Skandapurana 1.4.11
English (machine translation) 1.4.11
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Nārada said:
Having heard these words of that lord of sages, the king said: / “Leaving you, I will not go anywhere as a [mere mortal] man.
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Today I will worship the liṅga that bestows all perfections upon men. / Blessed today by you alone, let all return whence they came.”
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Hearing those words of the king, the crane, the vulture, the tortoise, / and the owl likewise spoke, bowing down to the sage Lomaśa.
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And that brahmin, a friend to all, then said to them, “So be it”; / bowing down, he favored all who bowed like disciples.
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According to the rules of initiation into Śiva's rites, he instructed them in the worship of the liṅga. / Devoted to bestowing grace upon them, the sage was fond of the zealous. / Association with the virtuous is greater even than a sacred ford;
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it bears ripe fruit immediately and removes endless terrible sins; / the rising of the thousand-rayed sun of the company of the good is something extraordinary and matchless.
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which completely dispels the darkness within through solitude. / The waves of the nectar of bliss arisen from an assembly of the virtuous,
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all the boons, shaped like nectar, [surpassing] sugar, honey, and the six flavors. / Then, having attained the company of the virtuous by Śiva's command,
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the king Mārkaṇḍa and the others began the yoga of action. / As they were performing austerity in this manner, there came at one time [Nārada], / who, in connection with a pilgrimage to sacred fords, was eager to see Lomaśa.
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"Indeed, the primary pilgrimage is the pilgrimage to virtuous men, through connection with which comes the pilgrimage to sacred fords; / O king, that portion of the earth frequented by the good is spoken of in that way."
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When I had been offered hospitality and rites of welcome, and was rested, O Phālguna, / having bowed, Nāḍījaṅgha and the others asked me:
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They said: / "O brahmin, fallen through a curse on account of our own deeds, all four of us are ruined; / point out some place to achieve liberation from it.
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For this land is barren; the Bharata region is cursed, O sage.
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Even there, tell us of one place that grants the fruit of all sacred fords." / When questioned thus by them, I then spoke this to them:
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"Inquire of Saṃvarta; he will tell you in truth / the region of the earth that brings about the fruit of all sacred fords."
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They said: / "Where is this yogin to be found? We do not know him. / 'Liberation comes from the darśana of Saṃvarta'—this is your grace to us.
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If you know, tell us of him; the company of a friend is never fruitless." / Thereupon, having considered this again and again, I spoke to them:
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"This Saṃvarta resides in Vārāṇasī, bearing a concealed emblem, / smeared with dirt, unclothed, eating begged food in the afternoon,
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eating with his hands as a begging bowl, completely without possessions, / meditating upon the supreme Brahman, the Lord named Praṇava.
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Having eaten, he goes out to the forest at eventide and is not recognized by people. / He is a lord of yogins, [though] there are others bearing emblems of similar form.
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I will tell you his distinguishing mark, [by which] you will recognize that sage: / at night, on the royal road at the city gate, a corpse
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unrecognized by people should be placed on the ground, and you should stand not far from it. / Whoever approaches that place and suddenly turns back,
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he is Saṃvarta; he will undoubtedly not step over the impurity. / Approaching him humbly, he should be asked what is desired.
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If he asks, 'By whom was I revealed?', then, having announced [me], / this must be said: 'Having revealed you, he entered the fire.'"
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Hearing that, all of them followed my word accordingly. / Having reached Vārāṇasī and seen Saṃvarta, they acted in that manner.
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And seeing the corpse placed by them, Saṃvarta indeed turned back. / Though overcome by hunger, knowing who he was, they followed him as he walked swiftly.
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Saying, "Wait, O brahmin, for a moment!" to him walking on the royal road, / he went on, rebuking [them] and saying, "Turn back!
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Do not come near me today, hey! It is not good for you!" / Taking to flight, having gone to a very distant lake, / angry, he said to all of them: "By whom, indeed, was I revealed?
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Disclose it to me quickly so that I may reduce him to ashes / with the fire of my curse—or else [reduce] you, if you do not speak the truth!"
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Then, trembling, they said to that sage, "By Nārada." / He spoke to them again: "Where has that slanderer gone now,
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of all people, so that I may reduce that wretched brahmin to ashes in the fire of my curse?" / Frightened, they spoke again to that sage:
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They said: / "Having told us of you, he entered the fire / at that very moment, O best of brahmins; we do not know the reason for that."
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Saṃvarta said: / "I too would have done the very same to him; he did it to himself. / Therefore, state your business; I will not remain here long for your sake."
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Arjuna said: / "If you entered the fire, O divine sage Nārada, / how then are you alive again? Tell me this wonder!"
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Nārada said: / "Neither fire, nor the ocean, nor wind, nor a tree, nor a mountain, / nor a weapon is capable of causing the fall of my body, O Bhārata.
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Moreover, this was done so that Saṃvarta would consider / that I had shown him respect; and having reached the fire, I departed.
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Just as someone enters an arbor of flowers, my dear Phālguna, / so did I enter the fire and go away; hear what followed.
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Saṃvarta spoke again to them, headed by Mārkaṇḍeya, saying: / 'The path is free of obstacles; I am hungry, and again to the city / I will wander for alms; tell me your question now!'
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They said: / "Fallen through a curse, we shall attain liberation through your grace. / Therefore, tell the remedy to those who bow before you, O great sage!
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At which sacred ford does a man obtain the fruit of all sacred fords? / Tell us of that sacred ford, O Saṃvarta, where we may dwell."
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Saṃvarta said: / "Having bowed to Kumāra and to the Durgās, O best of men, / I shall tell of the sacred ford: the confluence of the Mahī and the ocean.
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When, by this lion among kings, the wise Indradyumna, / this earth was made two fingers high through sacrificial worship,
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then, from the scorched earth, just as from wood, / there flowed a flood of water, reverenced by all the gods,
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a river named Mahī; and whatever sacred fords there are / on the earth, they know that water to be produced from their waters.
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Arisen under the name Mahī in the land called Mālavaka, / reaching the southern ocean, both its banks are holy and auspicious.
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Originally containing all sacred fords was the great river named Mahī; / how much more then its confluence with the lord of rivers [the ocean]!
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Vārāṇasī, Kurukṣetra, Gaṅgā, Revā, Sarasvatī,
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Tāpī, Payoṣṇī, Nirvindhyā, Candrabhāgā, Irāvatī, / Kāverī, and Sarayū, Gaṇḍakī, and Naimiṣa as well,"
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Gayā, Godāvarī, Aruṇā, and Varuṇā— / these holy ones, and whatever hundreds of other rivers there are on earth,
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twenty thousand and six hundred in all— / the water of the Mahī is proclaimed as having arisen from their essence.
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The fruit that is obtained by bathing at all sacred fords on earth / is declared to be [gained] at the confluence of the Mahī and the ocean, according to Kumāra's word.
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If you desire the union of all sacred fords in one place, / then go to the confluence of the Mahī and the ocean, which yields great merit.
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And I too dwelt right there for many groups of years in the past, / and I came here out of fear of Nārada.
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For he is nearby there and is especially a talebearer. / Marutta is making an effort; [Nārada] might speak to him, hence this fear.
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Here, in the midst of many who are clad in the directions, like one of them, / I dwell deeply hidden, as if terrified of Marutta.
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Surely Nārada will report me even here again; / for such behavior is observed in that talebearer.
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And you must not speak of this to anyone anywhere. / King Marutta makes an effort for the accomplishment of his sacrifice.
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Having been abandoned by my brother, the teacher of the gods, for another reason, / and knowing me to be the son of his guru, [he sought me] to serve as officiating priest at his sacrifice.
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I have no need for sacrificial rites wrapped in ignorance, / nor for insentient ones enjoined by the Vedas, which are violent in nature.
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If it is performed with insentient means consisting mainly of kindling, flowers, and kuśa grass, / then the effect that comes to be for men will correspond to its cause.
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Therefore go there at once, attendants of the king! / There is the brahmin Yājñavalkya, who is Brahmā himself.
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For formerly, while dwelling in an excellent hermitage in the city of Mithi, / seeing a mongoose approaching, he said this word to Gārgī:
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“Gārgī, protect the milk, good lady, for here comes a mongoose! / Turn away that mongoose, whose mind is set on drinking the milk.”
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Addressed thus, the mongoose became enraged, for he had been enraged long ago / and cursed by the ancestors of Jamadagni; he spoke to the sage:
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“Ah, fie, fie, and fie yet again! / Indeed, the shamelessness of sinful humans is seen!
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How indeed do those lowest of men commit sins, / for whom intense torment in hell is separated only by death?
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A person whose life cannot be guaranteed for even the blink of an eye, / whose maximum lifespan is only that long—how could he commit sin?
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Sage, you think this: ‘I am of noble birth and wise’; / therefore you insult me, smiling: ‘This is a mongoose!’—you fool!
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What have you studied, Yājñavalkya? What is your mastery of yoga? / You insult one who is blameless; fie upon that learning of yours!
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Tell me, in which Veda, in which traditional law is this taught, / that you address me with harsh words, calling me ‘mongoose’?
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Do you not know this: as many harsh words / as are made to be heard by another, so many spikes [are driven] through the ears?
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The followers of Yama, placing a foot upon the throat of that evil-minded one / while he weeps aloud, will thrust iron spikes into his ears.
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Garrulous hypocrites rob pitiable people; / people like you rob dharma itself with a thousand hands.
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A word has become to me equal to a thunderbolt, / a poisoned weapon, kālakūṭa poison, and death itself.
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They extract iron arrows from the ear, nose, and body; / but the dart of speech cannot be extracted, for it lies within the heart.
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It is better that this man be killed, crushed in pressing-machines, / but one should never seek to harm him with harsh words.
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Yet why have I, Yājñavalkya, been struck by you, / who always fancy yourself a scholar, with the harsh word: ‘You are a mongoose’?”
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Saṃvarta said: / Hearing his words, his mind greatly astonished, / Yājñavalkya spoke this with his hands joined in reverence:
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“Homage to great adharma, whose origin we do not know, / clearly even down to an atom! What pride of learning can good men have here?
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Virañci, Viṣṇu, Soma, Indra, and the rest— / even those omniscient ones are bewildered; what reckoning can there be of someone like me?
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The wretched man who out of delusion considers himself to be a knower of dharma / seeks to catch the wind with his fist.
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Some are ruined by ignorance, others even by pride of knowledge; / and some base men, even having attained knowledge, are ruined by indolence.
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The base brute does not practice the four-footed dharma / ordained in the Vedas, the smṛtis, the itihāsas, and the Purāṇas.
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Clearly he grieves later upon reaching that house of Death. / For indeed this utterance in the Vedic text is stated by the author of the domestic rites:
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‘One should address a mongoose (nakula) as belonging to a family (sakula); one should not strike anyone at a vulnerable spot.’ / Even though I recite all this just like a parrot,
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out of indolence and non-observance, my friend, that solitary deed became vain.
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And the man who is satisfied merely with reciting, / and who fancies himself a scholar—what else is he considered but a beast?
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The sacred meters do not deliver from sin a deceitful person acting with deceit; / just as fledglings that have grown wings abandon the nest, the meters abandon him at the time of death.
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A brahmin who girds his loins for heaven merely by recitation / is a child sitting in his mother’s lap wishing to grasp the moon.
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Therefore you should by all means forgive my impropriety; / everyone speaks in this way, and so it was uttered by me.”
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The mongoose said: / “In vain have you spoken this, in that you consider yourself equal / to ordinary people; it is not fitting for great souls to say this.
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Between horses, elephants, and irons, / between pieces of wood, stones, and garments, / and between women, men, and waters, there is a vast difference.”
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If other, ordinary people commit many sins, / what, should an eminent man also do the same following behind them?
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Scripture was fashioned for the welfare of all, and likewise mind and intellect / were granted to everyone by the Creator; yet if they still become sinners,
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then what fault is it of the Creator? They alone are indeed ill-fated! / Why, in particular, should a brahmin behave like common folk?
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Whatever the superior man practices, that very thing other people do; / whatever standard he sets, the world conforms to it.
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Therefore, for one's own sake and for the sake of others, the duty of the virtuous / must never be abandoned by great men; it was right that you were instructed in that.
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Because I was tormented by you with harsh words, O sage, / therefore I shall quickly curse you, for I deem you fit to be cursed.
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You told me: 'You are a mongoose [nakula]'; therefore, lowest of your family [nakula], / you yourself, O sage, out of delusion will soon be born as a mongoose!"
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Saṃvarta said: / Having heard this speech, resigned to what was destined to happen, / Yājñavalkya was born in the Maru country as the son of a vipra.
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Born to an ill-behaved, sinful, pitiless, argumentative man / of low family, he was then a son who remembered his past lives.
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Then, beholding through spiritual knowledge, that twice-born named Bhartṛyajña / went to the secret sacred field, the confluence of the Mahī and the ocean.
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Becoming a Pāśupata there and intent on the worship of Śiva, / he now resides there worshiping the self-manifest Mahākāla.
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Whatever man daily worships Mahākāla with faith, / he is freed from the defects of low birth, as a snake from its slough.
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Just as he beholds that liṅga with faith, / so he is freed from faults arising from hundreds of births.
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Bhartṛyajña, through his continuous worship of the liṅga right there, / was freed from the defect of his seed; such indeed is the greatness of that liṅga!
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Because he, freed from his wretched birth, called a brown mongoose babhru, / therefore this sacred ford is known as Babhru, the purifier.
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Therefore, go to that very confluence of the Mahī and the ocean; / resorting to the five sacred fords, you will certainly attain liberation."
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Having spoken thus, the twice-born Saṃvarta departed as he wished; / and having reached the sage Bhartṛyajña, they remained there.
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Then, knowing them to be attendants of Śiva through his spiritual insight, he said to them: / "Great and pure is your merit, since right here in the secret sacred field,
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you have arrived where the confluence of the Mahī and the ocean is! / Ritual ablution, gift-giving, silent prayer, burnt offering, and especially offering of ancestral balls—
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all become imperishable at the confluence of the Mahī and the ocean; / every rite performed, such as ablution, gift-giving, and the like, becomes imperishable.
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When the divine seer Nārada formerly made a hermitage here, / then boons were granted by the planets, and this boon by Saturn:
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'When a new moon day falls joined with Saturday, / one should perform a śrāddha preceded by ritual ablution and gift-giving.
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If on a Saturday in the month of Śrāvaṇa an auspicious / new moon occurs, and the Sun makes a transit into a zodiac sign on that day,
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and if the astronomical conjunction Vyatīpāta occurs on that very lunar day, / that festive time is named Puṣkara, greater than a hundred solar eclipses.
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If by any means that conjunction of all auspicious combinations is attained, / on that day one should duly worship Saturn [fashioned of] iron and the Sun [fashioned of] gold
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at the confluence of the Mahī and the ocean; / having meditated upon Saturn with mantras to Saturn, and upon the Sun with solar mantras,
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one should offer arghya to the Sun for the pacification of all sins. / Ablution here is superior to Prayāga, and gift-giving is superior even to Kurukṣetra.
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The offering of ancestral balls is superior to Gayākṣetra, O son of Pāṇḍu! / This festive conjunction is attained through heaps of great merit.
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Imperishable satisfaction of the ancestors certainly arises in heaven; / just as Gayāśiras is holy, giving supreme satisfaction to the ancestors,
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so the confluence of the Mahī and the ocean is far more holy.
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“Agni is semen, by compassion in the body Viṣṇu is the holder of semen, the navel of immortality”— / reciting this true statement with faith, one should then plunge into the ocean of the Mahī:
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“And [you are] the face among all rivers, the holy ocean, the mother, and the excellent Mahī; / both of you are the form of all sacred fords; I offer water-offering, I bow, I praise.
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Tāmrā, Rasyā, Payovāhā, Pitṛprītipradā, Śubhā, / Sasyamālā, Mahāsindhu, Dāturdātrī, Pṛthustutā, / Indradyumnasyakanyā, Kṣitijanmā, and Rāvatī,
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Mahīparṇā, Mahīśṛṅgā, the westward-flowing Gaṅgā, / Nadī, and Rājanadī: this garland of eighteen names,
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a man should recite everywhere at the time of ritual ablution and at the time of śrāddha; / [reciting] these names spoken by Pṛthu, he shall attain the state of the Embodiment of Sacrifice.
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In the milking of the earth, in the abundance of great joy, O enchantress of the universe, / you were born, O queen of rivers! Remove sin, O stream of the earth!” / Thus is the water-offering mantra.
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Whatever man casts a silver bracelet here, / he is born on the surface of the earth in a family endowed with wealth and grain.
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“I worship the Mahī and the ocean with the worship of a silver bracelet; / may loss of wealth and poverty not befall me!”
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[Thus is] the throwing of the bracelet. / Whatever fruit is [gained] in all sacred fords, and whatever fruit by all sacrifices, / that fruit is obtained by ritual ablution and gift-giving at the confluence of the Mahī and the ocean.
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And when a dispute has arisen, he who is deemed the guilty party / should always be made to make an oath with water in his hand at the confluence of the Mahī and the ocean.
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Having bathed him with the Aghora mantra, and placing him in water / measuring up to his navel, holding up his right hand, one should quickly make him recite:
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“If righteousness is true here, and if this confluence is true, / and if the witnesses of sacrifice are true, may my good and bad fortune be revealed in truth!”
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Having spoken thus, having plunged his entire right hand [into the water], / when he comes out, if he is a sinner, he is instantly afflicted with fever.
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And if [nothing] is seen within seven days, he is considered faultless.
Having bathed and recited [mantras] here, and having likewise practiced austerity,
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very many have gone to Rudra's world by their meritorious deed.
Whoever, having bathed here with deep devotion, especially on a Monday,
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visits the five sacred fords, is freed from the five great sins.'
Having thus spoken the excellent, multifaceted māhātmya of the sacred ford,
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Bhartṛyajña [explained the glory] of Śiva and the order of worshipping them;
having taught the method of worship according to the rule declared in Śiva's scriptures,
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the sage, filled with the single ocean of devotion to Śiva, said to them:
'There is no deity higher than Śiva; this is the truth, O observers of vows to Śiva!
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Whoever abandons Śiva and worships something else that is unreal,
abandons the nectar in his hand and runs toward a mirage.
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For this manifest world is seen to consist of Śiva and Śakti;
it is marked by the liṅga and marked by the yoni, never marked by any other deity anywhere.
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And he who lives having abandoned that father Rudra and mother Ambikā,
is one who has abandoned his own father, offering balls of rice and water [elsewhere].
Listen to the supreme Śatarudrīya, the māhātmya of Rudra,
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if you desire the supreme cleansing of sins.
Brahmā, having worshipped the golden liṅga of the braided-haired one,
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shines forth, reciting the name “Source of the Universe”.
At the root of the Kṛṣṇa tree, [Viṣṇu worshipped] a black liṅga, and earned the name [“the Pervader”];
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and Sanaka and the others, worshipping that liṅga, attained the goal of the world.
The seven seers [worshipped a liṅga] made of sprouted Darbha grass, [reciting the name] “Womb of the Universe”;
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and Nārada in the sky, reciting [the name] “Seed of the World”;
Indra [worshipped] a diamond liṅga, reciting the name “Soul of the Universe”;
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the Sun, a copper liṅga, reciting the name “Creator of the Universe”;
and the Moon, a pearl liṅga, reciting the name “Lord of the World”;
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Agni, a liṅga of sapphire, reciting the name “Lord of the Universe”;
Bṛhaspati, a topaz liṅga, reciting Hara's name “Womb of the Universe”;
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Śukra, a liṅga of ruby, and the name “All-Maker”;
and Kubera, a gold liṅga, likewise reciting the name “Īśvara”;
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the Viśvedevas, [a liṅga] made of silver, and the name “Lord of the Worlds”;
the Vāyus, a brass liṅga, and the name “Śambhu”;
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the Vasus, a bronze liṅga, and the name “Svayambhu”;
the Mothers, a liṅga of three metals, and the name “Lord of Spirits”;
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and the Rākṣasas, an iron liṅga, [reciting the] name “Origin of Past, Present, and Future”;
the Guhyakas recite the name “Yoga” before a lead liṅga;
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Jaigīṣavya, reciting the name “Lord of Yoga” at the aperture of Brahmā;
Nimi, reciting the name “Śarva” upon the liṅga in his eyes;
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Dhanvantari, a cow-dung [liṅga], [reciting the name] “Lord of Lords of All the Worlds”;
the Gandharvas, a wooden liṅga, and the name “Foremost of All”;
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the scion of Raghu, a beryl liṅga, and the name “Eldest in the World”;
Bāṇa, an emerald liṅga, and the name “Most Excellent”;
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Varuṇa, a crystal liṅga, and the name “Parameśvara”;
the Nāgas, a coral liṅga, and the name “Creator of the Three Worlds”;
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Bhāratī, a silver liṅga, and the name “Refuge of the Three Worlds”;
and Saturn, [a liṅga] at the whirlpool of the confluence, and the name “Lord of the World”;
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in the land of Saturn, at midnight, at the confluence of the Mahī and the ocean;
Rāvaṇa, a liṅga made of jasmine, reciting the name “Very Difficult to Conquer”;
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the Siddhas, a mental [liṅga], [reciting] the name “Transcendental to Desire, Death, and Old Age”;
and Bali, a liṅga made of gleaned grains, and his name was “Embodiment of Knowledge”;
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the drinkers of sunbeams, a flower liṅga, and the name “Attainable by Knowledge”;
those living on cow dung, a cow-dung liṅga, and the name “Knowable by Knowledge”;
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the foam-drinkers, a liṅga made of foam, and the name “Hard to Comprehend”;
Kapila, a sand liṅga, reciting Hara's name “Boon-Giver”;
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Sārasvata, a liṅga in speech, and the name “Lord of Speech”;
the Gaṇas [worshipped] an embodied liṅga, and uttered the name “Rudra”;
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the gods, [a liṅga] made of Jāmbūnada gold, and the name “Blue-Throated”;
Budha, a conch liṅga, reciting the name “Youngest”;
1.4.11.165
the Aśvins, a clay liṅga, and the name “Good Creator”;
Vināyaka, a flour liṅga, and the name “Kapardin”;
1.4.11.166
Mars, a butter liṅga, and the name “Dreadful”;
Garuda, a boiled-rice liṅga, and the name “Lion-Eyed”;
1.4.11.167
Kāma, a molasses liṅga, and the name “Giver of Pleasure”;
and Śacī, a salt liṅga, and the name “Brown-Haired”;
1.4.11.168
Viśvakarman, a temple liṅga, and the name “Southern”;
Vibhīṣaṇa, one made of dust, and the name “Best Friend”;
Sagara, one made of bamboo shoots, and the name “United”;
1.4.11.169
Rāhu, an asafoetida liṅga, proclaiming the name “Accessible”;
and Lakṣmī, an unguent liṅga, and the name “Lord of the Eyes of Hari”;
1.4.11.170
yogins, [the liṅga] abiding in all beings, and the name “Sthāṇu”;
and men, of various kinds, reciting the name “Puruṣa”;
1.4.11.171
the constellations, [a liṅga] made of light, and the name “Radiant Lord”;
the Kinnaras, an ore liṅga, and the name “Brilliant”;
1.4.11.172
Brahmarākṣasas [have] a liṅga, and the name is “God of Gods”;
elephants, an ivory liṅga, and the name “Swiftness”;
1.4.11.173
the Sādhyas, [a liṅga] made of seven worlds, and the name “Multiform”;
the seasons, a liṅga made of Dūrvā sprouts, and the name “All”;
1.4.11.174
the apsarases, a saffron liṅga, and the name “Beloved of Śambhu”;
and Urvaśī, one made of red lead, and the name “Dwelling in What Is Dear”;
1.4.11.175
the brahmacārins, the teacher as a liṅga, and knew the name “Turbaned One”;
the Yoginīs, a red-lac liṅga, and his name “Very Tawny”;
1.4.11.176
the Siddhayoginīs, sandalwood, and the name “Thousand-Eyed”;
the Ḍākinīs, a flesh liṅga, and his name “Bountiful”;
1.4.11.177
and the Manus, one made of food, and the name “Dwelling on the Mountain”;
Agastya, one made of rice, and the name “Very Peaceful”;
1.4.11.178
Devala, a barley liṅga, and the name “Lord”;
and Vālmīki, an anthill liṅga, and the name “Clad in Bark”.
1.4.11.179
Pratardana [worships] a bāṇaliṅga, named Hiraṇyabhuja; / and the Daityas [worship one] made of mustard seed, celebrated by the name Ugra.
1.4.11.180
And the Dānavas [worship a liṅga] made of niṣpāva beans, its name Dikpati; / the clouds [worship] a liṅga made of water, with the name Parjanyapati.
1.4.11.181
The Yakṣas [worship a liṅga] made of kidney beans, remembered by the name Bhūtapati; / and the ancestors [worship one] made of sesame food, its name Vṛṣapati.
1.4.11.182
Gautama [worships a liṅga] made of cattle-dust, with the name Gopati; / forest-dwellers [worship one] made of fruits, named Vṛkṣāvṛta.
1.4.11.183
Skanda [worships] a stone liṅga, named Senānī; / and the serpent Aśvatara [worships one made of] grain, and its name is Madhyama.
1.4.11.184
The sacrificer [worships one] made of sacrificial cake, named Sruvahasta; / Yama [worships one] made of black iron, and he calls it Dhanvin.
1.4.11.185
The son of Jamadagni [worships one of] barley sprouts, named Bhargadaitya; / and Purūravas [worships one] made of cooked rice, named Bahurūpa.
1.4.11.186
Māndhātṛ [worships] a liṅga of gravel, named Bāhuyuga; / cows [worship] a liṅga made of milk, named Netrasahasraka.
1.4.11.187
The Sādhyas [worship] a liṅga made of husband[-substance], remembered by the name Viśvapati; / Nara and Nārāyaṇa [worship one made] of muñja grass, named Sahasraśiras.
1.4.11.188
Pṛthu likewise [worships] a liṅga of emerald, designated Sahasracaraṇa; / birds [worship] a sky-liṅga, named Sarvātman.
1.4.11.189
The earth [worships] a liṅga of Mount Meru, and its name is Dvitanu; / Paśupati [worships] an ash-liṅga, and its name is Maheśvara.
1.4.11.190
The ṛṣis [worship] a knowledge-liṅga, named Cirasthāna; / brahmins know a brahma-liṅga, and its name is Jyeṣṭha.
1.4.11.191
Śeṣa [worships a liṅga] made of gorocana, remembered by the name Paśupati; / Vāsuki [worships] a poison-liṅga, named indeed Śaṃkara.
1.4.11.192
Takṣaka [worships one] called kālakūṭa poison, named Bahurūpa; / and Karkoṭa [worships one of] hālāhala poison, with the name Ekākṣa.
1.4.11.193
Śṛṅgin [worships one] of poison, and Padma [worships one] named Dhūrjaṭi; / the son [worships] a liṅga made of the father, named Viśvarūpa.
1.4.11.194
And the goddess Śivā [worships one of] mercury, named Tryambaka; / fishes and the rest [worship] a liṅga of scripture, named also Vṛṣākapi.
1.4.11.195
Thus, what is the need of much speaking? Whatever being possesses glory / in the world, that has arisen by virtue of worshiping Śiva.
1.4.11.196
Only if a tree could be known to grow from ashes by watering it with water, / could fruit be spoken of for one bereft of devotion to Śiva.
1.4.11.197
If one's mind is set on attaining duty, wealth, desire, and liberation, / then Hara is to be worshiped; he is considered the giver of the three worlds.
1.4.11.198
Whoever recites this Śatarudrīya every morning, / pleased with him, the god Śiva will grant all boons.
1.4.11.199
There is nothing more meritorious than this, yielding great fruit; / this is the secret of all the Vedas, spoken by the Sun to me.
1.4.11.200
Whatever sin has been committed by speech or acquired by the mind, / that sin goes to destruction when the Śatarudrīya is recited.
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Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit