Skandapurana 1.4.34

English (machine translation) 1.4.34

Language: English

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Nārada said: / Seeing those liṅgas thus [established] on earth by the son of Hara, / the gods headed by Hari, Brahmā, and Indra spoke to one another:

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"Oh, blessed is this Kumāra at the confluence of the Mahī and the ocean, / by whom four liṅgas have been installed in this most rare place!

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We too, here, for purification and for the satisfaction of Skanda and Rudra, / for the sake of the virtuous and for our own spiritual gain, shall make a series of liṅgas.

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Or rather, the gods are in their tens of millions and the sages beyond number; / if all of them should install liṅgas here on the bank of the Mahī,

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how will their worship be maintained? And on account of multiplicity it is recited here: / in whose kingdom a liṅga of Rudra is not worshipped according to one's capacity,

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that kingdom of his perishes through famine, diseases, and thieves. / Therefore, uniting together, we shall install a single auspicious liṅga."

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Having thus resolved, all the gods headed by Hari and Brahmā, / having obtained permission from Maheśvara, were deeply delighted and gladdened.

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Beholding an auspicious plot of land in a secluded place, they then installed / an excellent liṅga fashioned by Brahmā himself.

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Because it was installed by the gods, Brahmā and the rest, who had attained their purpose, / Guha indeed pronounced the name of the liṅga to be Siddheśvara.

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At that liṅga an excellent lake was excavated by all the gods, / and it was filled with the pure waters of all sacred fords by those great-souled ones.

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In the meantime, O son of Pṛthā, the son of Śeṣa, named Kumuda, / arrived from Pātāla and said to Śeṣa, the serpents, and the pannagas:

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"In this battle with Tāraka, a dānava named Pralamba, / fleeing out of fear of Skanda, entered Pātāla, the wicked one.

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He is destroying your wealth, sons, wives, daughters, and houses, / O lordly serpents! Run quickly, run!"

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Hearing that speech of Kumuda, the son of Śeṣa, / the lordly serpents became agitated, crying out, "Let us go! Let us go!"

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Restraining them, Skanda, filled with wrath, then took up his lance / and hurled it toward Pātāla, saying: "Let the daitya be slain!"

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Then, released from Skanda's arm, piercing the earth with great speed, / the lance entered swiftly, just as destiny overtakes a man.

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Having slain that Pralamba and the ten million surrounding him, / and having gladdened the serpents, it returned, preceded by billows of water.

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The cavity made in the earth by that lance as it went, O son of Pṛthā, / was filled with the water of the Pātālagaṅgā, which takes away sin.

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Skanda gave it a name; it is remembered as Siddhakūpa. / A man who fasts on the eighth or fourteenth day of the dark fortnight,

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Bathing in the well, whoever worships the Lord Siddheśvara with undistracted mind, / his abundant sins accumulated through many lives melt away.

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And the wise person who, having bathed in the Siddheśvara pool, performs an ancestral offering, / is freed from all impurities and becomes worthy of devotion birth after birth.

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And the fig tree became imperishable; pleased, Rudra granted a boon: / 'This is equal to the banyan tree of Prayāga; of this there is no doubt.

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A fortunate person who comes here and performs a śrāddha with true devotion, / that offering of rice-balls becomes imperishable for all his ancestors.'

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Then the gods headed by Brahmā, together with Skanda, / prayed to the Great Goddess, the Great Power Siddhāmbikā:

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'Possessed indeed by you, the Blessed Janārdana took the form of a fish / and performed numerous deeds to save the world.

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Thus they petitioned her: 'O auspicious one, you must not abandon this place; / all these exceedingly mighty guardians of the sacred field are stationed here.

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Those who worship you on the eighth or fourteenth lunar day with offerings and flowers, O auspicious one, / are always to be protected by you in all calamities.'

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Addressed thus, the Mother of Accomplishment assented, saying, 'So be it.' / Then they installed her to the north of the liṅga.

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Then the gods themselves installed the sixty-four Lords of the Field / and the Great Lord named Siddheya for the protection of the sacred field:

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'And those who will worship you always at the commencement of undertakings, / especially year after year with an offering of royal beans—

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them he shall protect, well-pleased, like a father protects his own children.' / Then the gods, bestowers of accomplishment, there prayed to Siddhivināyaka,

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the son of the Kapardin (Śiva), and joyfully installed him. / And whoever worships him here at the beginning of undertakings,

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to them this mighty Lord of Obstacles, born of Bhava, grants success. / If anyone always worships the seven sacred accomplished places here,

or sees them or even remembers them, he is freed from all faults: / Siddheśvara, the Siddhavaṭa, Siddhāmbikā in person, Siddhavināyaka, / Siddheya, the Lord of the Field, the lake Siddhasaras, and the well Siddhakūpa—these are the seven.

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Pleased here, Rudra gave boons hard to obtain even for gods: / 'On the eighth lunar day of the dark fortnight of the month of Vaiśākha, in the Siddhakūpa

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having bathed and offered rice-balls at the banyan tree and worshipping me, he attains perfection. / And whoever constantly worships me, celibate and self-controlled,

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the eight supernatural perfections will always be in his hand. / A man who performs mantra recitation, offerings, and fire rituals here,

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becoming purified with focused mind, attains his desired perfection. / And whoever, with composed mind, gazes upon the Lord Siddheśa,

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his accomplishment definitely comes about, provided it is not undone by obstacles. / The Great Goddess Siddhāmbikā, who is present here,

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bestows perfection on the best of practitioners who chant the Great Mantra, / to the steadfast, to the celibate, and to the true of mind.

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From the recitation of mantras she grants all desired accomplishments. / And this great cleft into the netherworld, made by Guha's spear,

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by the grace of Siddhāmbikā, the remover of obstacles, the guardian of the field, and of me, / will become clearly manifest where many various wonders will occur.

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Here, millions of men and gods will attain perfection: / the state of Vidyādharas, the state of gods, the state of Gandharvas, the state of Nāgas,

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and practitioners will attain the state of Yakṣas and immortality here. / Indeed, here by the name of Vijaya, through the power of this sacred altar,

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having propitiated Siddhāmbikā, one will obtain hard-to-attain perfection. / And whoever sees me residing here, and whoever worships me, / even by spreading discourse about this, the attainment of merit will take place.'

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Nārada said: / When the boons had thus been granted by Tryambaka, the best of the gods,

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filled with joy, then sang this song: / 'By him, by sacrifices, recitations, hymns of praise, and austerities, we are pleased.

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Whatever person worships the Siddhaliṅga, / will obtain the fruit of all desires'—thus Śaṅkara declared.

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Having spoken thus, the gods, having attained victory together with Skanda, / had delightful palaces built with the delightful spoils taken from Tāraka;

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having bestowed the attainment of the fruits of the four aims of life upon the sacred field, they departed. / Some departed praising Skanda, others the sacred ford, and others Hari;

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some praising the five liṅgas, some the battle, they went to heaven. / Then Hara embraced Mahāsena in the sky and said:

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'Dwell always in the seventh wind-course, beloved son! / In your tasks, my son, you must always consult me.

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From seeing me and through devotion, you will attain supreme good. / And I shall dwell at Stambhatīrtha; I will never leave it.'

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Having said this, embracing him, the Great Lord dismissed him, / as well as the gods headed by Brahmā and Viṣṇu, being praised by them with devotion.

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Dismissed, the gods went to their respective abodes. / Śarva went to Kailāsa, and Guha went to the seventh wind-course.

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Thus this origin of the five liṅgas has been told, O Pārtha. / Whatever wise mortal reads this narrative connected with Skanda,

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or hears it, or causes it to be heard, that man will become renowned, / long-lived, fortunate, prosperous, radiant, and fair to behold,

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fearless of evil spirits, and free from all sorrows. / And whatever man, having become pure in the presence of Kumāreśvara,

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hears the deeds of Skanda, will become a lord of great wealth. / For children, for those afflicted by disease, and for those who serve at the king's gate,

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this is supremely auspicious, constantly removing all defects. / And at the destruction of his body, a man will attain union with the Six-faced One.

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Then the gods, having granted this boon to Skanda, departed to heaven.

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Thus ends the thirty-sixth chapter, named "The Description of the Conclusion of the Story of the Five Liṅgas," in the Kaumārikākhaṇḍa of the first section, the Māheśvarakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit