<!-- Pramāṇa, a library of Indian primary sources · https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178 -->

[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Purāṇas](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana) › [Skandapurana](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda) › 6.3.178

# Skandapurana 6.3.178

Skandapurāṇa 6.3.178

- **Language:** Sanskrit

### [6.3.178.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.1)

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca -  
tato gacchettu rājendra gaṅgāvāhakamuttamam .  
narmadāyāṃ mahāpuṇyaṃ bhṛgutīrthasamīpataḥ .. 178.1 ..

> The venerable Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Then, O lord of kings, one should go to the excellent Gaṅgāvāhaka, / of great merit, upon the Narmadā, near Bhṛgutīrtha.  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.2)

tatra gaṅgā mahāpuṇyā cacāra vipulaṃ tapaḥ .  
purā varṣaśataṃ sāgraṃ paramaṃ vratamāsthitā .. 178.2 ..

> There, the Gaṅgā of great merit performed vast austerity / of old, for a full century of years, undertaking a supreme vow.  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.3)

dhyātvā devaṃ jagadyoniṃ nārāyaṇamakalmaṣam .  
ātmānaṃ paramaṃ dhāma saritsā jagatīpate .. 178.3 ..

> Having meditated upon the taintless god Nārāyaṇa, the womb of the universe, / as her own supreme abode, that river, O lord of the earth,  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.4)

tato janārdano deva āgatyedamuvāca ha .. 178.4 ..

> then the god Janārdana came and spoke this:  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.5)

viṣṇuruvāca -  
tapasā tava tuṣṭo'haṃ matpādāmbujasambhave .  
mattaḥ kimicchase devi brūhi kiṃ karavāṇi te .. 178.5 ..

> Viṣṇu said: / I am pleased by your austerity, O you who were born from my lotus feet! / What do you desire from me, O goddess? Speak! What shall I do for you?  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.6)

gaṅgovāca -  
tvatpādakamalādbhraṣṭā gaṅgā sahacarā vibho .  
yadṛcchayā trilokeśa vandyamānā divaukasaiḥ .. 178.6 ..

> Gaṅgā said: / Fallen from your lotus feet, O pervasive one, I became Gaṅgā, your companion, / at will, O lord of the three worlds, being praised by the gods.  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.7)

nṛpo bhagīrathastasmāttapaḥ kṛtvā suduṣkaram .  
samārādhya jagannāthaṃ śaṅkaraṃ lokaśaṅkaram .. 178.7 ..

> Then King Bhagīratha, having performed exceedingly difficult austerity / and having propitiated Śaṅkara, the lord of the universe who brings welfare to the world,  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.8)

avatārayāmāsa hi māṃ pṛthivyāṃ dharaṇīdhara .  
mayā vai yuvayorvākyādavatāraḥ kṛto bhuvi .. 178.8 ..

> brought me down to the earth, O upholder of the earth. / Indeed, by the word of you two, my descent was made to the earth.  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.9)

vaiṣṇavīmiti māṃ matvā janaḥ sarvāpluto mayi .  
ye vai brahmaṇo loke ye ca vai gurutalpagāḥ .. 178.9 ..

> Thinking me to be Vaiṣṇavī, all people plunge into me: / those in the world who are slayers of brahmins, those who violate the guru's bed,  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.10](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.10)

tyāginaḥ pitṛmātṛbhyāṃ ye ca svarṇaharā narāḥ .  
goghnā ye manujā loke tathā ye prāṇihiṃsakāḥ .. 178.10 ..

> those who abandon their father and mother, those men who steal gold, / those mortals in the world who kill cows, and likewise those who harm living beings,  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.11](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.11)

agamyāgāmino ye ca hyabhakṣyasya ca bhakṣakāḥ .  
ye cānṛtapravaktāro ye ca viśvāsaghātakāḥ .. 178.11 ..

> those who approach women not to be approached, and those who eat what is uneatable, / those who speak falsehoods, and those who betray trust,  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.12)

devabrāhmaṇavittānāṃ hartāro ye narādhamāḥ .  
devabrahmagurustrīṇāṃ ye ca nindākarā narāḥ .. 178.12 ..

> those lowest of men who steal the wealth of gods and brahmins, / those men who revile gods, brahmins, gurus, and women,  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.13](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.13)

brahmaśāpapradagdhā ye ye caivātmahano dvijāḥ .  
bhraṣṭānaśanasaṃnyāsaniyatavratacāriṇaḥ .. 178.13 ..

> those twice-born scorched by a brahmin's curse, and those who kill themselves, / those fallen from fasting, renunciation, and observed vows,  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.14](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.14)

tathaivāpeyapeyāśca ye ca svagurunindakāḥ .  
niṣedhakā ye dānānāṃ pātradānaparāṅmukhāḥ .. 178.14 ..

> likewise drinkers of what must not be drunk, and those who slander their own gurus, / those who prevent gifts, and those who turn away from giving to a worthy recipient.  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.15](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.15)

ṛtughnā ye svapatnīnāṃ pitroḥ sehaparā na hi .  
bāndhaveṣu ca dīneṣu karuṇā yasya nāsti vai .. 178.15 ..

> Those who violate the fertile periods of their wives, who have no affection for their parents, / and who indeed have no compassion for kinsmen and the wretched;  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.16](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.16)

kṣetrasetuvibhedī ca pūrvamārgapralopakaḥ .  
nāstikaḥ śāstrahīnastu vipraḥ sandhyāvivarjitaḥ .. 178.16 ..

> and the destroyer of field embankments, the destroyer of an ancient path, / the unbeliever, the one devoid of sacred lore, and the twice-born who neglects the twilight worship;  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.17](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.17)

ahutāśī hyasaṃtuṣṭaḥ sarvāśī sarvavikrayī .  
kadaryā nāstikāḥ krūrāḥ kṛtaghnā ye dvijāyaḥ .. 178.17 ..

> he who eats without offering oblations, the discontented, the omnivore, the seller of everything, / the misers, the unbelievers, the cruel, and the ungrateful twice-born;  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.18](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.18)

paiśunyā rasavikreyāḥ sarvakālavinākṛtāḥ .  
svagotrāṃ paragotrāṃ vā ye bhuñjanti dvijādhamāḥ .. 178.18 ..

> the slanderers, the sellers of liquids, those devoid of all auspicious times, / and those lowest of twice-born who enjoy women of their own or another's clan;  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.19](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.19)

te māṃ prāpya vimucyante pāpasaṅghaiḥ susaṃcitaiḥ .  
tatpāpakṣārataptāyā na śarma mama vidyate .. 178.19 ..

> having reached me, they are freed from their thoroughly accumulated masses of sin. / Scorched by the corrosive burn of their sins, I find no peace.  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.20](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.20)

tathā kuru jagannātha yathāhaṃ śarma cāpnuyām .  
evamuktastu deveśastuṣṭaḥ provāca jāhnavīm .. 178.20 ..

> Act so, Lord of the Universe, that I too may attain peace.' / Thus addressed, the Lord of gods, pleased, said to the daughter of Jahnu:  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.21](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.21)

viṣṇuruvāca -  
ahamatra vasiṣyāmi gaṅgādharasahāyavān .  
praviśasva sadā revāṃ tvamatraiva ca mūrtinā .. 178.21 ..

> Viṣṇu said: / 'I shall dwell here with the bearer of the Gaṅgā as my companion. / Enter always into the Revā here in bodily form.  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.22](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.22)

mama pādatalaṃ prāpya vaha tripathagāmini .  
yadā bahūdakakāle narmadājalasaṃbhṛtā .. 178.22 ..

> Having reached the sole of my foot, flow on, O goddess who moves along the three paths! / When, in the season of abundant waters, filled with the water of the Narmadā,  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.23](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.23)

prāvṛṭkālaṃ samāsādya bhaviṣyati jalākulā .  
plāvyobhayataṭaṃ devī prāpya māmuttarasthitam .. 178.23 ..

> and having reached the rainy season, she becomes turbulent with water, / flooding both banks, the goddess, reaching me stationed to the north,  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.24](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.24)

plāvayiṣyati toyena yadā śaṅkhaṃ kare sthitam .  
tadā parvaśatodyuktaṃ vaiṣṇavaṃ parvasaṃjñitam .. 178.24 ..

> will submerge with water the conch held in my hand. / Then occurs the Vaiṣṇava festival, named a holy occasion endowed with a hundred festivals.  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.25](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.25)

na tena sadṛśaṃ kiṃcidvyatīpātādisaṃkramam .  
ayane dve ca na tathā puṇyātpuṇyataraṃ yathā .. 178.25 ..

> There is nothing equal to it among astrological conjunctions such as Vyatīpāta; / nor are the two solstices so meritoriously superior to merit as this.  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.26](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.26)

tasminparvaṇi deveśi śaṅkhaṃ saṃspṛśya mānavaḥ .  
snānamācarate toye miśre gāṅgeyanārmade .. 178.26 ..

> On that holy occasion, O goddess of the gods, a person having touched the conch / performs a ritual ablution in the mingled water of Gaṅgā and Narmadā;  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.27](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.27)

puṇyaṃ tvaśeṣapuṇyānāṃ maṅgalānāṃ ca maṅgalam .  
viṣṇunā vidhṛto yena tasmācchāntiḥ pracakrame .. 178.27 ..

> it is the merit of all merits and the auspiciousness of all auspicious things. / Because it was held by Viṣṇu, peace proceeded from it.  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.28](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.28)

tatrāntaṃ pāpasaṅghasya dhruvamāpnoti mānavaḥ .  
śaṅkhoddhāre naraḥ snātvā tarpayetpitṛdevatāḥ .. 178.28 ..

> There, a person surely attains the end of a mass of sins. / Having bathed at Śaṅkhoddhāra, a man should offer libations to the ancestors and the gods.  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.29](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.29)

tṛptāste dvādaśābdāni siddhiṃ ca sārvakāmikīm .  
gaṅgāvahe tu yaḥ śrāddhaṃ śaṅkhoddhāre pradāsyati .. 178.29 ..

> They remain satisfied for twelve years and grant the attainment of all desires. / Whoever offers an ancestral rite at the flowing of the Gaṅgā at Śaṅkhoddhāra,  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.30](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.30)

tena piṇḍapradānena nṛtyanti pitarastathā .  
śaṅkhoddhāre naraḥ snātvā pūjayedbalakeśavau .. 178.30 ..

> by that offering of the rice-ball, the ancestors dance in joy. / Having bathed at Śaṅkhoddhāra, a man should worship Balarāma and Keśava.  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.31](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.31)

rātrau jāgaraṇaṃ kṛtvā śuddho bhavati jāhnavi .  
yattvaṃ lokakṛtaṃ karma manyase bhuvi duḥsaham .. 178.31 ..

> Having kept a night-vigil, O daughter of Jahnu, he becomes pure. / Whatever deed done by the world you deem unbearable on earth,  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.32](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.32)

tasminparvaṇi tatsarvaṃ tatra snātvā vyapohaya .  
evamuktvā naraśreṣṭha viṣṇuścāntaradhīyata .. 178.32 ..

> on that holy festival, wash it all away by bathing there.' / Having spoken thus, O best of men, Viṣṇu vanished.  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.33](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.33)

tadāprabhṛti tattīrthaṃ gaṅgāvāhakamuttamam .  
brahmādyairṛṣibhistāta pāramparyakramāgataiḥ .. 178.33 ..

> From that time forward, that sacred ford became the supreme Gaṅgāvāhaka, / \[resorted to\] by seers beginning with Brahmā through traditional succession, dear child.  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.34](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.34)

tatra tīrthe tu yaḥ snātvā bhaktibhāvena bhārata .  
gaṅgātīrthe tu sa snātaḥ samasteṣu na saṃśayaḥ .. 178.34 ..

> Whoever bathes in that sacred ford with devotion, O descendant of Bharata, / has undoubtedly bathed in all the sacred fords of the Gaṅgā.  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.35](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.35)

tatra tīrthe mṛtānāṃ tu narāṇāṃ bhāvitātmanām .  
anivartikā gatisteṣāṃ viṣṇulokātkadācana .. 178.35 ..

> Of the self-controlled men who die at that sacred ford, / there is no return ever from the world of Viṣṇu.  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

### [6.3.178.35\_1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178.35_1)

.. iti śrīskānde mahāpurāṇa ekāśītisāhasryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ pañcama āvantyakhaṇḍe revākhaṇḍe gaṅgāvahakatīrthamāhātmyavarṇanaṃ nāmāṣṭasaptatyuttaraśatatamo'dhyāyaḥ ..

> Thus ends the one hundred seventy-eighth chapter, named 'Description of the Glory of Gaṅgāvāhaka Tīrtha', in the Revākhaṇḍa of the fifth section, the Āvantyakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skandapurāṇa, the great Purāṇa in eighty-one thousand verses.  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

## Translations (1)

- [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.6.3.178.1) — English, machine translation

## Linked texts (1)

- [Revākhaṇḍa (Vāyupurāṇa)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.vayu.revakhanda.178.1) — Sanskrit

---
Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.6.3.178) · Pramāṇa