Skandapurana 5.45

Sūta said: / Right there, O best of the twice-born, is the exceedingly holy triad of Puṣkaras, / where austerity was performed of old by the king who ruled Ānarta. 1

Whoever performs a ritual ablution there at midday in the month of Kārttika / when the moon is in Kṛttikā, goes to the supreme state. 2

The ṛṣis said: / How did the exceedingly holy triad of Puṣkaras arrive there? / And in what place is it to be recognized, and by what signs? Tell us, O Sūta! 3

Sūta said: / I shall declare to you by what signs the triad of Puṣkaras / was seen of old there by the sage, the wise Viśvāmitra. 4

Anciently, while that good sage Viśvāmitra was dwelling there, / the holy full-moon day of Kārttika, joined with the asterism Kṛttikā, arrived. 5

Knowing that sacred field to consist of all sacred fords, the treasury of austerity, / that son of Gādhi, then pondered in his own mind: 6

“Today is that holy full-moon day of Kārttika, joined with the asterism Kṛttikā, / on which welfare is obtained by men through bathing in the water of Puṣkara; / but the original Puṣkara is far away, and it is impossible to go now. 7

Therefore I shall perform my ritual ablution in whatever is located here.” / Having thus resolved with a mind purified by faith, 8

he then searched for the Puṣkaras on every side; / but because of the multitude of sacred fords there, he could not reach a certainty. 9

Looking repeatedly at every body of water, he performed his ritual ablution after that; / then, wandering here and there, he became exhausted. 10

Having resorted to the root of a tree, he sat down upon the ground; / then, having become pure, he praised the three Puṣkaras with faith: / “Heaven is a yojana from the Middle one, half a yojana from the Smallest, / while from the Eldest pool it is declared by the pure-minded to be nearly a cubit away. 12

The sacred fords certainly purify through bathing and gifts; / but by the mere sight of Puṣkara a person is freed from sin. 13

Resorting to the forest of Puṣkara, if a single brahmin is fed / even with greens, roots, and fruits, ten million are fed! 14

Difficult is ritual ablution at Puṣkara, difficult is austerity at Puṣkara, / difficult is dwelling at Puṣkara; everything is difficult at Puṣkara! 15

The person who bathes at Puṣkara on the full-moon day of Kārttika under the asterism Kṛttikā / is instantly freed from the sin arising from birth and death! 16

The person who bathes in the Eldest in the morning, in the Middle one at midday, / and in the Smallest when the sun has set, would at once attain heaven. 17

Sin remains in the bodies of all embodied beings only as long / as men do not take a ritual ablution in the waters of Puṣkara. 18

Just as darkness touched by the rays of the sun vanishes, / so through contact with the waters of Puṣkara does sin swiftly depart. 19

Even having committed sins such as killing a brahmin, a man on earth, / by bathing at Puṣkara on the full-moon day of Kārttika, attains guiltlessness. 20

What need of gifts, what need of observances and burnt-offerings, what need of extensive sacrifices? / The fruit of all of them is obtained by bathing at Puṣkara on the full-moon day of Kārttika! 21

If this speech has been spoken truthfully by me with self-control, / then may there quickly be for me an immediate darśana of Puṣkara!” 22

As the wise Viśvāmitra was speaking thus, / a bodiless voice arose from the sky, O best of the twice-born: 23

“O Viśvāmitra, best of sages, my stay is always in the sky, / except on the single full-moon day of Kārttika joined with the asterism Kṛttikā. 24”

Therefore, on that day my dwelling is certainly on the earth's surface / in this very sacred forest; therefore, perform your ritual ablution. 25.

Viśvāmitra said: / You are heard to be the refuge of all sacred fords; / then how, O lord of sacred fords, may I know that you are present right here? 26.

Then there arose again a loud voice moving in the sky, / delighting Viśvāmitra, the best of sages, O best of brahmins: 27.

Not very far from this forest there are bodies of water here; / in one of them there is a lotus that stands facing downwards. 28.

In the second, it faces upwards, and in the third, it faces sideways. / There, by the upward-facing lotuses Jyeṣṭhapuṣkara is to be recognized; 29.

by the sideways-facing ones, O best of brahmins, the middle one is celebrated; / and by the downward-facing ones Kaniṣṭhapuṣkara on earth is to be known. 6.45.30.

Recognizing [them] by these signs, O best of sages, perform your ritual ablution. / Having heard that, the sage quickly rose and went from there. 31.

Those bodies of water were situated there with such lotuses; / having seen them and being endowed with faith, he performed his ritual ablution in due order. 32.

And then, according to the rule, he properly performed the libation to the ancestors. 33.

Then with vegetables, roots, and wild grains accompanied by fruits, / he performed a śrāddha according to rule right there, O best of brahmins. 34.

Standing on its bank, concentrated in mind, he watched / on the Kārtika full moon day in the conjunction with Kṛttikā, eager to see the sign. 35.

The brahmins said: / What kind of sign arises on the Kārtika full moon day at Jyeṣṭhapuṣkara / when the conjunction with Kṛttikā arrives? Tell us all that quickly! 36.

Sūta said: / On the Kārtika full moon day, when the moon enters into the conjunction with Kṛttikā, / then an extraordinary lotus emerges from the midst of the water. 37.

In its center a person merely the size of a thumb is seen by people / who have bathed well and are endowed with faith; then one obtains the fruit of the sacred ford. 38.

For this reason, having bathed, the great sage Viśvāmitra / watched for that sign, applying great effort. 39.

As that wise Viśvāmitra was thus watching, / the ruler of Ānarta, King Bṛhadbala, arrived there, 6.45.40.

exceedingly exhausted from hunting, having slain many herds of deer, / bears, boars, antelopes, and sambar deer, 41.

lions, tigers, wolves, and ferocious forest-dwellers, / as well as others; at midday he arrived along that path. 42.

Then he saw Viśvāmitra, the lord of sages, near a tree, / seated, having completed his ritual ablution, watching the pool of water. 43.

Then, having bowed to him respectfully and dismounted from his horse, / the best of kings, afflicted by fatigue, entered into that water. 44.

In that interval, that lotus emerged from the water, / endowed with a thousand petals, possessing a radiance equal to twelve suns. 45.

Having seen that great, most wondrous lotus, the protector of the earth, / seized by curiosity, took hold of it with his own left hand. 46.

Then, as soon as that lotus was touched, O best of brahmins, / a very great sound arose, by which the universe was filled. 47.

Hearing that sound, the protector of the earth fell into a faint / and tumbled into that water, and the lotus vanished from sight. 48.

Then, with great difficulty, he was pulled out of the water / by his servants, who were afflicted with grief and sorrow, crying out: “Alas, alas!” 49.

Then, having reached the bank and regained consciousness with difficulty, / as soon as he looked at his own limbs, leprosy had set in. 6.45.50.

Then he was overwhelmed with dejection upon seeing such a body of his own, / with rotted nose, feet, and hands, and accompanied by a rattling voice. 51.

Then, going into the presence of the sage Viśvāmitra, the king / spoke miserable words in a voice choked with tears: 52.

“O lord, see what kind of body has indeed become mine, / suddenly and blameworthy, after diving into this water! 53.

Is it a defect of the water, then, or of the ground, O lord of sages, / through which my body has suddenly undergone such deformity?” 54.

Viśvāmitra said: / “This was indeed a solar lotus that you touched, O king, / while being impure, in whose center the sun himself resides. 55.

When the conjunction with Kṛttikā of the moon occurs in the month of Kārtika, O king, / only then does this appear in the water of Puṣkara. 56.

So this is Jyeṣṭhapuṣkara, where you, afflicted by fatigue, / entered; and today is the Kārtika full moon day endowed with the conjunction with Kṛttikā. 57.

Having beheld this, a man who performs ritual ablution in this pool of water, / endowed with supreme faith, goes to the supreme state. 58.

By you, while impure, O king, merely to seize it, / this lotus was touched; therefore such a fruit has resulted.” 59.

Bṛhadbala said: / “How may the destruction of the disease of leprosy happen for me, O best of sages, / through austerity, restriction, or even an observed vow?” 6.45.60.

Viśvāmitra said: / “Worship the thousand-rayed sun in this sacred field, O king; / then you will attain the perfection arising from the destruction of leprosy.” 61.

Having heard that speech of the sage, King Bṛhadbala / then immediately installed an image of the sun. 62.

Endowed with supreme faith, he worshipped it according to the rule with flowers, incense, and ointments, / especially on Sunday, 63.

devoted to fasting, worshipping with red sandal and red flowers, / endowed with supreme faith. 64.

Then, at the end of a year, that protector of the earth / became freed from the disease of leprosy, possessing a radiance equal to twelve suns. 65.

Then, having returned to his own kingdom and enjoyed many pleasures, / at the end of his body he reached the abode of the lord of the day. 66.

Sūta said: / Thus there, O best of brahmins, by the wise Viśvāmitra / the three Puṣkaras were made manifest for all the world.

A man who performs a ritual ablution there in the month of Kārttika on the full-moon day and under the Kṛttikās / goes to the world of Brahmā.

Likewise, a man who beholds the Sun installed by Bṛhadbala / for a year on Sundays, taking only a moment, / that man is freed from diseases, if he is afflicted with disease.

Or if healthy, a man immediately obtains his heart's desire; / free from desires, he attains liberation by the grace of the Sun.

He who sets free a bull at the sacred Puṣkaras / on the full-moon day of Kārttika during the conjunction with Kṛttikā obtains the fruit of an Aśvamedha.

Many sons should be desired, so that if even one goes to Gayā, / or sacrifices with an Aśvamedha, or sets free a dark bull.

On one side are all the sacred fords and all the gifts; / on the other side is the setting free of a bull at the Puṣkaras on the full-moon day of Kārttika.

And whoever hears this constantly, or recites it endowed with faith, / having attained all desires indeed, is honoured in the world of Brahmā.

Thus ends the forty-fifth chapter, titled 'Description of the Glory of the Three Puṣkaras', in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, in the collection of eighty-one thousand [verses], in the sixth Nāgarakhaṇḍa, in the glorification of the sacred field of the glorious Hāṭakeśvara.