Skandapurana 5.3: Revākhaṇḍa (Vāyu recension; see in.purana.vayu.revakhanda)

Sūta said: / Then, bowing again to Vasiṣṭha, the foremost of sages, / he went to where his sons, one hundred in number, were.

Bowing to them as well, the king spoke of that same matter; / the entire speech of Vasiṣṭha was also recounted to him by them.

Then he said to them again: "Your father has just now / proven unable to take me to heaven in the body, and has been dismissed.

Therefore, if you will not officiate for me now, / I will abandon [you] and quickly appoint another family priest,

who through the power of sacrifice will lead me to the abode of the gods / together with this very body, O sons of the guru!"

Hearing that speech of his, all those best of sages, / seized by great wrath, addressed him with harsh words:

"Because you have abandoned your guru who wished you well, you are sinful. / Therefore become now, O sinner, an outcaste reviled by the world!"

Then, at the conclusion of their words, that ruler of the earth instantly / took on the form of an outcaste, bearing a deformed body.

Broad in the middle like a barleycorn, with a withered neck, yellow-brown eyes, and a broken nose, / dark-limbed, peg-colored, and enveloped in a foul stench.

Then, beholding himself deformed, / reduced at once to the state of an outcaste, the king stood with his face cast down in shame.

Chided repeatedly by those brahmins shouting, "Begone, begone!", / and harassed on all sides by unrestrained dogs, / resembling a crow or a cuckoo, wrapped in tattered rags,

he then reflected, overwhelmed with great sorrow: / "What shall I do? Where shall I go? How will peace come to be?

Why did I, a great fool, crave an unattainable station? / Under its influence even my own family duty has perished.

Shall I enter water today, or a blazing fire? / Or shall I consume poison? How may death be mine today?

How shall I look upon my wives with this form, / with whom I used to sport with such a body?

How shall I look again upon my sons, grandsons, / friends, relations, and kinsmen, and likewise other servants?

All the enemies whom I conquered in battle of old—

hearing of me [reduced to] such a state today, they will rejoice, free from fear.

The brahmins versed in the Vedas whom I satisfied with gifts— / hearing of me [reduced to] such a state today, they will become sorrowful.

Likewise, my dear friends who were ever devoted to my welfare— / to what state will they come upon seeing me standing like this?

My elephants of noble breed, blinded with rut, sixty years of age— / without me, who will engage them in mutual combat today?

The horses spotted like partridges, well-broken by sturdy riders— / who will guide them through their intricate paces without me?

Likewise my troops of servants, well-born and furious in battle— / without me, to whom will they go today, deeply afflicted?

And my countless treasury, possessed of many such gems— / for whose enjoyment will it be, bereft of me who protected it?

Likewise my vast store of grain, cattle, goats, and sheep beyond count— / how will it fare, bereft of me though guarded by beloved [servants]?"

Having thus lamented in many ways, the sorrowful king / went slowly on foot toward the vicinity of the city.

Then, having reached his city at night when it was deserted by people, / he stood at the gate and summoned his son together with the ministers.

Standing far off, he recounted the whole event born of the curse / of the sons of the great-souled Vasiṣṭha.

Having heard those words of his, which were like a thunderbolt falling, / they too wept, full of sorrow, their faces bathed in tears:

“Alas, lord! Alas, great king! Alas, you who are always devoted to righteousness! / Deprived of you, how deeply afflicted shall we become today?

How could this be proper for those wicked sons of Vasiṣṭha? / They pronounced a curse upon their own patron, and one who was especially humble!

We, O tiger among kings, having abandoned home and all else, / shall undoubtedly go into the status of outcastes together with you!”

Triśaṅku said: / “If you have unhindered devotion toward me, / then all of you serve as ministers to my son right now.

Hariścandra, this good son of mine, is my eldest and very dear to me. / Free from anxiety, quickly install him in my place.

As for me, I shall do what rests in my mind: / I shall either meet death, or go in this very body to the abode of the gods.”

Having spoken thus, having abandoned them all, the king / set out on foot, slowly, taking refuge in the forest.

Those good ministers, too, quickly installed his well-esteemed son / on the throne, amidst the sounds of noisy musical instruments.

Thus ends the third chapter, named ‘Obtaining of the Kingdom by Hariścandra’ in the story of Triśaṅku, in the glorification of the sacred field of Hāṭakeśvara, in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, the sixth [part] in the venerable Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, a collection of eighty-one thousand [verses].