Skandapurana 1.2.24
English (machine translation) 1.2.24
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Mārkaṇḍeya said:
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“O Lord, moon to the ocean of the māhātmya of the Lord,
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O Nandīśa, the wonderful conduct of the two Vidyādharas has been heard. // 1
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When did Vajrāṅgada attain perfection? How did he worship the God?
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And how did the God, the Lord of Aruṇa, favor him who was bowed [in reverence]?” // 2
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Nandikeśvara said:
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Then, abandoning the desire to return towards his own city,
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the king chose to dwell right at the foot of that [mountain]. // 3
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Then his vast army, following the track of the mount,
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crowded with chariots, elephants, horses, and foot-soldiers, arrived. // 4
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The ruler of the earth, such an ocean of fortitude, was seen
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by his royal chaplain, ministers, vassals, army commanders, and best of friends. // 5
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Then, having honored that army which had arrived, the protector of the earth
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stationed it entirely outside the boundary of Aruṇādri. // 6
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His entire treasury, and also regions bearing great fruit,
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the devoted king dedicated for the worship of the Lord of the Crimson Mountain. // 7
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Having himself made a penance grove near the hermitage of Gautama,
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instructed by his royal priest, together with his ministers, he became dedicated to the worship of Śiva. // 8
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Having installed his son named Ratnāṅgada in his own post,
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he propitiated the Lord of the Crimson [Mountain] with inexhaustible [tributes] sent by him. // 9
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All around the Crimson Mountain, [endowed with] filled reservoirs of water,
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he granted many fruitful agrahāras to the brahmins. // 10
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By the power of the Lord of Aruṇa, who has the form of a pillar of fire,
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in this land, though mostly arid, he constructed hundreds of oblong ponds. // 11
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The far-sighted king offered the choice women of his own retinue,
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endowed with beauty, for the service of the Lord of the Crimson [Mountain]. // 12
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Then, by Agastya, who had arrived together with his companion Lopāmudrā,
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he who was devoted to the worship of the Lord of the Crimson Mountain was praised. // 13
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Every day performing ritual ablution in the lake named Navatīrtha,
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he, self-restrained, worshipped Pāpanāśa and Pravāleśa. // 14
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The ruler of men daily propitiated Durgā,
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the slayer of the demon Mahiṣa, who removes afflictions from fortresses and difficulties. // 15
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At every moment, of the one worthy of worship by Brahmā and Viṣṇu, who has the form of a liṅga,
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he arranged various forms of worship for the primordial God.
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Rising at dawn and having bathed, on foot alone the king
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circumambulated three times, reciting the five-syllabled mantra.
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On the full-moon day of Kārttika, pleasing to the beloved of Pārvatī,
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he celebrated the Great Festival of Lamps, honoured throughout the three worlds.
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Filled with water of sandalwood, white water-lilies, and camphor,
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with thousands of golden vessels he bathed the Lord of the three yantras.
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Preceded by the monthly raising of the flag and other festival rites at the sacred ford,
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he conducted the grand chariot procession, revered across the three worlds.
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With a pure heart, he also made a full bodily circumambulation
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of the Crimson Mountain, which spans three yojanas in length.
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Calling out, “O Lord of Aruṇācala! Ocean of the nectar of compassion!
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O Lord who dwells with Aruṇā!” he praised him again and again.
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Having smeared [him] daily with various substances such as the five nectars,
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he anointed [him] with sandalwood paste pale with camphor.
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From morning onward, he worshipped with white water-lilies and flowing musk / the Lord of the Crimson Mountain who embodies the hosts.
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Thus, through the worship of that self-controlled king for three years,
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the Lord of Aruṇādri was pleased and became visible.
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Mounted upon the bull resembling the snowy mountain,
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he was tightly embraced by the Goddess seated behind him.
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Praise of victory was offered to him by brahmin seers such as Vasiṣṭha, by great seers such as Nārada,
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and by the hosts [of attendants] led by Nikuṃbha and Kuṃbha.
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With glances that were like the rolling waves of an ocean of compassion, like dwelling-places of Lakṣmī,
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he seemed to dispel the impurity of the worlds.
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And beholding that God of gods, casting himself eight-limbed upon the earth,
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King Vajrāṅgada bowed down, exceedingly joyful.
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And the king addressed him with his joined palms placed upon his head,
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as if washing his lotus feet with the beams radiating from his teeth:
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Vajrāṅgada said:
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“O Lord of gods! Forgive this one transgression of mine,
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in that through delusion I committed an accumulation of many sins.”
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To him who spoke thus, utterly wretched, that treasure of mercy,
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the Lord of the earth, the God who is the Lord of Śoṇācala, spoke:
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The venerable Maheśvara said:
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“Fear not, my child! Good fortune to you. I possess eight forms;
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they have all been fashioned for the highest welfare of all living beings.
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Formerly, as Indra, you stood on the peak of Kailāsa,
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and full of pride, you slighted me; then you were paralyzed by me.
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Your pride melted away in an instant; ashamed of being paralyzed,
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you then begged for the knowledge of Śiva, the cause of all sovereignty.
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You were instructed by me: ‘O wielder of the thunderbolt, descending to the earth,
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you shall become King Vajrāṅgada and attain my grace.’
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By that power, this sacred field which is my abode was reached.
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You have been thoroughly disciplined; you are innocent and supremely devoted to me.
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Now, by these services performed by you day and night,
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I am well pleased, O King! Therefore, I enlighten you:
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Ether, wind, fire, water, earth, the sun, the moon, and the individual soul—
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through these forms of mine the whole universe of moving and unmoving things shines forth.
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Indeed, as Time I impel all objects, living beings, and cosmic paths;
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beyond the principles, I am Śiva; nothing here exists apart from me.
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Certain waves rising up from me, the boundless ocean of consciousness and bliss,
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are called Brahmā, Mukunda, Rudra, Indra, and the rest.
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Speech, Lakṣmī, Patience, Faith, Wisdom, Svāhā, Svadhā, and others
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are the powers of creation belonging to my immeasurable great power.
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This Gaurī is my great power, Māyā, the mother of the universe;
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by her the universe is constantly veiled, and it is also expanded.
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Endowed with this power, performing the sport of creation, preservation, and dissolution,
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by my own will I behold this multifaceted picture of the universe.
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Free from delusion, contemplate my greatness
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and realize yourself as non-different from me, like a wave from the ocean.”
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Then, having attained sovereignty over the earth, full of my form,
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by my grace, O king of kings, enjoy pleasures as you wish. (46)
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Then, having long enjoyed divine happiness as Indra,
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you shall assuredly attain oneness of form with me, O king. (47)
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Nandikeśvara said:
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Having spoken thus, when the god vanished, King Vajrāṅgada, successful,
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worshipping Śoṇeśa alone, attained all pleasures. (48)
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Thus has been recounted to you, O virtuous one, the glory of Śiva's devotee,
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and the eternal fruit of circumambulating Śoṇa Mountain. (49)
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What need of many words here? Circumambulation of Śoṇa Mountain
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is superior even to a hundred great horse sacrifices. (50)
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On the equinoxes, solstices, and conjunctions, at Vyatīpāta and other sacred occasions,
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from circumambulating Śoṇa Mountain one obtains incalculable reward. (51)
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There is no sacred field like Aruṇa; there is no deity like Aruṇeśvara;
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nor is there found any austerity superior to circumambulation. (52)
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While Nandikeśvara was speaking thus, the son of Mṛkaṇḍu, his whole body bristling with joy,
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again and again weeping showers of tears of joy, seemed immersed in a great ocean of nectar. (53)
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Thus ends the twenty-fourth chapter, entitled "Description of the Good Destiny of Vajrāṅgada," in the latter half of the Aruṇācalamāhātmya in the first [section], the Māheśvarakhaṇḍa, of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, a collection of eighty-one thousand [verses]. (24)
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- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit