Skandapurana 5.251

The Śūdra said: / “This is indeed a great wonder: that the gods take the form of trees, / dwelling in all trees when the Cāturmāsya has arrived! 1

O lord, which gods are they, and in which [trees] do they dwell? / Tell me this in detail, out of a desire to show favor to me.” 2

Gālava said: / “Water is called nectar; during the Cāturmāsya, by their own desire, / held in sport by the gods, the tree-deities drink it. 3

From drinking it, great satisfaction arises, of this there is no doubt: / strength, splendor, beauty, excellence, and swift valor. 4

These qualities arise from drinking that which originates from a portion of Kṛṣṇa; / by drinking ordinary nectar, only little strength is produced. 5

They praise that consumption always, without a doubt; / therefore, during the four months, they drink water alone. 6

The ancestors and gods reside in trees wishing for the welfare of living beings; / honoring trees is best in all months, at all times. 7

Especially when honored during the Cāturmāsya, they produce happiness; / watering trees with water mixed with sesame seeds fulfills all desires. 8

Milky trees sprinkled with waters mixed with milk bestow good fortune. / And as for the group of four trees that was mentioned earlier by me, 9

it yields the fruits of all desires, especially during the Cāturmāsya. / Brahmā, resorting to the banyan tree, grants boons to living beings. 10

Sāvitrī resorts to sesame, pure with white adornments; / while the god sleeps, the service of sesame yields great fruit. 11

Sesame is incomparably pure; sesame fulfills dharma and artha; / sesame bestows liberation; and sesame takes away sin. 12

Sesame gives extraordinary fruit; sesame destroys enemies; / among all meritorious things, sesame is mentioned first. 13

They say sesame is not mere grain; it is remembered as the grain of the gods; / therefore, among all gifts, the gift of sesame is supremely excellent. 14

By whoever sesame seeds are given together with gold, O Śūdra, / the destruction of sins such as the murder of a brahmin is indeed accomplished. 15

Sāvitrī and sesame are said to accomplish all purposes and goals. / One should offer libations with sesame, especially during the Cāturmāsya. 16

The sight of sesame is meritorious, as are touching and using it, / offering it into fire, eating it, and anointing the body with it. 17

In every way, this sesame plant removes sins merely by being seen; / especially during the Cāturmāsya, when honored, it bestows all happiness. 18

Mahendra, resorting to barley, remains intent on the welfare of creatures; / the tending of barley is meritorious, as are seeing and touching it. 19

One should offer tarpaṇa to the gods with barley, which yields imperishable [merit]. / All the lords of progeny have taken resort in the mango tree.

The Gandharvas [reside in] the sandalwood tree, the lord of gaṇas in the aloe tree, / the oceans in the cane, and the Yakṣas in the punnāga tree.

The Nāgas have taken resort in the nāga tree, the Siddhas in the kaṅkolaka tree, / the Guhyakas in the jackfruit tree, and the Kinnaras in the black pepper plant.

Kandarpa has taken up residence, having resorted to the liquorice plant; / Fire stays, having taken resort in the great red sandalwood tree.

Yama [resides in] the bibhītaka tree, the lord of the south-west in the bakula tree, / Varuṇa in the date palm, and the Wind god in the betel-nut tree.

The giver of wealth [Kubera resides] in the walnut tree, and the Rudras in the jujube tree; / the great palmyra palm tree belonging to the Seven Seers is abundant and surrounded by chowries.

The rose-apple tree, surrounded by clouds, is dark in color and destroys sins; / its color is like that of Kṛṣṇa; therefore the rose-apple is the foremost among trees.

Vāsudeva becomes pleased by giving its fruits as a gift. / Those who feed brahmins while taking resort beneath a rose-apple tree—

to them Hari, being pleased, grants the four goals of human life / when the Cāturmāsya arrives and Lord Janārdana is asleep.

He who, remaining pure, feeds brahmins accompanied by their wives, / by him Nārāyaṇa, accompanied by Lakṣmī, becomes pleased.

For the pleasure of Lakṣmī and Nārāyaṇa, a man, accompanied by his wife, / by dressing [them] in auspicious garments and ornaments, becomes one who has accomplished his purpose.

Whatever fruit is obtained by three nights [of vow] produced under a banyan or aśoka tree, / that very [fruit] is produced by feeding brahmins under a rose-apple tree.

On that day the performer of the rite should observe a single meal. / What is the use of speaking at length? From the worship of the rose-apple tree,

one is endowed with sons, grandsons, and wealth—there is no doubt about this. / The rose-apple tree is enveloped by clouds, and the aśoka tree by lightning.

The great priyāla tree is always appropriated by the Vasus, / the hibiscus tree by the Ādityas, and the madana tree by the two Aśvins.

The madhūka is occupied by the Viśvedevas, and bdellium by the flesh-eaters; / the arka tree by the pure Sun, and the three-leaved tree by the Moon;

the khadira by the son of Earth [Mars], and the apāmārga by Budha; / the peepal by the preceptor [Jupiter], and the udumbara by Śukra;

the śamī by Śanaiścara and adopted by the Śūdra castes; / the dūrvā grass, suitable for offering oblations to the ancestors, is adopted by Rāhu;

and it is always dear to Viṣṇu, especially during the Cāturmāsya. / The darbha grass, suitable for sacrifice and yielding great fruit, was adopted by Ketu;

without which no auspicious rite is complete; / which is the purest of the pure and the most auspicious of the auspicious;

which is the embodiment of liberation for the dying, a great plant situated upon the earth. / In it Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva always reside continuously,

at its root, middle, and tip; its very name gives satisfaction. / Other deities also, having taken resort in those trees, those great plants,

become active during these four months; of this there is no doubt. / During the Cāturmāsya, all the wives of the gods reside in climbing vines;

they bestow desired pleasures upon men when they are served. / Therefore, he by whom the pippala tree is served with all one's heart,

by him all trees are served, especially during the Cāturmāsya. / He by whom tulasī is served, all creepers are served;

the entire world, extending up to the realm of Brahmā, is gladdened and served. / During the Cāturmāsya, whether by a householder or by a forest-dweller,

or by a celibate student and an ascetic, when served, she bestows liberation. / One should never cause the cutting of all these trees,

especially during the Cāturmāsya, except for the purpose of a sacrifice and the like. / All this has been told completely as was asked of me here by you,

namely, how all the gods assumed the state of trees, O Śūdra.

One peepal tree, one neem tree, one banyan tree, and ten tamarind trees, / three wood-apple, bael, and myrobalan trees—having seen these, one would not see hell.

All the gods dwell in the tree of the universe: the dark stream, and those in its dark middle and tip. / When that God who is adored by the universe is worshipped, this entire universe becomes completely satisfied.

Thus ends the two hundred and fifty-second chapter, titled 'The Account of the Glory of Trees' in the Glory of Cāturmāsya within the narration of him who reclines on Śeṣa, in the dialogue between Brahmā and Nārada, in the Glory of the Sacred Field of Hāṭakeśvara, in the sixth section, the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.