Skandapurana 3.3.11

Sūta said:

The courtesan named Piṅgalā whom I mentioned earlier,

having cast off her former body through the merit of worshipping devotees of Śiva,

was born again to Candrāṅgada and Sīmantinī,

endowed with beauty, nobility, and virtue, under the name Kīrtimālinī.

Meanwhile, in that very place, prince Bhadrāyus, [dwelling] in the merchant's house,

grew up like the sun in the summer month, possessing great radiance.

That chief of merchants also had an excellent son;

he was named Sunaya and became a companion to the king's son.

Those two boys, the royal prince and the merchant's son, deeply affectionate toward each other,

enjoyed varied games, possessed noble forms, and were adorned with jewel-ornaments.

For that royal prince as well as for his own son, that chief of merchants

had the rites of passage performed in detail by brahmins.

Having received the sacred thread at the proper time, devoted to serving their teacher,

the two of them, endowed with humility, acquired mastery of all sciences.

Then, when the prince reached sixteen years of age,

that very same yogin, Ṛṣabha, arrived at his dwelling.

Seeing that Śiva-yogin arrived, both the queen and the prince

bowed down again and again and worshipped him with joy.

And worshipped by the two of them, the lord of yogins, delighted in his heart,

addressed the prince, his mind soft with compassion.

The Śiva-yogin said:

“Is all well with you, dear child, and is your mother free from affliction?

Have you acquired mastery over all sciences?

Are you ever intent upon the service of your teachers?

Do you remember me, dear child, the guru who gave you life?”

When the lord of yogins spoke thus, that queen, endowed with modesty,

made her son fall at his feet and said to him:

“O guru, this is your son; you are the father who gave him life.

Being compassionate of soul, you should accept him as your disciple.

Therefore protect this helpless boy who has been abandoned by his kinsmen.

You ought to instruct him fully in the path of the virtuous.”

Thus propitiated by the queen, the highly intelligent Śiva-yogin

instructed that prince in the path of righteousness.

Ṛṣabha said:

“The eternal dharma taught in the Vedas, the smṛtis, and the Purāṇas

should always be practiced by people according to their caste and stage of life.

Follow the path of the virtuous, my child, and practice only righteous conduct.

Do not transgress the command of the gods, and do not show disrespect to the gods.

Be devoted always to cows, gods, teachers, and brahmins.

Always honor a guest who has arrived, even if he be an outcaste.

Never abandon truth anywhere, even when danger to life is at hand;

only for the protection of cows and brahmins may you speak an untruth on occasion.

Toward others’ wealth, others’ wives, and the possessions of gods and brahmins,

relinquish desire, O mighty-armed one, even if they are rare and desirable objects.

For good discourse, virtuous conduct, holy vows, true scripture,

and for accumulating virtue and the other ends of life, always maintain desire, O highly intelligent one.

In ritual ablution, silent recitation, fire-offering, recitation of scripture, and libations to ancestors,

In the worship of cows, gods, and guests, be free from indolence, O sinless one.

Anger, hatred, fear, dishonesty, malicious slander, insistence on evil,

crookedness, deceit, and agitation—avoid these with diligence.

Though dedicated to the duty of a kṣatriya, abandon senseless violence.

Avoid groundless hostility, idle chatter, and speaking ill of others.

In hunting, gambling, and drinking; among women and those subjugated by women;

excessive eating, excessive anger, excessive sleep, excessive exertion,

excessive talk, and excessive play—avoid [these] at all times.

Supreme learning, supreme faith, supreme merit, supreme memory,

supreme enthusiasm, supreme renown, and supreme fortitude: cultivate these.

Be full of desire toward your own wife, full of anger toward your own enemies,

full of greed for an accumulation of merit, and full of indignation toward the unrighteous.

Be full of aversion toward a heretic, and full of affection toward the virtuous.

Be difficult to persuade in bad counsel, and deaf to malicious words.

The rogue, the violent, the deceitful, the cruel, the gambler, the fickle, the wicked,

the outcaste, the atheist, and the crooked—avoid [them] from afar.

Do not indulge in self-praise; discern inner intentions;

and never be overly attached to wealth or to the whole household.

In the word of a devoted wife, of a mother, of a father-in-law,

of good people, and of a guru, place your trust at all times.

Always intent on self-protection, vigilant, steadfast in vows,

do not place trust anywhere even in your own servants.

Do not kill one who has trusted [you], even if he is a thief, O broad-minded one.

Do not suspect the sinless, and do not deviate from the truth.

The helpless, the wretched, the aged, a woman, a child, the innocent—

protect them with wealth, life, intellect, capability, and strength.

Even an enemy deserving death, do not kill if he has sought refuge.

Whether unworthy or worthy, whether lowly or most exalted,

whoever it may be that asks, give to him even your head.

Always acquire fame alone, even through great effort.

For fame alone is the ornament of kings and of the wise.

Prosperity arises from good renown; merit is born of good renown;

the world shines through good renown, as does the moon with moonlight.

A horde of elephants, horses, and gold, and a mountain-like heap of jewels—

cast aside everything swiftly like grass if it is tainted by ill repute.

Forgive the anger of a mother, the anger of a father, the anger of a guru, expenditure of wealth,

the transgression of sons, and [the anger] of brahmins, O friend.

Act for their welfare in such a way that the brahmins become pleased.

The best of the twice-born can rescue a king sunk in distress.

Lifespan, fame, strength, happiness, wealth, merit, and the flourishing of subjects—

the action by which these are produced must always be pursued by you.

Considering properly with diligence place, time, capability,

what is to be done and what is not to be done, always perform your duty.

Do not cause distress to anyone; ward off the distress of others.

Trouble thieves and wicked people through good policy and might.

In ritual ablution, in recitation, in fire-offerings, and in rites for gods and ancestors,

be unhurried; in sleep and eating, be expeditious.

Full of courtesy, free of deceit, truthful, pleasing to the mind of men,

with few words and infinite meaning: speak such speech, O broad-minded one.

Be fearless everywhere—among adversaries and in adversities.

Be fearful toward the race of brahmins, toward sin, and toward the guru’s command.

Toward kinsmen, relatives, brahmins, wives, and sons,

act with an equal disposition, and likewise in dining rows.

Toward the beneficial teachings of the virtuous, as well as holy tales

and discussions on learning that accord with dharma, never turn away.

In a pure place beside sacred waters, renowned and crowded with brahmins,

in a great land devoted to Śiva, you should always dwell.

Where an unchaste woman or a courtesan resides, where a lustful man stays,

in a wretched land crowded with the low-born, never dwell at any time.

Even while taking refuge in Śiva alone, the Lord of the three worlds,

You should worship all the gods, honouring their respective days,

always pure, always diligent, always tranquil, always steady,

having always conquered the group of six [passions], and always seeking solitude, O sinless one;

and the brahmins who know the Vedas, tranquil, and the self-controlled, radiant ascetics—

[these] two verses [form a unit].

sacred trees, sacred rivers, a sacred ford, a great lake,

a milch cow, a bull, a jewel, a maiden, a devoted wife,

and your own household deities—bow down to them at once.

Rising at the hour of Brahmā, sipping water, pure in mind,

having bowed to one's own teacher, and meditating on the god, the husband of Umā,

and Nārāyaṇa, the lord of Lakṣmī, and Brahmā, and Vināyaka,

Skanda, the goddess Kātyāyanī, Mahālakṣmī, and Sarasvatī,

and the world-protectors headed by Indra, and the seers of virtuous fame,

having then meditated on the rising sun, one should always bow down to him.

Perfume, flowers, betel, vegetables, ripe fruits, and the like—

having offered food, dishes, what is pleasing, and new things to Śiva, eat them.

Whatever is given, whatever is done, whatever is chanted, bathed [for], offered into fire, remembered,

and whatever austerity is performed, dedicate all that to Śiva.

Whether eating, reciting, lying down, or wandering about,

seeing, hearing, speaking, or taking, meditate constantly on Śiva alone.

Having both arms adorned with rudrākṣa bracelets, wearing the white tripuṇḍra of ashes within a garland,

reciting the five-syllable king of supreme mantras, always meditating on the feet of Paśupati, you should rejoice.

Thus, O child, the summary of dharma has been told to you in brief;

in other Purāṇas, it is proclaimed in full detail.

Now, another secret of all the Purāṇas, which removes the entire flood of sins, holy,

granting victory, releasing from all adversities—I shall explain the Śaiva armour for your welfare.

Thus ends the eleventh chapter, titled 'Description of the Instruction of Ṛṣabha to Bhadrāyu', in the Brahmakhaṇḍa, the third [part] of the eighty-one-thousand-verse collection of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa.