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Skandapurana 1.2.17

English (machine translation) 1.2.17

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1.2.17.1

Sūta said:

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Having heard this speech of his, Mārkaṇḍeya spoke:

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Mārkaṇḍeya said:

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Indeed, O lord, what was to be heard has been heard by me from your mouth.

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Even so, I am overcome by curiosity, and so are these sages:

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How was austerity performed here by Gaurī, the great goddess? Let that be told!

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Nandikeśvara said:

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I shall relate that as well, just as I have learned it myself.

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Listen attentively, O noble-minded Mārkaṇḍeya. (3)

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Surely you know how formerly Śiva married the daughter of Dakṣa,

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named Satī, the presiding deity of virtuous wives. (4)

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And how in anger at Dakṣa Prajāpati, who hated her husband,

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she cast off her own body through yoga—this too you have heard. (5)

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Then, what was done by Vīrabhadra, obedient to Hara's command,

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the great destruction of Dakṣa's sacrifice, is also known to you. (6)

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You have heard of the severing of that Dakṣa's head by the gaṇas,

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and the chastisement even of the gods headed by Brahmā, Acyuta, and Indra; (7)

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the knocking out of the Sun's teeth, the cutting off of Agni's hands,

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and the humiliation of the divine women beginning with Aditi. (8)

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And that goddess took rebirth in the house of Himavat,

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bearing again a second name, 'Umā' and 'Pārvatī'. (9)

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And in the forest of Sthāṇu, the god, while she was devoted to his service in secret,

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wishing to arouse desire, burned Kāma with the fire of time. (10)

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And when that god of mastered senses had departed somewhere with his gaṇas,

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Gaurī, dwelling on the mountain peak, pleased him with austerities. (11)

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Then, having married her with narratives that captivated her heart,

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the god in solitude delighted that playful maiden, saying, 'Rejoice!' (12)

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Entreated by Rati, who was grieved by widowhood, the daughter of the mountain,

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performing austerities at Kāmapīṭha, revived Kāma. (13)

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And brought once more to the abode by her mother Menā and father Himavat,

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she took delight with her husband for a long time. (14)

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At that time, the two named Śumbha and Niśumbha obtained a boon from Brahmā:

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'Among gods, dānavas, and mortals, let there be no death for us two from a male.' (15)

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Hearing their words, the god was implored in secret by the frightened gods,

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headed by Viṣṇu, and he said: (16)

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'Do not fear, good sirs; in time it shall be so arranged

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that those two dānavas shall be slain.' (17)

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Having granted fearlessness to Mukunda and the others and dismissed them, the slayer of Andhaka

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entered the inner chamber and sported with the goddess as before. (18)

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Once, teasingly hit at a sensitive point in jest, she was called 'Kālī' [the dark one];

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and Kālikā, for the sake of his love, shed her very skin. (19)

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Where the supreme mistress cast off that skin of her own will,

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that became an excellent sacred field called Mahākāśīprapāta. (20)

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And that skin, named Kauśikī, [becoming] Kālī dwelling on the Vindhya mountain,

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slew those two great asuras, who, lusting [for her], approached as she practiced austerity. (21)

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And the goddess Gaurī, upon that very enchanting peak,

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completely pleased her husband having regained her fair complexion through austerities. (22)

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In due course, experiencing pregnancy cravings, Pārvatī gave birth

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to elephant-faced Heramba, and to the commander of the army, the six-faced [Skanda]. (23)

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And those who know the Āgamas say that they were Nārāyaṇa and Brahmā,

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born from the womb of the goddess for the purification of their earlier offenses. (24)

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As those two boys grew up under the gaze of their parents,

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who were as if immersed in an ocean of joy, the knot of affection became firm. (25)

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Sometimes with the sound of the vīṇā, sometimes with paintings,

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at other times with mutually adorning ornaments, the two Śivas sported freely. (26)

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Sometimes with discussions of sciences and traditional texts, sometimes with curious objects,

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and at other times with news of the world, the married couple was amused. (27)

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Sometimes with gathering flowers, sometimes with water games,

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and at other times with swinging games, moist with passion, the two played. (28)

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Sometimes worshipped by Maināka, sometimes venerated by Menā,

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sometimes honored by Himavat, the couple was entertained. (29)

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Sometimes through the amusement of dice, at other times through musical assemblies,

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at other times through the games of gift-giving, the two Śivas played for a long time. (30)

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Snatching the moon won at dice, which had fallen into her husband's lap,

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and having made it into a bracelet, Umā turned it into an earring. (31)

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Thus those two parents of all that moves and is motionless, dwelling on the Golden Mountain and others,

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in delightful places, truly enjoyed extremely charming pleasures of love for a very long time. (32)

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Thus ends the seventeenth chapter, named 'Description of the Sporting of Śiva and Pārvatī', in the second half of the Aruṇācalamāhātmya, in the first [section], the Māheśvarakhaṇḍa, in the Mahāpurāṇa of eighty-one thousand verses, the glorious Skandapurāṇa. 17.

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