Skandapurana 1.1.1.49
English (machine translation) 1.1.1.49
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1.1.1.49.1
Obeisance to the venerable Gaṇeśa.
Now begins the first half of the glorious Aruṇācalamāhātmya.
With the triple mark of ashes upon his forehead, wearing a musk mark on his brow, wearing a gleaming garland, his loins clad in a radiant loincloth, / bearing on his head the unassailable king of serpents and the crescent of the moon, the yogin of Aruṇagiri, a light unto all, reigns supreme. (1)
Vyāsa said:
Then the sages dwelling in the Naimiṣāraṇya said to Sūta: / “We wish to hear from you the māhātmya of Aruṇācala. (2)
Tell us that māhātmya!” Addressed thus, Sūta said to those sages:
Sūta said:
Long ago, Sanaka questioned the four-faced [Brahmā] for this very purpose. (3)
Listen with attentive minds; I shall tell it to you now, / for hearing it with devotion destroys the sins of men. (4)
Once in Satyaloka, seated before Brahmā who sits on the lotus, / Sanaka bowed low and, standing with joined palms, questioned him: (5)
Sanaka said:
“O support of the worlds, lord of gods, you who are known through the Vedas, four-faced one! / Complete knowledge arose in me through your grace. (6)
When the mirror of my mind was purified through the glory of devotion to you, / all knowledge was reflected there simply upon a single teaching. (7)
The essential meaning of the Vedas and what is known through the Vedas—the undisturbed knowledge of Śiva— / I have fully attained through your glances, O teacher of the universe! (8)
There are Śiva’s liṅgas on earth: divine ones, O treasury of compassion, / and human ones, those established by siddhas, and elemental ones, O leader of the gods. (9)
Tell me of that pure, divine liṅga that possesses the majesty of destroying enemies, / self-manifest in Jambudvīpa, fiery in nature. (10)
Tell me, O treasury of mercy, of that which destroys sin by the mere recollection of its name, / and eternally grants conformity to Śiva’s form! (11)
That imperishable splendor of Śiva which is the beginningless support of the universe, / and seeing which one becomes fulfilled—let that be taught to me!”
Thus hearing the word of that devoted [disciple], full of curiosity, (12)
1.1.1.49.2
the blessed lord, a treasury of austerities, was pleased. (13)
And remaining seated on the lotus, the four-faced one meditated long on Śambhu, / his mind plunged into the ocean of inner bliss. (14)
When he saw Śiva consisting of a pillar of fire, as seen in ancient times, / which transcends every support, he was aware of nothing else. (15)
Then, to carry out the command received once more from Śiva, / the lord withdrew his heart from yoga and remembered his bowed son. (16)
His body bristling with horripilation born of the darśana of Śiva, / his eyes filled with tears of joy, he spoke in a choked voice: (17)
Brahmā said:
“Therefore, my son, I was reminded of ancient times by you; / while contemplating Śiva’s yoga, I remembered [you] out of affection for you. (18)
Supreme devotion to Śiva has arisen in you through your many austerities; / by that, my heart was, as it were, turned back in an instant. (19)
By their deeds those whose devotion to Sadāśiva increases at all times / purify the entire world, O untroubled one! (20)
Conversation, cohabitation, sporting, mingling, / darśana of the devotees of Śiva, and remembering them, destroys evil. (21)
Listen to the wondrous, divine light named Aruṇādri, / full of spontaneous compassion, as it appeared in former times. (22)
Both I and Nārāyaṇa were born from the manifestation surpassing all, / from Sadāśiva who was unfolding the resolve: ‘May I become many.’ (23)
Arisen according to [our] nature, we quarreled with one another; / and fighting with pride, we were never fatigued. (24)
Beholding the terrible enthusiasm for battle between the two of us, / Īśvara, the embodiment of compassion, then thought: (25)
‘Why has this fight, which will destroy the worlds, arisen between these two / who have entered into a dispute: “It was created by me,” “I am the protector”? (26)
At this moment, being myself visible to these two who are utterly bewildered, / if I do not stop the battle, the destruction of the worlds will take place.’ (27)”
1.1.1.49.3
"My greatness is heard in the Vedas as transcending all. / These two deluded ones, their memory lost through anger, do not know it.
Every creature considers itself exceedingly superior. / But the fool who does not acknowledge the equality or superiority of others falls downward.
If in any world I give a measure of myself, / then, from realizing that form, he too may attain measure of the Self."
Deciding thus in his mind, Sadāśiva himself / arose as a pillar of fire between the two of us as we fought,
surpassing all the worlds, blazing on every side like fire.
Then, because it had neither beginning nor end, they stood with eyes pained, / their resolve broken upon seeing that blazing pillar of fire.
And before us a bodiless voice arose: / "Why is a battle undertaken, you two children of foolish mind?
Śiva alone will judge the difference between your powers. / This form standing here, composed of a pillar of fire, belongs to Śambhu.
If you two see its beginning and end, [that one is] superior in power." / Hearing those words, the two of us then ceased from combat,
and I and Viṣṇu, who possesses movement, resolved to search it out. / That form composed of a pillar of fire belonging to Śambhu was devoid of beginning or end;
the two of us resolved to inspect it from its beginning and its end. / Just as two children wish to seize the moon reflected in the sky,
so the two of us set out to measure that great splendor. / Then Viṣṇu, with great zeal, became a boar of immense body,
and to seek its base he tore open the interior of the earth. / And I, having assumed the state of a wild gander, flying up with great speed,
desirous to see its crown, plunged upward into the sky. / Rending the entire earth lower and lower, Mādhava
beheld the pillar of fire as if appearing from below. / Though searching for many crores of years,
not seeing the imperishable beginning of the splendor, he became afflicted in form and distressed.
1.1.1.49.4
With the rings of his tusks shattered, his joints and sinews giving way, / afflicted with exhaustion, overcome with thirst, Hari was unable to go on.
Unable to sustain that incomparable boar-like form, / exhausted even from turning back, the lord of Ramā despaired.
Endowed with an immeasurable soul, his body utterly fatigued, / his glory departed, exhausted by effort, taking refuge in Śiva who is worthy of refuge, he thought:
"Fie on this great delusion of mine born of egoism, / by which I did not recognize my master, my own Self!
For he is the root of all the Vedas, of the gods, and of the worlds; / he is Śiva in person—how could there be a root to him?
From him alone, who is devoid of beginning and end, have I arisen. / That I began to search for Śiva, having assumed an animal's body, [was folly].
By the grace of Father Śambhu, a friend of unconditioned compassion,
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit