Skandapurana 5.279.267

5.279.267

271 indradyumneśvaramāhātmyavarṇanaprasaṅgenendradyumnasya viṣṇuprasādena sadehasvargagamanavṛttānta- varṇanam , brahmalokaṃ gatasyendradyumnasya bahukālaṃ tatra nivāsānantaraṃ brahmaṇā cirakā- lādbhūmau kīrteḥ punarvyaktīkaraṇārthamindradyumnasya bhūlokaṃ prati preṣaṇam, bhūlokaṃ pratyāgatenendradyumnena bhūlokasthitasya dīrghajīvino mārkaṇḍeyasya praśnakaraṇam, indradyumnena svakīrtiṃparijñānārthaṃ rocakapurasaṃbaṃdhivārtā kathayitumasamarthāñjanāndṛṣṭvā kāṃpilyapuravāsivacanādindradyumnasya mārkaṇḍeyena sākaṃ nāḍījaṃghabakasamīpe gama- nam , nāḍījaṃghadarśanena samutsukābhyāmindradyumnamārkaṇḍeyābhyāṃ svāgamanakāraṇa- kathanena nāḍījaṃghena svakīyavṛttāntakathanam, tatra prāgjanmani śāpādbakatvaprāptyādi- kathanam , pratimakarasaṃkramaṇe liṃgopari ghṛtācchādanena tuṣṭena śivena bakāya vara- pradānavarṇanam, tato nirāśasyendradyumnasya vārtāvijñānārthaṃ nāḍījaṃghenātmano'pyape- kṣayā dīrghāyuṣaḥ prākārakarṇanāmakasyolūkasya samīpe mārkaṇḍeyendradyumnayornayanam, tena prākārakarṇolūkenāpīndradyumnavārtānabhijñānakathanottaramindradyumnapraśne. nijadīrghā- yuṣṭvakāraṇakathanam, nijavārtānabhijñānādudāsīnasyendradyumnasya kṛte nāḍījaṃghenendra- dyumnavārtāvijñānasyāvaśyakatāpradarśane prākārakarṇolūkenātmano'pi dīrghāyuṣo gandha- mādanasthasya gṛdhrasya samīpaṃ pratīndradyumnamārkaṇḍeyanāḍījaṃghabakānāṃ nayanam, tena yudhreṇāpīndradyumnavārtānabhijñānavarṇanapūrvakaṃ nijadīrghāyuṣṭvakāraṇavṛttāntakathanam, ni- javārtānabhijñānādudāsīnasyendradyumnasyāgnipraveśodyogaṃ dṛṣṭvā prākārakarṇaprārtha- nayā gṛdhreṇātmano'pi dīrghāyuṣo mānasasaronivāsinaḥ kūrmasya samīpaṃ pratīndradyumnamārkaṇḍeyanāḍījaṃghaprākārakarṇānāṃ nayanam, tatra sarastīre samā- gatānāṃ teṣāṃ madhya indradyumnaṃ nṛpaṃ dṛṣṭvā kūrmasya tānasatkṛtyaiva jalamadhye praveśa-karaṇam, tato gṛdhreṇa tasmai jalapraveśakāraṇapṛcchāyāṃ tena kūrmeṇendradyumnasya pūrva-
samastavṛttāntakathanādindradyumnasya kīrtyuddhāre jāte satīndradyumnopari devaiḥ puṣpa-vṛṣṭikaraṇam, tatastasminneva samaye devadūtena vimānamānīyendradyumnaṃ prati brahma-lokaṃ prati gamanāya prārthanākaraṇam, indradyumnena brahmalokaṃ prati gantuṃ svasyā-nicchāṃ pradarśya kūrmaṃ prati tasyaiva dīrghāyuṣṭvakāraṇajijñāsayā praśnakaraṇam; kūrmeṇa nijapūrvavṛttāntakathanapūrvakamindradyumnādīnāmātithyakaraṇam, tataḥ ṣaḍbhistairlomaśa-maharṣiṇā saha samāgamaṃ kṛtvā lomaśasya dīrghāyuṣṭvakāraṇaṃ jñātvā taiḥ sarvaiḥ saptabhiḥ svasvanāmnā liṃgasthāpanam, tataḥ saptaliṃgotpattivarṇanam....... 305 2

271 In connection with the description of the māhātmya of Indradyumneśvara, description of the narrative of Indradyumna's departure to heaven in his own body by the grace of Viṣṇu; after dwelling there for a long time, Indradyumna who had reached Brahmaloka is sent by Brahmā toward the mortal world to reveal his renown again on earth after a long time; Indradyumna, having returned to the mortal world, questions the long-lived Mārkaṇḍeya dwelling in the mortal world; seeing that the people were unable to tell any news regarding the city of Rocaka for the sake of knowing his own renown, Indradyumna, by the advice of the resident of Kāmpilyapura, goes along with Mārkaṇḍeya to the crane Nāḍījaṅgha; Indradyumna and Mārkaṇḍeya, eager upon seeing Nāḍījaṅgha, tell the reason for their coming, whereupon Nāḍījaṅgha tells his own story; therein, the account of his obtaining the state of a crane through a curse in a previous life and so on; description of Śiva, pleased by the covering of the liṅga with ghee at every Makara Saṅkrānti, granting a boon to the crane; then, to learn the news for the despairing Indradyumna, Nāḍījaṅgha brings Mārkaṇḍeya and Indradyumna to an owl named Prākārakarṇa who is even longer-lived than himself; after that owl Prākārakarṇa also states his ignorance of the news of Indradyumna, upon Indradyumna's question he relates the cause of his own longevity; when Nāḍījaṅgha shows the necessity of learning the news of Indradyumna for Indradyumna who was dejected due to ignorance of news of himself, the owl Prākārakarṇa brings Indradyumna, Mārkaṇḍeya, and the crane Nāḍījaṅgha to a vulture dwelling on Gandhamādana who is even longer-lived than himself; that vulture also, after describing his ignorance of the news of Indradyumna, relates the account of the cause of his own longevity; seeing the dejected Indradyumna's attempt to enter fire on account of not learning news of himself, the vulture, at the request of Prākārakarṇa, brings Indradyumna, Mārkaṇḍeya, Nāḍījaṅgha, and Prākārakarṇa to a tortoise dwelling in the Mānasa lake who is even longer-lived than himself; there, among those arrived at the shore of the lake, upon seeing King Indradyumna, the tortoise enters into the water without even honouring them; then, when the vulture asks him the reason for entering the water, that tortoise tells the whole previous story of Indradyumna, and upon the recovery of Indradyumna's renown, the gods shower flowers upon Indradyumna; then, at that very time, a divine messenger brings an aerial chariot and makes a request to Indradyumna to go to Brahmaloka; Indradyumna shows his reluctance to go to Brahmaloka and questions the tortoise with a desire to know the cause of his longevity; the tortoise offers hospitality to Indradyumna and the others along with telling his own previous narrative; then those six, having met with the great seer Lomaśa and learned the cause of Lomaśa's longevity, all seven install liṅgas in their own names; then, description of the origin of the seven liṅgas....... 305 2