānayanena pratyayo dīyatāmiti brāhmaṇānprati kathanam, tatastairbrāhmaṇaiḥ setubaṃdhe sthitaṃ mārutiṃ pratyānetuṃ tatra dharmasthāne sarvaiḥ saha militvā gamanāya saṃghaśo dvijamelāpakasabhāṃ kṛtvā sarveṣāṃ saṃghībhūya rāmeśvaraṃ prati mārutyānayanāya gaṃtuṃ dṛḍhaniścayapratijñāṃ kṛtvā hastākṣaragrahaṇam, aṣṭādaśasahasrabrāhmaṇānāṃ rāmeśvarakṣetraṃ prati gaṃtuṃ pravṛttānāṃ nivāraṇārthaṃ sarvagobhujebhyo rājñā kumārapālenājñāyāṃ kṛtāyāṃ taiḥ ṣaṭtriṃśatsahasrai- jainadharmeṇāliptaiḥ śuddhairgobhujavaṇigbhirbrāhmaṇebhyaḥ śāpabhayādrājñaśca vṛttibhaṃga- bhayānmaunasvīkaraṇam, tataścāḍālayasthānāṃ katipayānāṃ jainadharmaparāyaṇānāṃ śūdrāṇāṃ madhye katicicchūdrāṇāṃ brāhmaṇanivāraṇārthaṃ rājñā preṣaṇam, tairjaina- dharmavāsanākaluṣitacittaiḥ katipayaiḥ śūdrai rājājñayā teṣāṃ brāhmaṇānāṃ samīpaṃ gatvā teṣāṃ parāvartanāya hetuvādena saṃbhāṣaṇakaraṇam, teṣāṃ śūdrāṇāṃ hetuvādavacaḥ śrutvā śithiladṛḍhasaṃkalpabaṃdhanairaṣṭādaśasahasrabrāhmaṇānāṃ madhye pañcadaśasahasrasaṃkhyā- kairbrāhmaṇai rāmaśāsanānapekṣāpradarśanapūrvakaṃ rāmeśvarakṣetraṃ prati gamanātparāvartanam, urvaritānāṃ ca trisahasrasaṃkhyākānāṃ dvijānāṃ dṛḍhaniścayena śrīrāmeśvarakṣetre mārutiṃ prati gamanam, madhyemārgamatiśramakhinnānāṃ teṣāṃ samīpe śrīrāmapreraṇayā mārutervṛddha- brāhmaṇarūpeṇāgamanam, brāhmaṇoddeśajijñāsayā praśnakaraṇena rāmadarśanasyāśakyatāka-
thanena ca tānbrāhmaṇānbahudhā parīkṣya tato hanumatā tebhyo nijarūpapradarśanapūrvakaṃ
tānbrāhmaṇānsetubandharāmeśvaraṃ pratyānīya rāmeśvaramahādevadarśanādikaṃ kārayitvā
taddarśanena svātmano dhanyatāmananapūrvakaṃ praśaṃsākaraṇam....... 154 1

36. Now, the description of the secure state of Dharmāraṇya by Brahmā to Nārada on account of the power of Hanūmat's protection; the asking of the question by Yudhiṣṭhira to Vyāsa as to whether the ruin of Dharmāraṇya ever occurred or not; then the description by the great seer Vyāsa of the account of the past Kaliyuga; therein, the account of the emperor King named Āma, the ruler of Kānyakubja; the account of that King Āma, who, having heard the religion of the Kali age from his guru, had his mind polluted by the power of Kali, abandoned the Vaiṣṇava religion, and embraced the Buddhist religion; now, the birth to the wife of that King Āma, named Āmā, of a daughter named Ratnagaṅgā; the description of that Ratnagaṅgā being devoted to the Jaina religion on account of being deluded by the Kṣapaṇakas; the giving of Ratnagaṅgā to Kumbhīpāla, the ruler of Brahmāvarta; at her marriage, the gifting by her father, King Āma, of the town named Moheraka situated in Dharmāraṇya to her husband; then, King Kumbhīpāla, having arrived at Dharmāraṇya, made the town of Moheraka his capital, and caused the widespread propagation of the Jaina religion everywhere in his kingdom; then, the engagement of all the classes in the Jaina religion; upon the deprivation of the livelihood of the brahmins who possessed grant-charters received from Śrī Rāmacandra, all those Moḍha brahmins assembled, went to the emperor King Āma in the country of Kānyakubja, reported to him the account of the charter granted by Rāma, and reported the account of the deprivation of their livelihood committed by his son-in-law; then, the dispatching of a command by King Āma through those brahmins to his son-in-law to observe the charter of Rāma; King Kumārapāla—another name for Kumbhīpāla—the ruler of Dharmāraṇya, even though there was the command of his father-in-law, disrespected the charter of Rāma, made an effort to seize the livelihood of the brahmins, and, through materialistic argumentation, told the brahmins: "Let proof be provided by bringing Māruti [here]"; then, in order to bring back Māruti residing at Setubandha, those brahmins held an assembly of assembled twice-borns in groups to set out together with all at that sacred place of Dharma, and having united as a group, they made a firm determination and vow to go towards Rāmeśvara to bring Māruti, and took down their signatures; when an order was issued by King Kumārapāla to all the Gobhujas to prevent the eighteen thousand brahmins who had set out to go to the Rāmeśvara sacred field, those thirty-six thousand Gobhuja merchants, unblemished and pure from the Jaina religion, maintained silence out of fear of a curse from the brahmins and fear of the destruction of their livelihood by the king; then, among certain Śūdras of Cāḍālaya who were devoted to the Jaina religion, a few Śūdras were dispatched by the king to turn back the brahmins; those few Śūdras, their minds defiled by impressions of the Jaina religion, having approached those brahmins by the king's command, spoke with rationalistic arguments in order to turn them back; hearing the rationalistic words of those Śūdras, among the eighteen thousand brahmins, fifteen thousand brahmins whose firm resolve was loosened turned back from going towards the Rāmeśvara sacred field, showing indifference to Rāma's charter; and the remaining three thousand twice-borns, with firm resolve, went towards Māruti in the holy sacred field of Rāmeśvara; on the way, when they were exhausted and distressed by excessive fatigue, the approach of Māruti in the form of an old brahmin, impelled by Śrī Rāma; having tested those brahmins in many ways by inquiring into the brahmins' objective with questions and stating the impossibility of beholding Rāma, Hanūmat revealed his own form to them, led those brahmins to Setubandha Rāmeśvara, caused them to behold Rāmeśvara Mahādeva and the rest, and praised them while considering himself blessed on account of seeing them... 154 1