Skandapurana 7.1

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Chapters 1–10

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Oṃ, homage to Śiva.

Homage to the supreme deity whose self has conquered the three qualities,
to the eternal one whose form is yoga, the cause of the cessation of worldly existence,
the cause of preservation, dissolution, and creation, who extends [everywhere],

the twenty-sixth [principle], Pradhāna, the wise Mahādeva.
In the great sacred field of Prajāpati, at the confluence of the Gaṅgā and the Kālindī,
at supremely holy Prayāga, the pathway to Brahmā's world,
sages of disciplined mind, their sins destroyed through austerity,

having completed their daily rites on the full-moon day to bathe in the sacred ford,
saw Sūta, who is devoted to truth and versed in the Purāṇas,
who had bathed in that great sacred ford and approached to offer salutations.
Seeing Sūta coming, the seers, gladdened in mind,

invited him, arranged a seat, and prepared for his reception.
Then, having saluted all those foremost of sages,
Sūta, endowed with all virtue, occupied the seat that was offered.
As he was seated, the sages, flourishing through austerity, questioned him:

“Formerly, O virtuous one, at the sacrificial session of Brahmā of those dwelling in Naimiṣāraṇya...
[Notes on variants]”

[Notes on variants]

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...the narrative of the Bhārata and the supreme Purāṇa were narrated by you;
therefore you appear to us as the son of Satyavatī in person.

[You are] a knower of the highest purpose of all traditional scriptures, dedicated to truth and righteousness,

ever devoted to worshipping the twice-born; therefore you deserve our questioning:

[Tell of that] which, like the narrative of the Bhārata, is superior to the Purāṇas and the rest.”

Therefore we ask you about the birth of the wise Kārttikeya;

for all these sages are devoted to attending upon you,

their minds filled with eager desire to hear of the origin of Skanda.

Thus addressed at that time by the perfected, foremost sages,

Sūta spoke this speech expressing the reality of things to all the sages:

“Listen, all you sages, to the origin of Kārttikeya,

his devotion to brahmins, his greatness, and his valor exceeding that of the thirty [gods].

When the great-souled Śuka had departed to the supreme state through desire for liberation,

Vyāsa, tormented by grief for his son, beheld Tryambaka.

Having merely seen Maheśāna, Vyāsa became free from anguish.

Wandering then through the worlds, that sage, the son of Satyavatī,

then beheld upon the peak of Meru the eldest son of Brahmā,

Sanatkumāra, bestower of boons, endowed with the sovereign power of yoga,

standing in an aerial chariot resembling the sun, shining like fire,

surrounded by sages perfected in yoga, great-souled [ascetics] endowed with austerity,

knowers of the truth of the Vedas and Vedāṅgas, conversant with all the sacred traditions of dharma,

who had attained all lore, as if he were the Four-faced [Brahmā] himself.

Having seen that exceedingly great-souled sage seated there,

Vyāsa bowed with supreme devotion as if to the Grandfather [Brahmā] in person.

Then the son of Brahmā, having approached the greatly energetic Vyāsa,

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embraced him with supreme affection and spoke these auspicious words:

‘By good fortune, O knower of dharma, through the grace of the Supreme Lord,

you have arrived with your grief dispelled. Ask, and I shall tell [you].’

Having heard the words of the son of Brahmā, that foremost among sages

spoke these words, O brahmins, which had long remained in his heart:

‘How was the birth of Kumāra, the wise Kārttikeya?

For what reason, or whence was he [born]? This I truly wish to know.

How is he the son of Rudra, and how is he the son of Fire and the Gaṅgā?

And how is he the son of Umā, and how again of Svāhā?

And how of Suparṇī, and then of the Mothers, and of the Kṛttikās?

And who was he previously born? What was his austerity, and what his prowess?

For this is bewildering to living beings; tell it truly!’

Sūta said:

Thus questioned, that radiant, best son of Brahmā,

all-knowing, spoke everything to Vyāsa of unwearied deeds.

Listen to that as it truly is, being proclaimed by me, O sinless ones.”

Thus ends the first chapter in the Skandapurāṇa.

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Sanatkumāra said:

“I take refuge in the god Īśāna, the all-knowing, unconquered / Mahādeva, the great-souled lord of the entire universe,

whose power is unimpeded, and sovereignty in every respect, / whose mastery and omnipresence they declare to be self-accomplished.

Having bowed to that god, accompanied by Umā, self-restrained and pure, / I shall tell the auspicious origin of Skanda to [you who] wish to know the Purāṇic narrative: / the bodily descent of the god Rudra, the Supreme Self; / the consecration of the Prajāpati, and likewise the taking of the head;

the vision of the members of the six lineages, and the releasing of the wheel; / the origin of Naimiṣa, and the completion of the sacrificial session;

and the arrival of Brahmā there, and the practicing of austerity; / the vision of Śarva, and the birth of the Goddess;

and the dispute with Satī, and likewise the curse of Dakṣa; / the birth of Senā, and how the self-choice [marriage] of the Goddess took place;

the granting of boons to the gods, and of the wise Vasiṣṭha; / the birth of Parāśara, and of the great-souled Vyāsa;

the ending of the arising of enmity between Vasiṣṭha and Kauśika; / the desolation of Vārāṇasī, the description of the māhātmya of the sacred field, / and the presence of Rudra there, and the blessing of Nandin;

and the sight of the Gaṇas, and the recounting [of them] in entirety; / the addressing of Kālī, and the practicing of austerity; / the origin of Somanandin, and likewise the granting of boons;

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the becoming Gaurī, the obtaining of a son, and the birth of the Goddess; / Kauśikī’s becoming the mother of spirits, and the lion’s becoming her chariot;

Gaurī’s abode on the Vindhya, the encounter of the Vindhya and the sun; / the greatness of Agastya, the slaying of Sunda and Upasunda;

the destruction of Niśumbha and Śumbha, the slaying of Mahiṣa by her; / and the consecration of Kauśikī […]

[…] and then the granting of boons; / likewise the birth of Andhaka, and the binding of the earth;

and the slaying of Hiraṇyākṣa, and likewise of Hiraṇyakaśipu; / the subduing of the Daitya army, and the vow of the Goddess;

and the departure of the gods, and Agni’s becoming the messenger; / the granting of boons to the gods, and the dismissal of Śukra;

and the origin of the messenger, and the Goddess’s sighting of Andhaka; / the crushing of the wretchedness of Śilāda’s son, and the Goddess’s hundred forms;

the granting of boons by Āryā, and the praise by Śiva and others; / the arrival of the God, and the narration of what transpired;

the story of the devoted wife, and of attendance upon the guru; / the story of Pañcacūḍā, and the unassailability of the fiery one;

the arrival of the messenger, the conversation, then his dismissal; / the conversation with the demon Andhaka, and the arrival at Mandara;”

And the arrival of the gaṇas, as well as the hearing of their enumeration, / and the conflict of Andhaka then in the great battle […],

the granting of half of the body, and the acceptance of the son of Aśoka, / and the origin of Bhasmasoma, as well as the dwelling in the cremation ground,

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the origin of Kubera, the wise king of the yakṣas, / the subduing of the serpent kings, and the casting down of the peak,

and the subjugation of the three worlds along with Indra,

the giving of Devasenā, and the consecration to generalship,

and the arrival of Nārada, dispatched by Tāraka,

and the fierce slaying of Tāraka, and the pilgrimage to Bhadravaṭa,

and the slaying of Mahiṣa, and the destruction of Krauñca,

and the lifting of the spear, [and] the auspicious slaying of Tāraka,

the arising of fear between gods and asuras, and the battle over Tripura,

and the conflict of Prahlāda, and the story of the ungrateful one;

the great fortune of the brahmins is proclaimed at length.

Knowing this properly, one would become an attendant of Kumāra;

strong, endowed with intellect, one also obtains an esteemed son.

Thus ends the second chapter in the Skandapurāṇa.

Sanatkumāra said:

Listen to this divine narrative, which destroys all sin,

being spoken by me, wonderful, possessing many meanings, conforming to the Vedas,

hearing which even an evildoer would go to the supreme state.

Never to an atheist, to one devoid of faith, or to a deceiver,

should one relate this narrative, nor to an envious person.

This may be told to a son, to a disciple, to one who is righteous, free from envy,

or to a devotee of the gods, O great brahmin.

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It may always be told, O brahmin, to a devotee of the gods, / and likewise indeed to a devotee of Kumāra, and to one who has faith.

This secret must always be spoken to ascetics whose selves are purified. / Then he spoke […] with an inner self that had taken refuge: / Formerly Brahmā, [born as] the offspring of the Creator, was born in this egg.

Because of ignorance, Brahmā, enveloped in darkness, did not know his father. / Knowing, 'I am alone,' he looked upon all the worlds; / endowed with the power of austerity and yoga, he did not see any other there.

And addressed as 'Son, son!' by the wise Śarva, / Brahmā bowed with folded hands and went to him alone for refuge. / Bestowing upon Brahmā the role of creator together with knowledge, / and the sovereignty of the worlds, the Supreme Lord disappeared.

Therefore this eternal Upaniṣad has been spoken by me, O Vyāsa, / hearing which yogins, through meditation, take refuge in Maheśvara:

'He who appointed Brahmā as son in the beginning, and who sent knowledge to him— / the wise who see Him abiding in the self, theirs is eternal peace, not others'.' / Having seen his father endowed with supreme radiance, O Vyāsa,

desiring a son, for the sake of offspring he performed fierce austerity. / To him, the great-souled one endowed with fierce yoga and austerity, / in a short time indeed his father became well pleased. / And he came into his view and said, 'I grant a boon.'

Bowing and placing his folded hands on his head, he praised him: / 5 … yā – manuscript gha. 6

vākya?.. – manuscript gha. 7 … dhyakṣo – manuscript gha. 8

brahmāṇḍe – manuscript gha. … maṇḍe (?). 9 … va – manuscript kha. 10 … vekṣata manuscripts ka, kha. 11 kaścāpi – manuscript gha. 12 sa pro, – manuscript gha. 13 … ktau – manuscript kha. 14 prāñjaliḥ … praṇatobhū. … manuscript gha. 15 suhṛtvaṃ – manuscript kha. 16 cāpi – manuscript dha. 17 … ḥrddha – manuscript ka. 18 … nā – manuscript ka. 19 … nti – manuscript ka. 20 the word sma is not found in book gha. 21

na – manuscript kha. 22 … tā – manuscript ka. 23

svadīptyā – manuscripts ka, kha; pradīptyā – manuscript gha. 24 parayā – manuscripts ka, kha, gha; paramayā – commentary of manuscript ka. 25 cakāra – manuscript gha. 26 mahatā yogatapasā – manuscript kha. 27 ca … – manuscript pa. 28 pitaraṃ pratyatoṣayat – manuscript kha. 29 ha – manuscript kha. 30 tamuvācā … – manuscript kha. 31 … va – manuscript ka.

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'Homage to the supreme deity, the dispenser even of the gods, / to the creator, the system of the worlds, homage to the master of sacred knowledge! / To the one endowed with power, yet devoid of attachment, / to the endless, immeasurable one, beyond the reach of the senses;

to the all-pervading, who has pervaded before, the supervisor, the impeller, / who has effected impulsion, who arranges the principles; / to the stimulator of primordial matter, the giver of power to the qualities, / the giver of vision to all, and himself vision indeed;

to the grasper of sense objects, the maker of order, / the maker of the mind and the organs of sense, and indeed of the sacred transmission, / the maker of the qualities of the elements, and likewise the giver of power, / the maker of the egg and of me, the inconceivable first-born!

O immeasurable Father, always pleased, grant us power, / O you whose power is unimpeded, whose majesty and qualities are immeasurable!' / As he was praising him thus, O Vyāsa, the god of gods, Maheśvara, / pleased, spoke in person to his son, Brahmā, who was then bowed down:

'Since this subtle [truth] has been known by you, my child of great splendor, / therefore you will become famous by the name "Brahmā" in the worlds. / And since I was called "Father" by you, O best among the intelligent, / therefore your status as grandfather will become famous in the world.

And because fierce austerity, exceedingly difficult to perform, was practiced by you for the sake of offspring, / therefore I grant you, who are self-restrained, the status of lord of creatures.' / 32 … sya (?). 33 .?. eta … – manuscript kaḥ. 34 .,. aśakti … – manuscripts ka, kha. 35 … pāya – manuscript ka. 36 … dhā – manuscript kha. 37 guṇināṃ – manuscript kha. 38 kā … – manuscript gha. 39 tatraiva – manuscript kha. 40 niya … – manuscripts ka, kha, gha. 41

… gu – manuscript kha. 42

[…] praised […] that Lord, the Supreme Lord […] thus […]

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Having spoken thus, the Lord of Gods / created embodied women. / Those eight primordial matters and the transformations together with the senses,

and all the states of being, having taken their own forms, attended upon the God. / Then the God, endowed with his own radiance, spoke to them [and to their] lord: / "Anoint this one today without delay!" / Bringing each her own divine, inconceivable essence,

the exceedingly radiant Prajāpati was then consecrated here. / There the yogins, seeing this subtle, / ancient [truth] endowed with the three qualities with divine vision, those who know the truth of yoga sing: / "Indeed, Rudra is the creator of all beings and of you, O Lord!

And together with us, you set the world in motion." / Well-pleased, that God, the possessor of the yoga of supreme sovereignty, / consecrated his first-born son Brahmā to the office of Prajāpati.

He who, having fashioned this world named the body endowed with various paths and yoga, joined it with reverence— / to that supreme God endowed with infinite yoga through his illusory powers, the friend of the three worlds, free from negligence,

who resides always in the mind of everyone, beholding good and evil, the Lord of beings— / bowing with devotion to that God, the refuge of those who bow down, the subtlest of the subtle, I continually take refuge.

33.

Thus ends the third chapter in the Skandapurāṇa, named "The Consecration of Brahmā to the Office of Prajāpati."

[Variant readings: 50–55]

[Variant readings: 56–61]

[Variant readings: 62–68]

[Variant readings: 69–72]

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Sanatkumāra said:

Having obtained the office of Prajāpati, he then set about creating creatures. / Yet the creatures being created by him did not multiply. / Producing creation in that manner, the grandfather, devoid of power, / then set about once again to perform austerity for the sake of creation.

Knowing his austerity for the purpose of creation, the Lord of the three worlds, / pervading the universe with his radiance, came to his presence. / Showing the world within his own body, the Lord of the world, the creator, / endowed with the sovereignty of great yoga power, surrounded by hosts of perfected masters of knowledge,

the Lord of Gods, Hara, the master of the great elements, came himself, / as if pervading the entire world with his supreme radiance. / Śambhu said to the grandfather: "Ask a boon, my child!" / Brahmā mentally chose him as a son for the sake of creating the worlds.

Knowing that intention of Brahmā, the Supreme Lord, / reflecting, "He is foolish," the giver of boons himself spoke: / "Since you desire me, your father who has come, to be your son, / therefore by my command a son who is my own form will come into being.

And he, having become your son, my commander of hosts, / Rudra embodied, will instruct you, O foolish one! / Sovereignty over all sciences and over yogas everywhere, / sovereignty over power, and mastery in employing weapons

[Variant readings: 1–6]

[Variant readings: 7–15]

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granted by me, will quickly attend upon him on every side: / the Pināka bow, the trident, the sword, and the axe, / the water-pot, the staff, and the Pāśupata weapon,

the lightning of cosmic dissolution, and the discus that dissolves creation. / Thus, endowed with all prosperity, he shall be your son." / Having spoken thus, when that great-souled one disappeared, / Brahmā, the Prajāpati, desirous of a son, then performed a sacrifice.

Offering oblations, filled with fatigue and afflicted with frustration,

he wiped his forehead with his hand holding the sacrificial wood. / A drop of sweat born of his forehead from contact with the firewood / fell into that fire, doubled by his radiance. / For that radiance of Maheśvara, joined in Brahmā, flowed forth.

Impelled by the God of gods, it fell into the fire. / At that moment, Maheśa, remembering that supreme boon, / dispatched Rudra, the commander of hosts, who then instantly came into being. / And that radiance born of sweat, earlier joined with the fire,

having quickly become red, then became blue again. / By that he became the Lord, named Nīlalohita, / three-eyed, ten-armed, glorious, as if overshadowing Brahmā.

Brahmā [honored him] with names beginning with Śarva and with bodies beginning with water.

Having praised that omnipresent, imperishable god Nīlalohita, / and knowing him who creates all, established in the great elements, / that lord then created manifold other creatures in the world. / He too, having resorted to yoga and endowed with sovereignty,

16 [...] / kaṃ — ka, gha. 17 [...] / ṅgaṃ — ka, gha. 18

mantra — gha. 19 pratimādikaṃ — gha. / 20 saṃ... — gha. 21 ...ṇe / — gha. 22 sannibhaṃ — / gha. 23 ...ṇaḥ / — gha. 24 śuciḥ — gha. / 25 gaganād — va. / 26 satya — dha. 27 śatastadā — / gha. 28 varṇañca — / gha. 29 ...tannāmāvā... / gha. 30 stutvāntaḥ — gha; perhaps stauti sma. 31 [...] / jatvaṃ ca — gha.

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pervaded all the worlds and sustained them always. / Then from Brahmā too auspicious sons, Dakṣa, Dharma, and others, / were created, along with all offspring filled with gods and mortals. / Then after a long time, as aeons passed again and again,

as he was maintaining the subjects through yoga, when this aeon arrived,

when livelihood was established and creation was set in motion, / and when the subjects had multiplied, while Brahmā was sacrificing at Prayāga, / those seers of the six lineages, firm in their vows,

the Marīcis, the Atris, the Vasiṣṭhas, the Kratus, / the Bhṛgus, and the Aṅgirases, whose sins were consumed by austerity,

approached Brahmā together in the midst of the sacrificial rite and said: / 'O Lord, we are enveloped by great darkness.

Afflicted and debating, we do not perceive what is supreme. / This doubt, O god, has long remained in our hearts.

For you know in truth our ultimate cause. / What is supreme over all beings, and most powerful in all respects?

By whom is the universe presided over? Who is eternal, and who is everlasting? / Who is the creator of all beings, and the impeller of primordial nature?

Who is that magnanimous one who employs us in all duties? / To whom are beings subject, and who is the director of all?

And how might we behold him? Tell us this fully.' / Thus addressed, Brahmā, then in the presence of all / the gods, the seers, the gandharvas, serpents, rakṣasas,

32 [...] / yastathā — gha. 33

vṛ... — ka. 34 saṃśita... — / ka. 35 tu — gha. / 36 vaḥ — dha. 37 [...] / yaḥ — gha. 38 śaḥ / — gha. 39 bhūteṣu — / gha. 40 ...tmanā — / ka, ...tmanaḥ — dha. / 41 ...rā — ka; rākṣasaiḥ — dha. / 42 kutra — ka.

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yakṣas, asuras, those who set living beings in motion, / [...] yakṣas, along with piśācas, and whoever else was near him, / rose, joined his palms, and spoke the word 'Rudra' with a threefold prolated vowel:

'He can be seen only through austerity, and by nothing else.

He is the creator of all beings, and he is remembered as the mighty one.

Beings are subject to him; by him this world is sustained.' / [...] / they bowed to that great soul.

The seers said:

'What is that great austerity, O god, by which that lord may be seen? / Tell us that, O lord of gods, and proclaim him who grants boons to us.'

The Grandfather said:

'Undertake a great sacrificial session, free from faults of speech and mind. / And I will tell you of the region in which you shall perform it.'

Sanatkumāra said:

Then, having created a wheel made of mind, he spoke to them: / 'This wheel has been cast by me; follow it without delay. / Where its rim shatters, that region is auspicious for austerity.'

Then he released that wheel, and they followed it. / As it rolled swiftly, the place where its rim shattered / is known by the name Naimiṣa, holy and worshipped everywhere.

It is revered by gods, mortals, and siddhas, by fierce rakṣasas and celestial serpents, / by yakṣas, hosts of gandharvas and piśācas, by all apsarases and sons of Diti,

by restrained brahmins endowed with tranquility and yoga, by all holy fords and mountains, / and praised by gandharvas, vidyādharas, cāraṇas, sādhyas, the Viśvedevas, and the ancestors.

Thus ends the fourth chapter, named 'The Origin of the Six Lineages', in the Skandapurāṇa.

43 vidrutaṃ / — gha. 44 yaḥ — gha. / 45 stena — ka; / tanmayaṃ jagat — gha. 46 ataste / sarvalokeśo — gha. 47 ṣaṭkulīyā / — gha. 48 varaṃ — gha. / 49 ha kṛ(?)tvā / — gha. 50 vāraṇasthaiḥ — dha. / 51 'Naimiśotpattiḥ' is the better reading.

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Sanatkumāra said:

Having reached that Naimiṣa, the seers of blazing radiance / sat for a great divine sacrificial session lasting a thousand years, / all single-minded, free from possessiveness, without egotism, / meditating constantly on the lord of lords, their sacred fires attended with devotion.

Intent on him, devoted to him, united with him, taking refuge in him, / performing all actions, they went to him alone in mind.

Perceiving that disposition of theirs, the wind-god Mātariśvan of great austerity, / who moves within all living creatures, glorious, the impeller of all beings,

that auspicious, embodied lord granted a vision of himself to the sacrificers. / Having seen him and worshipped that imperishable Mātariśvan,

seated on a holy seat, the seers, committed to their vows, / questioned him about the entire origin of the world and its dissolution, / its entire maintenance, the lineages, the ages and manvantaras, / the whole history of genealogies, and the divine measure of time;

the origin and dissolution of the eight classes of divine beings, / the creation of the ancestors, the rest, and the measure of Brahmā's [life], / the entire course of the moon and sun, the course of stars and planets, / the duration of all lords, and the laws of the continents in their entirety,

the arrangement of classes and life-stages, and the performance of sacrifices. / That lord recounted all this without remainder.

[Apparatus readings]

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And thus a thousand celestial years passed for them. / Then, endowed with a divine form, having the Sāmaveda as her speech, looking in all directions, / having the Yajurveda as her nose, the Atharvaveda as her head, sound as her tongue, auspicious and good, / having logic as her ears, Nirukta as her skin, and moving with the meters and lines of the Ṛgveda as her feet,

having Time as her arms, years as her hands, bearing the days as fingers, / with the kalās and other divisions as the finger-joints, and months as her fingernails, / divine, with the Kalpasūtra as her chest, having the science of phonetics as her high breasts, / with meters as her slender waist, and Mīmāṃsā as her navel,

with the Purāṇas as her broad hips, Dharmaśāstra as her purpose, / the āśramas as her thighs, the varṇas as her knees, sacrifice as her ankles, and fruit [of rituals] as her toes, / with her body constituted of worldly custom and the Veda, with auspicious hairs that are the Vedic meters, / full of faith, clad in the garments of virtuous conduct, expounding yoga and dharma—

having emerged from the middle of the sacrificial altar, she flowed forth with supreme waters. / At the end of that, having bathed at the concluding bath, uniting with Vāyu, / they asked him, the god Vāyu of great intellect, who she might be. / That god of great splendor addressed the seers who were deeply imbued with righteousness:

"You are all purified by austerity, and great righteousness has been performed by you, / since this sacred river has come here from Brahmaloka. / She is named Sarasvatī, the adornment of Brahmaloka; / she has descended first into this mortal world for your spiritual attainment.

There is none more sacred than she in the three worlds."