Skandapurana 5.211

The seers said: / The holy triad of sacred fords has been heard in this sacred field / called Hāṭakeśvara, which was described by you to us, O son of Sūta.

We wish to hear the māhātmya belonging to Viśvāmitra; / explain that to us now, for our curiosity is immense.

Sūta said: / The other shore of the ocean and of the earth can be discerned here, / as can the stars, O best of the twice-born, but of that sage's virtues,

the limit cannot be discerned by anyone, of that wise son of Gādhi, / who, though a kṣatriya, attained the status of a brahmin, O best of the twice-born;

by whom, even when King Triśaṅku had fallen to the state of an outcaste, / the gods were visibly made to partake of sacrificial shares;

by whom, in rivalry with Brahmā of old, O best of the twice-born, a creation / was commenced, and then he was dissuaded by the gods who bowed down [to him].

Let the māhātmya of his sacred ford, which destroys all sins, / be heard from me as I speak [of it] now, O best of brahmins.

By him, that noble soul, a pool was made there with his own hand, / tearing open the earth's surface on all sides even without a weapon.

There, having meditated, the river Jāhnavī was brought from Pātāla, / whose very pure water came forth into the mortal world.

and very sweet, destroying all sins through ritual ablution. / By him too the Sun, the remover of darkness, was established there.

Whoever, having bathed in his auspicious pool on a Sunday that is a seventh lunar day / in the bright fortnight of the month of Māgha, bows to the Sun, / is freed from all leprosy as well as sins, O best of brahmins.

In the northwestern quarter from it, there is a step-well produced from water, / constructed by Dhanvantari, which destroys all diseases.

There previously Dhanvantari of noble intellect performed austerity; / endowed with austerity, meditating and composed, he offered praise.

Then after a long time the Sun, pleased with him, / said: “I am a giver of boons; ask [a boon], O noble-minded one.”

Dhanvantari said: / “The person who with devotion performs ritual ablution in this pool, O lord, / for him may there be the destruction of all diseases, O best of gods.”

The Blessed Lord said: / “Whoever today, on this auspicious day, on a Sunday that is a seventh lunar day, / performs ritual ablution with a concentrated mind at sunrise, / even if afflicted with disease, he shall immediately become free from disease.

And being free from disease, [if full of desire] he will attain desired desires; if free from desire, he will attain liberation.”

Having spoken thus, the Sun, the best of the gods, vanished; / and then Dhanvantari, joyful in mind, went to his own abode.

Now after some time, a king named Ratnākṣa, / the celebrated ruler of Ayodhyā born in the Solar race,

grateful, generous, constantly devoted to his own wife, / brave, supremely splendid, the slayer of all enemies,

through the ripening of previous karma, O brahmins, / contracted the terrible disease of leprosy, incurable in the three worlds.

There was no medicine in the world, O brahmins, that was not used by him, / nor any gift that was not given there by that noble-minded man afflicted with leprosy.

In whatever manner he took medicines and gave gifts, / in that very manner his body was utterly emaciated by the disease.

Then, having attained detachment, O best of brahmins, / that king installed his son on the throne and desired to enter the fire, / although he was forbidden by all of them—his wives and trusted servants.

Having given gifts to brahmins, having worshipped the best of gods, / having spoken to the circle of his friends, and having instructed his own son,

at that very time, while wandering at will, / a certain pilgrim arrived, endowed with a divine form and body.

Then, seeing that whole city of the king agitated, / he, filled with astonishment upon seeing a certain man, asked, O brahmins:

The pilgrim said: / “Why has this entire great city become agitated, O good man, / devoid of joy, filled with children and elders whose eyes are full of tears?”

He said: “This king, afflicted with the disease of leprosy, / deeply despondent, is about to enter the blazing fire.

Because of that, this entire city has reached supreme sorrow; / deeply attached to his virtues, it will surely go to death.”

Having heard that, the pilgrim quickly went and spoke to the king,

as if reviving all the dead people of the lord of men: / “O king, because of this sorrow born of disease, do not / enter the fire, when there exists a sacred ford that brings about the destruction of all diseases!

O king, my body was like yours; / having bathed there, it immediately became like this again, O lord!

Whoever performs ritual ablution there on a Sunday that is a seventh lunar day / at the rising of the Sun, though afflicted with disease on earth,

he, freed from disease, would instantly become whole; / likewise he is freed from sins, just as I am, O best of kings.”

The king said: / “In which country is such a great sacred ford? Tell me quickly!”

The pilgrim said: / “On the surface of the earth there is the famous, excellent Nāgara sacred field. / Overcome by the disease of leprosy, I went there, O king,

in order to see it, being intent on a pilgrimage to sacred fords. / Seeing me there, wretched, afflicted by disease, and deeply sorrowful, / an ascetic who was a resident there said out of compassion:

‘In the northwestern quarter from the god who reclines on the waters, / there is a greatly sacred ford bearing the waters of Viśvāmitra.

Having gone there, perform ritual ablution on a Sunday that is a seventh lunar day, / especially when the bright fortnight of the month of Māgha has arrived,

whereby your leprosy will depart at the rising of the Sun.’ / Having heard that, I also reached that [place] on a seventh lunar day connected with a Sunday, / and then performed ritual ablution there in the cascade sacred to Śambhu.

Then, having emerged from it, as soon as I looked at my body, / so soon it became like this, O king; this which is told to you is true.

Therefore, O king of kings, you too perform ritual ablution there / on a Sunday that is a seventh lunar day at the rising of the Sun,

whereby your disease will be destroyed, and even your great sin.” / Having heard that, the king quickly went along with him.

He performed ritual ablution thus on a Sunday that is a seventh lunar day, / when the month of Māgha had arrived, in the auspicious water of Viśvāmitra.

Then he immediately became freed from leprosy, / possessing a divine form and body, like a second Kāmadeva.

Then the delighted lord of men gave to that pilgrim / thirty million pieces of gold, and then he spoke these words:

“By your grace I am freed from this very terrible disease; / therefore, you go to your own home, and I will stay right here with complete peace of mind.

I will constantly perform austerity together with my wife; / my son, capable in the duties of kingship, has been installed on the throne.”

Having spoken thus, he sent him and the other servants who had come / back to their own homes, while he himself remained right there.

Having made a delightful hermitage together with his wife, / he attained supreme perfection in time, O best of the twice-born. (51)

From his name, this sacred ford then became famed in heaven, / removing all diseases, delightful, and destroying all heinous sins. (52)

There the god of gods, the Sun, was installed by that great-souled one / under his own name, known as Ratnāditya. (53)

Whosoever, having bathed there on a Sunday which is a seventh lunar day, beholds [him], / is freed from sin and goes to the realm of the Sun. (54)

What else happened there, arisen in that sacred field, O best of the twice-born, / that I shall recount; listen with concentrated minds. (55)

There lived a certain rustic man in that region, afflicted with old age; / he was a leper, yet he continually herded cattle. (56)

Once, while he was tending cattle below the mountain there, / one beast strayed from the right path out of greed for grass. (57)

On a Sunday which was a seventh lunar day, it fell into his mountain stream; / and it was not noticed by him at all as it went. (58)

Now, just as he was at home preparing to take his meal, / the owner of that beast arrived, scolding him: (59)

“Why has that beast of mine not returned to my house? / Therefore bring it back at once, or else I will take your life!” (60)

Sūta said: / Hearing that, terrified with fear, the leper went quickly / along the very path by which he had wandered on the ground by day. (61)

Then from afar he heard the cry of that beast / fallen into a deep pit, as the night was ending and darkness still lingered. (62)

Then, going to that pit and entering into the water, / he dragged out that beast with difficulty from the terrible mire; / and taking it, he went slowly toward the dwelling. (63)

Having handed it over to him, he went back to his own hermitage. (64)

Then he slept, O fortunate ones; and when he awoke again / at dawn, he beheld his body completely free from leprosy, (65)

endowed with supreme beauty; his eyes wide with astonishment, / he pondered: “What indeed is this sudden destruction of disease? (66)

Surely this is the power of that sacred ford at nightfall today, / where I plunged into the deep mud for the sake of the beast.” (67)

Then he looked at [the beast] after going there out of great wonder: / it too was freed from scabies and enveloped with radiance. (68)

Having gone there himself and recognized it as an excellent sacred ford, / he performed austerity right there, meditating upon the Sun, (69)

dwelling properly in the forest, unwearied day and night; / and he attained supreme perfection, difficult to reach even for the thirty [gods]. (70)

Therefore, with every effort, one should perform a ritual ablution there. (71)

And one should worship that god, the Sun, who draws up the water. / Even today, even in the Kali age, a man who has bathed there becomes pure. (72)

Whoever worships him with devotion in that reservoir of sacred water / on a Sunday which is a seventh lunar day, he too is freed from sins. (73)

Whoever, standing before him, recites eight thousand Gāyatrī [mantras], / he too, freed from disease, is liberated from all heinous sins. (74)

Whoever with faith gives a cow dedicated to him, / not even a person born in his family line is seized by disease. (75)

All this about the origin of the Sun [shrine] has been told to you by me, / the māhātmya from the hearing of which a person is liberated from sin. (76)

Thus ends the two hundred and twelfth chapter, entitled 'The Description of the Ratnāditya Māhātmya,' in the Māhātmya of the Hāṭakeśvara Sacred Field, in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, the sixth [part], in the Skanda Mahāpurāṇa of eighty-one thousand verses. (212)