Skandapurana 4.51.4

Now begins the second half of the glorious Kāśīkhaṇḍa.
Homage to the glorious Gaṇeśa.
Agasti said:
O delight of Pārvatī's heart! O lord born of the body of the Omniscient One!
I desire to ask something, O Master; you ought to tell it. 1
She was the daughter of Dakṣa Prajāpati and the wife of Kaśyapa,
the virtuous mother of Garutmat: how did she fall into servitude? 2
Skanda said:
How the ascetic Vinatā was reduced to the status of a menial maidservant,
that too I shall relate, O wise one; listen! 3
Long ago, Kadrū bore a hundred sons from Kaśyapa;
Vinatā gave birth to three: Ulūka, Aruṇa, and Tārkṣya. 4
Although the owl obtained kingship, O sage, because he was the chief among birds,
he was deposed from the kingship by all of them because he lacked virtues: 5
"This one has cruel eyes, this one is blind by day, and he always has crooked talons;
the speech of this one causes extreme distress to everyone." 6
Having thus censured his collection of qualities in many ways, the free-flying birds
even today do not choose anyone for their king. 7
When that happened to the owl, eager to see her child,
Vinatā then broke open the middle egg. 8
Breaking it when a thousand years were completed [was proper], O pot-born one,
[yet] out of impatience she broke that egg in the eighth century [of years]. 9
By that time, all the limbs of that exceedingly radiant infant
above the thighs had been formed, while dwelling within the shell. 10
The moment he came out of the egg, with the radiant beauty of his face red with fury,
the infant, whose body was half-formed, cursed his mother: 11
"O mother, because seeing the sons of Kadrū playing in their own sport
upon their mother's lap, you split the egg in two, 12
therefore, since all my limbs are unformed, I curse you, O bird:
become the slave woman of those very sons born of your co-wife's body here!" 13
Then, trembling from that curse, the bird said this:
"O thighless one! Tell me, mother's child, the end of the curse!" 14

Anūru said:
“Do not break the third egg, for I am indeed still unformed!
He who will be [born] in this egg shall remove your servitude.”
Having said this, that Aruṇa flew away and went to the Forest of Bliss (Ānandakānana),
where the Lord of the Universe (Viśveśvara) would grant a fortunate destiny even to a lame person.
This cause of Vinatā's servitude has been related to you who asked.
Sage, in connection [with this] I shall tell the origin of Aruṇāditya.
Since he lacked thighs, he is Anūru; because he was red with rage, he is Aruṇa.
Having performed austerity in Vārāṇasī, he worshipped the Maker of the Day (the Sun).
He too, being pleased, then granted boons to that Anūru,
and the sun, after his name, came to be known as Aruṇāditya.
Arka (the Sun) said:
“Stay on my chariot forever, O Anūru, son of Vinatā,
for the welfare of the worlds, destroying the darkness ahead.
Those men who will worship your image installed here
in Vārāṇasī, to the north of Mahādeva—whence could they have any fear?
Those who will constantly worship me here named Aruṇāditya
shall have no sorrow, no poverty, and no sin.
They are not overcome by diseases, nor by any afflictions;
they are not burned by the fire of grief, indeed, through serving Aruṇāditya.”
Then, placing Aruṇa on his chariot, Ravi took him away.
Even today he rises early in the morning on the chariot of the Sun.
Whoever rises early in the morning and bows day after day
to Aruṇa accompanied by Sūrya—whence could he have sorrow or fear?
The best of men who listens to this Aruṇāditya-māhātmya
shall never incur any wrongdoing whatsoever.
Skanda said:
Listen, I shall tell you the māhātmya of Vṛddhāditya,
by merely hearing which a man will not incur wrongdoing.
Long ago here in Vārāṇasī, Vṛddhahārīta, a man of great austerity,
worshipped Ravi for the enhancement of his great austerity.

Having installed an auspicious image of the Sun that possesses auspicious marks
to the south of Viśālākṣī, endowed with firm devotion,
Bradhna (the Sun), pleased, offered a boon to that old ascetic:
“Without delay, ask: what boon should I give to you?”
Then that sage chose a boon from the pleased jewel of the sky:
“If the Blessed One is pleased, give me youth again!
Because as an old man I do not have the capacity to perform austerity;
having attained youth once more, I shall perform supreme austerity.
Austerity alone is the highest dharma; austerity alone is the highest wealth;
austerity alone is the highest desire; austerity alone is indeed nirvāṇa.
Without austerity, are riches and good fortune obtainable anywhere?
The station of Dhruva and others was attained solely through the power of austerity.
Therefore I will perform austerity which grants greatness in both worlds,
having obtained youth, approved by all, through the granting of your boon.
Fie upon old age for living beings here, by which everyone becomes detached!
When the group of senses is afflicted by old age, even women do not submit to one's control.
Better indeed were death; let there not be old age, which causes extreme misery!
Death is pain for a moment, but old age is pain at every single moment.
Those who have conquered their senses desire a long life for prolonged austerity,
wealth for charity, a wife for a son, [and] intellect for liberation.”
Instantly taking away that old age of the old man, Bradhna
gave him youth, the cause of charm and the means to merit.
Thus that great sage Vṛddhahārīta in Vārāṇasī,
having obtained youth from Bradhna, performed fierce austerity.
Because the Sun, the remover of old age,
was worshipped by the aged ascetic Hārīta, he is therefore remembered as Vṛddhāditya.
Having worshipped Vṛddhāditya in Vārāṇasī, O Pot-born [Agastya],
which destroys old age, misfortune, and disease, many have attained perfection.
Having bowed to Vṛddhāditya on a Sunday in Vārāṇasī, a man

would obtain the desired perfection and would nowhere suffer misfortune.
Skanda said:
Listen next, O sage, to the supreme Keśavāditya,
and how Savitṛ, having reached Keśava, attained knowledge.
Once, as he traversed the sky, the seven-horsed [Sun] saw
Ādikeśava worshipping the liṅga of Īśvara.
As if out of curiosity, descending from the sky, Ravi approached,
silent, motionless, composed, filled with great astonishment.
Awaiting an opportunity, wishing to ask Hari something,
when Hari had concluded his worship, he bowed with folded hands.
Hari said “Welcome to you” with great respect,
and made the Sun, who had his neck bowed, sit near himself.
Then, perceiving an occasion, the Eye of the World (the Sun),
having bowed to Adhokṣaja and received permission from the enemy of the Asuras, made this petition:
Ravi said:
“You are the inner self of the worlds, O All-Sustainer, Lord of the Universe!
Do you too have someone worthy of worship, O Mādhava, who are worshipped by the universe?
From you this all manifests, and in you everything dissolves;
you alone are the protector of the entire world, O treasure-house of the worlds!
Seeing this wonder, I have come here to your presence.
What is this being worshipped by you, O Lord, you who remove the affliction of worldly existence?”
Having heard this spoken by the thousand-rayed [Sun], Hṛṣīkeśa,
checking the seven-horsed [Sun] with a hand gesture, spoke aloud:
Śrī Viṣṇu said:
“The God of gods, Mahādeva, the blue-throated Lord of Umā,
he alone is indeed to be worshipped here, the cause of all causes.
Here, the fool who worships someone other than the Three-Eyed One
is to be known as truly bereft of eyes, even though he has eyes.
Mṛtyuñjaya alone is to be worshipped, the remover of birth, death, and old age;
indeed, having worshipped Mṛtyuñjaya, Śveta became victorious over death.
Having worshipped the Death of Death, Bhṛṅgin truly conquered death;
Death also abandoned Śailādi, the worshipper of Mṛtyuñjaya.”

He who conquered Tripura with ease merely by releasing a single arrow— / by thoroughly worshipping that Lord of beings, who would not become most worthy of worship? / For the sake of conquering the three worlds, the worship of the three-eyed Lord is supreme; / who would not worship the essence of the sun, the enemy of Smara? / By the closing of whose eyelashes this entire universe shrinks, / and blossoms forth from their opening—to whom would he not be most worthy of worship? / By worshipping the liṅga of Śambhu, a person attains here at once / the four goals of human life; about this, no doubt should be entertained. / By properly worshipping the liṅga belonging to Śambhu, a person instantly and surely / leaves behind the accumulated mass of sins gathered even over hundreds of lifetimes. / What, indeed, would not come to be here by the proper worship of Śiva's liṅga? / Sons, wives, fields, heaven, and even liberation, without a doubt! / The abundance of the sovereignty of the three worlds was attained by me, O thousand-rayed one, / solely through the worship of the liṅga of Śiva—this is truth, truth, again and again! / This alone is the highest yoga, this alone is the supreme austerity, / this alone is the highest knowledge: that the liṅga of Sthāṇu is worshipped. / By whomsoever the liṅga of Pārvatī's lord has been worshipped even once here, / whence could there be any fear of suffering for them in this transmigration, which is a vessel of sorrow? / Renouncing everything, O Sun, he who has gone to the liṅga for refuge— / even great sins do not torment him, O light-maker! / Growth in the worship of the liṅga belongs only to those here, O sun, / whose severance of rebirth Maheśvara desires to effect. / In the three worlds there is no merit higher than the worship of the liṅga; / by resorting to the bath-water of the liṅga, there is the ablution of all sacred fords. / Therefore, O Sun, do you also worship the liṅga of the Great Lord; / you have attained supreme splendor that expands with great brilliance." / Having heard this speech of Hari, the thousand-rayed one from then on, / having fashioned a crystal liṅga, O sage, worships it even today. / Having acknowledged Ādikeśava as his guru at that time, the sun

stands there even today, to the north of Ādikeśava. / Therefore, that Keśavāditya dispels the darkness of his devotees in Kāśī; / when worshipped, may he ever bestow the desired fruit of the mind. / Having worshipped Keśavāditya in Vārāṇasī, the best of men / attains supreme knowledge by which he becomes a sharer of liberation. / Performing all the rites with water there at the Pādodaka tīrtha, / upon gazing at Keśavāditya, one is freed from the sins of birth. / O Agastya, when Sunday occurs on the Rathasaptamī, / then at the Pādodaka tīrtha in the presence of Ādikeśava, / a man who bathes at dawn, silent, from the worship of Keśavāditya, / is freed in that very moment from sin accumulated over seven lifetimes: / "Whatever sin has been committed by me across seven lifetimes, / may this Saptamī of the month of Māgha destroy that along with my disease and sorrow! / Whatever sin has been committed in this lifetime, and whatever has been gathered in other lifetimes, / born of mind, speech, and body, and what is known and what is unknown— / thus this sevenfold sin of mine, O deity of the seven steeds, / together with the seven diseases, through my bath, destroy, O Saptamī of the month of Māgha!" / Having chanted this triad of mantras, having bathed at Pādodaka, / a person, having looked upon Keśavāditya, instantly becomes free of impurity. / Hearing the māhātmya of Keśavāditya endowed with faith, / a man is not tainted by sins, and he obtains devotion to Śiva. / Skanda said: / After this, hear, O sage, of the excellent Vimalāditya, / situated in Vārāṇasī in the charming forest of Harikeśa. / In the northern region, there was formerly an arm-born [kṣatriya] named Vimala; / though standing on a pure path, by the influence of past karma, / severely afflicted with leprosy, having abandoned wives, home, and wealth, / having arrived in Vārāṇasī, the wise man worshipped the sun. / With karavīra, hibiscus, gaṃdhaka, and auspicious kiṃśuka flowers, / and with red water-lilies and aśoka flowers, he worshipped the sun;

with garlands of diverse arrangements made of pāṭalā and campaka flowers, / with red sandal mixed with saffron, aguru, and camphor, / with incenses that enchant the gods, their fragrance spreading across the sky, / with lamps having wicks of camphor, and with offerings of rice boiled in milk and ghee, / with duly performed libations of argha, and with recitation of hymns to the son of Sūrya. / As he thus worshipped, the sun became a granter of boons to him, / and said, "Speak a boon, O Vimala of spotless deeds! / Let this leprosy of yours depart; ask for another boon again." / Hearing such speech from the garlanded with rays, Vimala / bowed like a staff upon the ground, his body hair bristling with joy. / Slowly he addressed the sun of the single-wheeled chariot: / "O eye of the universe, immeasurable Self, dispeller of the great gloom! / If the Lord is pleased, if a boon is to be given to me, / then for those who are devoted to your worship, let there be no leprosy in their lineage. / Nor let other diseases befall them, let there be no poverty for them, / and let no distress arise for your devotees, O thousand-rayed one!" / The holy Sun said: / "Let it be so, O very wise one! Hear another supreme boon: / this image of mine has been worshipped by you in this way in Kāśī, O noble-minded one. / My presence here beside it I will never abandon; / and this image will become famed by your name: / 'Vimalāditya' is its designation, ever granting boons to devotees, / the destroyer of all diseases, and the maker of an end to all sins." / Having thus bestowed the boons, the sun vanished right there; / and Vimala, his body cleansed of disease, went to his own home. / In this manner, that Vimalāditya in Vārāṇasī bestows auspiciousness; / merely by the sight of him, leprosy is destroyed. / And the man who hears this story of Vimalāditya / attains stainless purity and is freed from mental impurities. / Skanda said: / There is another [sun] there, Gaṅgāditya, to the south of Viśveśa.

By mere darśana of him, a man attains purity here. / When the Gaṅgā arrived, preceded by Bhagīratha, / the sun stood right there to praise the Gaṅgā. / Even today, facing the Gaṅgā day and night, the sun, / pleased in spirit, praises her, granting boons to Gaṅgā’s devotees. / By worshipping Gaṅgāditya in Vārāṇasī, the best of men / never meets an evil destiny anywhere, nor is he afflicted by disease.