Skandapurana 6.3.174

Chapter 174

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Then one should go to Gopeśvara on the northern bank of the Narmadā, / where by a single bath men are freed from sins. 174.1

Whoever, having bathed at that sacred ford, brings about the end of his life, / goes to the abode of Śiva in a vehicle yoked to peacocks. 174.2

Having sported for a very long time in the world of Śiva, O ruler of men, / attaining human birth here, he becomes a mighty king. 174.3

Endowed with elephants, horses, and chariots, attended by female and male servants, / and honored by rulers of men, that person lives for a hundred years. 174.4

When the month of Kārttika arrives, on the ninth day of the bright fortnight, / having fasted and become pure, one should present lamps there.

Having worshiped with fragrant perfumes and flowers, one should keep a vigil at night. / Hear what fruit is prescribed for him, O king:

As great as the meritorious fruit and as many as the number of lamps, / for so many thousands of yugas he is honored in the world of Śiva.

At that sacred ford, O king of kings, the rite of filling the liṅga, / and likewise with lotuses and curd-rice,

whoever performs it, O best of men, hear the meritorious fruit for him. / As many as the grains of sesame and the curd-rice,

and the number of lotuses, he rejoices in the world of Śiva for his desired time. / Whatever little is given at that sacred ford, O king,

all of that becomes multiplied ten-millionfold; it cannot even be counted. / Thus has all this supreme [merit] of all sacred fords been told to you.

Thus ends the one hundred and seventy-fourth chapter, entitled “Description of the Māhātmya of the Gopeśvara Sacred Ford,” in the Revākhaṇḍa of the fifth section, the Āvantyakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skandapurāṇa, a collection of eighty-one thousand [verses].