Skandapurana 6.3.181

The venerable Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Hereafter I shall explain the detail of Bhṛgutīrtha, / hearing which the killer of a brahmin or the killer of a cow is freed from all heinous sins. 181.1

At that sacred ford is celebrated what is known as Vṛṣakhāta; / there indeed, O king of kings, austerity was practiced of old by Bhṛgu. 181.2

Yudhiṣṭhira said: / For what reason did that best of brahmins, residing at Bhṛgukaccha, / having performed immense austerity, attain supreme perfection? 181.3

Or who is called Vṛṣa, by whom that pit was dug? / Tell me all this properly, O sinless one! 181.4

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: / This question that was asked by you, O great king, / I shall relate all of it; listen with a one-pointed mind, O king.

The sixth mind-born son of Brahmā, the best of the Bhṛgus, / performed vast austerity in the excellent sacred field endowed with fortune.

For a divine thousand years, desiccated, that best of sages / remained without food, devoid of joy, like a log of wood or a stone.

Then once the glorious Lord of the gods, mounted on an excellent aerial chariot / together with Umā, arrived by that path.

Having seen the illustrious Bhṛgu standing there like an anthill, / the goddess said to the Lord of the gods: “What is this that is seen, O Lord?”

Īśvara said: / “O great goddess, he is named Bhṛgu, having performed very fierce austerity / for a divine thousand years, wholly devoted to meditating on me.

And he drinks a drop of water with the tip of a kuśa grass blade month after month, / and he has stood for fully a hundred years, O fair-faced one.”

Hearing that statement, Gaurī, her eyes turned with rage, / the goddess said to the Lord of the gods, the trident-bearing Maheśvara:

“Truly you are proclaimed fierce in the world, O bull-bannered one, / merciless, difficult to propitiate, terrifying to all beings.

Why do you not grant a boon to a brahmin who has been meditating upon Śaṃkara / for a divine thousand years? Tell me!”

Thus addressed, the Lord of the gods, laughing, / said to the mountain's daughter in a voice deep as a thundercloud, O tiger among men:

“A woman is ruined by pride; austerity is ruined by anger; / cows by roaming too far; and the best of the twice-born by the food of a śūdra.

The twice-born is possessed of anger, O Gaurī; therefore perfection is not attained. / Even after tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of years, [such austerity] is of no avail, my dear.

Even being such, the conduct of his anger is great.” / Having spoken thus, Śambhu then meditated upon the bull that very instant.

For the bull is the blessed Brahmā; the bull-formed is Maheśvara. / Reached in a moment through meditation, roaring repeatedly indeed,

[the bull said:] “What shall I do, O best of the gods? For what reason was I meditated upon? / Whose destruction shall I bring about out of season, O supreme Lord?”

Īśvara said: / “Go and enrage that best of the twice-born, the foremost of the Bhṛgus, / so that this Gaurī, the sole beauty of the world, may have faith in me.”

Hearing this, the bull went to attack that best of the twice-born, / to the charming bank of the Narmadā, near the hermitage where Bhṛgu was.

Then, having seized him with his horns, he threw him into the water of the Narmadā. / Then the great sage Bhṛgu, enraged, staff in hand there,

said, “Like an animal I shall kill you with a blow of my staff upon the head!” / Fastening his crest-lock and sacred thread, his garment and his seat,

firmly tucked up by him, running behind him indeed, he spoke:

Bhṛgu said: / “O evil-doer, of wicked conduct, how will you escape me, O bull, / having caused disrespect and having made a pit with your hooves?”

Having bellowed a great roar, [the bull] then knocked the brahmin down. / Realising that he had been thrown down by the bull of the Supreme Lord,

Bhṛgu blazed with anger like a fire receiving an oblation. / Taking a great staff in his hand, like a second staff of Brahmā,

desiring to kill the bull, the brahmin pursued him, O Yudhiṣṭhira. / Seeing him running, that bull then [fled] to the eastern ocean,

to Jambudvīpa, Kuśa, Krauñca, Śālmali, and Śāka, / Gomeda, and reached Puṣkara, from the east to the southern region,

to the north and to the west, from island to island, O lord of men; / to Pātāla, Sutala, then Vitala, and Talātala,

Tāmisra, Andhatāmisra, and went to the seventh Pātāla. / Then that best of bulls, seeking his life, went to the earth realm,

to Bhuvas, Svas, Mahas, Tapas, Satya, and Janas as well. / Followed by the brahmin, he found no peace anywhere.

Having done an evil deed, a man is afflicted by the power of lust and anger. / Then he went for refuge to Brahmā and to Viṣṇu,

to Indra, Candra, and the Ādityas, to the lords of death, water, and wind. / When he was abandoned by all the lords of the gods throughout all the worlds,

then, having bowed to the Lord, he said, “Protect, protect [me]!” / While being struck by Bhṛgu, [the devotee of] the Supreme Lord,

abandoned by all worlds like one without a protector, O Lord, / seeing the bull exhausted, fallen before his feet,

the Blessed One then spoke this word with a smile:

Īśvara said: / “Look, O illustrious goddess, O beautiful one, at the tranquility of the brahmin!”

Pārvatī said: / “Before the brahmin becomes angry with us, O supreme Lord, / grant a boon quickly, if you desire my pleasure.”

Then the Blessed One, covered with ash, matted-haired, trident in hand, the half-moon as his crest-ornament, / with half his body formed of Umā, having appeared, addressed the brahmin:

“Hail, O foremost among the best of the twice-born! Your anger has not subsided. / Therefore, my dear, this shall become the place of anger.”

Then, having seen that Śambhu, the supreme three-eyed one, / Bhṛgu, having fallen to the earth on his knees, uttered this hymn of praise:

Bhṛgu said: / “Bowing down to the Lord of beings, the source of existence, the giver of prosperity, who is beyond fear, / afraid of worldly existence, O Lord of the universe, I wish to make a small petition.

What power is there in this mortal to express the multitude of your virtues? / Even Vāsuki, though he may possess a thousand mouths, could not tell of them.

Even so, through devotion, O Śaṅkara, moon-bearer, who whitens everything with a net of rays, / be pleased with him who is vocal in your praise, O Maheśvara, and devoted to your feet.

You are sattva, rajas, and tamas; you are the maintenance, creation, and destruction [of the worlds], O God! / Afraid of worldly existence, O Lord of the universe, O Lord of the world, [be gracious] to one intent on taking refuge [in you]!”

Restraints, observances, sacrifice, charity, the study of the Vedas, and concentration in yoga—
all this is indeed not worth one-thousandth of a fraction of devotion to you.

Success in the supreme elixir of alchemy, the magical sword, the magical collyrium, the subterranean realm, and the magical sandals:
this mark is indeed visibly seen in this very birth among those who bow to you.

Even if one bows deceitfully, O God, you bestow prosperity upon him according to your will.
Devotion that cuts off worldly existence was ordained for liberation, O Lord.

Devoted to another's wife and another's wealth, tormented by the sorrow and grief of humiliation by others,
intent on watching the faces of others—protect me, O Supreme Lord!

Puffed up with excessive pride, delighting in transient power,
cruel, facing the bad path—protect this one who has come for refuge, O Śaṃkara!

A poor brahmin seeking boons, yet his hope was never fulfilled by his kinsfolk.
Cut away my thirst, O Maheśvara! Why do you mock me, a fool?

Take away thirst quickly! Grant fortune dwelling perpetually in my heart!
Sever the snare of pride and delusion, and carry me across worldly existence, O Lord of gods!

This divine hymn named 'The Dawn of Compassion' bestows all perfections.
Whoever recites it and remembers Bhṛgu goes to the world of Śiva at the end of the body.

Having heard this hymn uttered by Bhṛgu,
Mahādeva, along with the Goddess, said: 'I am the giver of boons,' [offering] an excellent boon.

Bhṛgu said:
'If you are pleased, O God of the chiefs of gods, and if a boon is to be given to me,
let this entire sacred field of perfections be named after me.

You must remain here in your presence together with Umā,
so that this entire sacred field of the god will become holy.

In this place I shall establish a great seat, O Lord of the universe.
By your favor, O Lord of gods, let my desires be fulfilled!'

Īśvara said:
'This was previously prepared by Śrī; did you not know this, O twice-born?
Having obtained the consent of Goddess Śrī, if you consider it to be hers,

do what is desired; what is done by you is acceptable to us, otherwise not.'
Having spoken thus, the god departed; and Bhṛgu, having bathed, went to Śrī.

And having broken his fast, the brahmin, dwelling there with her,
in the company of Śrī, spoke these words at that time:

Bhṛgu said:
'If it pleases you, blessed lady, and if you are sitting at ease,
I shall establish my own dwelling in this great sacred field chosen by you.'

Śrī said:
'Under my name, O brahmin-seer, and under your name,
make an auspicious, desired dwelling; in my opinion, there is no conflict.'

Bhṛgu said:
'This [place] is presided over by a tortoise and situated upon its back, O Ramā.
Having consulted together with him, you make it auspicious.'

Thus ends the one hundred and eighty-first chapter, named 'The Description of the Origin of Bhṛgukaccha', in the Revākhaṇḍa of the fifth [part], the Āvantyakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, a collection of eighty-one thousand [verses].