Skandapurana 3.3.13

Sūta said:

Against that king of Daśārṇa, the mighty-armed Vajrabāhu,

there arose a powerful enemy, the king who ruled Magadha. (1)

Indeed, named Hemaratha, mighty-armed and formidable in battle,

that strong king, surrounding Daśārṇa with a great army, laid siege to it. (2)

His unassailable army commanders, having reached the Daśārṇa country,

plundered wealth and gems; others burned down the houses. (3)

Some seized riches; some took children; others took women;

others seized herds of cattle; some took grain and household goods;

others destroyed the crops in the groves and the household gardens. (4)

Having thus ruined that kingdom, desiring to seize women and herds of cattle,

the Magadha king surrounded that city of Vajrabāhu. (5)

Seeing the city thus thrown into turmoil,

King Vajrabāhu quickly went out with his soldiers to fight. (6)

King Vajrabāhu and his ministers at the fore,

fought together with the Magadhas and struck down the enemy army. (7)

The great archer Vajrabāhu, clad in mail, mounted his chariot;

scattering showers of arrows, he wrought a great slaughter. (8)

Seeing the king of Daśārṇa fighting, hard to withstand in battle,

all the Magadha soldiers quickly surrounded him alone. (9)

Having fought for a very long time, the Magadhas of firm valour

destroyed his army and gained the glory of victory. (10)

Some struck down his chariot; some cut down his bow;

one killed his charioteer, while another shattered his sword. (11)

With his sword and bow shattered, deprived of chariot, his charioteer killed,

the mighty warriors seized the king by force and bound him in fury. (12)

Having defeated all his council of ministers and his army,

those Magadhas entered his city, shining with victory. (13)

Horses, men, elephants, camels, cattle, and treasures—

they seized all the young women and the lovely-limbed maidens. (14)

They bound the king's queens and thousands of female slaves;

and those violent marauders carried off the treasury full of gems. (15)

Having thus ravaged the city and carried off women, cattle, wealth, and the rest,

having bound Vajrabāhu by force and placed him on a chariot, they set out. (16)

When such an uproar had arisen, and there was terrible destruction in the realm,

the powerful prince Bhadrāyus then heard that report. (17)

Hearing of his father bound by the enemy, of his father's wives carried off,

and of the kingdom of Daśārṇa destroyed, he roared like a lion. (18)

Taking up the sword and the conch, assisted by the merchant's son,

clad in mail and mounting a horse with a desire for victory, the prince, (19)

arriving swiftly in that country filled with the Magadhas,

which was burning, weeping, its women, sons, cattle, and wealth carried off, (20)

and seeing all the royal folk, and the kingdom desolate and overwhelmed by fear,

his mind inflamed with rage, quickly entered the enemy host;

drawing his bow up to his ear, he rained down showers of arrows. (21)

Those enemies, being struck down by the prince with arrows,

ran at him with speed and pierced him with fierce shafts. (22)

Though struck by a barrage of weapons by the enemies drunk with battle,

the steadfast prince did not flinch in battle, protected by Śiva's armor. (23)

Enduring the hail of weapons and advancing quickly with the grace of an elephant,

he swiftly struck down numerous chariots, elephants, and foot soldiers. (24)

Having killed one charioteer there together with his driver, the prince,

Mounting that very chariot, with the merchant's son as his charioteer,

the steadfast [prince] moved about the battle like a lion among a herd of deer.

Then all the furious heroes with raised bows,

the mighty army commanders, rushed against him alone.

Raising a terrible sword before those who were charging,

he advanced against the great warriors, as if displaying his manly prowess.

His dazzling sword resembled the dreadful tongue of Antaka [the god of death];

merely upon seeing it, the army commanders suddenly died by its power.

Whosoever beheld that sword flashing on the battlefield

all met destruction, like an insect struck by a thunderbolt.

Then, for the destruction of the entire army, the mighty-armed hero

blew his conch with a great roar, as if filling heaven and earth.

By that immense sound of the conch, which was as if smeared with poison,

the enemies fainted and fell to the ground the moment it was heard.

Those on horseback, those on chariots, and those mounted on elephants—

their vigour shattered by the sound of the conch, fell unconscious in an instant.

All those who had fallen to the ground, senseless and weaponless,

he, knowing the treatises on righteousness, deemed as good as corpses and did not kill.

Having released his father who was bound on the battlefield,

he immediately freed all [his father's] wives who had fallen into the enemy's power.

And the wives of the chief ministers, as well as of other citizens,

women, children, maidens, and numerous cattle and wealth—

having freed [them] from fear of the enemy, he, overcome with emotion, comforted him.

Then, moving through the enemy ranks, he seized their women,

horses swift as the wind or thought, mountain-like elephants,

golden chariots, and maidservants with radiant faces.

[A pair of verses:]

Having swiftly taken everything and seized that abundant wealth,

he bound fast Hemaratha, the defeated king of Magadha.

Capturing his ministers, kings, and the chief commanders there,

and swiftly binding them, he made them enter the city at once.

Those chief ministers and leaders who had earlier been broken in battle

and had fled in all directions returned, having regained confidence.

Seeing the valorous deeds of the prince, all were struck with wonder in their minds;

they considered him the foremost of gods, descended to the earth for some purpose.

“Ah, what great good fortune is ours! Ah, the fruit of our austerity!

Indeed, we who were dead have been brought back to life by this unknown hero!

Is he one perfected through yoga, one perfected through austerity, or an immortal?

Superhuman is this great deed that he has performed!

Surely that Gaurī must be his mother, and Śiva his father,

for, possessing infinite power, he conquered nine akṣauhiṇīs!”

As they praised [him] to one another, filled with wonder and delighted,

he was questioned by the ministers and told them the truth about himself.

Approaching his father, who was overwhelmed with wonder and joy,

and shedding tears of delight, he bowed down, overcome with love.

Greeted with affection by his son,

the king embraced him tightly and spoke with haste, distressed with love:

“Who are you, noble-minded one—a god, a man, or a gandharva?

Who is your mother, or who is your father? What is your country, and what is your name?

Why have you, having arrived here out of compassion,

released me along with my wives, who were bound by enemies and drained of strength like dead men?

From where did you obtain this heroism, steadfastness, splendor, and towering might?

You seem to wish to conquer the three worlds along with gods, asuras, and humans!

Even in a thousand lifetimes, O you of great majesty,

I am not able, together with these wives and kin, to repay my debt to you.

Leaving aside these sons, these wives, this kingdom, and this city—

everything—my heart is bound in love to you alone.

Tell me everything, my dear child, protector of my life!

For the life of these wives of mine is indeed dependent on you.”

Sūta said:

Questioned thus by his father, that Bhadrāyus spoke to him:

"O king, this is a son of a vaiśya named Sunaya, my friend.

I live in his charming house together with my mother.

My name is Bhadrāyus; I will tell you my story later.

Enter the city, may good befall you, along with your wives and your friends;

casting aside fear of your enemies, take your pleasure as you please.

Do not release these enemies until my return.

I will go quickly to my own abode today."

Having spoken thus and taken leave of the king, Bhadrāyus, the prince,

went to his own house and reported everything to his mother.

She too, overjoyed, embraced her son with tears in her eyes,

and that chief of vaiśyas embraced him with love and honored him.

And King Vajrabāhu, having entered his own palace

along with his wives, sons, and ministers, experienced incomparable delight.

When that night had dawned, Ṛṣabha, the foremost of yogins,

came to King Candrāṅgada, the husband of Sīmantinī,

and told him in secret of the birth of Bhadrāyus, his superhuman feat,

and with love [said]: "Your daughter Kīrtimālinī

give to Bhadrāyus." Having thus advised the king of Niṣadha,

Ṛṣabha, who knew the truth of place, time, and purpose, departed.

[The preceding is] a unit of three verses.

Then King Candrāṅgada, at an auspicious astrological moment,

summoned Bhadrāyus and gave him Kīrtimālinī.

Having married her, the prince, together with his wife,

seated on a golden throne, shone like the moon with Rohiṇī.

The king of Niṣadha, having invited Vajrabāhu, his father,

brought him into the city and, accompanied by his ministers, went out to meet and honor him.

There he saw the tamer of foes, Bhadrāyus, now married,

fallen at his feet; with love and joy he embraced him.

"He is the hero who gave me my life; he is the destroyer of enemies;

yet his lineage is unknown to me, although his valor is endless.

This mighty one is your son-in-law, O King Candrāṅgada;

I wish to hear his lineage and origin in truth."

Requested thus by the king of Daśārṇa, the ruler of Niṣadha,

approaching in private, smiled and said this:

"O king, this is your son, afflicted with disease in his childhood,

abandoned by you in the forest along with his mother, who was tormented by illness.

Wandering in the forest with this child,

that woman by fortune reached a vaiśya's house and was protected by that vaiśya.

Then this boy of yours, afflicted by many diseases, died;

dead, he was brought back to life again by a certain king of yogins.

Through the power of that very Śiva-yogin named Ṛṣabha,

both mother and child attained a divine-like appearance.

With the sword given by him, and the enemy-slaying conch,

protected by the armor of Śiva, he conquered his enemies in battle.

He alone possesses the strength of twelve thousand elephants;

accomplished in all sciences, he has become my son-in-law.

Therefore, taking him and his virtuous mother,

go to your city, O king; you will attain supreme auspiciousness."

Having related everything thus, Candrāṅgada called his chief queen,

who was staying in the inner chamber, and showed her adorned before him.

Hearing all this and seeing [them], that lord of the earth,

greatly ashamed due to his folly, censuring the deed done by himself, / attained supreme joy from the wondrous sight of both of them,

and, his whole body thrilled with horripilation, embraced them both.

[The preceding is] a pair of verses.

Thus honored and congratulated by the king of Niṣadha,

having fed him well, and himself together with the ministers,

taking that principal queen of his, that son, and that daughter-in-law,

Vajrabāhu set out for his city accompanied by his retinue.

With great agitation, that Bhadrāyus, [entering] his father's house...

having reached it, brought supreme joy to all the city's inhabitants.

When in time his father ascended to heaven, having attained his youth,

Bhadrāyu, possessing wonderful prowess, ruled the entire earth.

He released Hemaratha, the lord of Magadha, from bondage,

having established supreme friendship [with him] in the presence of the brahmin seers.

Having thus performed the worship of Śiva-yogins honored in the three worlds even in a previous existence, that prince,

having crossed over a multitude of unbearable misfortunes and obtained the kingdom, took noble delight together with Candrāṅgada's daughter.

Thus ends the thirteenth chapter, named 'The Account of Bhadrāyu's Marriage', in the Brahmottarakhaṇḍa of the third [part of the] glorious Skandapurāṇa, a collection of eighty-one thousand verses.