Skandapurana 5.206

Viśvāmitra said: / All this has been related to you as I was asked, O ruler of men: / the māhātmya of Bālamaṇḍana, which destroys all sins,

where, when even a single ablution is performed, O best of kings, / the merit arising from bathing in all sacred fords is obtained, / on the thirteenth day of the bright fortnight in the month of Māgha.

Ānarta said: / Why is Indra's stay on the surface of the earth for only five nights, / and not longer, as it is for other gods?

And at the end of the year, which are the days on which Indra / comes to the earth, and what is the month? Tell me all this!

Viśvāmitra said: / Listen, O king of the earth, I will tell this story / of how Indra may not remain on the surface of the earth for more than five nights.

Formerly, in the Bṛhatkalpa, there was a lord of gods named Jayatsena, / master of the entire three worlds, who crushed the pride of the Danavas.

He always received worship in all the three worlds. / But after some time, the beloved wife of the sage Gautama,

named Ahilyā, was matchless in beauty on earth; / having seen her, Indra fell under the power of the god of love and desired her.

Coming regularly from the world of heaven, he indulged his desire / whenever Gautama had gone out, O king, for the purpose of kindling-wood, / for sacred grass, or for fruits and roots, as the great-souled [sages] themselves do.

Then Nārada, the best of sages, told him / all of Śakra's conduct, and likewise what had occurred with Ahilyā.

Hearing that, Gautama immediately and swiftly went to his house, / only to see the lord of the gods united with his wife.

Śakra too, seeing Gautama, intent upon flight, / ran out from that hermitage, naked and frantic with fear.

Ahilyā also, terrified with fear upon seeing her husband arrived, / stood with her face cast down, O king, her senses perturbed.

Seeing that conduct of his wife clearly, Gautama / pronounced a curse, O great king, his eyes reddened with rage:

"Because, O Śakra, you have committed such a contemptible sinful deed, / and my virtuous wife has been violated, therefore become testicle-less!

And let a thousand vulvas appear upon your face without delay, / whereby you may suffer disgrace across the three worlds, both moving and unmoving!

Moreover, if you ever come here to the mortal world, O Vāsava, / for the sake of worship, then your head will shatter into a hundred pieces!"

Having thus cursed Śakra, he then spoke to Ahilyā, / reviling her repeatedly with eyes reddened with rage:

"Because you, O sinful woman, have committed this contemptible act, / therefore turn into stone and remain upon the surface of the earth!"

Then in that very instant his wife became turned to stone, / and Indra, likewise, was stripped of both testicles.

Indeed, he came to be marked with a thousand vulvas on the region of his face.

Then Hari, having reached a solitary cave of Mount Meru, / dwelt there continually filled with shame, and did not go to his own city.

Then all the hosts of gods, distressed at being abandoned by him / and not knowing where he stayed, engaged in searching the caves.

They were oppressed by fierce Dānavas when heaven was left without a king.

Meanwhile, Jīva was asked by Śakrāṇī, who was frightened with fear / and agitated: "Where then has Purandara gone?"

Then Jīva, having meditated for a long time and seeing him with the eye of knowledge, / went accompanied by the gods, and then spoke very harshly:

"Why have you thus abandoned the enjoyments of kingship and resorted to a solitary place? / Have you undertaken meditation, or have you resorted to fierce austerity?"

Hearing the words of Bṛhaspati, Purandara, with vulvas on his face, / spoke filled with shame, wretched and overwhelmed with tears:

"I will by no means rule over the three worlds. / Look at the state I have been reduced to by the sage Gautama!

With a face marked with a thousand vulvas, how shall I / face the gods, Paulomī, and likewise Śiva?

My worship arising from the mortal world has been ruined, O Bṛhaspati, / on account of a certain incident, through the curse of the sage Gautama."

Hearing that from the king of the gods, Bṛhaspati spoke; / filled with great sorrow and surrounded by all the gods, / he went into the presence of Gautama and spoke to him in person:

"This entire threefold world, abandoned by Śakra, / is oppressed by the Dānavas, O brahmin, its sacrifices and festive rites destroyed.

Filled with utter shame, he does not desire his own kingship. / Therefore, you ought to show him favor as is fitting, / by mitigating the curse at my request, O best of the twice-born!"

Hearing that, Gautama said: "My word cannot be false; / I will not annul the word that I myself have uttered."

Then Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara himself, / and all the hosts of gods standing bowed in humility, spoke to you:

"It is not proper for you to render the word of a brahmin otherwise; / nevertheless, O chief of brahmins, grant mitigation of the curse for Hari."

Seeing the firmness of his mind, the gods headed by Viṣṇu / approached the presence of Brahmā and reported everything to him:

the curse that had befallen Śakra from that great sage;

how a shameful humiliation had befallen the king of the gods; / and how the entire three worlds had been thrown into distress by the Dānavas;

and how the ashamed lord of Śacī would not rule. / Hearing that, the lotus-born [Brahmā] quickly, accompanied by Hari and Śambhu,

went to where the sorrowful Pākaśāsana was staying; / and bringing Gautama to that very spot, the Grandfather

then spoke visibly before the gods and Vāsava: / "An improper deed was done by the king of the gods, O best of sages,

in that your wife was violated by him whose mind was afflicted by lust. / There is no fault in you for having cursed Purandara in this transgression, / yet supreme forbearance among sages is always praised.

A policy should be arranged by your own grace in such a way / that Śatakratu may govern his kingdom of the three worlds.

Having restored his two testicles and removed these vulvas, / act so that he may again have entry into the mortal world!"

Hearing their words, that sage, out of respect for the gods, / then attached two testicles taken from a ram.

Touching those vulvas with his hand, the noble sage turned them into eyes. / Then Gautama, of great austerity, spoke to the gods:

"I have made this Śakra thousand-eyed, O best of gods. / Having the testicles of a ram, he shall also rule his own kingdom; / a charming beauty born of eyes will appear on his face.

And his virility will come from the two testicles born of a ram; / but he shall have no entry into the mortal world for the sake of worship."

In that moment, Purandara became thousand-eyed, / endowed with supreme splendor through the power of that sage.

Then, clasping the two feet of the great-souled Gautama, / Śakra spoke these words in the assembly of all the gods: 52

“Worship originating in the world of mortals is hard to attain, best of brahmins; / act so that it may be mine through your grace! 53

Let not my title of ‘Lord of the Three Worlds’ perish, O twice-born one! / Ordain that, through your grace, it may be everlasting.” 54

Hearing that, filled with shame and also with compassion, the good sage / spoke to that chastiser of Pāka before the eyes of all the gods: 55

“Your worship shall take place in the mortal world for five nights, / and you will attain an incomparable satisfaction that will last throughout the year. 56

In whatever region, city, or village this great festival of five nights is held, / there the people shall remain free from disease for a whole year. 57

There shall be no mental agonies nor bodily illnesses, and never any famine; / nor will the king perish, nor will there be unhappiness anywhere in the world. 58

In whatever place your festival is held, O Puraṃdara, / cows will produce abundant milk there; / there will be abundance of food, and the people will be happy and freed from all afflictions.” 59

Indra said: / “If so, then when autumn has arrived, captivating all living beings, / strewn with Saptacchada trees, adorned with Bandhūka flowers, 60

filled with the fragrance of Mālati, teeming with new crops, / illuminated by the moon's radiance, resonant with the humming of bees, 61

abounding in white and blue water-lilies—let the great festival be celebrated there, / so that both the young and the old may rejoice: bring that about!” 62

Gautama said: / “Today, under the constellation of Śravaṇa, a great festival has been granted to you, / under the auspicious constellation sacred to Viṣṇu, free of all sin. 63

My wife was violated by you under the constellation named Pauṣṇa; / under that [same constellation], your fall will clearly take place, O Puraṃdara, 64

so that this fame of mine may proclaim that deed of yours / and attain renown in this world, and no one may commit a sin. 65

The five constellations beginning with Śravaṇa, taken individually, / will, for the sake of your worship, be equal to five sacrifices, / and will undoubtedly comprise all sacred fords. 66

Whatever desire one contemplates when performing your worship, / especially with fruits and flowers, he shall obtain it entirely. 67

However, no idol of yours will ever be worshipped anywhere, / because my wife, a brahmin woman dear to me as life, was defiled by you. 68

Therefore, brahmins who have mastered the Vedas / shall erect a wooden staff with all your mantras according to their ability, 69

in accordance with the rite of five nights, as is done for other gods; / then, having caused the invocation [into it], the worship offered by mortals / must be received by you, O thousand-eyed one, and satisfaction shall be yours. 70

In whatever manner one raises your sleeping staff, / to that degree higher accomplishment will arise for him, O Vāsava. 71

He who, devoted to the five-night vow and dedicated to celibacy, / performs your worship with fruits and flowers as prescribed, 72

shall obtain release from all sins committed with another's wife. 73

‘Homage to Śakra, the god; homage to you, Śunāsīra; / homage to you whose hand bears the vajra; homage to you who hold the vajra in your fist.’ 74

Whoever offers an oblation to you, O Śakra, with this mantra, / all his sin committed with another's wife will be destroyed. 75

And whoever recounts this dialogue of yours with me, O Puraṃdara, / with true devotion, and likewise listens to it, 76

no disease shall afflict him for a whole year.” / Hearing that, all the gods rejoiced, saying, “So be it!” 77

Taking Śakra with them, they returned once more to Amarāvatī. / Gautama, too, filled with anger, went to his own abode. 78

Thus ends the two hundred and seventh chapter, entitled “Description of Indra’s Great Festival,” in the Māhātmya of the Sacred Field of Hāṭakeśvara, in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, the sixth [part] of the auspicious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses. 207