Skandapurana 6.3.8

Chapter 8

Mārkaṇḍeya said: / When the world was destroyed again and covered with water, / standing in the midst of the great ocean, I swam the water with my arms. 8.1

When a divine century of years was complete, I grew weary, O best of kings; / I began to meditate on the God who ferries across the great ocean. 8.2

Then, while meditating, in due course I saw an extraordinary bird: / a crane resembling a pearl necklace, a kunda flower, or the moon, white as cow's milk. 8.3

Then, filled with astonishment upon looking at that crane: / "In this dreadful great ocean, from where has this bird arisen?" 8.4

Swimming with unwearied arms, I addressed that crane: / "Having assumed the form of a bird, who are you in [this world] turned into a single ocean? 8.5

You wander, O divine inner Self of yoga, seemingly bewildering me, O Lord! / Tell me all this; whoever you may be, praise be to you!" 8.6

He said to me: "I am Mahādeva, I am Brahmā, and also Viṣṇu. / All the universe has been withdrawn by me, my child; do you not comprehend? 8.7

I am indeed your mother and father, and of the universe, O great sage. / Compassion arose in me upon seeing you submerged in the great ocean. 8.8

Having assumed the form of a bird, therefore I have come here. / Why, having become distressed, do you wander thus in the great ocean? 8.9

Quickly enter my wings, whereby you may rest, O twice-born." / Having been addressed thus by that God, O ruler of men, 8.10

then I merged into the edge of his wing, wandering in the water; / at the end of a thousand yugas, I remained unwearied in the midst of the ocean. 8.11

Then suddenly I heard in all the directions, O one of good vows, / a certain wondrous, excellent sound mingled with the tinkle of anklets. 8.12

Then all that water of the ocean was suddenly gathered up. / Thinking, "What is this?", I looked toward the directions. 8.13

Then ten maidens arrived in the great ocean in the directions, / adorned with clothes and ornaments, graced with anklets from the directions. 8.14

One had the radiance of the moon, one had the luster of the sun, / one had the splendor of a mass of collyrium, one had the brilliance of a red lotus. 8.15

Bearing various forms, gentle, adorned with various ornaments, / having worshipped the crane with offerings of arghya, pādya, and the like, and with garlands, those women of good vows, 8.16

then entered that secret, imperishable bird shaped like a mountain; / the mountain, truly the sovereign of the ocean, entered the greatly dreadful [abyss]. 8.17

Thousands of yojanas and as many hundreds, / thirty thousand yojanas, extending as far as the terrestrial globe. 8.18

Then [I saw] a divine terrestrial realm filled with the five gems, / with divine steps of crystal, charming with pillars of gold, 8.19

a thousand yojanas in breadth and twice that in length, / crowded with step-wells and wells, surrounded by palaces and turrets, 8.20

crowded with wish-granting trees, adorned with sixty banners. / In that delightful, best of cities, beautified with various gems, 8.21

there was likewise another delightful city whose altars shone with banners, / a hundred yojanas broad and twice that in length. 8.22

Then in the midst of that city was an exceedingly beautiful river, / vast, with sacred waters, and with rocks of various gems. 8.23

On its bank I saw [a liṅga] shining like lightning and the sun, / studded on all sides with sapphires and great sapphires, with jewels, 8.24

in some parts looking like fire, in some parts radiant like a rainbow, / in some parts smoky, in some parts yellow, in some parts red, in some parts white; 8.25

endowed with various colors, a liṅga of wonderful appearance, / surrounded on all sides by Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Indra, and the Sādhyas, 8.26

and encompassed by Nandīśvara and the leaders of the gaṇas, and by Indra and the Ādityas. / I saw that liṅga, Īśāna, that very Great Liṅga, 8.27

and surrounding it, I saw gods and Dānavas asleep, / with closed eyes, adorned with divine ornaments. 8.28

Then those women, lotus-petal-eyed, highly esteemed, / having bathed in the water of that river, with divine, delightful flowers, 8.29

having offered arghya and pādya according to rule to the liṅga along with the bird, / those ten excellent women of fair hips worshipped [it]. 8.30

Then, having worshipped that liṅga in that very best of cities, / they all vanished from sight like flashes of lightning in masses of clouds. 8.31

And neither was that king of birds there, nor the women, nor the deities; / filled with wonder, I worshipped that single liṅga that remained. 8.32

Then, my mind bewildered with sorrow, thinking, "This is Rudra's illusion!", / maidens then emerged, adorned with divine garments and ornaments, 8.33

illuminating the entire world like flashes of lightning in masses of clouds; / those fair-faced ones, having worshipped with divine golden lotuses, 8.34

those women with excellent ornaments quickly entered that water on every side. / In that best of cities and in the other, again and again I 8.35

beheld that immortal maiden worshipping Maheśvara. / Then I asked that lotus-eyed woman of fair hips: 8.36

"Who are you, O goddess, dwelling in this city, worshipping Śiva? / And all those women who arrived—where have they gone, and where have those lords of gaṇas gone? 8.37

Praise be to you, O highly fortunate one! Speak, O holy one, O Maheśvarī! / By your grace I wish to know this, O one of good vows; / taking pity, O great goddess, tell me, O sinless one!" 8.38

Śrī said: / "How is it that I am forgotten, O twice-born, having been seen in the ancient kalpa? / Let there be no loss of memory for you! I am that Kalpavāhinī, 8.39

renowned as Narmadā, issued from the body of Rudra. / Those maidens seen by you worshipping Maheśvara, 8.40

by whom the king of birds was brought along here— / know them all to be the directions, the sovereign mistresses of all, O best of sages! 8.41

In the form of an animal bird is Maheśvara, the great yogin. / That Maheśvara was brought by them from the city of Śiva, O twice-born." 8.42

This very god is Mahādeva, established in the form of a liṅga; / he is worshipped by Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Indra, the guru of the universe of gods and demons. 8.43

Because indeed the entire universe, moving and unmoving, attains dissolution [laya] in him, / it is therefore called liṅga by great seers who know the Purāṇas. 8.44

By him all the hosts of gods were formerly drawn in through his māyā; / and having dissolved, O lord of the world, they are not seen at present. 8.45

They will be seen again when being created by the self-manifest one. / I am devoted to worshipping the liṅga, Narmadā by name. 8.46

For the span of a thousand yugas I have been an attendant of Rudra. / By his grace, you too are immortal, O best of brahmins! 8.47

Endowed with truth, honesty, and compassion, you are perfected through worshipping Śiva.' / Having spoken thus, that goddess vanished right there, 8.48

as did those women and that lord of gods, Maheśvara in the form of a crane. / Having heard her speech, descending into the great river, 8.49

[she had said:] 'Having bathed, do worship him according to rule, preceded by mantras.' / Then, having quickly emerged from that body of water, 8.50

I did not see that liṅga, nor that river, O king. / Just then the worlds came into being, and the earth with its forests; 8.51

and the vault of the sky was spread over with stars, moon, and sun. / What had been unseen was made again just as before; / bowing in my mind to the god, I worshipped Maheśvara. 8.52

Thus in the ancient Baka-kalpa, this imperishable Narmadā was seen by me, / the destroyer of great sins for the world of mortals. 8.53

Therefore, by brahmins devoted to dharma, by kṣatriyas, śūdras, vaiśyas, and others, / desiring to foster dharma, the illustrious one is always to be resorted to. 8.54

Those who, with devotion, even once in the water of the Narmadā [worship] Maheśvara / after having bathed, destroy all sin without a doubt. 8.55

Thus ends the eighth chapter, named 'The Origin in the Baka-kalpa,' in the praise of the Narmadā in the Revākhaṇḍa of the Āvantyakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.