Skandapurana 5.230

Sūta said: / Having obtained that sovereignty over the three worlds, Vṛka, / at his own will, commanded the entire world at that time.

In strength, prowess, fortitude, and wrath, that Dānava / was a thousandfold greater than Andhaka, terrible and exceedingly fierce.

During this time, no mortal on earth performed sacrifice, / nor burnt offering, nor recitation, knowing that Daityas occupied the abode of the gods.

Now, whoever performed pious duty, or burnt offering, or recitation, / did so finding a well-hidden place, for the pleasure of the immortals.

Then the Daityas stationed in heaven, deprived of sacrificial shares / and likewise of the portions arising from mortals, fell into great doubt.

Then, his mind filled with rage, the Dānava dispatched / hidden and clever spies to the mortal world, and said to them:

'Whoever undertakes or performs sacrifice, / burnt offering, or gift for the sake of the deities on the surface of the earth, / he must without doubt be slain by you at my command.'

Hearing his word, those exceedingly strong Dānavas / went to the surface of the earth and crept about in secret everywhere.

Whomever they saw devoted to recitation and burnt offerings, / or performing Vedic study, him they struck down with sharp swords.

At that very time, Sāṅkṛti, the best of sages, / stayed in secret with his body concealed in that pit / where previously austerity had been performed by Vṛka, O twice-born.

Then, seeing him stationed in that cave, / reviling that austerity, they spoke in harsh words,

having seen standing before him, worshipped with perfumes and flowers, / the four-armed image embodying Vāsudeva, O best of the twice-born.

Then, lifting their weapons, they struck him in anger. / When they could not kill him who was shielded by Viṣṇu's splendor, / all their weapons, though spotless, became blunted.

Then, overwhelmed with embarrassment and dejected, all of them / related that news to Vṛka, the lord of Dānavas:

'A certain brahmin, having set an image of Viṣṇu before him, / performed austerity, O noble one, in the sacred field of Hāṭakeśvara,

where austerity was performed by you out of fear of all the gods. / He too performs such austerity in secret from us,

by which all weapons have become blunted / through blows upon his body. Therefore, do as is fitting!'

Hearing that word of theirs, Vṛka, filled with wrath, / quickly went there where that Sāṅkṛti was staying.

Going there, he lifted that image of Viṣṇu and hurled it far away, / casting it out of the chasm, reviling him again and again.

He struck him with kicks of his right foot and the other, / and said: 'You are to be killed by me, since Janārdana, my enemy,

you worship in secret; therefore I will take your life!' / Having spoken thus, the Daitya ruler struck him with a sword.

Then his sword, although sharp, O best of the twice-born, / broke into a hundred pieces when struck against his body.

Then Sāṃkṛti, his mind seized by rage, cursed him:

"Since I have been struck by you with kicks, O sinner, / therefore let both your feet fall immediately to the earth's surface!"

Sūta said: / No sooner was that spoken by him, O best of brahmins, / than his two feet fell upon the surface of the earth like five-headed serpents.

At that very moment, a very great wailing arose, / particularly from Vṛka's soldiers and women.

Then the gods, learning that he had become lame, / came to the summit of Meru and killed his retinue.

And the remaining daityas fled into the depths of Pātāla; / Vṛka also, having become lame, remained firmly settled in austerity.

Together with all his inner quarters, filled with grief and sorrow, / Indra too regained his kingdom, its obstacles now removed.

And righteous acts commenced once again in Rasātala.

Then after a long time, the Grandfather [Brahmā] was pleased with him, / and coming there into the pit, O best of brahmins, he said:

"Vṛka, I am pleased with you, dear child. Choose a boon, O one of good vows! / I shall surely give it to you, even if it be extremely difficult to attain."

Vṛka said: / "If you are pleased with me, O god, if a boon is to be given to me, / then, O god, O Brahmā, grant me feet, / so that through your grace this lameness of mine departs quickly."

Hearing that, the Lotus-born [Brahmā] brought Sāṃkṛti there, / and spoke gently to him for the sake of this Vṛka, O best of brahmins:

"Act so that by my word his lameness may depart."

Sāṃkṛti said: / "Untruth has never been spoken by me, even in jest, O Grandfather; / it is known, O Lord of the gods of gods! How then may I do that?"

Brahmā said: / "This Vṛka, the best of daityas, is always dedicated to my devotion; / and you, my grandson, are ever beloved. Therefore do I entreat you.

Nor can I make your word false, O good sage."

Sāṃkṛti said: / "This daitya is very wicked, bent on harming the gods, / especially the noble Vāsudeva, my elder.

This sinner, abuser of brahmins, fully deserves lameness; / endowed with great strength, he was freed from old age and death

by you formerly, O god. If he obtains two feet, / he will destroy the entire world, including gods, asuras, and mortals.

Therefore let him remain as he is; you ought not to alter it. / For concern for the three worlds must be taken by you as well, O Lord."

Brahmā said: / "When the rainy season has arrived, it is not fit to undertake a march, / especially for one who wishes to conquer, leaving aside the arrival of cold and heat.

Therefore, for the four rainy months, endowed with feet, / inaccessible to all the worlds, let him perform actions steadfastly.

Thus let that Vṛka, the foremost of dānavas, be endowed with feet, / in such a way that safety is secured for the gods and brahmins, O brahmin.

When it is done thus, your word will not become false, O brahmin, / and the fruit of his austerity will not be in vain."

Sūta said: / When the noble Sāṃkṛti said, 'So be it,' / two fresh feet immediately arose from his body.

And again the dreadful dānava attained a beast-like state [for eight months]; / he stayed in that very pit, O best of brahmins,

for eight months in misery, together with his wife and relatives, / remembering day and night his great enmity with the gods.

And during the other four months, having emerged filled with fury, / he continually harassed the gods along with Indra, and humans as well;

and he wrecked all righteous places.

For the period of four months he violated the women of the gods, / and all the gardens along with cities and homes.

Then the gods, having approached Janārdana, the god of gods, / who constantly dwells in the Ocean of Milk, reclining on the couch of Śeṣa,

and having stayed there near him for the four rainy months, / returned once more without fear to heaven for the eight months.

While that exceedingly cruel daitya had fallen into lameness, / after some time the king of the gods, scorched by sorrow at the end of Āṣāḍha, said to Bṛhaspati:

"O Guru, that terrifying month of the rainy season has arrived, / when this Vṛkāsura, having obtained feet, will come.

And we must then go to the Ocean of Milk, to Keśava's abode. / We must not continue thus, miserable, dwelling in another's refuge,

abandoning our homes, our beds, our seats, / our diverse mounts, and whatever else is dear in the house.

Therefore tell us some means indeed, / whether a vow, an observance, or an oblation, O best of sages,

by which the bed may not be empty of one's wife, / and likewise the abandonment of one's own home does not occur.

I am despondent from being displaced from my own realm, O best of foremost brahmins; / and every year that arrives, the fall from my position occurs.

Again I shall lie upon the ground for the duration of four months, / without my wife, agitated by fear, devoted to celibacy."

Hearing those words of his, who was afflicted by fear, / Bṛhaspati meditated for a long time and then said to god Śatakratu [Indra]:

"There is a great austerity of a vow named Aśūnyaśayana, / for the sake of worshipping Viṣṇu. Perform that with concentrated mind.

Where God Viṣṇu is, that Madhusūdana / who sleeps on the waters, the source of the universe—he will grant your welfare,

so that your bed will not be empty, the destruction of your home will not occur, / and the destruction of all enemies will take place by his grace, O Vāsava."

Sūta said: / When that observance consisting of the unbroken bed was performed, / Lord Viṣṇu was pleased, and then spoke to the ruler of the gods:

"O Śakra, I am pleased, may it be well with you! Choose a boon, O you of noble vows! / By performing this vow pertaining to the Cāturmāsya, / therefore, O Devendra, ask for whatever is always in your mind."

Indra said: / "O Kṛṣṇa, you also know the defeat that is inflicted upon me here / by the lord of the Dānavas, the extremely evil Vṛka.

My reign over the three worlds lasts for only eight months; / and during the remaining four months, year after year, he approaches.

Knowing this, O best of gods, having compassion on me, / act in such a way that my kingdom may be perpetual."

Viṣṇu said: / "He was made ageless and immortal by the lotus-born [Brahmā]; / how then, while he is living, can the kingdom be yours?

Nevertheless, O lord of gods, I will do what is beneficial to you.

Leaving the Ocean of Milk and going together with Lakṣmī / to the sacred field named Hāṭakeśvara, thereafter on top of him

I will take to lying down with effort, O Śakra, / for the duration of the four months, so that he will not move.

Oppressed by my weight, from that place, O thousand-eyed one [Indra], / every year that welfare of yours must always be accomplished by me.

Therefore, go now to heaven and rule the kingdom without thorns; / when the rainy season arrives, you should have no fear arising from him.

Whoever, O ruler of gods, worships me lying down there / with this observance and with true devotion, to him I will grant what he desires."

Sūta said: / Having spoken thus, Hṛṣīkeśa sent away Śatakratu, / freed from all fear, for the prosperity of his own kingdom.

Always on the day of the eleventh [tithi] in the bright half of Āṣāḍha, / the all-pervading Lord, arriving there in person at the sacred field of Hāṭakeśvara,

then took to lying down upon Vṛka with effort; / overcome by him, he was not able to move at all.

Nearly dead, constantly oppressed by his weight, / when the day of the eleventh [tithi] in the bright half of Kārtika arrives,

Viṣṇu rises up and departs toward the Ocean of Milk; / and that Vṛka, by the curse of Sāṅkṛti, becomes lame.

And thus Hari does not leave his couch for four months, / on account of the danger from that ruler of Asuras, the evil-minded Dānava.

During that time, mortals perform no rites born of sacrifices, / because the Lord of Sacrifice, when sleeping, does not partake of his share.

Likewise, all auspicious sacrifices, beginning with the tonsure ceremony / and the giving of daughters in marriage, are not performed;

excepting the first feeding of solid food and the parting of the hair; / therefore, while the Lord of the world is asleep, all those would be in vain, O twice-born ones.

Whatever observance or restriction a man undertakes at that time, / while the God of gods is asleep, all that becomes fruitless.

Therefore, with every effort, while Janārdana is asleep, / men must abide by observances for the satisfaction of that god.

When the eleventh day arrives for Hari’s sleeping and for his awakening, / whatever noble act is performed becomes inexhaustible.

What need is there of saying much here? By whatever observance is performed by men, / Hari, situated on top of the Daitya, attains supreme satisfaction.

Thus the blessed Janārdana declared while sleeping there: / 'Does he have a fever or even great torment,

the sinful person who eats food on that day?' / Therefore, with every effort, when Hari's day arrives,

a wise person should not eat food on that or another [Ekādaśī]; / how much more so on the day when he sleeps and when he awakens!

Sūta said: / All this has been narrated to you, O best of the twice-born, as I was asked, / about why Janārdana sleeps in the sacred field of Hāṭakeśvara,

having left the Ocean of Milk for four months always; / and hear the fruit that accrues when that Lord is propitiated:

That person who, observing vows, worships the Lord for the four rainy months, / goes to where that god abides.

What is the use of many gifts bestowed, what of vows, what of fasts? / A person who unfailingly worships the lotus-eyed one sleeping there [attains all].

Thus ends the two hundred and thirty-first chapter, entitled 'Description of the Glory of the Ekādaśī Vow in the Narrative of the One Lying on the Waters', in the Glory of Hāṭakeśvara Field, in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, the sixth [part] in the Mahāpurāṇa of eighty-one thousand verses, the glorious Skandapurāṇa.