Skandapurana 3.3.8.80.1

3.3.8.80.1

.. sūta uvāca .. ..
nityānaṃdamayaṃ śāṃtaṃ nirvikalpaṃ nirāmayam ..
śivatattvamanādyaṃtaṃ ye viduste paraṃ gatāḥ .. 1 ..
viraktāḥ kāmabhogebhyo ye prakurvaṃtyahaitukīm ..
bhaktiṃ parāṃ śive dhīrāsteṣāṃ muktirna saṃsṛtiḥ ..2..
viṣayānabhisaṃdhāya ye kurvaṃti śive ratim ..
viṣayairnābhibhūyaṃte bhuṃjānāstatphalānyapi .. 3 ..
yena kenāpi bhāvena śivabhaktiyuto naraḥ ..
na vinaśyati kālena sa yāti paramāṃ gatim .. 4 ..
ārurukṣuḥ paraṃ sthānaṃ viṣayāsaktamānasaḥ ..
pūjayetkarmaṇā śaṃbhuṃ bhogāṃte śivamāpnuyāt .. 5 ..
aśaktaḥ kaścidutsraṣṭuṃ prāyo viṣayavāsanām ..
ataḥ karmamayī pūjā kāmadhenuḥ śarīriṇām ..6..
māyāmayepi saṃsāre ye vihṛtya ciraṃ sukham ..
muktimicchanti dehāṃte teṣāṃ dharmoyamīritaḥ .. 7..
śivapūjā sadā loke hetuḥ svargāpavargayoḥ ..
somavāre viśeṣeṇa pradoṣādiguṇānvite .. 8 ..
kevalenāpi ye kuryuḥ somavāre śivārcanam ..
na teṣāṃ vidyate kiṃcidihāmutra ca durlabham .. 9 ..
upoṣitaḥ śucirbhūtvā somavāre jiteṃdriyaḥ ..
vaidikairlaukikairvāpi vidhivatpūjayecchivam ..3.3.8.10..
brahmacārī gṛhastho vā kanyā vāpi sabharttṛkā..
vibhartṛkā vā saṃpūjya labhate varamīpsitam..11..
atrāhaṃ kathayiṣyāmi kathāṃ śrotṛmanoharām..
śrutvā muktiṃ prayāṃtyeva bhartirbhavati śāṃbhavī..12..
āryāvarte nṛpaḥ kaścidāsīddharmabhṛtāṃ varaḥ..
citravarmeti vikhyāto dharmarājo durātmanām.. .. 13 ..
sa goptā dharmasetūnāṃ śāstā duṣpathagāminām ..
yaṣṭā samastayajñānāṃ trātā śaraṇamicchatām..14..
karttā sakalapuṇyānāṃ dātā sakalasaṃpadām ..
jetā sapatnavṛṃdānāṃ bhaktaḥ śivamukundayoḥ .. 15 ..

Sūta said:
Those who know the reality of Śiva—which consists of eternal bliss, is peaceful, free of conceptual differentiation, flawless, and without beginning or end—have attained the supreme state. / 1
Those steadfast ones who, detached from the pleasures of desires, practice unmotivated,
supreme devotion to Śiva attain liberation, not transmigration. / 2
Those who, while intending sensory objects, maintain affection for Śiva
are not overcome by sensory objects, even while enjoying their fruits. / 3
Endowed with devotion to Śiva with whatever disposition,
a man is not destroyed by time; he attains the supreme state. / 4
He who wishes to ascend to the supreme realm, but whose mind is attached to sensory objects,
should worship Śambhu through ritual action; at the end of enjoyment he shall attain Śiva. / 5
Almost no one is capable of abandoning the latent desire for sensory objects;
therefore, action-based worship is a wish-fulfilling cow for embodied souls. / 6
For those who, having enjoyed happiness for a long time even in this world composed of illusion,
desire liberation at the end of the body, this duty has been proclaimed. / 7
Worship of Śiva in this world is always the cause of heaven and final liberation,
especially on Monday when combined with auspicious qualities such as pradoṣa. / 8
For those who perform the worship of Śiva even merely on a Monday,
nothing whatsoever is difficult to obtain in this world or the next. / 9
Having fasted, become pure, and controlled one's senses on a Monday,
one should worship Śiva according to the rules, through Vedic or worldly rites. / 10
A celibate student, a householder, an unmarried girl, a married woman,
or a widow, having worshiped him, obtains the desired boon. / 11
Here I shall relate a story captivating to the listener's heart;
having heard it, they indeed attain liberation, and devotion directed to Śambhu arises. / 12
In Āryāvarta there was a certain king, the best of the upholders of righteousness,
renowned as Citravarman, a King of Justice to the wicked. / 13
He was the protector of the embankments of righteousness, the chastiser of those who walk on evil paths,
the performer of all sacrifices, the savior of those seeking refuge, / 14
the maker of all merits, the bestower of all riches,
the conqueror of hordes of rivals, devoted to Śiva and Mukunda. / 15