Skanda Purana 6.1.4.59.1

6.1.4.59.1

.. vyāsa uvāca .. ..
yo'sau kapāla utpanno naronāma dhanurdharaḥ..
kimevaṃ so'dhunā jāta utpattau viśvakarmaṇaḥ..1..
kathaṃ rudreṇa janitaḥ prabhuṇā buddhipūrvakam..
viṣṇunā vā bhagavatā brahmaṇā bhāva bhedataḥ ..2..
kena kasmātsamutpannaḥ śaṃkarācyutabrahmaṇām ..
brahmā hiraṇyagarbho yo yo jātaśca caturmukhaḥ .. 3 ..
adbhutaṃ paṃcamaṃ vaktraṃ kathaṃ tasyāpyupasthitam ..
sa tasthau bhagavānbrahmā kathaṃ rudre mano'dadhat .. 4 ..
mūḍhātmanā naro yena haṃtuṃ sa prahito haram .. 5 ..
.. sanatkumāra uvāca .. ..
maheśvaraharī etau dvāveva sati tiṣṭhataḥ ..
tayoraviditaṃ nāsti siddhāsiddhaṃ mahātmanoḥ .. 6 ..
brahmaṇaḥ paṃcamaṃ vaktraṃ yattadāsīnmahātmanaḥ ..
tasyaiva mānasaḥ sogniḥ śirasā tena vai dhṛtaḥ .. 7 ..
yo naro brahmaṇaḥ proktaḥ so'pyagnistasya mānasaḥ ..
dadhāra taṃ mahādevaḥ kṛtvāṃgulyaṃtarāṃtare .. 8 ..
pūrvaṃ dṛṣṭvā samutpatti mevaṃ tasya mahānnaraḥ ..
tasmātkapālamaṃgulyāṃ ghaṭṭamānamajāyata .. 9 ..
sa taṃ hatvā śareṇājau brahmaṇo nihitaṃ rajaḥ ..
mumoha rajasā sattvaṃ yadṛcchā kṛtprabhuryataḥ .. 5.1.4.10 ..
.. vyāsa uvāca .. ..
kathamagniḥ samutpanno yoniḥ sarveṇa dhāritaḥ ..
vistareṇa tadācakṣva bhagavanmunivaṃdita .. 11 .. ..
.. sanatkumāra uvāca .. ..
avyaktādīnsasarjādāvaṃḍaṃ hi tadajāyata ..
jajñe sauvarṇavarṇābho brahmā lokapitāmahaḥ .. 12 ..
svayaṃbhūḥ sa tapastaptvā divyaṃ varṣaśataṃ mahat ..
sa tapaḥstho vyājahāra bhūrbhuvaḥsvariti śrutīḥ .. 13 ..
śrutiyogāttu manasaḥ paścādagnirajāyata ..
adhomukhaḥ papātāgniḥ pṛthivīṃ nirdahanyadā .. 14 ..

Vyāsa said: / "That archer named Nara who was born from the skull, / why did he now arise in this way at the creation by Viśvakarman? / How was he produced intentionally by lord Rudra, / or by the Blessed One Viṣṇu, or by Brahmā, according to different dispositions? / By whom and from what was he produced among Śaṃkara, Acyuta, and Brahmā? / As for Brahmā who is Hiraṇyagarbha, who was born four-faced, / how did that wonderful fifth face of his also appear? / How did that blessed Brahmā stand, fixing his mind on Rudra, / by whom, foolish-minded, Nara was sent to kill Hara?" / Sanatkumāra said: / "These two alone, Maheśvara and Hari, abide in existence; / nothing is unknown to those two great-souled ones, whether achieved or unachieved. / That which was the fifth face of noble Brahmā, / that was his mental fire, borne indeed by that head. / The Nara who was spoken of as belonging to Brahmā was also his mental fire; / Mahādeva held him, placing him between his fingers. / Having seen his origin before, Nara was thus great; / therefore the skull arose rubbed upon the finger. / Having struck him with an arrow in battle, Brahmā's passion was removed; / the pure sattva was bewildered by rajas, since the Lord acts at will." / Vyāsa said: / "How was the fire produced, the womb held by Sarva (Śiva)? / Tell that in detail, O Blessed One worshipped by sages!" / Sanatkumāra said: / "In the beginning he emitted the Unmanifest and other principles, and then the cosmic egg was born; / Brahmā, the grandfather of the worlds, was born with the radiance of the color of gold. / That self-manifest one, having performed great austerity for a hundred divine years, / standing in austerity, uttered the sacred texts: 'Bhūr, bhuvaḥ, svar.' / From the connection of the sacred texts with the mind, the fire was later born; / when that fire fell downward, burning the earth..."