Skandapurana 1.4.43
English (machine translation) 1.4.43
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Nārada said: / So also listen to a wonderful tale concerning the holy place Bahūdaka. / For the pool Bahūdaka which is in Kāmarūpa, 45.1
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has transferred its presence here; therefore it is called Bahūdaka. / And here Kapila, having performed austerities for very many years, 45.2
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installed an auspicious liṅga known as Kapileśvara. / And that liṅga, O Pārtha, a merchant named Nandabhadra 45.3
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constantly worshipped three times a day with deep respect. / He knew the distinctions of all dharmas, like Dharma himself in visible form. 45.4
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Nothing that is proclaimed in dharmas was unknown to him. / He was always a friend to everyone and devoted to the welfare of all. 45.5
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He took refuge in this dharma in action, thought, and speech; / there has been no dharma, nor will there be, nor is there any 45.6
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that is flawless everywhere—having thus resolved, he stood firm. / From this ocean of dharma, which had expanded in every direction, 45.7
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hear what was extracted after Nandabhadra churned it. / Considering commerce best for livelihood, he then engaged [in it]. 45.8
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He had a shelter constructed out of measured wood and grass. / Free from intoxicants, free from discrimination, free from dishonesty, and equitable, 45.9
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he carried on trade among all living beings with small profit. / Having acquired merchandise from others without deception, 45.10
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he sold it to creatures without any deceit: this was his noble practice. / Some praise sacrifice; Nandabhadra did not approve of it. 45.11
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Ascertaining this fault, hear of it, O son of Pāṇḍu: / A greedy, untruthful, and deceitful man, intent on praising himself, 45.12
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by performing sacrifices destroys the world and leads himself to blinding darkness. / An oblation properly cast into the fire reaches the Sun; 45.13
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from the Sun rain is born; from rain, food; and from that, living beings. / But whenever the patron of the sacrifice, the officiating priest, and the sacrificial goods 45.14
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are essentially stolen, the birth of people arises from impurity. / When a sacrifice is performed without the priest's fee, in vain, and contrary to the injunctions, 45.15
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the slaughtered sacrificial beasts strike the dead patron of the sacrifice with cudgels. / Therefore, the patron of the sacrifice is considered auspicious [only] with pure barley materials. 45.16
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Having thus deliberated upon sacrifice, he adhered to the essence of sacrifice: / worship of the gods performed with faith, reverent bowing, auspicious praise, 45.17
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and the food-offering consisting of sacrificial food—this indeed is a sacrifice free from sin. / That alone is truly declared to be sacrifice by which the deities are pleased. 45.18
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Some praise renunciation; Nandabhadra did not approve of it. / For one who renounces the objects of sense and yet grasps them again in his mind 45.19
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has fallen from both; like fragmented ground, he is destroyed. / But what is the highest essence of renunciation, that was embraced by him: 45.20
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He neither curses nor praises the actions of anyone; / observing the world established in diverse paths, he remains absorbed upon earth like the moon. 45.21
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He neither hates nor desires; he is neither hostile nor fawning; / stone and gold are equal to him; he is wise, looking upon blame and praise of himself as the same; 45.22
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granting safety to all living beings, appearing as if blind and deaf; / having no desire for the fruit of actions—for that is worship of Śiva. 45.23
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Seeking dharma by reasonable grounds and not acting out of greed, 45.24
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Nandabhadra, having discriminated, grasped its essence among the ways of liberation. / Some praise agriculture; Nandabhadra did not approve of it, 45.25
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in which they castrate bulls and pierce their noses, / make them drag heavy loads, bind them, and break them in, 45.26
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lead them to regions infested with gadflies and full of thick mud; / oppressed by burdens, the draft animals suffer, and others [perish] unlawfully. 45.27
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They consider even the killing of an embryo to be no worse than this work. / In the Veda the name for cows is ‘unslayable’; how then could one torment them? 45.28
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The iron-tipped wood strikes the earth and creatures living in the earth. / In living beings endowed with five senses, all divinity resides. 45.29
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The Sun, the Moon, and the Wind, after producing them—for one who / sells them, exceedingly foolish, what consideration can there be? 45.30
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The goat is Agni, the ram is Varuṇa, the Sun is earth and Virāṭ, / the cow and the calf are Soma; by selling these, one does not attain success. 45.31
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Agriculture is always accompanied by thousands of faults of this kind: / A plow should have eight oxen, and one should abandon a thirtieth share of the farm; 45.32
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one should give aged beasts for dharma—how could this agriculture ever prosper? / That essence of agriculture was respected by that Nandabhadra. 45.33
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Food should be prepared and offered according to one's capacity to the gods and ancestors; / having assigned it to men, twice-born, and living beings, one should always eat.
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Some praise lordly power, but Nandabhadra did not value it: / humans exploit fellow humans in the condition of servitude;
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day and night they torment [them] with slaughter, binding, and imprisonment. / Whose own body is this: the Creator's, the mother's, or the father's,
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the mother's, the father's, the powerful buyer's, or even of fire and dogs? / Thinking thus, masters lived like the immortals.
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The intoxication of lordly power is the most sinful of all, surpassing the intoxication of strong wine; / for a man intoxicated with the pride of lordly power falls and is driven mad.
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[Looking] upon all servants as upon himself, he was never intoxicated by wealth.
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An embodied soul possessing self-conviction—where indeed is there such a master? / He seized the essence even of lordship; listen to this:
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according to his capacity he was never indifferent towards all beings. / Some praise sacred fords, but Nandabhadra did not value [them]:
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one should not incur the destruction of the house of virtue through fatigue, confusion, heat, cold, wind, hunger, thirst, / or anger.
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Whether through comfort, wealth, or faith, one who has few possessions, / being capable of great merit—where is he who is able to attain [it]?
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Always pure, sacrificing to the gods, the essence of the sacred ford is in every house. / Waters do not purify sins, nor do mountains, nor great hermitages;
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the self purifies sins if it turns away from sin. / Thus the wise Nandabhadra constantly adhered to / the righteous conduct that manifested here and there, unifying it.
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While that virtuous man conducted himself in this manner, even the gods envied [him]. / All, headed by Vāsava, experienced supreme astonishment.
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And in this very place there was a śūdra neighbor; / he constantly envied the highly righteous Nandabhadra.
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A non-believer of wicked conduct, he was known by the name Satyavrata. / He was always watching for a vulnerability in Nandabhadra:
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"If I see an opening in him, then I will turn him away from righteousness." / Such is the very nature of cruel, atheistic, wicked souls:
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they cause their own downfall and cause the downfall of others too.
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Then, as this wise Nandabhadra was living in this manner, / an only son was born with difficulty, and he died in his old age.
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Considering that to be caused by fate, the great-minded one did not grieve: / whether a god or a human being, who indeed is freed from fate?
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Then his dearly beloved wife, endowed with all virtues of a faithful wife, / who was the embodiment of household virtue, as if Arundhatī in visible form,
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came to destruction, O Pārtha, Kanakā by name. / Then, although he had restrained his senses, due to the destruction of household duty,
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he grieved, "Alas, what misery! I am a sinner!" repeatedly. / Seeing that vulnerability in him, Satyavrata rejoiced after a long time.
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Approaching and saying, "Alas, what misery!" to that Nandabhadra, / coming near like [the cat] Dadhikarṇa, he spoke to Nandabhadra:
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"Alas, Nandabhadra, if such a result befalls even you, / because of this I consider in my mind that even this virtue is utterly in vain.
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Speaking thus in various ways, uttering such words from here and there, / Satyavrata, full of [feigned] pity, then said to Nandabhadra:
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"Nandabhadra, I have always wished to say something to you, / but due to the absence of an occasion, nothing was spoken by me anywhere.
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Speaking words without an occasion, even Bṛhaspati certainly / incurs disrespect for his intellect and contempt like an inferior."
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Nandabhadra said: / "Speak, speak! Nothing good and supremely dear should be concealed from me. / Even liberation cannot be compared with the words of those whose minds are pure."
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Satyavrata said: / "Free from twice nine faults of speech / and nine defects of the intellect, I will speak faultless words.
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Subtlety, enumeration, sequence, and resolution endowed with a purpose— / where these five classes of meaning are present, that is called a proper statement.
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What is spoken with aim towards virtue, wealth, pleasure, and liberation / is declared to be the 'purpose,' the first characteristic of speech.
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Having specifically made a proposition regarding virtue, wealth, pleasure, and liberation, / stating 'it is this' at the end of a sentence is 'resolution.'
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That which must be spoken in sequence, 'this first, this next,' / the wise who know the truth of speech call that the 'application of sequence.'
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The measure of faults and merits according to their division, / discerning both purposes—let that be understood as 'enumeration.'
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Where non-difference is seen among distinct objects to be known through speech, / because it is the cause of distinction there, one should designate that as 'subtlety.'
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Thus of the merits of speech; now hear the eighteen faults of speech: / devoid of meaning, redundant, metre-breaking, superfluous,
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harsh, ambiguous, having a heavy syllable at the end of a word, / turning its face away from the topic, untruthful, unrefined,
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contrary to the three aims of life, deficient, using harsh and excessive words, / stated out of order, incomplete, groundless,
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and purposeless. And hear those faults born of the intellect: / from desire, anger, fear, greed, wretchedness, ignobility,
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deficient compassion, or pride, I shall speak nothing. / When speaker, listener, and statement are unimpaired,
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and united in the intention to speak, then that meaning shines forth. / But when the speaker scorns the listener in what is to be spoken,
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or the listener scorns the speaker, then the statement does not take root. / Moreover, one who speaks what is pleasing to oneself or to the listener, having abandoned the truth,
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doubt arises in that, and that statement also becomes faulty. / Therefore, one who, having abandoned what is pleasing to oneself or what is pleasing to the listener,
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speaks only the truth—he is the speaker, none other on earth, / having abandoned false statements arising from the web of scriptures."
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Because truth alone is my vow, therefore I am Satyavrata.
I shall tell you the truth; you ought to understand it as such.
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Ever since you, my good man, have been devoted to worshipping a stone,
from that time on I do not see any good at all [for you].
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Even that one son was lost, and your noble wife also perished.
O good man, such indeed is the fruit of deceptive rites.
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Where are the gods? This is false. If they exist, they would be visible.
This whole fabrication is made by deceitful brahmins for the sake of wealth.
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When they offer gifts in the name of the ancestors, laughter arises in me.
And that waste of food—for would a dead man eat?
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As for how the foolish, base twice-born describe in many ways
the entire creation of the universe, listen nevertheless to the truth [about it]:
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Both the origin and the dissolution of the universe are false.
In this very way does this entire world always exist.
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By inherent nature this universe exists; by inherent nature these [luminaries] headed by the sun revolve;
by inherent nature the winds blow constantly; and by inherent nature this cloud rains.
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By inherent nature the variety of grains sprouts; by inherent nature rain, cold, and heat occur;
by inherent nature the earth remains firm; and by inherent nature rivers flow.
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By inherent nature the mountains constantly shine; by inherent nature this ocean remains situated;
by inherent nature a pregnant woman gives birth; and by inherent nature these many living beings exist.
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Just as by inherent nature, due to the nature of the season, thorns grow crooked on the jujube tree,
even so by inherent nature all this appears; no creator at all is seen.
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The world being thus constituted, a fool is bewildered like a madman.
As for human birth being the foremost, which scoundrels declare—listen to that:
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There is no misery greater than human birth; may our enemies not have it!
For a human being, there are thousands of grounds for grief at every moment.
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Human birth has only an imaginary form; fortunate is one who is freed from it.
Beasts, birds, insects, and worms [live] as they please;
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Unfettered, they roam about; their womb is exceedingly difficult to attain.
Stationary beings are free from care; their happiness on earth is great.
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What need of much words? Everyone born in other wombs is more blessed than humans.
Recognize that the idea of merit and demerit is merely inherent nature.
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Because some are immobile things, worms, birds, and humans and the rest,
therefore, abandoning falsehood, O Nandabhadra, enjoy pleasures at will
and drink along with companions: this is the truth on earth.
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Nārada said:
At these words that were unpleasant, unreasonable, and improper,
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spoken by Satyavrata, the high-minded Nandabhadra was not shaken.
As if laughing, he said to him, being unshakeable like the ocean:
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"As to what you say—that the virtuous are always partakers of sorrow—
that is false; we see webs of sorrows even for sinners.
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Slaying, binding, extreme afflictions, and the death of sons, wives, and the like
are seen even among sinners; therefore, dharma is considered supreme.
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'This is a righteous man! Ah, what misery, what misery is his!'—great people say this
even of a righteous man; but even such [pity] is hard for sinners to attain.
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When a sinner enters a house to seize the wealth, wife, and possessions of a noble person,
even you fear him, hate him, and get angry; so [your philosophy is] pointless.
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As for your saying that Maheśvara is not the cause of this world,
that is childish talk on your part: can there be subjects without a king?
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And when you say, 'You falsely worship a stone, a liṅga,'
you do not know the greatness of the liṅga, just as a blind man does not know the sun.
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All gods beginning with Brahmā, kings of great prosperity,
humans, and sages indeed all worship the liṅga.
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They have liṅgas marked with their own names.
Were these [all] fools, and are you alone, Satyavrata, the wise one?
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In ancient times, having established Nīlalohita at Puṣkara,
the lord Brahmā attained supreme perfection and created these creatures.
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By Viṣṇu too, having slain Rāvaṇa in battle, the Rāmeśvara liṅga
was established on the shore of the ocean; is that in vain?
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In ancient times Śakra, having slain Vṛtra and established Śaṃkara
as a liṅga on Mount Mahendra, was freed from sin and rejoices in heaven even today.
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The Sun, having established Śiva at the confluence of the Gaṅgā and the ocean,
became free from disease; and Soma [did so] at Prabhāsa on the western ocean.
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Yama and Kubera in Kāśī, Garuḍa and Kaśyapa on the Sahya mountain,
and Vāyu and Varuṇa in Naimiṣa, having established liṅgas, were filled with joy.
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Right at this Stambhatīrtha, did not the all-powerful Lord Guha, Kumāra,
establish a liṅga that destroys all sins?
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Likewise, the liṅgas established by other gods,
kings, and sages—I cannot venture to count them all.
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All the dwellers on earth, those who dwell in heaven,
and the dwellers of Pātāla become satisfied through the worship of the liṅga.
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And when you say, 'Gods do not exist; if they exist, why
are they not seen anywhere?'—at that I feel great astonishment.
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Should those gods beg from you like a beggar for horsegram,
[that] which you wish for, O very wise one? Truly your teacher must be an adept!
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If in your view all things are accomplished from inherent nature alone,
tell me, how could [prepared] food and the like be accomplished without a maker?
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Thorns are not seen without a jujube tree either;
therefore, everything has a maker, however much [it exists], just so it is.
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And when you say, 'Beasts and other animals are happy and blessed,'
except for you, this has never been spoken or heard by anyone.
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Alas, [to think of] those that are tamasic and defective as praiseworthy!
Why are humans, who possess all sense-organs and are superior, not the blessed ones?"
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"Truly I consider your resolve has been adopted by you for hell. / One should not fear extreme misfortune; this desire of yours will soon be [fulfilled].
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From the very beginning, by your mere ostentation, I was certain of your ignorance; / for emptiness is evident in this way from an initial show of ostentation.
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The speech spoken by deceitful people is enveloped in pomp, / like a counterfeit coin that is shiny; this should always be examined by the virtuous.
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Those whose words are faultless in the beginning, in the middle, and at the end, / would be pure and auspicious even when cut, like gold through rubbing and heating.
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You made one pledge, but spoke differently again; / this fault is not ours, but belongs to you, since we listen to your words.
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Indeed, this is the quality of atheists, serpents, and poison: / that they bewilder others; but the fault does not belong to another.
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Just as water, cloth, sesame seeds, oil, or fragrance / take on qualities by the infusion of flowers, so too are the qualities born of association.
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Association with fools here is the source of the net of delusion; / day after day, association with the virtuous is the source of righteousness.
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Therefore, association should be made with the wise, the elderly, those of pure intent, ascetics, / and the virtuous who are devoted to tranquility;
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not with the low, nor with the unlearned, especially not with those who do not know the Self. / Those whose three things are pure—origin, learning, and conduct—
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and especially those who possess knowledge of the scriptures, one should serve. / By seeing, touching, conversing, sitting, and dining with the wicked,
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human beings fall away from righteous conduct and do not attain success; / and the intellect of men declines from association with the low.
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With middling people it reaches mediocrity, and with the highest it reaches excellence.' / Remembering this righteousness, I do not wish to associate with you again, / since you revile the very brahmins by whom the ocean was rendered undrinkable.
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The Vedas are an authority; the Smṛtis are an authority; speech endowed with righteousness and purpose is an authority. / For one to whom these three are not an authority, who would regard his word as an authority?"
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Having spoken this word, that noble-minded Nandabhadra immediately / stepped out from the house and went to the sacred Bahūdaka, the pool of Bhaṭṭaravi.
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Thus ends the forty-fifth chapter, titled 'The Description of the Merchant Nandabhadra's Account' in the māhātmya of the Kapileśvara tīrtha, in the Kaumārikākhaṇḍa of the first [section], the Māheśvarakhaṇḍa, in the Mahāpurāṇa of Śrī Skanda containing eighty-one thousand verses.
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit