Skandapurana 5.2

Sūta said: / When that liṅga was uprooted from the earth's surface, O best of the twice-born, / through that channel the waters of the Jāhnavī issued forth from Pātāla, / destroying all sins of men and granting every desire.

Listen now as I relate what previously occurred there by itself, / O best of noble twice-born, which brought wonder to the world.

A king of kings named Triśaṅku was reduced to the status of a caṇḍāla; / having bathed there, he regained a body worthy of an earthly king.

The seers said: / How did Triśaṅku, that best of kings, come to be a caṇḍāla? / Tell us all this in detail, O son of Sūta.

Sūta said: / I will narrate to you this ancient, holy story / that removes all sins, concerning King Triśaṅku.

Born in the solar dynasty, there was previously a famous king, / a tiger among earth-rulers, named Triśaṅku, whose prowess equaled that of a tiger.

A disciple of the sage Vasiṣṭha, he was a performer of sacrifices, a generous giver, and a ruler; / he continually sacrificed with all sacrifices, beginning with the Agniṣṭoma,

year after year, with bountiful priestly fees; / likewise, all kinds of gifts were bestowed by the great-souled king

on distinguished brahmins and especially on the destitute; / religious observances were strictly kept, and those seeking refuge were protected.

The subjects were cherished like sons, and enemies were slain. / The sacred fords and temples on the face of the earth were visited, / as he bestowed upon ascetics whatever wealth they desired according to their wish.

Then, at some time, the venerable sage Vasiṣṭha / was addressed by him after bowing reverently, standing in the midst of the assembly:

Triśaṅku said: / "Venerable one, I desire now to sacrifice with that sacrificial rite / by which heaven may be reached swiftly in this very body.

Therefore show me favor; gather quickly the materials / and the worthy brahmins for the accomplishment of that sacrifice."

Vasiṣṭha said: / "There is no sacrificial rite, O king, by which heaven may be attained / in this very body; I speak this truth.

The sacrifices such as the Agniṣṭoma, which were proclaimed of old by the self-manifest [Brahmā]— / by performing them, O king, heaven is attained only in another body.

Or else, O protector of the earth, if through the power of a sacrifice / any king, brahmin, vaiśya, or any other

was seen or heard by you to have been born here on the earth's surface / and gone to heaven accompanied by his body, then proclaim it!"

Triśaṅku said: / "There is nothing impossible for you, O brahmin; I know this in truth. / Therefore show me favor, so that the desire of my heart may be fulfilled."

Vasiṣṭha said: / "An untruth has never before been spoken by my tongue, even in jest. / Therefore there is no sacrifice [such as] you truly wish to perform."

Triśaṅku said: / "If you are not capable, O tiger among brahmins, of officiating at a sacrifice for me— / a sacrifice bestowing heaven in this very body, O lord—

then what is the power of your austerity, O discerning brahmin? / Hear another word of mine which I speak very clearly / while the hosts of sages and others listen, O best of brahmins:

If you do not do what I repeatedly speak, / I will perform that sacrifice by making another brahmin my guru."

Sūta said: / Hearing that speech of his, the venerable Vasiṣṭha then / laughed aloud and said to him: "Do so, O ruler of the earth!"

Thus ends the second chapter, entitled 'The Description of the Dialogue between Triśaṅku and Vasiṣṭha,' in the story of Triśaṅku, in the māhātmya of the Hāṭakeśvara kṣetra, in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, the sixth [part] in the venerable Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, a collection of eighty-one thousand [verses].