Skandapurana 6.2.2

The venerable Rudra said:

Hear about the second liṅga, Guheśvara, which destroys sin,

by the mere darśana of which the highest siddhi is attained. // 1

Formerly, in the Rāthantara Kalpa, in the auspicious Devadāru forest,

there lived a seer named Maṅkaṇaka, master of the Vedas and Vedāṅgas,

constantly devoted to the practice of yoga, firmly established in calmness and self-restraint. // 2

Desiring siddhi, he performed tapas, [thinking,] 'How may I become perfected?

How will this transformation consisting of blood come to an end?' // 3

Having reflected thus in his heart, he undertook supreme tapas;

many thousands of years passed for him, O Pārvatī. // 4

Then, at a certain time, O daughter of the mountain, as he was pricked

by the tip of a kuśa grass, vegetable sap flowed at that very moment from his hand. // 5

And seeing that wonder, he was filled with supreme astonishment;

he thought that he had attained the supreme siddhi, and spoke proudly: // 6

'Ah, this is the power of tapas! Indeed, today siddhi has been attained by me.

Truly there is no brahmin equal to me, by whom siddhi has been attained! // 7

And this body is contemptible, filled with feces and urine,

entangled with intestines, sinews, and fat, and filled with flesh and blood.'

Filled with great joy, the twice-born then began to dance. // 8

While this brahmin was dancing, the world, both stationary and moving,

began to dance, filled with passion, by the power of that sage indeed. // 9

Nowhere was there any study of the Veda, the utterance of 'vaṣaṭ', or the performance of rituals. // 10

In the meantime, the gods, led by Brahmā and Viṣṇu,

all filled with wonder, said to me: 'O Lord, then do dance!

When the seer Maṅkaṇaka dances, O Lord, everything dances on all sides—

the entire threefold world, O All-pervading One, including gods, asuras, and humans. // 12

The mountains have moved from their places; the banks of clouds are agitated;

the mountain peaks are crumbling; the earth is deeply afflicted; // 13

the great rivers are reduced to mere streams; the planets have gone astray from their courses. // 14

The threefold world is agitated; before it meets destruction,

restrain him! None other than you is capable.' // 15

Hearing those words of the gods, O renowned lady,

I promised [to do so], and having gone near him, // 16

assuming the form of a brahmin, I questioned that best of brahmins:

'Why do you dance, O brahmin? Whence has this joy come to you? // 17

Dancing out of passion and desire is contrary to the duties of seers;

singing and dancing are beloved only by young women. // 18

It is the destruction of tapas and right conduct for a brahmin, O best of men.

Reflecting thus, O best of brahmins, why do you dance so vehemently?' // 19

The seer said:

'Do you not see, O brahmin, the vegetable sap flowing from my hand?

For this very reason is my dancing; I have attained siddhi, of this there is no doubt.' // 20

Hearing his words, I laughed heartily,

and struck my own thumb with the tip of my finger, O Pārvatī. // 21

Then, instantly, ashes as white as snow came forth [from it].

With a laugh, O large-eyed lady, that proud brahmin was addressed by me: // 22

'See, O brahmin, abundant ashes have come forth from my thumb!

Even so, I do not dance, nor do I have joy, O equal among sages.' // 23

Seeing that great wonder, the best of brahmins was ashamed,

and seeing such fortitude, he attained supreme astonishment. // 24

With folded hands, his heart filled with wonder, he said:

'I consider you no other deity than the bull-bannered [Śiva]! // 25

No one else in the three worlds possesses such power.

Therefore, forgive me, O Lord of the gods, what was done by me through ignorance! // 26

Dancing is an act that destroys tapas, contrary [to the conduct] of the virtuous.

The merit acquired over a long time through difficult tapas,

that merit of mine has suddenly perished, O Lord, through dancing. // 27 //'

Hearing his words, that best of brahmins was addressed by me:

'Choose a boon, may good betide you; I am pleased, O best of brahmins.' // 28

With this knowledge, O leader of brahmins, what desire of yours shall I fulfill?”

The seer said:

“If you are pleased, O Lord, compassionate to those who seek refuge,

let such a path be decreed that there may be no loss of my austerity.”

I said to that brahmin, O Pārvatī, being pleased [with him]:

“May your austerity increase, O brahmin! Go to the forest of Mahākāla.

There lies eternally a holy cave, arisen through seven cosmic cycles,

situated to the north of Lord Piśāceśvara.

There you will see an auspicious liṅga arisen through seven cosmic cycles;

by merely beholding it, your austerity will increase.

Sin born of lust and anger, accompanied by greed and delusion,

as well as the taint born of envy and jealousy, is destroyed.”

Having heard my word, that brahmin, a master of the Vedas,

and having heard the rule spoken by me, O goddess, that twice-born

set forth, having disciplined himself, bowing again and again.

He came to where the cave was in the excellent forest of Mahākāla.

There he saw that liṅga, supreme increaser of austerity;

resembling the twelve suns, he indeed became so through the darśana of the liṅga.

In the meantime, O goddess, the gods said in the firmament:

“The secret liṅga arisen in the cave has been seen by Maṅkaṇaka!

Siddhi exceedingly difficult to attain has been obtained by the brahmin through darśana alone.

Therefore, O goddess, it will be known as Guheśvara on the earth.

Those who, endowed with supreme devotion, shall see Guheśvara,

for them no obstacle to righteousness or austerity shall arise.

Whoever performs darśana on the eighth or the fourteenth day,

the ancestors of that embodied soul will go to the world of Brahmā.

Whoever comes here and performs darśana with effort

will deliver himself and twenty-one generations of ancestors.

Even having committed thousands of sins, whoever performs darśana

goes to the supreme abode where Lord Maheśvara resides.

Killing a brahmin, drinking liquor, theft, intercourse with the teacher's wife—

all will be utterly destroyed through the darśana of that liṅga.

Whatever inauspicious deed was acquired across hundreds of crores of births,

all that will come to destruction merely through touch, not otherwise.

Indeed, embodied beings on earth who are tainted with heinous crimes,

even they, having approached the liṅga, are liberated from all sins.”

Having spoken thus, O goddess, that divine brahmin, the sage Maṅkaṇaka,

established a holy hermitage and remained there in austerity.

This glory which destroys sin has indeed been told to you, O goddess;

by hearing it or recounting it, one is completely freed from all sins.

Thus ends the second chapter, entitled ‘Description of the Glory of Guheśvara’ in the ‘Glory of the Eighty-Four Liṅgas’ of the fifth section, the Āvantyakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, a collection of eighty-one thousand [verses].