Skandapurana 5.132

Sūta said: / Likewise, there is also another deity there, O best of brahmins, / renowned as Ajāgṛhā, who brings about the destruction of all diseases.

When Ajāpāla was king, devoted to the welfare of all people, / all diseases, O brahmins, went about in the form of she-goats; / then, having brought them together at night, he kept them in that place.

Therefore, because of that shelter, the place was remembered as Ajāgṛha / by all people on the surface of the earth, destroying disease merely by darśana.

The sovereign power that existed there of old, O best of brahmins, / that I shall recount to you; it should be listened to with concentrated minds.

A certain brahmin, bearing the appearance of an ascetic, arrived in that sacred field; / having arrived at night while on a pilgrimage to sacred fords, he was overcome with fatigue.

Then, seeing a flock of she-goats settled very comfortably, / engaged in chewing the cud, confident, and free from any fear,

he, knowing that 'a human being must surely be here— / unattended animals will not remain at night in a deserted forest'—

then called out aloud, and as long as no one answered with a word, / he fell asleep right there, thinking:

"Surely a human being must come here soon from somewhere / to protect the animals; therefore, I shall remain without fear."

While he was thus fast asleep, that night passed away, / and then it seemed quick to him, being thoroughly exhausted, O best of brahmins.

Now, as soon as he looked at his own body at dawn, / it was completely encompassed on all sides by diseases such as leprosy.

Unable to move even a single step from that place, / bereft of vigor by the fierce [affliction], he then reflected:

"What is this reason on account of which my body has become like this? / This disease [has appeared] all of a sudden, and I am not able to move at all."

While that brahmin was reflecting thus, at that very moment / a man resembling twelve suns approached.

He then drove that flock, calling them by their names individually, / holding a staff in his left hand.

Then he saw that brahmin surrounded on all sides by diseases, / unable to move anywhere; then he respectfully spoke:

"Who are you that have arrived in such a state at this place, O best of brahmins? / In my kingdom, there is clearly no disease for anyone anywhere.

I am the king named Aja, if this has reached your ears; / and I keep diseases in the form of goats for the sake of the people.

Therefore, declare the disease that has settled in your body, / so that I may subdue it, O best of brahmins."

The brahmin said: / "Devoted to pilgrimages to sacred fords, I wander upon the earth; / in due course, I have arrived here in this sacred field of Hāṭakeśvara.

At the beginning of night, O best of kings, dwelling was sought by me; / and having seen these animals, O king, a human presence seemed certain.

And then I fell asleep here near the animals, O king.

Now, as soon as I looked at my own body at dawn, / it was completely surrounded on all sides by diseases such as leprosy.

I know of no other cause in truth, O best of kings. / What is the use of prattling on and on, O best of kings, / with so many words? Therefore, make my body free from disease!"

Then those diseases were addressed by King Ajāpāla: / "By whom has my command been broken today? Who deserves to be put to death by me now?"

The diseases said: / "Do not become angry at all in this matter, O king, / for this brahmin has now been entered by three diseases:

consumption, leprosy, and scabies, O best of brahmins. / These three faults are declared even today to arise from contact.

Of these, the first two are traditionally considered incurable; / but the remaining ones go to destruction through medicines and mantras.

And in these two there is a brahmin's curse, because of which there is no removal; / therefore, O best of kings, do what may be suitable here.

All three of these were touched by this brahmin, O king; / therefore, those two have undoubtedly entered his body.

Hear another word, O king, fallen from our mouths / for the benefit of all creatures and for the increase of your welfare:

Where a place has been maintained on the earth for a long time, O king, / this earth quickly becomes filled with excrement."

"In the course of time, whichever mortals arrive on this ground
and touch the ground, will likewise become such."

"The rest of us diseases who remain, O great king,
released by you, will become subject to mantras and medicinal herbs."

"These two, however, arising from a brahmin's curse, are difficult to curb."

Having heard that, the king, remaining in that place,
spoke again to that brahmin: "Do not fear, O twice-born.

I will protect you from this terrible disease;
therefore, wait here for some time by my command."

Having spoken thus, he then performed great austerity for that purpose,
worshipping that deity of the sacred field with deep devotion and in the proper manner,

day and night without slackening, O brahmins, with the Muṇḍa-[Upaniṣad], the Atharvaśīrṣa,
with the hymn to the Guardian of the Field, and with the hymn to the Vāstu,

offering oblation with white mustard seeds, red flowers, and well-fumigated bdellium gum,
the king then especially [reciting] the Nīlarudras.

Then, at the end of the night, arising from that oblation,
the goddess burst through the surface of the earth and emerged, drawn by the mantras.

Then the deity of that sacred field spoke to that king:

"I alone, O protector of the earth, through the power of this oblation of yours,
have emerged from the surface of the earth; I am known as the sovereign of this sacred field.

Therefore, declare, O fortunate one, what duty I may perform for you.
I have attained supreme satisfaction; therefore, speak what is desired."

The king said:
"O goddess, you should especially dwell in this place forever,
so that the fault born of contact with diseases may depart from this earth.

From this day forward, O ruler of gods, let such a rule be established;
otherwise, by contact with it, human beings will become

afflicted by disease, like this brahmin who is seen before us.
Since diseases were kept here by me for a long time,
fault will come upon me otherwise, O goddess, without a doubt.

Likewise, may this brahmin be freed from disease by your grace, O ruler of gods;
and you should dwell perpetually here on this earth."

The deity of the sacred field said:
"This entire place has been made free from the fault of diseases by me;
I shall dwell here forever at all times.

Now, whoever, afflicted with disease, approaches my place here
and worships me with devotion, will become free from disease.

Therefore, let this best of brahmins worship me respectfully today,
endowed with supreme devotion, having become pure and concentrated in mind.

In this sacred field there is another celebrated well, the Candrakūpikā;
let him bathe in it according to rule every day, O lord of the earth,

which was formerly made by the Moon, when cursed by Dakṣa's curse,
for his own ritual ablution, when that great soul was afflicted with consumption.

Likewise, a deity named Khaṇḍaśilā dwells here;
having taken a ritual ablution in the Saubhāgyakūpikā, let him behold her,

which was formerly made by Kāmadeva when afflicted with leprosy,
for ceremonial bath and for the destruction of leprosy, with reverence.

And likewise, there is a pool of the apsarases here, O best of kings;
having bathed there on the day of the Sun (Sunday), one's scabies is alleviated."

Sūta said:
Then that brahmin, having reached the very holy Candrakūpikā
and having taken a ritual ablution, worshipped that goddess with devotion;
within a month he was quickly freed from consumption.

Then, having seen that Saubhāgyakūpī fashioned by Kāma,
and having likewise performed a ritual ablution, and beholding that Khaṇḍaśilā,

in like manner within a month he was freed from leprosy, O best of brahmins,
by the power of that goddess, especially at the well.

Then, having bathed in the pool of the apsarases on a single Sunday,
he was abandoned by scabies, as an intellect attached to sense-objects [is abandoned by attachments].

Then that brahmin became radiant as the twelve suns;
filled with great joy, he bestowed a blessing upon that king,

and, permitted by the king, went to his desired region,
having repeatedly offered bow to both deities.

That king also, having seen those [diseases] with their faults in the form of goats,
and having seen his own brahmin thus [cured], was greatly delighted.

And he himself went to that place where Hāṭakeśvara resides,
in that very body, accompanied by his beloved wife.

Because that goddess, the deity of the sacred field, stayed in the house of goats (Ajāgṛha),
she is known everywhere as Ajāgṛhā, O best of brahmins.

Even today, a man afflicted with consumption who worships her
properly according to that very rite quickly becomes free from disease.

Thus ends the one hundred and thirty-third chapter, entitled "Description of the Origin and Greatness of Ajāgṛhā" in the Greatness of the Sacred Field of Hāṭakeśvara, in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, the sixth [part] of the auspicious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, in the collection of eighty-one thousand [verses].