Skandapurana 5.121

Sūta said: / All this has been narrated to you, as I was asked, O best of the twice-born, / how that best of Danu's sons, named Mahiṣa, was slain by the goddess.

Now I shall recite the meritorious story born of Kedāra, / which destroys sins; listen to it attentively!

The seers said:
Kedāra is heard of, O Sūta, at Gaṅgādvāra in the Himālayas.
How did he arrive here? Tell [us] everything in full detail.

Sūta said:
This is true: upon that mountain the Lord is present, self-manifest.
However, the god resides there for eight months, O brahmins.

As long as there is summer and the rainy season, so long does the Lord reside there;
and in the cold season, he always remains here in this sacred field.

The seers said:
What is that purpose for which he resides in this sacred field for four months,
just as [he stays] eight in the Himālayas? Tell us, O son of Sūta.

Sūta said:
Long ago, at the beginning of the Svāyambhuva Manu, there was a mighty Daitya,
Hiraṇyākṣa, of great splendor, endowed with the power of austerity.

Indeed, this world was pervaded by them after expelling the ruler of the gods,
and the sacrificial shares of the gods were seized by virtue of his valor.

Then Śakra, along with the gods, took refuge at Gaṅgādvāra;
afflicted with great sorrow, deprived of the fortune of his kingdom, he performed austerity.

As that noble-souled one was thus performing severe austerity,
assuming the form of a buffalo, he came forth from the surface of the earth.

Mahādeva himself then spoke to Śakra:
“Whom do I tear apart? Tell me quickly, O best of gods,
among all the Daityas, O Vāsava, with this form?”

Indra said:
“The great Daitya Hiraṇyākṣa, Subāhu, Vakragrīva,
Triśṛṅga, and Lohitākṣa—tear apart these five, O Lord.
When these are slain, all the Dānavas are slain beyond doubt.

What is the use of other wretched ones being destroyed, through whom nothing is accomplished here?”
Having heard that speech of his, the Blessed One went swiftly
to where that chief of Dānavas, the mighty Hiraṇyākṣa, was.

Then, seeing from afar that buffalo resembling a mountain
approaching in a terrible form, all those Dānavas on every side,

struck [him] with stones, and others likewise with clubs;
and others, proud of their strength, gave war-whoops and clapped their arms.

Then, disregarding them, the god effortlessly dealt a blow
where that lord of Dānavas sat with his four ministers.

Then, lifting his weapon, as he ran head-on,
he dispatched him to the abode of Yama with a thrust of his horn.

Having slain him, he afterwards struck down those ministers headed by Subāhu,
though he was being struck on all sides by the other Dānavas.

No weapon whatsoever touched his body,
even when hurled with effort by skilled marksmen.

Having thus slain those five principal Daityas, Maheśvara
went again to that place where Śakra was stationed,
and, with a delighted heart, he then spoke to Śakra, who was endowed with austerity:

“Those five Dānavas who were mentioned by you have been slain by me.
Therefore, conduct your rule over the three worlds once again.

Ask also of me another desired boon, O lord of gods,
so that I may proceed in haste to the peak of Kailāsa.”

Indra said:
“Remain right here in this very form, O Śaṃkara,
for the protection of the three worlds, for dharma, and for auspiciousness.”

The Blessed One said:
“This form, O Śakra, was assumed by me indeed for his destruction;
since he could not be killed by any [other] beings, he was slain by me.

Therefore, at your word I shall remain right here, O best of gods,
in this very form, granting liberation to all embodied beings.”

Having spoken thus, the three-eyed Lord then created a pool,
resembling pure crystal, pleasant like sweet milk.

Then, with a voice deep as a thundercloud,
the Blessed One, destroyer of Tripura, spoke to the king of the gods, as all the gods listened:

“Whoever, having seen me and become pure, gazes upon this pool,
and drinks water three times with the left, the right, and then with both

hands, that man shall surely redeem his three families,
even if one of sinful conduct, even if dwelling in hell:

with the left, the maternal side; then with the right, the paternal;
and then himself with both hands, according to my word.”

Indra said:
“Coming daily from heaven, O you whose vehicle is the bull,
I shall worship you dwelling here, and I shall also drink the water.

Because it was spoken by you in the form of a buffalo, ‘Whom do I tear apart?’ (ke dārayāmi),
you shall therefore become renowned by the name Kedāra.”

The Blessed One said:
“If you do thus, O Śakra, then you will have no fear of the Daityas;
supreme splendor shall enter entirely into your body.”

Having been told this, the thousand-eyed one then constructed an excellent temple for him,
most pleasing to behold and enchanting.

Then, bowing to that god and taking leave of him thereafter,
he went to his own abode situated on the summit of Mount Meru.

Then, coming daily from heaven, with concentrated mind,
he performed worship full of great devotion to the trident-bearing god Kedāra.

And having drunk the consecrated water three times, he departed, O best of brahmins.
Then after a certain time, as he arrived there,

that entire mountain peak was completely covered with snow,
and that pool, along with the temple and the god.

Then, overwhelmed with sorrow, filled with supreme devotion,
he bowed reverently toward that direction and went to his own abode.

As he thus kept coming, four months passed,
not seeing Mahādeva, his mind filled with longing to behold him.

Then, O brahmins, when summer arrived again in the Himālayas,
the god came into sight, stationed in that very form.

Then, having performed the great worship belonging to the four months,
he performed songs, instrumental music, and so on before him with faith.

Then, seeing the faith of that protector of cows, / the blessed destroyer of Tripura appeared before him and said:

"I am well pleased, O lord of gods, by this one-pointed devotion. / Therefore, ask for whatever desire is in your heart; I will grant it."

Śakra said: / "By your grace my unsurpassed sovereignty has come to be; / whatever exists in the three worlds, all that is established in my home.

Therefore, if you are pleased with me, O bull-bannered Lord, / or if, being gratified, you grant me a boon, then grant this wish of mine:

This mountain is accessible for eight months, O lord of gods, / as long as the sun, positioned in Pisces, moves forward—so I have heard.

After that, it becomes inaccessible, covered by an expanse of snow, / for four months, until the sun enters Aquarius.

It becomes inaccessible even to me, O destroyer of Tripura; / how much more so for men and others of feeble strength, O lord of gods!

Therefore, in heaven, in Pātāla, or on earth, O lord of the thirty [gods], / remain in this form for four months, / so that my vow may not be broken, O lord of gods!"

Sūta said: / Then the god, having meditated for a long time, said to the slayer of Bala, / feeling supreme satisfaction, with a voice sounding like the roar of a cloud:

"In the Ānarta country, on the surface of the earth, / there is our sacred field named Hāṭakeśvara, O thousand-eyed one.

There I will always dwell, O Vāsava, when the sun is in Scorpio, / until the end of Aquarius, on account of your word, without a doubt.

Therefore, go there swiftly, erect a splendid temple, / install my form, and perform worship appropriately, / so that I may hold my own splendour there for your sake."

Sūta said: / Hearing this of the trident-bearing god of gods, / the thousand-eyed one went there and then carried out the word spoken by the god.

Having constructed the temple and installed the form of the trident-bearer, / he also made a pool of that form, filled with clear water.

Then he worshipped with flowers, incense, and unguents; / having bathed in the pool, he drank the water three times as before.

Thus the Blessed Lord was worshipped there by Śakra in ancient times, / having arrived there, O foremost of brahmins, from the lovely Himācala.

A mortal who properly worships him there constantly for four months / during the snowfall goes to Śiva.

Even at other times, whoever performs worship with deep devotion / washes away, O wise one, sin from birth until death.

Wise men skilled in all treatises / praise song and diverse kinds of dance there before the god.

On this matter, a verse was formerly sung by Nārada, the celestial seer; / that I will recite to you; let it be heard, O best of brahmins:

"Having drunk the water at Kedāra, and having offered a funerary ball at Gayā, / and having attained the knowledge of Brahman, there is no rebirth."

All this has been recounted to you regarding the origin of Kedāra, / a narrative that destroys all sins, O best of brahmins.

Whoever hears this properly, or reads it before him, / or causes it to be heard, O brahmins, [this story] of Kedāra that destroys all sins— / that man is instantly freed from the floods of sin.

Thus ends the one hundred and twenty-second chapter, entitled 'Description of the Origin and Māhātmya of Kedāra' in the Māhātmya of the Hāṭakeśvara Sacred Field, in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, the sixth [section], in the Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.