Skandapurana 4.3.67.1

4.3.67.1

sūta uvāca ..
bhagavanbhūtabhavyeśa sarvajñānamahānidhe ..
avāpya kāśīṃ gīrvāṇaiḥ kimakāri vadācyuta .. 1 ..
adhītyemāṃ kathāṃ divyāṃ na tṛptimadhiyāmyaham ..
śevadhistapasāṃ devairagastiḥ prārthitaḥ katham .. 2 ..
kathaṃ viṃdhyopyavāpa svāṃ prakṛtiṃ tādṛgunnataḥ ..
tavavāgamṛtāṃbhodhau mano me snātumutsukam .. 3 ..
iti kṛtsnaṃ samākarṇya vyāsaḥ pārāśaro muniḥ ..
śraddhāvate svaśiṣyāya vaktuṃ samupacakrame .. 4 ..
pārāśara uvāca ..
śṛṇu sūta mahābuddhe bhaktiśraddhāsamanvitaḥ ..
śukavaiśaṃpāyanādyāḥ śṛṇvaṃtvete ca bālakāḥ ..5 ..
tato vārāṇasīṃ prāpya gīrvāṇāḥ samaharṣayaḥ ..
avilaṃbaṃ prathamato ma ṇikarṇyāṃ vidhānataḥ .. 6 ..
sacailamabhimajjyātha kṛtasaṃdhyādisatkriyāḥ ..
saṃtarpya tarpyādipitṝnkuśagaṃdhatilodakaiḥ .. 7 ..
tīrthavāsārthinaḥ sarvānsaṃtarpya ca pṛthakpṛthak ..
ratnairhiraṇyavāsobhiraśvābharaṇadhenubhiḥ .. 8 ..
vicitraiśca tathā pātraiḥ svarṇaraupyādi nirmitaiḥ ..
amṛtasvādupakvānnaiḥ pāyasai śca saśarkaraiḥ .. 9 ..
sagorasairannadānairdhānyadānairanekadhā ..
gaṃdhacaṃdanakarpūraistāṃbūlaiścārucāmaraiḥ .. .. 4.1.3.10 ..
satūlairmṛduparyaṃkairdīpikādarpaṇāsanaiḥ ..
śibikādāsadāsībhirvimānaiḥpaśubhirgṛhaiḥ .. 11 ..
citradhvajapatākābhirullocaiścaṃdracārubhiḥ ..
varṣāśanapradānaiśca gṛhopaskarasaṃyutaiḥ .. 12 ..
upānatpādukābhiśca yatinaśca tapasvinaḥ ..
yogyaiḥ paṭṭadukūlaiśca vividhaiścitrarallakaiḥ .. 13 ..
daṃḍaiḥ kamaṃḍaluyutairajinairmṛgasaṃbhavaiḥ ..
kaupīnairuccamaṃcaiśca paricārakakāṃcanaiḥ .. 14 ..
maṭhairvidyārthināmannairatithyarthaṃ mahādhanaiḥ ..

Sūta said:
"O Lord, ruler of the past and future, great treasury of all knowledge,
having reached Kāśī, what did the gods do? Tell [me], O infallible one! (1)
Having studied this divine narrative, I do not attain satisfaction.
How was Agasti, the treasure-trove of austerities, petitioned by the gods? (2)
How did even the Vindhya, so lofty, return to its own natural state?
My mind is eager to bathe in the nectar-ocean of your speech." (3)
Having heard this entirely, the sage Vyāsa, son of Parāśara,
began to speak to his faithful disciple. (4)
The son of Parāśara said:
"Listen, O Sūta of great intellect, endowed with devotion and faith!
Let these boys also listen, beginning with Śuka and Vaiśampāyana. (5)
Then, having reached Vārāṇasī, the gods along with the great seers,
without delay, first of all at Maṇikarṇikā, in accordance with the injunctions, (6)
having immersed themselves together with their garments, then having performed the proper rites such as the twilight devotions,
having gratified the ancestors and others who are to be gratified with water containing kuśa grass, scents, and sesamum, (7)
and having gratified each and every one of those who dwell at the sacred ford
with jewels, gold, garments, horses, ornaments, and cows, (8)
and likewise with manifold vessels made of gold, silver, and other [materials],
with cooked foods sweet as nectar and rice cooked in milk with sugar, (9)
with dairy products, gifts of cooked food, gifts of grain in many ways,
with perfumes, sandal, camphor, betel, and charming chowries, (10)
with soft couches with cotton pillows, lamps, mirrors, and seats,
with litters, male and female servants, aerial chariots, cattle, and houses, (11)
with colourful flags and banners, and canopies beautiful as the moon,
and with the provision of annual maintenance along with household furnishings; (12)
and [they gratified] ascetics and practitioners of austerities with shoes and sandals,
with fitting silk cloth and fine garments, and with diverse colourful blankets, (13)
with staffs equipped with waterpots, with deer-skins,
with loincloths, high couches, and attendants and gold; (14)
with monasteries, with food for students, with great wealth for hospitality, (15)