Skandapurana 5.205

Viśvāmitra said:
Indra also, at Viṣṇu's word, arrived at the Himālaya,
mounting Airāvata, the lord of elephants, resembling a mountain.

There he beheld those seers born from Camatkāra,
endowed with restraints and self-control, devoted to right conduct,
established in the forest-dweller stage of life, free from desire and anger.

Some brahmins among them remained eating on alternate days;
others ate only at the sixth mealtime, and others were devoted to the Cāndrāyaṇa vow.

Some lived crushing food with stones, others using their teeth as mortars;
some subsisted on withered leaves, others had water as their food,
and others, subsisting on air, practiced most dreadful austerity.

Then, seeing Śakra arriving there—
worshipped by cāraṇas and siddhas, never before seen by them—

all those brahmins were addressed by those living near the hermitage:

'This Śakra has arrived at your hermitage, O twice-born!
Let hospitable homage be offered to him, as stated by the scholars of the scriptures.'

Then all those brahmins, their eyes wide with wonder,
hastily went out to meet him, standing with palms joined in reverence.

With hair bristling with joy, according to the domestic ritual rules,
they all spoke out of modesty to him: 'What is the reason for your coming?

Even though we are without desires, O lord of gods, curiosity has arisen within us.'

Indra said:
'Is it well with you, O best of the twice-born, in all your agnihotra fires,
in all your ascetic practices, and likewise in Vedic study and tradition?

Having left the sacred and auspicious field of Hāṭakeśvara,
why have you come here to this mountain that causes suffering from cold?

Therefore, let all of you virtuous twice-born come with me
to the sacred Camatkārapura, teeming with many brahmins.

Going there now according to the instruction of Vāsudeva,
I shall perform the śrāddha with devotion at Gayākūpa, O best of the twice-born,

in your presence on the fourteenth day, when the fortnight of the departed has arrived.
It is evident that the power of moving through the sky has come to all of you.

With children, elders, and wives, together with your agnihotra fires, with me—
therefore depart, may you be blessed! Your place shall be there.'

The brahmins said:
'We shall not go back to Camatkārapura.
There are other brahmins there, masters of the Vedas and their auxiliary sciences;

there are Nāgaras, sacrificers, adherents of the Smṛti, devoted to Vedic revelation.
Perform the śrāddha before them, if you have faith arising for the śrāddha.'

Indra said: / The brahmins there whom you have described, / though all of them are indeed like that, masters of the Vedas and Vedāṅgas,

accomplished in sacred learning and recitation, and especially performers of sacrifices, / are nonetheless entirely intent on hatred and speak harshly.

Full of egotism, eager to conquer one another, / destitute of austerity, they are attached to pleasures day and night.

You were praised to me by Viṣṇu as endowed with every virtue; / therefore you must come together with me, every one of you. / The brahmins said: / For that very fault we abandoned our own place,

though it is endowed with many sacred fords and shows the path to heaven. / If we go there with you, O Puraṃdara, / all our kinsmen, intent on passion and hatred,

will constantly commit offenses against us at every step, / full of jealousy and unrighteousness, uttering harsh words.

From that, anger will arise, and from anger comes the destruction of austerity; / then liberation is not attained. How then, O lord, shall we go?

Moreover, there is a king in that country who is always intent on gift-giving, / the ruler of Ānarta, renowned over the whole earth at all times.

He gives various gifts: elephants, horses, gold, and the like; / if we do not accept them there, he becomes angry.

When the king becomes angry and our kinsmen are hostile, / there would be no success for our austerity; therefore we abandoned our own town.

If we accept the gift of that king, O lord of the gods, / our austerity would be destroyed, as was declared by the self-manifest [Brahmā]:

"An oil-presser is equal to ten slaughterhouses; a tavern-keeper is equal to ten oil-pressers; / a courtesan is equal to ten tavern-keepers; a king is equal to ten courtesans."

How then can we accept the gift of him who is devoted to sin, / as do all the other Nāgara brahmins, overcome with great greed?

Indra said: / This is the power of that sacred field, O best of the twice-born, / of the one known as Hāṭakeśvara; it is perpetually established,

especially [causing discord] between fathers and sons, between kinsmen, / between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, and between sisters and brothers' wives.

Beneath that city is the god himself, known as Hāṭakeśvara; / by his fiery power all the people

are heated, and consequently they bear hatred towards one another. / Have you not heard how Rāma, together with Lakṣmaṇa / and accompanied by Sītā, arrived there and fell into extreme hostility?

Filled with anger together with Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa, / he spoke unspeakable words, O brahmins, and the two spoke likewise to him then.

Yet if one should dwell there even for a month free from anger, / one attains liberation, and partakes of heaven after [a stay of] five nights.

Therefore you must go there with me; / those Nāgaras will not behave jealously towards you,

nor will anger arise in you who dwell there, / by my grace, O chiefs of the twice-born; this truth is spoken by me.

The king of Ānarta will never press gifts upon you; / and those who give maiden brides to your sons and grandsons,

their fruit shall become multiplied a thousandfold. / On the new moon day, when the sun is in the sign of Virgo, / whoever performs a śrāddha in your presence, O best of the twice-born,

at the Gayā well, his fruit will be measured as a hundred thousand times

that of a śrāddha at Gayā; there is no doubt. This truth is spoken by me. / If you will not come there for the sake of the śrāddha, O best of the twice-born,

then I shall pronounce a curse upon you that will obstruct your austerity. / Knowing this, come there with me quickly!

Addressed thus by him, all of them at that moment [went] along with Śakra: / Kaśyapa, Kauṇḍinya, Ukṣṇāśa, Śārkavadvik,

and Baijavāpa as the sixth, and the Kāpiṣṭhala pair likewise. / These eight lineages arrived together with Indra, O king.

Having summoned all the ancestors, the Agniṣvāttas and the rest, in their entirety, / and likewise the Viśvedevas, the smiter of Pāka set out,

filled with perfect faith, toward Camatkārapura. / At that very time, however, Brahmā, the grandfather of the worlds,

set out also for Gayā on that day for the sake of a śrāddha. / Having made a pledge for Gayā, the Viśvedevas set out for the rite [there];

abandoning Śakra's śrāddha, they went where the grandfather was. / Śakra too reached that city and approached the Gayā well.

Then, having bathed, filled with faith, he summoned for the śrāddha / the Viśvedevas and the ancestors at the time called kutapa.

Meanwhile, those who were summoned by him arrived: / the ancestors who were in the form of gods and likewise those in the form of spirits,

all having visible forms, took their places beside the twice-born. / But the Viśvedevas, who had gone to Gayā then, did not arrive.

Then the smiter of Pāka delayed on their account, / since in a śrāddha the Viśvedevas are to be worshipped first of all.

Meanwhile, Nārada, the best of sages, arrived; / having approached Śakra, who was longing for the Viśvedevas, he said: / Nārada said: / The Viśvedevas have gone now to the ancestral rite of the grandfather, O Śakra; / I saw them going to Gayā, exceedingly delighted.

Hearing that, enraged with them at that moment, / he spoke harsh words, standing before the twice-born:

"I will perform the śrāddha today without the Viśvedevas, O good sirs! / And so all other humans on the surface of the earth shall do.

Whoever performs a śrāddha here placing the Viśvedevas at the head / shall have it go to waste, like rain falling on barren soil!"

Having spoken thus, the thousand-eyed Indra performed the ekoddiṣṭa rites in full / for all the gods who had been slain at the forefront of battle.

At that very moment, a bodiless voice spoke / concerning those for whose sake that śrāddha was performed, O best of kings:

"O Śakra, O Śakra, mighty-armed one, those for whom you performed the śrāddha / and who were abiding in the state of ghosts, have been freed from ghosthood.

They have gone to heaven by your favor, bearing divine forms and bodies. / And those who had already gone to heaven earlier, fighting in the great battle,

they too have all attained liberation by your favor, O Vāsava." / Hearing that voice, Vāsava was filled with great joy.

Praising again and again, "Ah, what a sacred ford! Ah, what a sacred ford!", / in the meantime the Viśvedevas arrived, eagerly desirous.

Having concluded Brahmā's śrāddha at Gayā, O ruler of the earth, / they said to the slayer of Vṛtra: "Perform the śrāddha, O Śatakratu!

Moreover, without us the fruit born of śrāddha cannot be attained. / We have come from afar for the sake of your śrāddha, / having concluded the śrāddha of Brahmā, by whom we were invited first."

Hearing their words, the punisher of Pāka became enraged / and spoke harsh words in a voice deep as a thundercloud:

"From this day forth, whoever performs a śrāddha in the mortal world, / even another, having placed you first, it shall become useless for him.

All people shall perform ekoddiṣṭa śrāddhas. / Now, in this mortal world, this rule has been established by me.

The bhūtas, pretas, piśācas, and whatever other stealers of śrāddha / are guarded against by the Viśvedevas—I myself shall guard against them.

Having carefully fastened the śrāddha to the body of the sacrificer, / smitten by me, they will all swiftly flee far away."

Having spoken thus to the Viśvedevas, the thousand-eyed Indra then / said to all the brahmins: "The śrāddha rite must be performed / by you and other men without the Viśvedevas."

When the foremost twice-born consented, saying "So be it", the Viśvedevas, deeply aggrieved, / wept, drenching the earth with a flood of tears.

Because the earth was inundated with their hot tears, O king, / many eggs, beyond reckoning, came into being.

Then, from those eggs, creatures of terrifying form came forth, / black-toothed, peg-eared, with upright hair, frightful, / and red-eyed; and then, O king, they said to the Viśvedevas:

"We are all hungry; food must certainly be given to us. / Since we were produced by you, we ask of no one else."

The Viśvedevas said: / "Whatever śrāddha is performed on earth without us / with supreme faith, that shall become your food."

Having spoken thus about the śrāddha, O best of kings, all the Viśvedevas, / filled with great sorrow, went to the world of Brahmā, / and bowing down to the Grandfather, said in a plaintive voice:

"O Lord, we have been excluded from śrāddhas by the enemy of Bala, / because we went to your śrāddha at Gayā, having been invited first.

Enraged by that, the thousand-eyed Indra came at your conclusion. / Therefore, grant us your favor so that we may indeed become worthy of śrāddha."

Hearing that, Brahmā, filled with supreme compassion, swiftly / took along the Viśvedevas accompanied by those kūṣmāṇḍas.

Śakra, too, having performed the śrāddha rites for those dwellers of heaven, / remained right there, devoted to visiting the sacred ford.

At that very time, Brahmā arrived there / accompanied by the Viśvedevas, seated upon his swan vehicle.

Śakra too, seeing the lotus-seated one suddenly arrived, / took water for guest-offering and foot-washing, and quickly went to meet him.

Then, bowing with his head in eight-limbed prostration, filled with humility, / he folded his hands and said: "Welcome to you, O Grandfather! / Merely by your darśana, my three births have become known to me. / As I quickly did auspicious deeds formerly, so I do now,

and I shall do in the next world; this is clear, without doubt.

Even though you are free from desire, O Lord, tell me quickly / the reason for your coming, so that I may do it all."

Brahmā said: / "O best of the gods, those Viśvedevas without whom not even my śrāddha would take place / have today been made by you excluded from śrāddhas.

That was not good, which you did while performing that rite, / whereby the Vedas and the smṛtis have been rendered unauthoritative.

These were invited first by me, O Śakra, for the purpose of the śrāddha, / and afterwards by you; therefore, there is no fault in these great-souled ones.

Therefore, strive for the release from the curse, O lord of gods, / by which all these who are deeply distressed may become fit for śrāddha.

For formerly this was declared by me to all the twice-born: / that the śrāddha which has this preceded by them shall be fruitful.

Then how can you make my word untrue?"

Indra said: / "I too, filled with anger, cursed them, O Grandfather. / Therefore, act in such a way that I may remain truthful in speech."

Brahmā said: / "In such a manner as your word shall remain true, O Vāsava, / so I will arrange it, precisely for the sake of the Viśvedevas.

As for the śrāddha without the Viśvedevas that was proclaimed by you: / all men shall perform the ekoddiṣṭa rite on earth

on that day, O lord of gods, where it was instituted by you, / on the fourteenth day in the pretapakṣa, and for one slain by a weapon;

and when the day of death has arrived, the auspicious śrāddha of a Nāgara / performed without the Viśvedevas shall be valid by my word."

“But whoever performs a śrāddha at any other time without them, / his [rite] shall become useless by my word, without a doubt.

Except for one slain by a weapon, whatever man performs / a śrāddha in that manner on that day, it shall become food for bhūtas.” / Viśvāmitra said: / When Śakra had agreed, saying “So be it,” Brahmā, the grandfather of the worlds, / was then addressed by the Viśvedevas standing bowed in modesty:

“These sons were born indeed from our tears. / Food was given by me to them when afflicted by hunger, O Lord,

in the form of a śrāddha devoid of us, out of anger toward Vāsava. / So that this word uttered by us may come true,

make it so both for us and for Vāsava, O Grandfather. / Determine an auspicious food by which there may be supreme satisfaction

for all these, through your favor, O lotus-born one.”

The lotus-born one said: / “At the time of a śrāddha, [the performers] will draw entirely an ash line / upon the food dishes of the brahmins; indeed, that must be abandoned by these [beings].

Wherever there is any śrāddha performed without the protection of ashes— / whether an ekoddiṣṭa, a pārvaṇa, or a vṛddhiśrāddha—

that is now given by me, well-pleased, to these [beings].” / Having spoken thus, the Grandfather then gave them a name:

“Since the earth is called ku, and it was sprinkled with tears, / eggs were born from it, and from them these dense beings were born; / they will be renowned in the three worlds as Kūṣmāṇḍas.”

Then, having divided them into three parts, he assigned them in order / to Agni, Vāyu, and Sūrya, and indeed spoke this word:

“By the triad of verses known in the Yajurveda beginning with Yad devāḥ, / a portion should be given to these from the bhaktihoma,

and from the midst of their own share produced in the koṭihoma; / by that they will attain satisfaction, by my word, without a doubt.”

Having spoken thus, the four-faced one vanished from sight; / and the Viśvedevas were delighted, as were the Kūṣmāṇḍas especially.

For this reason, protection made of ashes is made / upon the food dishes of the brahmins at a śrāddha out of fear of the Kūṣmāṇḍas. / Hear why they do not seek a defect in the śrāddha of the Nāgaras:

Because they were born in their place, endowed with courtesy, / protection born of ashes was forbidden by the power of Bhartṛyajña.

Therefore, all the Nāgaras never do [it]. / And when that four-faced one had gone to his own abode, Indra too

spoke to all the brahmins born in Camatkārapura, / having folded his hands, standing bowed with modesty:

“Let my words be heard, O brahmins; after that you may act. / I shall install a liṅga of the god of gods, the trident-bearer.”

Then an excellent place was shown to him by those brahmins; / having installed the liṅga, he went to heaven overjoyed.

Viśvāmitra said: / This has all been related to you as I was asked, O lord of men, / the māhātmya of the Gayākūpī which grants all desires.

Ānarta said: / The māhātmya of the Gayākūpī has been recounted to me by you; / now you should also tell of that arising from Bālamaṇḍana.

In what place was that liṅga consecrated by Śakra? / Tell us, O illustrious one, and what is the fruit when it is seen?

Viśvāmitra said: / When those brahmins were asked by the thousand-eyed one for a liṅga, / for an auspicious and holy spot situated in the middle of the whole sacred field,

then they showed the holy liṅga, Bālamaṇḍana, / where formerly the children, the sons of Diti called the Maruts, were born.

By him indeed they were formerly shattered, yet they did not meet death. / And having known that place to be most pure, which was seen formerly,

where austerity was performed by Diti desiring a noble son, / having seen that supreme place, the ruler of the gods said to Jīva:

“O Guru, tell me quickly an auspicious muhūrta now, / and the day on which I may install the good liṅga born of Hara, / where, even when dissolution occurs, destruction does not take place.”

Then, having meditated for a long time, he spoke to that husband of Śacī: / “In the month of Māgha, in the bright fortnight, under the constellation Puṣya, on a Sunday,

on the thirteenth day, when an auspicious, desired rise has occurred, / install the liṅga now, O Lord, according to my word.

It will remain firm and divine for you until the end of the kalpa.” / Hearing that, the king of gods, filled with great joy,

then installed it in the presence of Bālamaṇḍana, / accompanied by the auspicious day-proclamations of the brahmins and sounds of singing and musical instruments.

Then, at the conclusion of the fire offering, having gratified the best of the twice-born, / he gave them an excellent place, an estate, as a sacrificial gift,

which was situated on the bank of the Māṃ, adorned with divine ramparts, / jointly to all the brahmins, O best of kings.

Then, having summoned the eight-family brahmins, he said this: / “You must always take care of the matters pertaining to this liṅga.

For I have granted a livelihood for it lasting as long as the moon and sun; / and that, derived from twelve villages, is to be accepted for its sake.”

The brahmins said: / “O best of gods, we will not carry out your word / arising from care for the liṅga; hear the reason here.

Property of brahmins and property of the gods, especially what comes from a reservoir, / even if a very little of it is consumed here, would destroy all one's ancestors.

If someone born in our lineage consumes it, / he will cause all of us to fall; therefore, that is our great fear.”

Then an excellent twice-born standing in the middle, with folded hands, / seeing Śakra, who had formerly done them favors, to be dejected, spoke to him.

"I, named Devaśarman, renowned by three pravaras, / will take care of your liṅga, O Indra,

if you grant a son to me, who am childless, O Vāsava, / from whom a lineage will continue until the dissolution of all beings—

a son who knows dharma, is grateful, and avoids the property of gods." / Hearing that, Vāsava was pleased and said to that best of brahmins:

Indra said: / "You shall have an auspicious son, an supreme perpetuator of the lineage, / righteous, truthful, and avoiding the property of gods.

And the sons who shall be born in the lineage of that high-souled one / shall all be just like him here, masters of the Vedas.

Hear another word of mine that I shall speak to you, O virtuous brahmin; / likewise let all the lords among brahmins who have assembled here listen.

At the Bālamaṇḍanaka tīrtha this excellent four-faced liṅga / was consecrated by me at the command of the four-faced Brahmā.

Whoever performs the rite of ablution here, at this tīrtha, and satisfies the ancestors with water offerings, / through him the ancestors shall remain gratified for life. / The twelve villages that have been granted by me to this god, O good sir— / and the brahmins who shall dwell [there], when a vṛddhiśrāddha is at hand, / they must first perform the śrāddha to him, and only after that,

they shall perform its rites freed from all obstacles. / Prosperity will attend them; otherwise an obstacle will arise.

In the month of Māgha, during the bright fortnight, on the thirteenth lunar day, / the people dwelling in those villages who come here, collected in mind,

and bathe at Bālamaṇḍanaka and, being concentrated, / worship this liṅga with true devotion, will attain the supreme goal.

Those who cause harm to the villages of my liṅga, / even in the course of time, will meet with total destruction.

Whatever sacred fords and lakes there are on earth all the way to the ocean, / will come to the Bālamaṇḍanaka tīrtha on that day."

Viśvāmitra said: / Having spoken thus, the thousand-eyed Indra, filled with anger, / then addressed those brahmins of the eight families who stood before him:

"Since my command was not obeyed by the brahmins of these seven families, / I will curse those ungrateful ones because of their ungratefulness; there is no doubt of this.

For this was declared of old by the truthful Manu, / the son of the self-manifest Brahmā, concerning every ungrateful person:

'For the slayer of a brahmin, the drinker of liquor, the thief, and the deceitful breaker of vows, / an expiation is prescribed by the virtuous; for the ungrateful person, there is no expiation.'

Brahmins, cows, women, children, and ascetics are not to be killed; / therefore I shall not slay them, even though a great offense exists."

Then, taking up water along with darbha grass in his hand, / Pākaśāsana cursed those best of brahmins who were ungrateful:

"Even after obtaining fortune according to my word, these best of brahmins / will become destitute, having carried everything away from their door!

The brahmins born in the lineages of these men will abandon their devotees, / there is no doubt, just as they were very cruel to me; / they will all be devoid of courtesy and always gluttonous!"

Having spoken thus to those brahmins born of the seven lineages, / he then spoke again to the remaining brahmins born in the city:

"Let a place be given to me right in this spot, O best of brahmins, / so that at the end of every year I may dwell [here] for five nights,

for the worship of this god, for the welfare of the mortal world, / and for the worship of all of you brahmins here."

Viśvāmitra said: / Then all those brahmins, delighted, showed him an excellent place / for that purpose and afterwards spoke:

"Having arrived at the Brahmasthāna, O Indra, you should stay / for five nights; enjoy the happiness of the mortal world, O lord!

In this place, before you, we shall celebrate a great festival / with the sounds of singing and musical instruments, with fragrant pastes and garlands, / and with the gratification of brahmins, yielding the fulfillment of all desires."

Viśvāmitra said: / Hearing their word, Pākaśāsana was delighted; / having honoured all the brahmins, he then departed to the abode of heaven.

Thus ends the two hundred and sixth chapter, entitled "The Description of the Māhātmya of the Bālamaṇḍana Tīrtha," in the Māhātmya of the Hāṭakeśvara Sacred Field, in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, the sixth [part] of the Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, in the collection of eighty-one thousand [verses].