Skandapurana 4.29

Agastya said:
Without bathing in the Gaṅgā, the life of men is futile.
Is there any other means by which one may obtain the fruit of that bath? / 1
And for the incapacitated, the crippled, those crippled by indolence,
and those residing in distant lands, how can a bath in the Gaṅgā take place? / 2
Whether gift, vow, mantra, recitation of praise,
ablution at another sacred ford, or worship of a deity— / 3
if there is anything, O six-faced one, that grants the fruit of bathing in the Gaṅgā
merely through another ritual procedure, tell that to me who am bowed before you. / 4
No other than you, Skanda, born from the womb of the Gaṅgā,
knows the supreme majesty of the celestial river, O high-minded one. / 5
Skanda said:
There are lakes and rivers here with holy waters, O sage,
and sacred fords in place after place inhabited by self-subdued sages, / 6
which produce visible results and possess great majesty;
yet not even a ten-millionth part of the celestial river is found there. / 7
By this very inference, understand, O pitcher-born one:
the Gaṅgā was borne upon his head by Śambhu, the God of gods. / 8
At the time of bathing in other sacred fords, the Jāhnavī is chanted by people;
apart from the river born of Viṣṇu's foot, where else is anything capable of releasing sin? / 9
The fruit of bathing in the Gaṅgā, O brahmin, is obtained only in the Gaṅgā,
just as the taste of a grape fruit is in the grape itself and nowhere else. / 10
Yet there is one means here, O sage, by which the complete fruit
of bathing in the river of the gods may be attained; it is an utter secret: / 11
To a devotee of Śiva, peaceful, devoted to the worship of Viṣṇu,
full of faith, orthodox, and desirous of liberation from dwelling in the womb, / 12
it should be told, and never to anyone else, by anyone, anywhere.
This is the supreme secret, destroying great sins, / 13
bestowing great welfare, auspicious, granting desires, supreme,
producing the love of the heavenly river, a continuity of Śiva's delight, / 14
the thousand names of the Gaṅgā, glorious among the king of praises...

The supreme among chants to be chanted, equal to the Vedas and Upaniṣads;
It should be chanted with diligence by one observing silence, without an expounder,
In clean places, by one who is pure, and with very clearly pronounced syllables.
Skanda said:
Oṃ, homage to the goddess Gaṅgā!
Embodying the syllable Oṃ, ageless, peerless, bowed to, streaming with nectar,
Exceedingly generous, fearless, free from sorrow, Alakanandā, immortal, spotless,
Affectonate to the helpless, unfailing, source of waters, granter of nectar,
Of unmanifest characteristics, imperturbable, undivided, unconquered,
Protector of the helpless, granter of success in desired aims, increaser of love,
Substratum of qualities like atomicity, foremost to be counted, remover of falsehood,
Of inconceivable power, sinless, of wonderful form, destroyer of sin,
The mountain king's daughter, granter of the perfection of the eight-limbed yoga, infallible,
Of unobstructed power, giver of life, of endless sacred fords, with waters of nectar,
Of infinite greatness, boundless, granter of endless happiness, giver of food,
Embodiment of all deities, gentle, composed of nectar,
Subduer of the snare of ignorance, granter of a state beyond reasoning,
Destroyer of all obstacles, strung with all virtues,
Light in the darkness of ignorance, dedicated to grace,
Delightful, of faultless limbs, of infinite essence, unstained,
Granter of health, vine of bliss, destroyer of the distress of the afflicted,
Of wondrous form, conferring long life, wealthy, primordial, all-filling, served by the noble,
Refreshing, known as possessed of wisdom, joyful, giver of consolation,
Destroyer of indolence, killer of misfortunes, raining the nectar of bliss,
Irāvatī, bestower of desired things, beloved, giver of the fruit of sacrifices and charitable works,
Whose essence is praised by the Itihāsas and Śrutis, granter of welfare here and hereafter,
Exemplary in the disposition for worship, revered by Indra and others,
Radiant garland adorning the earth, delightful abode of Indirā,
Served by bees and others, supreme sovereign, beloved of Īśvara,
Remover of plagues and fear, worthy of praise, possessing an admirable course of conduct,
Of superior power, moving through the excellent assembly of the stars,
Risen along the celestial path, playing in the realm of the serpents,

Sprinkling the fertile earth with blue lotuses and high pitchers, flowing from Upendra's feet,
Cause of the filling of the ocean, increaser of noble zeal,
Destroyer of agitation, allayer of heat, beloved of the daughter of the sun,
Causer of creation, preservation, and destruction, moving above,
Carrying strength, bearer of strength, possessed of power, garlanded with waves,
Beloved of the chaste ascetic, whose path is upward, undulating, giver of the upward course,
Praised by the multitude of ṛṣis, prosperity, destroyer of the three debts,
Full of truth, granter of prosperity, embodying the Ṛgveda, fond of the upright,
Flowing along the path of the lunar mansions, radiance of the stars, showing the straight path,
Increaser of all duty and wealth, giver of nectar in each drop,
Whose nature is to prosper, worthy of worship, worshipped, destroyer of remaining sins,
Granter of sovereignty, embodiment of supremacy, tradition, lunar splendor,
Possessed of vigor, field of medicinal plants, giver of strength, bestower of boiled rice,
Nectar to the lips, granter of elevation, medicine for those sick with worldly existence,
Preeminent in generosity, belonging to Upendra, fierce, possessing the form of Umā,
Flowing along the sky's path, Ambaṣṭhā, sky-garlanded, lotus-eyed,
Ambikā, great source of waters, blinded with cataracts, remover of blind darkness,
Garlanded with rays, luminous, having accepted the six-faced one,
Destroyer of deep darkness, soothing the blind, possessed of collyrium,
Causing auspiciousness, desirable, fragrant with white and blue lotuses,
Rich in night-lotuses, rich in day-lotuses, beauty, giver of what is imagined,
Golden-eyed, wish-fulfilling cow, maker of fame, destroyer of affliction,
Best among sacrifices, fruit of sacrifice, breaking the bond of karma,
Lotus-eyed, remover of fatigue, brilliant as fire and the sun,
Moist with compassion, auspicious, destroyer of the defilement of Kali,

Taking forms at will, power of action, garlanded with white and blue lotuses,

Immutable, lovely with compassion, whose path is action, endowed with arts,

Kamalā, wish-fulfilling creeper, dark, enemy of impurity,

Whose water is desirable, lovely, dwelling in the ascetic's fine matted hair,

Allayer of black poison, fond of kadamba flowers,

Kālindī, charming in sport, garlanded with softly sounding waves,

Who has traversed the three worlds, itch-reliever, affectionate to the son of Kaṇḍu,

Holding a sword, flashing like the edge of a sword, moving through the sky, wearing the crescent moon,

Moving playfully in the sky, dwelling in the sky, fond of the crescent moon mark,

Sky-rover, worshipped by sky-rovers, renowned, granter of fame,

Destroyer of the flood of sins of the bowed, destroyer of wicked intellects,

Who has dug up the mass of roots of sins, holding a sword, a skull-topped staff, and a shield,

Allayer of harsh heat, mine of nectar-waters,

Gaṅgā, fragrant, Gaurī, fond of the city of Gandharvas,

Of profound form, full of virtues, freed from fear, fond of motion,

Mother of the lord of Gaṇas, sung of, praised in prose and verse,

Gāndhārī, destroyer of rebirth, giver of a path to the fallen,

Gomatī, secret knowledge, cow, protectress, moving through the sky,

Prospering the lineages, full of virtues, transcending the gunas, foremost in virtues,

Mother of Guha, daughter of the mountain, born from the foot of Govinda,

Whose deeds are to be celebrated, Gāyatrī, beloved of the lord of the mountain,

Of hidden form, virtuous, venerable, increaser of dignity,

Remover of planet-affliction, fragrant grass, destroyer of poison, fond of song,

Destroyer of heat, rich in clarified butter, giver of satisfaction through clarified butter,

Fond of the sound of bells, terrible, causer of the destruction of the flood of sins,

Giving pleasure to the sense of smell, roaring, of solid bliss, fond of clouds,

Slayer of enemies, whose waters are compassionately regarded, who rubs away the continuous lineage of sins,

Whose water is drunk by millions of pitchers, who brings about all auspiciousness,

Compassionate, treasure of mercy, voracious, hooting like an owl,

With a body yellowish-red with saffron, Ghargharā, with a gurgling sound,

Moonlight, whose water is pleasing as the moon, having flickering waters, of unsteady brilliance,

Composed of consciousness, of the form of awareness, whose face is like ten thousand moons,

With eyes like campaka petals, lovely, of beautiful limbs, gracefully moving,

To be approached, abode of good conduct, maker of wonders, of manifold forms,

Pleasing, having waters pure with sandalwood, worthy of application, steadfast for long,

Rich with garlands of beautiful campaka flowers, who has sipped away all misdeeds,

Flowing through the sky of consciousness, inconceivable, fanned by fluttering fly-whisks,

Who has stolen away all sins, who has traversed the entire world,

Who has cut down the entire flood of sins, slayer of deceit, remover of trickery,

She whose surface covers heaven, who has snapped all bonds, // 62

Besprinkled with streams of flowing nectar, who cuts sins away, moving at her own will,

Who makes flocks of swans into parasols, who has scattered abroad her own nectar, // 63

Jāhnavī, the bowstring, the mother of the universe, to be chanted, having fleet-footed waves,

Victorious, beloved of Janārdana, worthy of service, doing good to the universe, // 64

Life itself, the breath of living beings, eldest in the universe, consisting of the universe,

The creeper that restores the living to life, the destroyer of rebirth for embodied souls, // 65

The dispeller of dullness, the womb of the universe, turbid with water,

The mother of universal joy, lotus-born, lotus-eyed, // 66

Nectar to the eyes of people, sporting on the slopes of matted locks,

Triumphant, destroyer of repeating hypocrites, having knowledge as her embodied form, // 67

Skilled in the music of cymbals, surrounded by glittering, splashing waters,

Worshipped by Jhiṇṭīśa, producing a humming sound, possessed of rushing waterfalls, // 68

Reaching throughout all of Pātāla, a chisel in splitting the mountain of sins,

Whose surging billows dance with a resounding splash, having vast banks worthy of approach, // 69

Brisk in her resounding flow, thronged with flocks of royal swans in flight,

Holding a kettle-drum sounding dama-ḍamaru, possessing the great universe spoken of in the ḍāmaras, // 4.1.29.70

Offering total liberation, whose waters tremble with the rumble of kettle-drums,

Mother of Ḍhuṇḍhivighneśa, sounding dhaṇa-dhuṇa as she removes sins, // 71

Providing libations, the sacred ford among sacred fords, three-pathed, sovereign of the gods,

Protectress of the three worlds, lady of the waters, revered by the three worlds, // 72

Destroyer of the three afflictions, increaser of splendor and strength,

Having three objects of vision, the savior, the star, worshipped by the rays of the moon, // 73

Purifier of the three worlds, auspicious, giver of contentment, contentment embodied,

Destroyer of thirst, mother of sacred fords, sprung from the foot of Trivikrama, // 74

Full of austerity, the form of austerity, giver of the fruit of an abundance of austerity,

Pervading the three worlds, satisfaction itself, causing satisfaction, the form of truth, // 75

The beauty of the three worlds, the fourth state, grantor of the state beyond the fourth,

The fortune of the three worlds, having three strides, the moonlight of truth against darkness, // 76

Containing radiance within, the essence of austerity, having the head of Tripura's enemy as her abode,

Embodying the three Vedas, slender, dispelling fear of the son of the Sun, // 77

A boat, friend of Yamunā, gratifying all ancestors,

Peerless, a fire to the cotton of intense sin, // 78

Subduer of poverty, skillful, dazzling to behold, divinely adorned,

Difficult to attain even for the initiated, bearing waters sweet as grapes, // 79

Revealer of manifold wonders, taking away the misery that is hard for the wicked to conquer,

Removing distress, destroying misfortune, born from the lotus-foot of the enemy of the Dānavas, // 4.1.29.80

Destroyer of the poison of snakes, tearing through the ongoing series of sins,

Swiftly flowing, shaded by trees of the gods, striking down irrepressible sins, // 81

Attainable through self-control, mother of the gods, revealer of the realm of the gods,

Beloved goddess of the god of gods, bestower of the station of the world-guardians, // 82

Giver of long life, far-reaching, the milk-cow, free from defect,

Bearing waters [white as] milk, worthy of being milked, divine, granting the divine destination, // 83

The heavenly river, refuge of the miserable, preventing rebirth for the embodied,

Longest of all, destroyer of burning pain, cutting down the continuous succession of sins, // 84

Flowing through distant lands, difficult of access, dear to the gods,

Slayer of the wicked, difficult to plunge into, stream of compassion, compassionate, // 85

Hard to approach, disposed to giving, fluid, praised by Brahmā,

Purifier of Daityas and Dānavas, taking away evil-mindedness, // 86

The essence of gifts, the essence of mercy, flowing through heaven and earth,

Attainment of visible and invisible fruits, revered by the assembly of gods, // 87

Having enduring vows, having far-reaching sight, of radiant water, hard to attain,

The chastiser, the science of governance, worshipped by Yama, the wielder of the staff over the wicked, // 88

Destroyer of gambling, a flame of wild fire, the sole treasure-house of liquid wealth,

Pacifying the affliction of the wretched, generous, enemy of feverish torment, // 89

Bent on cleaving mountain caves, subdued, dear to self-restrained folk,

Splitting the mountain slopes, impassable, roaming through impenetrable forests, // 4.1.29.90

Fluidity of righteousness, the yoke of righteousness, the wish-granting cow, steadfast, fortitude, constant,

Whose touch yields the fruit of gifting cows, bestower of dharma, kāma, artha, and liberation, // 91

Carrying waves of righteousness, bearing the burden, the supporter, the ornament of the earth,

Possessed of righteousness, of righteous conduct, she who protects millions of archers,

Removing the sins of those who meditate on her, fit to be meditated upon, cleansing, washing away defilements,

The stream of righteousness, the essence of righteousness, bestower of wealth, increaser of wealth,

Severing the qualities of righteousness and unrighteousness, fond of dhattūra flowers,

The sovereign of righteousness, knower of the scriptures on righteousness, producer of abundance in wealth and grain,

Attainable through righteousness, consisting of waters of righteousness, bearing the nature of bringing forth righteousness,

Whose essential form is attainable through meditation, the earth, worshipped by the Creator, / The foremost, residing in the matted locks of Dhūrjaṭi, fortunate, wisdom endowed with concentration,

Joyful, mother of liberation, delighting, driving away sins,

Warding off heaps of obstacles, revealing her own innate bliss,

Moving in the courtyard of the sky, praise, worthy of reverence, praised by Nārāyaṇī,

Spotless, of spotless fame, destroying the afflictions of ascetics,

Self-restrained, giver of eternal joy, a great treasury of diverse wonders,

Mother of rivers and streams and lakes, the sovereign mistress, the heavenly pond,

Steadfast in rescuing the lost, bestowing joy upon Nandana,

Washing clean all the worlds, unattached, free from afflictions,

Without dependency, free from phenomenal existence, eradicating great impurities,

Mother of pure knowledge, removing the distress of every living creature,

Ever-festive, ever-satisfied, worthy of salutation, taintless,

Endowed with steadfast devotion, free from fear, unsmeared, of unmoving nature,

Faultless, without desire, resting upon the head of Nīlalohita,

Praised by the hosts of Nandin and Bhṛṅgin, delight of serpents, daughter of the mountain,

Free from obstacles, the heavenly river, a great boat across the ocean of hell,

Bestower of merit, bearing merit within, holy, a river of holy waves,

Broad, yielding vast fruits, complete, shattering the distress of the bowed,

Giver of life, mother of living beings, sovereign of life, embodying the life-force,

Dwelling in the lotus, supreme power, dearest to the Conqueror of the Three Cities,

Attainment of higher and lower fruits, purifier, abundant in milk-like waters,

Supreme bliss, having the highest objective, protectress of foundation, supreme,

Recited in the Purāṇas, pleased, having the form of the syllable Oṃ,

Endowed with love for Pārvatī, releaser from the bond of individual souls,

Embodying the Supreme Self, revealing the Supreme Brahman,

Stillness of supreme bliss, embodying expiation,

Nirvāṇa in the form of water, wholly intent on protection,

A forest fire to the firewood of sin, enemy of sin, driving away even the name of sin,

Mother of supreme sovereignty, wisdom, wise, both transcendent and immanent,

Directly perceptible Lakṣmī, lotus-eyed, flowing with the nectar of the supreme ether,

Of gracious form, concentration, purified, visibly manifest deity,

Dearest to the Bearer of Pināka, the water-pot of Brahmā,

Born from the water offering at the feet of Padmanābha, wearing garlands of lotuses,

Giver of supreme prosperity, maker of nourishment, wholesome, fulfillment, radiant,

Purifying, destroying the yellow bilious womb, destroying mountains of sin,

Fruitful, holding fruit in hand, with eyes like blooming lotuses,

Tearing through the great field of sin, ornament of the serpent realm,

Expelling sins under the guise of foam, fragrant with blooming white water-lilies,

Foamy, clear, radiant as a stream of water, putting sin to flight with a snap,

Whose waters taste like molasses, thick with infusions of wholesome water,

Mother of all, sovereign of the universe, all-formed, dear to the Lord of the Universe,

Devoted to brahmins, creator of holy rites, divine, most devoted to Brahman, having spotless waters,

Night, free from dust, traversing multiple worlds,

Friend of the universe, flowing from Viṣṇu's foot, belonging to Viṣṇu, dear to the devotees of Viṣṇu,

Pleasing to Virūpākṣa, manifesting power, facing in all directions,

Free from bonds, celestial, knowable, flowing with the nectar of the syllables of the Veda,

Possessing the speed of knowledge, worshipful, nourishing, expounding Brahman,

Boon-bestower, distant, supreme, thoroughly purifying,

A Vidyādhara woman, free from sorrow, served by flocks of birds,

Abundant in water, mighty, stationed in the sky, dear to the gods,

Speech, endowed with the Veda, famed, river of the knowledge of Brahman,

Whose waters pervade crores of cosmic eggs, removing the sin of killing a brahmin,

Embodying Brahmā, Īśa, and Viṣṇu, intellect, increaser of majesty,

Bestowing pleasure upon the passionate, common to all, all-pervading, the fire-stick of virtue.

Abiding on the crest of the bull-bannered [Śiva], shattering the distress of the afflicted,

Humble, bowed in reverence, daughter of the sun, endowed with modesty;

Skilled in playing the lute, discerning in the sound of the flute,

Bestowing radiance, bestowing strength, her sins uprooted by might;

Sinless, free from anguish, devoid of doubts,

Causing rain, rainwater [herself], rule [of law], her bonds severed;

Embodying vows, embodying wealth, destroyer of many obstacles,

Stream of wealth, earth, having variegated limbs, fire;

Victorious, the seed of the universe, Vāmadevī, giver of boons,

Resorting to righteousness, destroyer of poison, garlanded with waves of wisdom;

Auspicious, Bhogavatī, gracious, Bhavānī, creating living beings,

Supporter of beings, dispeller of fear, slayer of the poverty of devotees;

Granting worldly enjoyment and liberation, fearless, giving heaven and final release to devotees,

Bhāgīrathī, radiant, endowed with fortune and enjoyment, sustenance;

Beloved of Śiva, hating worldly existence, bestowing prosperity, adorned with ashes,

Knowing the thoughts of the three-eyed one, sovereign over the past, future, and present;

Quieter of deluded knowledge, shattering the pavilion of the cosmic egg,

Bestowing abundantly, easily attained through devotion, within the sight of the fortunate;

Crushing the host of calamities, bestowing the joy of food and drink,

To be sought by begging, mother of mendicants, embodying existence and non-existence;

Mandākinī, greatly delightful, mother, river of liberation,

Great dawn, full of sweetness, possessing great merit, causing joy;

Praised by sages, slayer of delusion, great tīrtha, flowing with honey,

Consort of Mādhava, proud, venerable, transcending the path of desires;

Giver of liberation, giver of intellect, foremost, resorted to by men of great fortune,

Having great speed, pure, adorned with great majesty;

Possessing great majesty, great one, with eyes restless like fish,

Filled with great compassion, possessing great prosperity, a great blue lotus;

Embodied maiden of liberation, adorned with jewels and rubies,

Attired in pearl ornaments, delighting mind and eye;

Destroyer of masses of great sins, occupying half the body of Mahādeva,

Garlanded with great waves, liberated, Mahādevī, Manonmanī;

Attainable by the rise of great merit, moonlight dispelling the darkness of illusion,

Great learning, great illusion, great intelligence, great panacea;

Wearing a garland, great means, adorned with great serpents,

Dispeller of great delusion, the most auspicious of great auspicious things;

Moving in the disc of the sun, Mahālakṣmī, free from pride;

Famous, giver of fame, fit, served by those disciplined in soul;