Skandapurana 4.57.57.1

4.57.57.1

.. skaṃda uvāca .. ..
viśveśo viśvayā sārdhaṃ mayā ca munisattama ..
mahāśākhaviśākhābhyāṃ naṃdibhṛṃgipurogamaḥ .. 1 ..
naigameyena sahito rudraiḥ sarvatra saṃvṛtaḥ ..
devarṣibhiḥ samāyuktaḥ sanakādyairabhiṣṭutaḥ .. 2 ..
samastāyatanādhīśairdikpālairabhinaṃditaḥ ..
tīrthairdarśita tīrthaśca gaṃdharvairgītamaṃgalaḥ .. 3 ..
kṛtapūjopsarobhiśca nṛtyahastakapallavaiḥ ..
viyatyanāhatairvādyaiḥ samaṃtādanumoditaḥ .. 4..
ṛṣīṇāṃ brahmanirghoṣairbadhirīkṛtadiṅmukhaḥ..
kṛtastutiścāraṇaughairvimānairabhitovṛtaḥ .. 5 ..
triviṣṭapa vadhūmuṣṭibhraṣṭairlājairitastataḥ ..
abhivṛṣṭo mahādevaḥ saṃprahṛṣṭatanūruhaḥ .. 6 ..
dattamālyopahāraśca bahuvidyādharī gaṇaiḥ ..
yakṣaguhyakasiddhaiśca khecarairabhinaṃditaḥ .. 7 ..
kṛtapraveśa śakuno mṛgaiḥ śakunibhiḥ puraḥ ..
kiṃnarībhiḥ prahaṣṭāsyaiḥ kiṃnarairupavarṇitaḥ .. 8 ..
viṣṇunā ca mahālakṣmyā brahmaṇā viśvakarmaṇā ..
naṃdinātha gaṇeśena āviṣkṛtamahotsavaḥ .. 9 ..
nāgāṃganābhiḥ paritaḥ kṛtanīrājanāvidhiḥ ..
praviveśa mahādevaḥ purīṃ vārāṇasīṃ śubhām .. 4.2.57.10 ..
paśyatāṃ sarvadevānāmavaruhya vṛṣeṃdrataḥ ..
pariṣvajya gaṇādhīśaṃ provāca vṛṣabhadhvajaḥ .. 11 ..
yadahaṃ prāptavānasmi purīṃ vārāṇasīṃ śubhām ..
mayāpyatīva duṣprāpyāṃ sa prasādo sya vai śiśoḥ .. 12 ..
yadduṣprasādhyaṃ hi piturapi trijagatītale ..
tatsūnunā susādhyaṃ syādatra dṛṣṭāṃtatā mayi .. 13 ..
anena gajavaktreṇa svabuddhivibhaveriha ..
kāśīprāptiryathā me syāttathā kiṃcidanuṣṭhitam .. 14 ..
putravānahamevāsmi yacca me ciraciṃtitam ..

Skanda said: / The Lord of the Universe, accompanied by the Universal Mother and by me, O best of sages, / preceded by Nandin and Bhṛṅgin, along with Mahāśākha and Viśākha, / accompanied by Naigameya, surrounded on all sides by the Rudras, / joined by divine seers, praised by Sanaka and the others, / acclaimed by the rulers of all temples and the guardians of the quarters, / shown the sacred fords by the personified tīrthas, his auspiciousness sung by gandharvas, / worshipped by apsarases with sprout-like dancing hands, / cheered on all sides by celestial instruments unstruck in the sky, / the faces of the quarters deafened by the seers' chanting of the Veda, / praised by multitudes of cāraṇas, surrounded on all sides by aerial chariots, / showered on every side with roasted grains falling from the handfuls of the brides of heaven, Mahādeva, his bodily hairs standing on end with intense joy, / presented with offerings of garlands by many hosts of vidyādharīs, / acclaimed by yakṣas, guhyakas, siddhas, and sky-dwellers, / with auspicious entry-omens made before him by deer and birds, / praised by kinnarīs and kinnaras with delighted faces, / his grand festival celebrated by Viṣṇu, Mahālakṣmī, Brahmā, Viśvakarman, / the lord Nandin, and Gaṇeśa, / with the waving-of-lights ritual performed all around him by serpent maidens, / Mahādeva entered the auspicious city of Vārāṇasī. / Descending from the lord of bulls while all the gods looked on, / the bull-bannered Lord embraced the ruler of the gaṇas and said: / “That I have attained the auspicious city of Vārāṇasī, / which was exceedingly difficult even for me to reach, is indeed the grace of this child. / For what is difficult to accomplish even for a father on the surface of the three worlds / can be easily accomplished by his son; the example for this is seen in me. / By this elephant-faced one, through the abundance of his own intellect, / something was enacted here in such a way that my attainment of Kāśī might take place. / Truly I am a father with a worthy son, since what had long been contemplated by me