Skandapurana 4.34

Skanda said:
Again, O pot-born [Agastya], the slender-limbed lady saw on the painted canvas
glorious Maṇikarṇikā in the area in front of the gate to heaven,
where Śaṃkara, with his left hand,
whispers the sacred Vedic formula into the ear of creatures bitten by the serpent of saṃsāra, touching [their] ear.
Not by Sāṃkhya-yoga of Kapila, not by Sāṃkhya, and not by vows
is that destination attained by men which this ground of liberation grants.
In Vaikuṇṭha, the abode of Viṣṇu, those devoted to the devotion of Viṣṇu
constantly chant [the name of] glorious Maṇikarṇikā for liberation.
Having offered the agnihotra as long as they live,
at the end the best of brahmins resort to glorious Maṇikarṇikā for liberation.
Having studied the Vedas according to rule, devoted to Brahmayajña on earth,
the brahmins resort to glorious Maṇikarṇikā for liberation.
Kings, having performed many sacrifices with ample sacrificial fees,
fortunate, resort to Maṇikarṇikā at the end for the highest good.
Chaste wives too, constantly devoted to their husbands,
following the husband, resort to Maṇikarṇikā for liberation.
Vaiśyas, who have acquired wealth righteously,
having given away their riches to virtuous people, at the end serve glorious Maṇikarṇikā.
Good Śūdras, walking the path of righteousness, having abandoned sons, wives, and the rest,
worship this Maṇikarṇikā for the attainment of nirvāṇa.
Even those who observe celibacy as long as they live, with conquered senses,
resort to this glorious Maṇikarṇikā for ultimate beatitude.
Householders, having satisfied guests and being devoted to the five sacrifices,
do not abandon this Maṇikarṇikā.
Those who belong to the forest-dweller stage of life, knowing it to be the means of nirvāṇa,
having restrained the collection of senses, worship Maṇikarṇikā.
Knowing liberation through various scriptures to have no other means,
seekers of liberation carrying a single staff serve Maṇikarṇikā.
Having continuously subdued mind, speech, and body, those bearing three staffs

resort to Maṇikarṇikā in order to attain the glory of ultimate beatitude.
Having renounced all actions, having restrained the wavering mind,
those of the single-staff vow worship Maṇikarṇikā for liberation.
Whether bearing a crest-tuft, shaven-headed, matted-haired, wearing a loincloth, or sky-clad,
what seeker of liberation would not serve Maṇikarṇikā, the giver of liberation?
For those who are unable to perform austerity or incapable of giving gifts,
and who are devoid of the practice of yoga, this [ford] grants liberation.
There are thousands of means for liberation, O sage, but none
such that grants nirvāṇa as effortlessly as this Maṇikarṇikā does.
To the one observing a fast and to the one who eats at the three times of day,
Maṇikarṇikā at the end gives equal liberation to both.
One may practice the Pāśupata vow as prescribed with firm commitment;
another may unceasingly remember this Maṇikarṇikā in his heart:
upon the fall of the body here, an equal destination is seen for both.
Therefore, having abandoned everything, this Maṇikarṇikā is to be served immediately.
Those who enter the gate of heaven after plunging into Maṇikarṇikā,
their sins washed away, heaven is nowhere far from them.
This gate of heaven is the ground of heaven; Maṇikarṇikā is the ground of liberation.
Heaven and liberation are right here; they are not above nor below.
Having given many gifts, having plunged into Maṇikarṇikā,
those who have entered the gate to heaven do not go to hell.
The meaning of heaven and liberation has been explained by the wise:
heaven is declared to be pleasure, and liberation is the great bliss.
The pleasure that arises for a good person seated at Maṇikarṇikā—
where is such pleasure for Śatakratu seated upon his throne?
That which is declared to be the great bliss in the absorption of those whose self is forgotten
arises spontaneously at glorious Maṇikarṇikā.
In the area in front of the gate of heaven and to the west of the river of the gods,
there is a certain great ground, the sole treasure of good fortune and merit.

As many grains of sand as shine by the sun's touch, / so many Brahmās have passed away, but this Maṇikarṇikā never does.
There are as many sacred fords all around Maṇikarṇikā / as leave not even a sesame seed’s breadth of earth empty.
If anyone in whose lineage has attained Maṇikarṇikā and gained liberation, / his descendants, by its power, are revered even by the dwellers of heaven.
By whomsoever the ancestors are propitiated after reaching Maṇikarṇikā, / by him seven, seven, and yet seven [generations of] ancestors are delivered.
From the middle of the river of the gods, up to the pavilion of Hariścandra, / up to Keśava on the Gaṅgā, and up to the Gate of Heaven extends Maṇikarṇikā.
Even the three worlds cannot equal a speck of its dust; / every living being in the three worlds strives for the attainment of this.
Kalāvatī, looking thus repeatedly at the picture-scroll, / then beheld the Jñānavāpī to the south of venerable Viśveśvara,
whose water the Commander of the Troops constantly guards against the wicked, / having cast great bewilderment, agitation, and delusion [upon them].
That eight-formed Mahādeva who is celebrated in the Purāṇa— / this Jñānavāpikā, the granter of knowledge, is his water-form.
Having made the Jñānavāpī a guest of her eyes, Kalāvatī / instantly had her body assume the bristling form of a kadamba blossom.
Her limbs trembled, the region of her forehead broke into a heavy sweat, / and her eyes grew turbid with tears of joy.
Her slender vine-like body stiffened, and her face turned pale; / her voice became choked with emotion, and the scroll slipped from her hand.
For a moment she forgot herself, and knew not: 'Who am I? Where am I?' / Motionless, she was like the Supreme Self in the state of deep sleep.
Then her female attendants, hurrying here and there, / asked one another: 'What is this? What is this? What is this?'
Perceiving her state, those clever-minded women,

recognising it by the sattvic manifestations of emotion, said to one another:
'She has surely caught sight of some object of love from another birth, / and meeting with it after a long time, she has fallen into a swoon of joy.
Otherwise, why would she, who is exceedingly clever, suddenly swoon / while viewing the picture-scroll in secret?'
Having properly discerned the cause of her swoon, / they calmly attended to her with exceedingly cooling remedies:
One fanned her with fans made of plantain leaves; / another adorned that blessed lady with lotus-stalk bracelets.
Another sprinkled her with copious sandal-paste juice; / one dispelled her grief with fresh aśoka sprouts.
Another sprinkled her vine-like body, withered by separation from the beloved object, / with sprays of shower-water from the fountain-pavilion.
One covered her body with a cloth moistened with water; / others anointed her with a smear of camphor powder.
One arranged a soft bed of lotus leaves; / another, removing the diamond jewelry from her body,
fashioned a pearl necklace on the circle of her breasts; / and one moon-faced woman made that slender-bodied girl
lie on a slab of moonstone that was cool with oozing cold water.
Seeing her thus attended to, the personified intellect [Buddhiśarīriṇī], / whose own body was overwhelmed with deep distress, spoke to those female friends:
'I know the supreme medicine to pacify her distress; / remove all these treatments without delay.
I will relieve her of distress instantly; behold the wonder!
On seeing the picture-scroll, she suddenly fell into bewilderment; / surely, the ground of her love is here alone.
Therefore, by touching the picture-scroll, she will leave her torment behind.' / Then, at the word of Buddhiśarīriṇī, her attendants
placed the scroll before her and said: 'Look at the scroll, Kalāvatī, / where your favorite deity, who brings you joy, is present!'

She too, upon the mention of her favorite deity and the sight of that scroll, / as if receiving a sprinkling of nectar, quickly arose, casting off her faint,
like medicinal herbs withered by drought revived by downpours of rain, / and gazed again upon the Jñānavāpikā, the bestower of knowledge.
Touching that well, even though it was on the painting, Kalāvatī / obtained knowledge of another birth, as it had been in her previous life.
Again she reflected upon the supreme greatness of the well: / 'Ah! Even though situated in a painting, this Jñānavāpikā, being touched,
has produced in me the knowledge arising from another birth!' / Then, delighted, the beautiful lady related before them
her own past-life story, which had arisen from the power of the Jñānavāpī.
Kalāvatī said: / 'Before this birth, I was the daughter of a brahmin.
I used to sport with joy at the Jñānavāpī near Viśveśvara in Kāśī.
My father was Harisvāmin, and my mother Priyaṃvadā;
my name was Suśīlā. A vidyādhara carried me away.
Then, along the path in the middle of the night, near the Malaya mountain, / a hero, struck by a rākṣasa, slew that rākṣasa.
The rākṣasa too, freed from his curse, attained a divine body.
He was born as a gandharva from Malayaketu; / and I became Kalāvatī, the daughter of the Karṇāṭa king.
This knowledge arose in me instantly from the sight of the Jñānavāpī.' / Hearing her words, Buddhiśarīriṇī
and those attendants of hers became joyful of face; / bowing down to the virtuous Kalāvatī, they said:
'Ah! How indeed can that [well] be attained, whose power is such? / Cursed is the birth of those in this mortal world by whom the Jñānavāpikā has not been seen!
O Kalāvatī, homage to you! Fulfill our desire! / Make our birth fruitful! Praying to the king, take us there!
And this is our vow, beginning today, O Kalāvatī:

"Having seen that Jñānavāpī, we shall experience great enjoyments.
She certainly deserves to be called Jñānavāpī by name,
since it is wondrous that even when depicted in a painting, she grants you knowledge here."
Agreeing to their words and concealing her true feelings,
having done pleasing things for the king, she, knowing the right moment, addressed him.
Kalāvatī said:
"Lord of my life, there is nothing dearer to me anywhere than you.
Having attained you as my husband, O king, all my desires have been fulfilled.
One desire, O noble prince, is to be requested of you by me here;
when taken into consideration, it is also of great benefit to you.
For me, who am dependent on you, it is exceedingly difficult to attain, and great;
but for you, whose conduct is independent, this desire is nearly accomplished.
Lord of my life, what is the use of speaking much? If you have any need for my life-breaths,
then grant what is desired; otherwise my life-breaths will depart."
Hearing the words of her who was dearer than life-breaths, the king
spoke words pleasing both to her and to himself.
The king said:
"O dear one, O passionate woman, I see nothing here that cannot be given to you;
even my life-breaths have been purchased by you through your virtues of good conduct and artistry.
Speak without delay, and know it to be done, O Kalāvatī.
There is nothing unattainable by other women for virtuous women like you.
Who is to be asked? What is to be requested? Or who is the requester, O dear one?
Our conduct is not at all like that of ordinary people, O Kalāvatī.
The country, the treasury, the army, the fortress, and whatever else there is, O passionate woman—
all that is yours; none of it is mine, only lordship here is mine.
And that lordship belongs to me elsewhere, not towards you, O mistress of my life!
At your word, O proud woman, I would abandon the kingdom as if it were a blade of grass."
Hearing these words of King Mālyaketu, that
Kalāvatī spoke a charming statement with a deep voice.
Kalāvatī said:
"O lord, formerly the Creator created various kinds of creatures;

for the welfare of creatures, the four ends of life were created.
Even birth devoid of them is useless, like a bubble in water.
Therefore, at least one should be accomplished for happiness here and in the hereafter.
Where there is harmony between husband and wife, there the threefold aim flourishes;
that which is spoken by knowers of the past is thus seen to be true.
Indeed, there are a hundred maidservants like me here in your palace,
yet your extreme love is seen towards me, O master.
Even your maidservant is endowed with enjoyments, how much more so she who rests upon your lap?
There too is undivided prosperity; there the husband is devoted to her alone.
A wise man should amass wealth for the sake of sacrifice and charitable deeds,
a life free from obstacles for austerity, and a wife for obtaining offspring.
All of this belongs to you here by the grace of Viśveśa, O dear one.
If my desire is to be fulfilled, then listen as I speak:
Send me swiftly, O lord, to the city of Viśvanātha;
my life-breaths have already departed, only my body remains behind."
Hearing these clear words of Kalāvatī,
having reflected for a moment in his heart, King Mālyaketu spoke to his beloved:
"Dear Kalāvatī, if you indeed must go,
what use is this kingdom's fortune to me, fickle as it is, when bereft of you?
They say that a kingdom is not a kingdom; the beloved is truly the fortune of the kingdom.
Even though having seven limbs, that kingdom, bereft of her, becomes like a blade of grass.
The kingdom has been made free of rivals, enjoyments have been continuously enjoyed;
the objects of the senses have been fulfilled, and self-restraint has been sustained, O dear one.
Offspring also have been born; what is there for me to do here?
The city of Vārāṇasī must certainly be visited by both of us."
Having thus comforted his beloved and made his resolve, Mālyaketu
summoned the astrologers and honored his subjects.
Then, having placed the kingdom upon his son, the king set out for Kāśī,
taking some quantity of jewels and wealth from his son.

Seeing the city of Viśveśvara, the king, his hair bristling with joy,
considered himself accomplished, having crossed to the further shore of the ocean of worldly existence.

And Queen Kalāvatī also, by the force of latent impressions from her former life,

knew the paths of the city by herself, as if she had just come from another village.

Then, having bathed in Maṇikarṇikā and bestowed abundant wealth,

and having worshipped Viśveśa with varieties of jewels in many ways,

and having given there also jewels, elephants, horses, and herds of cows,

variegated silken garments, and implements of worship,

golden and silver water pots, lamps, mirrors, and fly-whisks,

flagstaffs, banners, and wonderful canopies,

and having circumambulated [him], he entered the Muktimaṇḍapa.

Having heard a discourse on righteousness there and having given excellent wealth there also,

and having performed the great evening worship again, the ruler of the earth,

kept a night vigil there with great festivities of singing, dancing, and music.

Then, having arisen in the morning and performed the acts of purification and sipping water,

the king went to Jñānavāpī along the path pointed out by the queen.

Together with Kalāvatī, the king bathed there with great delight.

Then, having offered rice-balls and gratified the ancestors with faith,

and having distributed silver, gold, and the like to worthy recipients there,

and having gratified the poor, the blind, the destitute, and the helpless with precious collections of gems,

the lord of men then broke his fast.

Having caused Jñānavāpī to be renovated with steps of jewel,

Kalāvatī, practicing austerities, took up residence there with delight along with her husband.

By fasts every other day, and sometimes by three-day vows,

and also by meals once every six days, then by fortnightly observances,

and by fasts for alternate fortnights, and by month-long fasts and the like,

by lunar fasts, arduous penances, and service to her husband,

that sinless woman spent the remainder of her life as if it were a single moment.

Once, when the two were seated after bathing in Jñānavāpī in the morning,

a certain ascetic with matted hair approached and placed sacred ash into [the king's] hand,

and, with a pleased face, having greeted [him] with blessings, he spoke:

"Arise, prepare great festive attire today!

The attainment of the liberating [mantra] shall arise for both of you in an instant here."

Even as the matted-haired ascetic spoke these words before them,

an aerial chariot arrived, its clusters of small bells jingling.

While all the worlds looked on, he whose crest is the moon then,

descending from the chariot, personally whispered something into their ear-apertures.

The unnameable, supreme light departed at that very instant;

illuminating the path of the sky, the god too went to his own abode.

Skanda said:

From that time forth, in this world the Jñānavāpī is distinguished

above all chief sacred fords, bestowing immediate knowledge, O sage.

It consists of all knowledge and consists of all liṅgas, auspicious;

a form consisting of Śiva visibly present, the Jñānavāpī produces wisdom.

There are many sacred fords, even those that purify immediately;

yet they are not worth a sixteenth part of Jñānavāpī.

Whoever attentively hears the origin of Jñānavāpī

never experiences any loss of knowledge at the time of death.

This holy, great narrative destroys great sins;

it greatly increases the pleasure of Mahādeva and Gaurī.

Having recited it, or had it recited, or heard it endowed with faith,

this auspicious narrative of Jñānavāpī, one is glorified in the world of Śiva.

Thus ends the thirty-fourth chapter, named 'Praise of Jñānavāpī', in the first half of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa in the glorious Skandapurāṇa, the collection of eighty-one thousand verses.