Skandapurana 6.3.97

Chapter 97

Glorious Mārkaṇḍeya said: / “Then, O protector of the earth, one should proceed to the peerless Vyāsatīrtha, / sacred, hard to attain for human beings, situated in the intermediate space.” 97.1

Yudhiṣṭhira said: / “Why indeed is that Vyāsatīrtha situated in the intermediate space? / Tell me this concisely; avoid an expansive treatise.” 97.2

Glorious Mārkaṇḍeya said: / “Well said, well said, O mighty-armed one, virtuous, affectionate to the righteous, / devoted to your own duty, O son of Pṛthā, full of reverence for pilgrimages to sacred fords! 97.3

Hard to attain for all creatures is Vyāsatīrtha, O lord of men. / Afflicted by old age, I am incapable, O prince; 97.4

confused in senses, deprived of faculties, and bereft of memory. / This sacred ford, more secret than the secret, has not been related to anyone by me. 97.5

The Kali age does not enter there, O king of kings, because it is the refuge of Vyāsa. / And it was brought forth in the intermediate space by the movement of the Revā. 97.6

Even Brahmā cannot proclaim the virtues of the Revā; / how shall I know, my dear one, the supreme māhātmya of the Revā? 97.7

Therefore, I shall tell only a mere particle of Vyāsatīrtha, / where a visible proof is seen even today in the Kali age: 97.8

a bird never passes [across], piercing the frightful lance. / I will relate its origin in brief, O prince. 97.9

Formerly, O king, there was the venerable sage Parāśara; / exceedingly fierce austerity bearing great fruit was performed by him in the waters of the Gaṅgā. 97.10

Having entered the water of the Jāhnavī, he remained there practicing prāṇāyāma. / When the twelfth year was complete, he emerged from the midst of the water.

Seeking alms, he wandered to a village where a boat was stationed. / There he saw an exquisite and charming maiden.

Seeing her, stricken with desire, he spoke sweetly then: / 'Take me to the opposite bank. Who are you, fawn-eyed one,

standing on the riverbank aboard a boat, agitating my heart?' / Thus addressed by him, she bowed down to the eminent seer

and, seeing him infatuated with desire, spoke about herself: / 'I am a maidservant, a maiden in the house of fishermen, O best of brahmins.

I was instructed by my master to watch over the boat, O lord. / I have related everything; please understand my full circumstances.'

Thus addressed by her, he meditated for a moment and then said this:

Parāśara said: / 'By the power of knowledge, auspicious one, I know your origin. / You are not the daughter of a fisherman; you are a king’s daughter, beautiful lady.'

The maiden said: / 'Tell me, O holy one, who is my father, or from whose womb was I born? / In what lineage was I born, and how am I the daughter of a fisherman?'

Parāśara said: / 'I shall tell you everything in full, exactly as you have asked. / There was a king named Vasu, an ornament of the lunar dynasty,

the ruler of Jambūdvīpa, auspicious one, who struck terror into enemies. / He had seven hundred wives and ten sons.

He protected the worlds according to dharma and was ever honored like the Lord. / The Mlecchas who dwelt on Kṣīradvīpa were insubordinate to him.

To eradicate them, he crossed the ocean and set forth, / accompanied by his sons and servants steadfast in great valor.

A battle was begun by those Mlecchas together with Vasu. / All those Mlecchas were conquered by Vasu, fawn-eyed lady.

They were made to pay tribute by him, along with their sons, armies, and mounts. / His chief queen is your mother, O deer-eyed maiden.

While the king was away abroad, her menses arrived. / In women, passion is ever heightened,

and especially at the fertile time they are pierced by the arrows of love. / Tormented by desire, that fair-eyed lady thought:

'I shall send a messenger today to King Vasu.' / The messenger was summoned quickly: 'Go to the king’s presence.'

The messenger said: / 'O queen, King Vasu, punisher of foes, has gone to the distant shore. / It is impossible to go there without boats, fair lady.

All those vessels have been seized on the opposite bank.' / At the messenger's words, the queen was dejected, afflicted by desire.

Then her female friend said to her: 'Why are you grieved? / Send your own letter, O queen, into the keeping of a parrot, describing the matter faithfully.

Birds cross over the ocean, lovely lady.' / At her friend's words, that queen became composed, O lord of men.

A scribe was summoned there: 'Write a letter by my command: / "Without you, Satyabhāmā cannot live today, O King Vasu.

My fertile period has arrived today; scribe, write the letter."' / When the letter was written on birch bark by the scribe,

a parrot held inside a cage was brought upright into her presence.

Satyabhāmā said: / 'Take the letter and go swiftly into the presence of King Vasu.' / The bird bowed, took the excellent letter,

flew up suddenly into the realm of the sky, O king, / and then that bird went swiftly to the presence of King Vasu.

When the letter dispatched by Satyabhāmā was dropped by the parrot, / King Vasu took the letter in his hand and comprehended it.

Reflecting upon the message's import, the lord of men collected his semen, / infallible, made a packet, and joined it with a reply.

He gave it to the parrot: 'Go into the presence of the queen.' / Having bowed to King Vasu and taken the seed, it flew up.

When it reached above the ocean, the parrot was spotted by a hawk. / Believing that parrot was holding meat, the hawk rushed at it.

Struck by the hawk with a blow of its beak, O descendant of Bharata, / through the parrot's swoon that seed fell into the water of the ocean.

And that seed of King Vasu was swallowed by a fish. / From that seed a maiden was born inside the fish's belly, beautiful lady.

The fish was caught by fishermen and brought to their home. / When the fish was cut open, you were seen, finest lady,

resembling the orb of the moon, shining with radiance like that of the sun. / Seeing you on the bank of the Jāhnavī, all the fishermen rejoiced.

Rejoicing, they all went to the mansion of their chief. / They spoke of the jewel among women: 'Accept this child of great splendor.'

The slender, fawn-eyed girl was accepted by that childless man. / He said to his wife: 'Slender lady, protect this fawn-eyed one.'

Then she reflected upon the words of Parāśara. / Having been told this by him, she gave herself [to him], O lord of men,

and said: 'Very well, holy one, but the smell of fish clings to me.' / Thereupon the maiden was suffused by him with divine fragrance

by the power of yoga, and kindling a fire, / circumambulating the fire, he married her eagerly then.

In the middle of the boat he touched the regions of passion. / Knowing the brahmin to be eager with desire, she was afraid, O son of Dharma,

and laughing, said to him: 'My lord, in the presence of people, / are you not ashamed, wise one, acting like a vulgar man?'

Then, having meditated for a moment, he recalled the darkness in his heart. / Darkness arrived as an illusion by which the animate and inanimate world was covered.

Then, astonished, she was delighted by that very deed. / He, who had been heated by celibacy, then enjoyed the pleasure of woman.

Then, in that very moment, oppressed by the weight of pregnancy, / she gave birth there to a boy having matted hair and carrying a staff,

holding a water pot, calm, his waist adorned with a girdle, / with an upper garment placed over his shoulder, free from the illusion of Viṣṇu.

Even then she was alarmed, O Pārtha, upon seeing that tiny child; / trembling then, the maiden sought refuge with the sage:

"Protect me, protect me, O best of sages, Parāśara of great intellect! / To me an exceedingly wondrous son has been born, with a loincloth and an excellent girdle, / with a staff in hand, endowed with matted locks, and adorned with an upper garment."

Parāśara said: / "Do not fear! Though your own son is born, you will remain a virgin. / By name [you shall be called] Yojanagandhā, and your second [name shall be] Satyavatī.

The king named Śaṃtanu, he shall be your husband. / You will be his chief queen, an ornament of the Lunar dynasty.

Go to your own home, O fair one, remaining in your former form. / Do not grieve here; you have seen the power of my wisdom."

Having spoken thus, the brahmin departed. That girl turned to her son, / bowed down, and, bent in humility with eightfold prostration, said to him with devotion:

"Pardon what I said, O mother; let your favor also be granted. / I shall make an effort in the worship of Īśvara, O mother."

Then she, saddened by her son's words, spoke these words:

Yojanagandhā said: / "Do not abandon me, your innocent mother, and go away today, my child! / From separation from you, my son, my death will surely follow.

There is no love equal to that for a son; there is no lineage equal to brothers; / there is no righteousness higher than truth; there is no sin worse than falsehood.

Born to me in my childhood, you were indeed to become my support. / I have no husband, nor have I a son—behold the mockery of destiny!"

Vyāsa said: / "Do not despair within your heart; this is the truth spoken by me. / In times of distress, O lady, you should remember me for the accomplishment of your purpose.

I will deliver you from calamities; forgive my difficult departure." / Having spoken thus, Vyāsa departed, and that maiden also went home.

There, the son of Parāśara went into the forest, despondent, / at the end of the Tretāyuga and the beginning of the Dvāpara, O ruler of men.

The gods, headed by Śakra, considered [the need] for a Vyāsa. / That son of Parāśara was indeed declared by Nārada,

as born of the fisherman's daughter, wise, on the bank of the daughter of Jahnu. / Then, at the word of Nārada, the best among the gods arrived:

Rāma, the Grandfather [Brahmā], and Śakra, surrounded by hosts of sages. / Offering face-washing water and the rest separately, saying, "Well done! Well done!",

the child was indeed consecrated with the rites from conception onwards by the Grandfather: / Dvaipāyana, island-born, and Pārāśarya, born of Parāśara.

"Because of a portion of Kṛṣṇa, this one named Kṛṣṇa, a Vyāsa, shall divide the Vedas." / He was consecrated again and again by Virañci and the hosts of sages:

"You are Vyāsa throughout all the worlds!" Having spoken thus, the gods departed. / Then a pilgrimage to sacred fords was undertaken by Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana.

He bathed in the Gaṅgā, and Kedāra along with Puṣkara, / and Gayā, and the sacred ford of Naimiṣa, Kurukṣetra, and the Sarasvatī.

At Ujjayinī [he visited] Mahākāla, and Somanātha at Prabhāsa. / Having bathed across the earth bounded by the ocean, the great sage went on,

and reached the immortal, auspicious Narmadā, born from the body of Rudra. / Joyful upon seeing the Narmadā, his mind attained tranquility.

Resorting to the bank of the Narmadā, he performed extensive austerities. / In summer he stood amid five fires; in the rainy season he lay on bare ground;

and in winter, standing in wet clothes, he meditated upon Maheśvara. / Placing the Supreme Lord within the lotus of his own heart, he meditated upon him,

the maker of creation and destruction, indivisible, bestower of boons, auspicious. / Intent on meditation, he constantly worshipped the Siddheśvara liṅga.

From the worship of the Siddha-liṅga, and by the power of the yoga of meditation, / Śaṅkara became visible to that Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana.

Īśvara said: / "I am pleased by you, child; choose an excellent boon."

Vyāsa said: / "If you are pleased with me, O God, if a boon is to be given to me: / you yourself shall become manifest on the bank of the Narmadā; / and through your grace, O Lord of Umā, may I know the past and the future."

Īśvara said: / "So shall it be, my son, without a doubt, by my grace. / Won over by devotion to you, I will become manifest on the bank of the Narmadā.

With half the nature of the thousand-rayed sun, I will be manifest in your hermitage." / Having spoken thus, the god departed for Kailāsa, the best of mountains.

Then the acceptance of a wife took place for Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana, / and while he maintained his wife according to the rule prescribed in the scriptures,

a son was born to that son of Parāśara, who had been sonless. / He was congratulated by all the gods, headed by Indra and the Lord [Brahmā].

On the birth of the son, the best of sages, headed by Vasiṣṭha, arrived / in the course of their pilgrimage to sacred fords, led by Parāśara:

Manu, Atri, Viṣṇu, Hārīta, Yājñavalkya, Uśanas, Aṅgiras, / Yama, Āpastamba, Saṃvarta, Kātyāyana, and Bṛhaspati;

thousands, hundreds of thousands, and hundreds of millions of such [sages], / along with their disciples, highly fortunate, resorted to the bank of the Narmadā.

They came satisfied to the auspicious and lovely hermitage of Vyāsa, O king. / Seeing those chiefs among brahmins, he made an effort to rise to welcome them.

Having first bowed down to his father, and then to all in accordance with rule, / he gave them seats with devotion and offered water for the feet and the guest-offering.

Folding his hands in reverence, he spoke these words: / "I am uplifted, there is no doubt, from conversing with you and worshipping you.

Wild greens and fruits grown in the forest— / those I will give to all of you with affection."

Having bowed down to each one, he invited them all. / Then they, seeing the sage Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana bowed down,

Having cheered him with blessings of victory, and looking at one another, / Parāśara was looked upon by all the foremost sages.

"Father, let an answer be given to Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana." / Thus spoken to by all of them, the blessed Parāśara / declared to his son Vyāsa what the seers wished to do:

The venerable Parāśara said: / "They do not wish [to eat] on the southern bank, out of fear of breaking their vow; / yet they desire to partake of food, especially in a śrāddha."

Vyāsa said: / "I shall do as you have spoken; stay right here for a moment, / while, having propitiated the river, I perform the highest rite."

Having spoken thus and become pure, stationed on the bank of the Narmadā, / he straightway recited a hymn of praise; listen to that, O lord of men:

"Victory, O blessed goddess, homage, O giver of boons! Victory, O destroyer of sin, bestower of abundant fruit! / Victory, O bearer of the skulls of Śumbha and Niśumbha! I bow to you who remove the distress of gods and men!

Victory, O you whose eyes are the moon and the sun! Victory, O you whose excellent face is adorned with fire! / Victory, O supreme one absorbed in the body of Bhairava! Victory, O dryer of the blood of Andhaka!

Victory, O crusher of Mahiṣa, bearer of the trident! Victory, O remover of the sins of the entire world! / Victory, O goddess revered by the Grandfather and Rāma! Victory, O you before whom the heads of the Sun and Śakra bow down!

Victory, O weapon-bearing mother of the six-faced one, praised by the Lord! Victory, O river flowing to the ocean, praised by Śambhu! / Victory, O destroyer of misery and poverty! Victory, O increaser of sons and wives!

Victory, O goddess who wear all bodies! Victory, O revealer of heaven, remover of grief! / Victory, O destroyer of diseases, bestower of liberation! Victory, O giver of desires, supreme among the perfected!"

Whoever recites this hymn composed by Vyāsa in the presence of Śiva / or at home, with a pure disposition, free from desire and anger,

to him Vyāsa will be pleased, and pleased will be the one who rides the bull; / pleased will be goddess Narmadā, who brings about the destruction of all sins.

Those by whom Narmadā is praised on earth do not go to the realm of Yama. / Even the Grandfather would be bewildered in recounting your qualities, O goddess;

even the Lord of Speech does not know how to describe your true nature, O Narmadā. / How, O goddess, can I presume to know your qualities?

Perceiving thus his pure devotion in word, mind, and bodily actions, / goddess Narmadā, pleased, then spoke these words:

"I am pleased by your truthful speech, O Vyāsa, O great sage! / Whatever boon you desire, I shall grant it all to you."

Vyāsa said: / "If you are pleased with me, O goddess, if a boon is to be granted to me, / you ought to grant hospitality to the seers on the northern bank."

Narmadā said: / "An improper thing has been asked, O Vyāsa: to proceed on a wrong course. / Even Indra, the Moon, and Yama are not able to proceed on an improper path.

Ask for another boon, O son, whatever is difficult to obtain on earth." / Hearing these words of the goddess, Vyāsa then fell into a swoon.

Thinking, "In vain has my toil been today," he collapsed. / The entire earth shook, together with its mountains and forests.

Then, seeing Vyāsa fallen into a swoon, the gods led by Vāsava, / their faces uttering cries of grief, came there by the thousands.

They revived Vyāsa, who was devoted to the toil of the Vedas. / "He is distressed for the sake of brahmins, not for his own sake, O best of rivers!

For the sake of cows and for the sake of brahmins, one should immediately abandon one's life." / Thus was Narmadā addressed by Brahmā and the foremost gods.

Frightened, Revā sprinkled him with very cool breezes and her own water. / Regaining consciousness, the son of Satyavatī bowed to the gods and spoke to the river:

Vyāsa said: / "The fruit to be served by all sacred fords was promised to me; but through my ill fortune, / O goddess, holy one, my hopes have become futile, like forest flowers for men!"

Narmadā said: / "Wherever your mind wishes to lead me on the surface of this earth, O noble one, / along with the Vindhya, I will go today on your path, behind you who carry the staff."

Thus addressed, the son of Satyavatī, Vyāsa of great splendour, / caused the best of rivers to move to the south of his hermitage.

Staff in hand, the sage of great splendour uttered a roar of "huṃ". / Terrified by the roar of Vyāsa, the daughter of Rudra moved.

Showing the path with his staff, the goddess was set in motion there. / Following the path of Vyāsa, the goddess was seen by the gods led by Śakra.

Then the gods together with their attendants released a shower of flowers: / "Tell us what we should do, O son; we are delighted by your deed."

Vyāsa said: / "Having performed extensive austerity and given gifts of great fruit, / this alone should be done by men: that which brings happiness to good people.

If you noble ones are pleased, if indeed I am to be favoured, / then let everyone remain in my hermitage; of this there is no doubt.

Hospitality consisting of vegetables and leaves mixed with the nectar of Revā / has been accepted by all of you, headed by Parāśara; / you all must remain in my hermitage on the northern bank of Revā."

Mārkaṇḍeya said: / The daily rites of ritual ablution and libation were performed by the best of the twice-born. / Then, having gone to Vyāsakuṇḍa, a fire sacrifice was prepared by all.

With bilva fruits and bilva leaves, they made offerings into the fire: / Gautama, Bhṛgu, Māṇḍavya, Nārada, and Lomaśa,

Parāśara, Śaṅkha, Kauśika, the sage Cyavana, / Pippalāda, Vasiṣṭha, and Nāciketa of great austerity,

Viśvāmitra, Agastya, Uddālaka, and Yama, / Śāṇḍilya, Jaimini, Kaṇva, Yājñavalkya, Uśanas, Aṅgiras,

Śātātapa, Dadhīci, Kapila, Gālava, / Jaigīṣavya, Dakṣa, Bharata, Mudgala,

Vātsyāyana of great splendour, Saṃvarta, Śakti, / Jātūkarṇya, Bharadvāja, the Vālakhilyas, and Āruṇi.

Thousands of such [sages] offered oblations into the fire, / their hands busy with rosaries, devoted to meditation and yoga.

With single-minded focus all the brahmins then performed the oblation ritual. / Thereupon arose a liṅga that bestows liberation and destroys diseases.

Beholding that indivisible, supreme God, Vyāsa was delighted; / the gods showered blossoms, and the best of brahmins gave blessings.

Bowing with all eight limbs upon seeing the three-eyed God, / Vyāsa honored the brahmins with vegetables, roots, and fruits.

Preceded by offerings to the ancestors, all the brahmins were fed, O son of Pāṇḍu; / having then bestowed sacred blessings, the brahmins departed again.

From that time forth, that sacred ford is called Vyāsa by the wise.

Yudhiṣṭhira said: / Tell me all the merit of Vyāsatīrtha, / and the rule of ritual ablution and gift-giving, and at what time it yields great fruit.

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: / I shall tell it all to you and your brothers, O Pāṇḍava. / On the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight of Kārttika, with restrained senses,

the person who fasts and keeps vigil with devotion through the night, / should bathe Īśvara with devotion using honey, milk, and ghee,

and with curds mixed with sugar, and also with kuśa-water; / then one should smear the Supreme Lord with fragrant sandalwood.

Then one should worship him with fragrant flowers and bilva leaves, / with mucukunda, kunda, and blossoms of kuśa and jasmine,

and with datura and munipuṣpa flowers, as well as others that bloom in that season. / With supreme devotion, one should worship the unexcelled Dvīpeśvara.

By the offering of an earthen vessel of sugarcane juice, the Supreme Lord is pleased; / by the gift of eight vessels, sin accumulated in a single day departs.

What was accumulated in a month is destroyed by one hundred and eight vessels; / that of six months by a thousand, and likewise of a year by twice that amount.

Sin incurred since birth is destroyed by ten thousand; / by twice that, disease is destroyed, and by three times that, wealth accrues.

By six times that, one becomes an eloquent speaker; by twice that, an adept; / and by ten hundred thousand, Rudra-hood is attained—of this there is no doubt.

On the full moon day, O best of kings, one should perform ritual ablution with devotion / according to the procedure prescribed by mantras, destroying all sins,

and also the ablution sacred to Varuṇa, to Agni, and to Brahmā, which yields imperishable fruit. / The wise person should make libations to gods, ancestors, and human beings in accordance with rule.

With a Ṛg verse, one gains the merit born of the Ṛgveda; with a Sāman, the fruit of the Sāmaveda; / with a Yajus, that of the Yajurveda; and with the Gāyatrī, one attains everything.

And one should recite the monosyllabic mantra, or one sacred to the Sun or to Śiva, / or the Vaiṣṇava mantra known as the twelve-syllabled one.

With devotion one should honor brahmins endowed with all auspicious marks, / brahmins devoted to their own wives and free from deceit and greed.

Those who follow a divergent way of life, sinful, fallen, in service of Śūdras, / married to a Śūdra woman, in whose house dwells a low-caste woman,

slanderers, wicked, intent on reviling their teachers, / prone to hating the Vedas, rationalists, and hypocrites—

such as these one should avoid in ancestral rites, gift-giving, and in all observances. / Even one who merely knows the essence of the Gāyatrī, if well-restrained, is preferable as a brahmin;

not an unrestrained knower of the four Vedas who eats everything and sells everything. / One should honor such [virtuous] brahmins with gifts of food and gold.

A pair of sandals, clothes, a bed, an umbrella, or a seat— / whoever gives these to a brahmin with devotion is honored in heaven.

A real milch cow, or one made of water, and likewise one of ghee, / or a cow made of sesame seeds should be given there, and likewise female buffaloes.

One who gives a black antelope skin, who gives sesame seeds and ghee, / or who gives a maiden or a manuscript, attains an imperishable world.

Desiring heaven, one should have two draft oxen given, with good hooves and equipped with grain— / this is spoken truly by me.

One should encircle the island with a thread, or the auspicious ground, / or the temple with supreme devotion, or the Supreme Lord.

The human being who performs circumambulation here in accordance with rule / [has encircled] the two islands called Jambū and Plakṣa, and the other, Śālmali, O king,

Kuśa, Krauñca, Kāśa, and Puṣkara as the seventh— / extending to the seven oceans, they have been encircled by him, O Bhārata.

At Dvīpeśvara, O great king, one should also perform the release of a bull; / by means of a red-colored bull, one attains the realm of Maheśvara.

One that is pale white on the face, forehead, and feet, / and bright white on the tail, is indeed a shower of heaven.

Such a one is called a blue bull; whoever releases it at Dvīpeśvara / dwells in heaven for as many years as the count of its hairs, O Bhārata.

The realm of Sūrya, of Śaṃkara, of Brahmā, and of Viṣṇu in succession / he enjoys according to his wish, O king, by the power of Vyāsatīrtha.

Then one should honor a brahmin with his wife there with devotion; / whoever gives white and red garments to a brahmin,

having circumambulated the couple, [praying:] ‘May the teacher of the universe be pleased with me!’— / there is no kinsman equal to a brahmin in this world or in the next,

one who protects a person falling into the terrible realm of Yama. / One who knows the epics and Purāṇas, devoted to Viṣṇu, with senses restrained,

one should worship with supreme devotion, or especially a chanter of the Sāmaveda. / And those who, remaining at home, remember Dvīpeśvara with devotion—

to them comes no grief, no loss, and no wickedness. / First one should worship the liṅga there, and then Siddheśvara,

where the illustrious Vyāsa, son of Satyavatī, attained perfection; / by the worship of this very [liṅga], the wise Dhārāsarpa became an adept.

Moreover, O king, whoever gives up his life at that sacred ford, / having pierced the realm of the sun, goes into the presence of Śiva.

Seven thousand years [in heaven] for dying in water; eleven in fire; sixteen for falling from a precipice; / sixty in a great battle; eighty in a cattle-raid; but for dying of starvation, O descendant of Bharata, there is an imperishable state. // 97.180

The father, grandfather, and likewise the great-grandfather / gaze upon their descendant born of their own gotra who has become wind and is approaching, [saying]: // 97.181

‘Is there any son in our gotra who will offer us water with sesame seeds, / especially on the full moon of Kārttika, or likewise on the full moon of Vaiśākha? // 97.182

And by resorting to that sacred ford, we shall attain the heavenly realm.’ / All this has been related to you concerning the unexcelled Dvīpeśvara. // 97.183

A person who reads this with supreme devotion or listens to it with focused mind, O king, / is also freed from sin and rejoices in the abode of Śiva. // 97.184

The best of sages fashioned an arid ground for all sacred fords; / Vyāsatīrtha, O best of kings, fulfills all desires without a doubt. // 97.185

Thus ends the ninety-seventh chapter, titled “Description of the Māhātmya of Vyāsatīrtha,” in the Revākhaṇḍa of the Āvantyakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skandapurāṇa, a collection of eighty-one thousand verses.