Skanda Purana 6.1.1

Obeisance to glorious Gaṇeśa.

Obeisance to the glorious Mother of the Universe.

Now begins the Avantīkṣetramāhātmya in the Avantyakhaṇḍa.

Vyāsa said:

He whom even the creators of creatures and the gods bow down to out of powerful fear of mundane existence, / who indeed has entered into the unmanifest for those of concentrated minds and souls joined in meditation,

may that primal god of the worlds, the venerable Lord named Mahākāla, be victorious, / bearing the crescent moon, a manifest liṅga, a skull, and endowed with coilings of serpents. (1)

Umā said:

Whatever sacred fords and holy rivers there are on the earth,

let those be told with care, in which faith arises. (2)

Īśvara said:

There is in the worlds the renowned river Gaṅgā, flowing along three paths,

served by gods and gandharvas, and resorted to by sages. (3)

The goddess Yamunā, daughter of the sun, purifier of the worlds,

is dear to the ancestors, a destroyer of grave sins. (4)

And Candrabhāgā, Vitastā, and Narmadā at Amarakantaka;

Kurukṣetra, Gayā, O goddess, Prabhāsa, and likewise Naimiṣa; (5)

Kedāra, Puṣkara, and also Kāyāvarohaṇa;

and likewise most sacred, O goddess, is the auspicious Mahākālavana, (6)

where resides glorious Mahākāla, a fire to the fuel of sin.

The sacred field extends for a yojana, destroying [sins such as] the murder of a brahmin and the like. (7)

It is a sacred field granting enjoyment and liberation, destroying the impurities of the Kali [age],

imperishable even at the cosmic dissolution, O goddess, difficult to attain even for the thirty [gods]. (8)

Umā said:

O god, O Maheśvara, tell the power of this sacred field,

what sacred fords exist, and indeed what liṅgas are there. (9)

I desire to hear them; my curiosity is indeed supreme. (10)

Mahādeva said:

Listen attentively, O goddess, to the efficacy that destroys sin,

the primordial sacred field, O great goddess, which destroys all sin.

In the vicinity of glorious Meru, there is a peak adorned with jewels,

an abode of many wonders, crowded with numerous trees,

variegated with strange minerals, having platforms of pure crystal,

rich in the beauty of varied hues, resounding with hosts of seers,

frequented by deer and great elephants, filled with herds of elephants,

dense with clouds of spray rising from cascading waterfall waters,

variegated with carpets of blossoms from clusters of trees shaken by the wind,

its entire forest perfumed with the excellent fragrance of musk,

a place of pleasure in bower-cottages, a refuge of Siddhas and Vidyādharas,

resounding with the sweet melody of skilled Kinnara hosts.

In that exceedingly delightful forest, which adorns the whole region,

[stands] the palace named Vairāja belonging to Brahmā, the Supreme Lord.

There, resounding with the sweet sounds of singing by celestial maidens,

adorned with garlands of floral clusters draped from pārijāta trees,

echoing with the loud music struck up on many instruments,

resounding with diverse songs and instruments accompanied by tempo and rhythm,

supported by millions of pillars, adorned with spotless mirrors,

accompanied by manifold great spectacles endowed with tempo and rhythm,

adorned with the play and splendor of dance arrangements by apsarases,

is the assembly hall named Kāntimatī, bestowing delight upon the gods,

thronged with gatherings of seers, frequented by groups of sages,

resounding with the sound of the Veda chanted by twice-born [brahmins], conferring bliss.

Seated in it was the lord of speech, devoted to the worship of Śaṃkara,

the divine seer Sanatkumāra, the mind-born son of Brahmā.

Rising from among the sages, the sage Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana,

Vyāsa, son of Parāśara, having bowed down according to rule,

with hands folded in reverence, infused with devotion to Bhava,

with supreme joy, his body hair bristling and his face cheerful, inquired

about the māhātmya of Mahākāla, which destroys the delusion of living beings:

Vyāsa said:

Why is the forest of Mahākāla declared to be the best of all?

O Lord, let the māhātmya of the sacred field of Mahākāla be told!

Why is it called a secret forest, a seat [of power], and also a barren land?

What is the fruit for those dwelling here, and what is the destination for the dead?

What merit comes from ritual ablution, and what fruit from giving?

Why is this called a cremation ground and also a sacred field, in whatever way?

This is asked by me out of devotion to Śaṃkara; declare it, O expert in the scriptures!

Sanatkumāra said:

Because sin is destroyed (kṣīyate) here, this is called a sacred field (kṣetra).

And because it is the abode of the mothers, for that reason it is called a seat (pīṭha).

Those who die are not born again; therefore it is remembered as a barren ground (ūṣara).

This is a secret, ever dear to the great-souled Śambhu as his sacred field.

Because a cremation ground is pleasing to spirits and exceedingly dear [to him],

the forest of Mahākāla, as well as Avimuktika,

Ekāmraka, Bhadrakāla, and Karavīravana,

Kolāgiri, as well as Kāśī, Prayāga, and Amareśvara,

and Bharatha, Kedāra, and the divine Rudramahālaya—

these are the divine cremation grounds ever dear to Rudra.

The Lord sports continuously in these sacred fields of perfections.

On earth Naimiṣa is an excellent sacred ford, and Puṣkara is the best of sacred fords;

Kurukṣetra is praised throughout even the three worlds.

Vārāṇasī is considered ten times more meritorious than Kurukṣetra;

ten times greater than that, O Vyāsa, is the excellent forest of Mahākāla.

Among all the sacred fords on this earth such as Prabhāsa,

Prabhāsa is an excellent sacred ford, the primordial sacred field of the bearer of the Pināka.

Śrīśaila is an excellent sacred ford, as is Devadāruvana;

even more excellent than that, O Vyāsa, meritorious Vārāṇasī is held to be.

Ten times greater than that is declared [to be this place], because it is the best of all sacred fords:

the Mahākālavana, secret, a field of perfected beings, and likewise a saline waste.

Others are somewhat secret, or cremation grounds, or saline wastes; // 5.1.1.40

but the Mahākālavana is celebrated for possessing all [these], O sage:

a cremation ground, a saline field, a seat of power, and indeed a forest. // 41

These five are not found together except in the city of Mahākāla. // 42

Thus ends the first chapter, named "Description of the Praise of Mahākālavana", in the Māhātmya of the Avanti Sacred Field, in the fifth Avantī Section, in the eighty-one-thousand-verse collection of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa. // 1