Skandapurana 1.2.20
English (machine translation) 1.2.20
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Mārkaṇḍeya said:
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Oh, such was the wickedness of the Mahiṣa Daitya!
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Oh, and the prowess of Durgā, who takes away sins!
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When Mahiṣāsura was thus slain by that Bhadrakālī,
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what did the daughter of the king of mountains do, engaged in tapas?
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Nandikeśvara said:
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Thereupon, holding the Daitya's head in her hand,
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she bowed to Gaurī with her other hand that held a sword.
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Then, seeing her dancing in joy, with a gaze
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tender with compassion, illuminating the sky with the rays of her teeth, the Goddess addressed her:
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"A deed most difficult to accomplish has been performed by you, O Vindhyavāsinī!
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And by your power, my tapas has become free from obstacles.
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Now this buffalo head, impure and terrifying,
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you ought to release from your hand, O you whose conduct purifies the world!"
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Thus addressed by Gaurī, Durgā, her mind troubled by disgust,
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shook her hand repeatedly in order to drop that head.
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"Let a new sacred ford be created, O goddess, that destroys sins;
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from plunging into it, O Durgā, expiation will take place."
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Thus told by Gautama, Durgā, fearful of sin,
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split the stone slab with her exceedingly sharp sword.
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From that rocky ground cleft down to Pātāla,
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surging water welled forth, pure like the mind of a good person.
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She too plunged into that deep, purifying water,
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uttering the unsurpassed mantra: 'Salutations to the Lord of the Red Mountain!'
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At that moment, that liṅga which was on Mahiṣa's neck dropped to the bottom;
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it became established on the bank under the name Pāpanāśana.
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Then Durgā emerged, her impurity washed away by the water of the sacred ford,
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and the head of Mahiṣāsura fell from her hand.
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Having circumambulated and bowed to the Lord Pāpanāśana,
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she stood before Gaurī, praised by Gautama.
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Seeing her whose sin was thus visibly dispelled, Pārvatī,
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the daughter of the mountain, engaged in long tapas, said:
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"Consent was readily given by myself to the slaughter of Mahiṣāsura.
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Ah, this Vindhyavāsinī, taking hold of the evil buffalo form,
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devoured [it], and this is his auspicious liṅga."
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"Therefore, O best of sages, tell me too of an expiation."
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Gautama said:
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"O goddess, who bring about the creation, maintenance, and destruction of all the worlds!
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Meditation upon you alone destroys all sins of the worlds.
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Nevertheless, adopting worldly conduct, you have spoken thus;
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for the boundary established by themselves is never transgressed by the great.
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A certain rite that washes away the impurity of the inner mind
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is told by me today, O Mother; please pay attention.
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This mountain Aruṇa, directly a mountain of fire hidden from view,
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blazes with its own light on the night of the full moon with Kṛttikā.
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Its worship and the practice of austerity must be performed by you, O Kātyāyanī;
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from the darśana of that light, every desired thing of yours is accomplished."
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Thus addressed by Gautama, the Mother from then on, formidable,
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devoted to Śiva, intent then upon the worship of Śiva,
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performed austerity, abiding in the midst of five fires.
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Standing in the midst of four flames, her gaze fixed upon the sun,
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the daughter of the king of mountains shone radiant like a golden needle.
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Then, as if drawn by the long-extended cords of Pārvatī’s love,
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that auspicious lunar day arrived: the full moon of Kārttika.
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Then, at the end of that day, on the peak of the red mountain,
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a certain light of unconditioned majesty was seen,
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worshipped on all sides by Brahmā, the slayer of Madhu, Indra, and the rest
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who had approached for that purpose, gods accompanied by celestial seers.
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Seeing that great lamp without fuel, without oil,
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and born without a wick of cloth, Pārvatī was struck with wonder.
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Then, having circumambulated it, bowing at every step,
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rejoicing, the daughter of the mountain praised the Lord, the Sovereign of Aruṇādri:
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"Salutations to you whose bow is Meru, who dwell on Mount Kailāsa,
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son-in-law of the snow mountain, who have the form of the red mountain!
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Worshipped by Varuṇa and other gods, possessing the radiance of the morning sun,
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Lord of Aruṇācala, embodiment of compassion, salutations to you!
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Victory to you whose crest is adorned by the daughter of Jahnu and the crescent moon,
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who enchanted the minds of all the sages' wives by your beauty!
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Victory to you who accumulate the glory of love through union with the mountain's daughter,
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expert in repeating the play of the expanse of Nārāyaṇa's Māyā!
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Victory to you who perform the joyful tāṇḍava dance joined with the twilight,
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victory to you worshipped by the gods, gandharvas, siddhas, and vidyādharas!
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Victory to the father of Heramba, victory to the one who is fond of the six-faced one,
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victory to the one sought by Haimavatī, victory to the one unattainable by kings of the earth!"
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Having thus praised him, seeing the goddess whose eyes were repeatedly fixed upon that light,
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he whose emblem is the bull vanished under the guise of compassion.
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Having vanished, assuming his own exceedingly handsome form
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and mounting his divine bull, seeing that auspicious Śivā,
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who out of excess of pride had abandoned all sovereign power and thus engaged in austerity,
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the Lord of the mountain set about comforting the lovely daughter of the mountain king once again.
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Thus ends the twentieth chapter, named "Description of the Praise of the Lord of Aruṇācala by Pārvatī," in the latter half of the Aruṇācalamāhātmya, in the first Māheśvarakhaṇḍa of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, in the collection of eighty-one thousand [verses].
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit