Skandapurana 1.2

English (machine translation) 1.2

Language: English

This Unicode conversion of the second half of the Aruṇācalamāhātmya within the Skandapurāṇa was completed using IndSenz OCR software linked with advanced dictionary files on August 5, 2015 CE, corresponding to the date of Śrāvaṇa Kṛṣṇa Ṣaṣṭhī, Vikrama Samvat 2072.

1.2.1.1

Salutation to holy Gaṇeśa.

1.2.1.2

Now begins the second half of the Aruṇācalamāhātmya.
Vyāsa said:

1.2.1.3

Dwelling in the Naimiṣa forest, the sages said to Sūta:

1.2.1.4

The sages said:

1.2.1.5

"Tell us what site is the best of Śaiva sacred places." (1)

1.2.1.6

Sūta said:

1.2.1.7

"Listen to that which was formerly heard from the mouth of Nandīśvara

1.2.1.8

by Mārkaṇḍeya; I will speak of it, O sages; listen with reverence!" (2)

1.2.1.9

Mārkaṇḍeya said:

1.2.1.10

"O Nandīśvara, the greatness of Mādhyameśvara has been proclaimed by you,

1.2.1.11

and it has all been retained by me with a mind moist with devotion and faith. (3)

1.2.1.12

Even so, tell me further, O god of gods, ocean of compassion,

1.2.1.13

that which I ask you with respectful reverence. (4)

1.2.1.14

There is nothing in these three worlds unknown to you,

1.2.1.15

among all the āgamas and purāṇas, both external and internal. (5)

1.2.1.16

For men, the earth alone is preeminent for heaven and final liberation,

1.2.1.17

for performing all rites by those devoted to their respective fruits. (6)

1.2.1.18

And the threefold fruit for men was indeed told by you before,

1.2.1.19

according to the division of happiness on earth, the enjoyment of heaven, and kaivalya. (7)

1.2.1.20

The first two are mostly exhausted by the exhaustion of religious merit;

1.2.1.21

the third, however, is not exhausted, precisely because it has no resort in ritual acts. (8)

1.2.1.22

And its attainment was said by you to be the domain of pure knowledge.

1.2.1.23

Yet pure knowledge is difficult for all embodied beings to attain.

1.2.1.24

In what sacred field may that knowledge be attained, without studying scriptures and the like,

1.2.1.25

merely by worship of Śiva, by all embodied beings?

1.2.1.26

The intellect of all embodied beings does not engage at all

1.2.1.27

in [the paths of] knowledge, yoga, ritual action, and conduct taught in the Śaiva scriptures.

1.2.1.28

By the māhātmya of which place can embodied beings obtain pure knowledge

1.2.1.29

even through minor observances? Tell me of that place!

1.2.1.30

Where, merely from wearing ashes and rudrākṣa beads and from a single remembrance of Īśvara,

1.2.1.31

the highest good is to be attained even by the simple-minded—speak of that place!

1.2.1.32

Where, even by dwelling without deliberate intention,

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the highest good will be achieved without obstacles for embodied beings—grant me [knowledge of] that place!

1.2.1.34

Tell me of that sacred field where the highest good is attained even by those born of mixed caste,

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by those who have entered animal wombs, and even by stationary creatures!

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Having spoken thus, the son of Mṛkaṇḍu, together with other great-souled foremost sages,

1.2.1.37

fell at the two lotus-feet of the son of Śilāda, an ocean of all the scriptures.

1.2.1.38

Thus ends the first chapter, named 'Description of the Introduction to the Māhātmya of the Place', in the second half of the Aruṇācalamāhātmya, in the first Māheśvarakhaṇḍa of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.

1.2.2.1

Nandikeśvara said:

1.2.2.2

O sage, leader among the devotees of Maheśvara, there is indeed a place asked about by you,

1.2.2.3

for the welfare of all beings, moving and unmoving!

1.2.2.4

For God has ordained the birth of embodied beings

1.2.2.5

in various wombs in accordance with their respective karmas.

1.2.2.6

You have desired to hear [this] entirely for their great benefit;

1.2.2.7

otherwise, there would be no cessation of transmigration even in hundreds of millions of kalpas.

1.2.2.8

Attained again and again through trifling actions and limited knowledge,

1.2.2.9

birth and death never cease, like the motion of a waterwheel.

1.2.2.10

How indeed, without pure knowledge, could an embodied soul be freed

1.2.2.11

from entering the dwelling of the womb, so as to attain rest?

1.2.2.12

Regions were previously spoken of by me in passing,

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along with the distinctions of seers therein, and the dwelling of [Śiva] who wears the skin garment:

1.2.2.14

some on the banks of the Gaṅgā, some on the shore of the Sarasvatī,

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others on the two banks of the Kālindī, some on the bank of the Śoṇa;

1.2.2.16

others on the bank of the Narmadā, others on the shore of the Godāvarī,

1.2.2.17

some on the banks of the Gomatī, others on the shore of the Haimavatī;

1.2.2.18

another beside the ocean, others on the islands of oceans,

1.2.2.19

some at the mouths of rivers, and some at confluences;

1.2.2.20

some on the bank of the Kṛṣṇaveṇī, others near the Tuṅgabhadrā;

1.2.2.21

a few along the Upaveṇī, others near the Śaktyāpagā;

1.2.2.22

others on the bank of the Kāverī, some on the shore of the Vegavatī;

1.2.2.23

and others on the Tāmraparṇī, a few on the shore of the Muralā;

1.2.2.24

some on the bank of the Airāvatī, and others on the Yātukāṅkṣikā;

1.2.2.25

a few on the banks of the Kanyā, a few on the bank of the Kumārī, others near the Tamasā and Varuṇā;

1.2.2.26

others in the vicinity of the Mandākinī, still others on the bank of the Śiprā, others along the reaches of the Sarayū;

1.2.2.27

others in the vicinity of the Vipāśā, others on the bank of the Śatadru;

1.2.2.28

others near the Carmaṇvatī, some on the bank of the Bhīmarathī;

1.2.2.29

some near Lake Bindu, others on the bank of Lake Pampā;

1.2.2.30

some also near the Bhairavī, a few on the bank of the Kauśikī;

1.2.2.31

others on the bank of the Mālinī, others on the bank of the Gandhavatī;

1.2.2.32

a few near Mānasa, some on the shore of Acchoda;

1.2.2.33

another at Lake Indradyumna, some at Maṇikarṇikā;

1.2.2.34

others on the bank of the Varadā, some others on the Tāpī;

1.2.2.35

near the Pātālagaṅgā, and others near the Śarāvatī;

1.2.2.36

some on the two banks of the Lohityā, a few on the shore of the Kālamā;

1.2.2.37

others near the Vitastā, and others near the Candrabhāgā;

1.2.2.38

some near the Suralā, others on the two banks of the Payoṣṇī;

1.2.2.39

some on the bank of the Madhumatī, and some along the Pinākinī.

1.2.2.40

The sacred field of Vārāṇasī has been declared, purifying for five krośas,

1.2.2.41

where the god named Avimukta is worshipped by Viśālākṣī;

1.2.2.42

where Kapālamocana is, and where Kālabhairava abides;

1.2.2.43

where the dead attain Rudra-hood—know that to be Kāśī, O sage!

1.2.2.44

Gayā and Prayāga also have been described to you as bestowing all perfections.

1.2.2.45

where the ancestors are indeed pleased by the offering of rice-balls;

1.2.2.46

and you have heard of Kedāra, where the god who took the form of a buffalo

1.2.2.47

was slain by the Goddess, granting all blessings to men;

1.2.2.48

the sacred field Badarikāśrama, granting all perfections to mortals,

1.2.2.49

where the three-eyed Lord dwells with the Goddess, worshipped by Nara and Nārāyaṇa;

1.2.2.50

you have indeed heard of the sacred field Naimiṣa, where Maheśvara

1.2.2.51

is named Devadeva, the holy one, and the Goddess is Sāraṅgadhāriṇī;

1.2.2.52

the place called Amareśa, which accomplishes all aims, has been spoken of [by me],

1.2.2.53

where the Lord is named Oṃkāra and the supreme Goddess is named Caṇḍikā;

1.2.2.54

you have heard of the great place called Puṣkara spoken of by me,

1.2.2.55

where the god is Rujogandhi and the supreme Goddess is Puruhūtā;

1.2.2.56

the purifying place named Āṣāḍhī has been spoken of to you by me,

1.2.2.57

where Hara is Āṣāḍheśa and the supreme Goddess is Ratīśā;

1.2.2.58

and the place called Daṇḍimuṇḍin has been spoken of to you by me,

1.2.2.59

where the great god is Muṇḍin and the supreme Goddess is Daṇḍikā;

1.2.2.60

the completely purified place named Lākula has been spoken of to you by me,

1.2.2.61

in which Hara is Lākulīśa and the all-auspicious Goddess is Anaṅgā;

1.2.2.62

the place Bhārabhūti has been mentioned to you by me,

1.2.2.63

where Śambhu is named Bhāra and the mountain's daughter is named Bhūti;

1.2.2.64

the place named Arālakeśvara has been spoken of to you by me,

1.2.2.65

where the trident-bearer is named Sūkṣma and the mountain's daughter is named Sūkṣmā;

1.2.2.66

the great sacred field named Gayā has been mentioned by me to you,

1.2.2.67

where Śivā is named Maṅgalā and Śaṃkara is Prapitāmaha;

1.2.2.68

the place named Kurukṣetra has been related to you,

1.2.2.69

where the goddess is Sthāṇupriyā and the god is named Sthāṇu;

1.2.2.70

the excellent place named Kanakhala has been described to you by me,

1.2.2.71

where the enemy of the cities is Ugra and the daughter of the best of mountains is Ugrā;

1.2.2.72

the great sacred field named Tālaka has been declared by me, O Mārkaṇḍeya,

1.2.2.73

where the goddess is Svāyaṃbhuvī and the supreme Lord is Svayambhū;

1.2.2.74

the great place named Aṭṭahāsa has been spoken of to you by me,

1.2.2.75

where the Sun, having worshipped the Lord, had his desires fulfilled;

1.2.2.76

the sacred field named Kṛttivāsa has been described to you, O best knower of the Veda,

1.2.2.77

the dwelling of the hide-clad Lord, which is praised even above Kailāsa;

1.2.2.78

[you have heard of] Maheśa Mallikārjuna with the goddess Bhramarāmbikā,

1.2.2.79

worshipped by Brahmā on Śrīśaila for the sake of accomplishment in creation;

1.2.2.80

on the bank of the Suvarṇamukharī, Śaṃkara as Kālahasti

1.2.2.81

was worshipped by Vyāsa, along with the Mother whose curls hum like bees;

1.2.2.82

in Kāñcī, seated at the root of a mango tree, the chastiser of Kāma,

1.2.2.83

closely embraced by Kāmākṣī as she performed austerity, was marked by her bracelet;

1.2.2.84

there is the city named Vyāghrapura situated within the Tillika forest,

1.2.2.85

where Patañjali waits upon the dancing Lord;

1.2.2.86

the place named Śvetāraṇya was spoken of to you by me formerly,

1.2.2.87

where Airāvata recovered his broken tusk through the worship of Śiva;

1.2.2.88

I spoke of the place named Setubandha, where Rāghava

1.2.2.89

installed the sin-destroying god under the name of Rāmanātha;

1.2.2.90

there is the place named Gajaprati, where the bull-bannered Lord,

1.2.2.91

resorted to the foot of a jambū tree for the protection of the world;

1.2.2.92

along the Maṇimuktā river, in the sacred field named Vṛddhācala,

1.2.2.93

the god is eternally present—this too has been heard by you;

1.2.2.94

the unexcelled place named the glorious Madhyārjuna has been heard [by you],

1.2.2.95

in which Hara, companion of Gaurī, is ever the granter of boons;

1.2.2.96

Somatīrtha, inhabited by Somanātha, has been heard by you,

1.2.2.97

where there is no further bondage to worldly existence for those who have abandoned the body;

1.2.2.98

you have indeed heard of the sacred field named Siddhavaṭa,

1.2.2.99

where the perfected beings worship the unexcelled liṅga of light;

1.2.2.100

the sacred field known as Kamalālaya has indeed been heard of by you,

1.2.2.101

where, through the worship of Valmīkeśa, the life of Hari's Śrī was regained;

1.2.2.102

you have heard of Kaṅkādri, where Hara is present,

1.2.2.103

whom Brahmā and Keśava worship even now for the sake of liberation;

1.2.2.104

you know the glorious Droṇapura, in which, at the end of the Kali age,

1.2.2.105

Pārvatī's husband boarded a boat when the ocean was agitated. // 52

1.2.2.106

You have heard of the sacred field named Brahmapura, where formerly Indrajit

1.2.2.107

established Dhūrjaṭi on the bank of the Āryapuṣkariṇī pond. // 53

1.2.2.108

The sacred field called Śrīkoṭika is full of knowledge, where the crescent-crested [Lord]

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removes ten million sins of men who worship him. // 54

1.2.2.110

And you have heard of Gokarṇa, which is Śiva, through whose presence

1.2.2.111

the son of Jamadagni, desiring to worship him, does not long for heaven. // 55

1.2.2.112

The sacred field Tripurāntaka was told to you, where the three-eyed [Lord]

1.2.2.113

dispels fear of hell for men who have seen [him]. // 56

1.2.2.114

The sacred field Kālāñjana was described, dwelling in which the black-throated [Lord]

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extinguishes the fierce fever of saṃsāra for his devotees. // 57

1.2.2.116

Priyālavaṇa was described as a sacred field where Ambikā's husband

1.2.2.117

bestowed the Ocean of Milk upon Upamanyu who begged for milk. // 58

1.2.2.118

The sacred field Prabhāsa was told to you, where the crescent-crested [Lord],

1.2.2.119

worshipped by Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, granted inexhaustible fruit. // 59

1.2.2.120

You know Vedāraṇya, where the lord of the Pramathas

1.2.2.121

was besought for liberation by Dakṣa, who had previously committed a transgression. // 1.3.2.2.60

1.2.2.122

You have heard of Hemakūṭa, the abode of the three-eyed [Lord],

1.2.2.123

where there is no fear of rebirth for men practicing austerity. // 61

1.2.2.124

There is a sacred field named Veṇuvana that destroys sins,

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where the pearl-gem Śivā was born from the womb of a bamboo cane. // 62

1.2.2.126

You have heard of Jālandhara as the abode of the enemy of Andhaka,

1.2.2.127

where Jalandhara attained the rank of Gaṇa through austerities. // 63

1.2.2.128

You came to know the abode called Jvālāmukha as told by me,

1.2.2.129

where Goddess Jvālāmukhī worshipped Kālarudra. // 64

1.2.2.130

There is [the place] named Bhadravaṭa, a sacred field mentioned and heard by you,

1.2.2.131

where Heramba fully worshipped the three-eyed [Lord] for prosperity. // 65

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Nyagrodhāraṇya was told to you, where the fierce [Lord] indeed performed

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a wildly violent tāṇḍava dance, entering into a rivalry with Kālī. // 66

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You have heard of that sacred field named Gandhamādana,

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where worship of Mṛtyuñjaya was performed by Hanumān. // 67

1.2.2.136

The abode of Śambhu called Goparvata was made renowned by me,

1.2.2.137

where Pāṇini attained pre-eminence among grammarians. // 68

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Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit

Skandapurana 1.2

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