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Skandapurana 1.4.53

English (machine translation) 1.4.53

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Sūta said:

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Having heard this speech of Bābhravya, the joy of the Kurus [Arjuna],

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amazed and with hair standing on end, bowed to Nārada with devotion. (1)

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And having praised him for a long time, he spoke again to Nārada: (2)

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"Hearing the māhātmya of the secret sacred field (Guptakṣetra) from your mouth, O sage,

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I do not reach satisfaction at all; you should tell it further." (3)

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Nārada said:

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"I shall tell of the greatness of the great liṅga, O best of the Kurus;

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listen with attention to that of the Gautameśvara liṅga. (4)

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There was a great yogin named Gautama, [also called] Akṣapāda, a sage,

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the bringer of the Godāvarī, the master, husband of Ahalyā. (5)

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Having known the supreme excellence of the māhātmya of the secret sacred field,

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practicing the realization of yoga, he performed great austerity here. (6)

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Then, having attained perfection in yoga (yogasiddhi), the great-souled Gautama

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established here the liṅga by the name of Gautameśvara. (7)

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Having bathed this great liṅga and anointed it with sandalwood paste,

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having worshiped it with various flowers, one should burn bdellium (guggulu) incense before it;

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freed from all sins, one is glorified in the world of Rudra. (8)

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Arjuna said:

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"I wish to hear the true nature of yoga accurately, O Nārada,

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since all praise yoga as the highest of all the highest." (9)

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Nārada said:

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"I shall tell you briefly the true principle of yoga, O best of the Kurus,

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by the mere hearing of which purity arises, how much more by its practice! (10)

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The true principle of yoga is proclaimed as the cessation of the modifications of the mind;

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yogins accomplish it here by means of the eightfold path. (11)

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Restraint (yama), observance (niyama), and breath control (prāṇāyāma) as the third;

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withdrawal [of the senses] (pratyāhāra), concentration (dhāraṇā), the object of meditation, and meditation (dhyāna) as the seventh;

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and absorption (samādhi)—thus is yoga proclaimed to have eight limbs.

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Listen, O son of Pāṇḍu, to the definition of each of these eight,

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by practicing which in proper order a person attains yoga.

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Non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, celibacy, and non-possessiveness:

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these are declared to be the five restraints. Hear their definitions too.

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He who acts for the benefit of all living beings as for himself—

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this, which is also ordained by the Veda, is declared to be non-violence.

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What is seen, heard, inferred, or personally experienced, when spoken accurately,

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free from harm to others, is called truthfulness.

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Not taking the property of others, even in times of distress,

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in thought, word, or deed—that is proclaimed as non-stealing.

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Abstinence from sexual intercourse for ascetics in thought, speech, and bodily actions,

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and approaching one's own wife only during the fertile season for householders, is celibacy.

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Total renunciation for ascetics in thought, speech, and bodily actions,

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and [renunciation] in mind for householders, is remembered as non-possessiveness.

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These restraints have been explained to you; hear now the five observances:

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purity, contentment, austerity, recitation of sacred texts (japa), and devotion to the guru.

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Hear also the distinct definition of these five.

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Purity is said to be of two kinds: external and internal.

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External [purity] is declared to be by means of earth and water, while internal [purity] is a pure mind.

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By a livelihood acquired through righteous means, by begging alms, or through trade,

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he who is always satisfied—that is called contentment.

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Furthermore, the austerities such as the Cāndrāyaṇa fast that have been prescribed,

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which one devoted to lightness of diet should perform—that is called austerity.

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Recitation (japa) is declared to be one's own scriptural study (svādhyāya), beginning with the practice of the Praṇava (Om).

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Devotion toward Śiva, toward knowledge, and toward the guru is remembered as devotion to the guru.

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Having thus accomplished the observances and the restraints, the wise person,

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the practitioner of yoga, should apply himself to breath control, and not otherwise.

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For in one whose body is impure, a great vitiation of the wind (vāyu) occurs;

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from vitiation of the wind, he falls prey to leprosy, dullness, and the like.

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Therefore, the wise practitioner, having purified the body, should make further effort.

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I shall explain the characteristics of breath control; listen, O son of Pāṇḍu.

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Breath control is proclaimed as the restraint of prāṇa and apāna.

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It is stated by the wise to be threefold, termed light, medium, and superior.

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The light [measure] consists of twelve mātrās—a mātrā is the closing and opening of an eye;

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the medium is said to be twice that, and the superior is remembered as three times [that].

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With the first, one should conquer perspiration; with the medium, trembling;

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and with the third, dejection: one should overcome the defects in order.

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Assuming the posture called the lotus (padmāsana), with exhalation (recaka), inhalation (pūraka),

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and retention (kumbhaka), seated comfortably, one should practice the threefold breath control.

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Because of the restraint (upasaṃrodha) of the breaths (prāṇas), it is remembered as prāṇāyāma.

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Just as the impurity of mountain minerals is burned away when smelted,

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so the defect clinging to the senses is burned away by breath control.

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Whatever fruit is attained by giving a hundred tawny cows, that very fruit

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is attained by breath control; therefore, the knower of yoga should always restrain the breath.

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By breath control, divine states such as peace (śānti) are accomplished in order:

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peace (śānti), profound peace (praśānti), illumination (dīpti), and clarity (prasāda) in succession. / When inborn and adventitious desires and sins arise,

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the first quality is born, known as the pacification of latent impressions (vāsanāśānti).

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Having utterly eliminated defects consisting of greed and delusion,

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when austerities are attained, that is called peace (śānti).

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The serenity of all the senses, of the intellect, and indeed of the vital airs—

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that is proclaimed as clarity (prasāda). Thus is the fourfold set to be attained.

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Possessing such fruit, the yogin should always practice breath control.

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Just as lions, tigers, and elephants, when attended to,

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come to gentleness, so the prāṇa, when mastered, becomes obedient.

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This breath control has been explained; hear next about sense-withdrawal (pratyāhāra).

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The turning back of the mind when it has engaged with sense objects—

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that restraining of it is designated as sense-withdrawal.

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This withdrawal of the senses has been explained; hear the characteristic of concentration (dhāraṇā).

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Just as those desiring water would slowly drink water

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through a lotus reed or the like, so the yogin directs the conquered breath.

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First in the navel, [then] in the heart, then the breath in the palate, [and] between the eyebrows,

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in the [lotus] of four petals, and of ten, of twelve, and twice sixteen,

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drawing up the breath slowly toward the head by contraction alone,

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the accomplished practitioner should fix that vital breath in the aperture of Brahmā at the crown of the head.

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Twelve breath controls (prāṇāyāmas) are proclaimed to be this concentration.

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Establishing these ten concentrations, he attains equality with the imperishable.

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Hear the definition of that object of meditation which belongs to one established in concentration:

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The object of meditation is of many kinds, O Pārtha; its end cannot be found.

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Some [meditate] on Śiva, some on Hari, some on Sūrya, others on Vidhi (Brahmā),

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some on the Goddess, while others meditate on the great element.

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There, whatever one meditates upon, into that he dissolves.

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Therefore, one should always remember God Śiva, five-faced Hara,

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seated in the lotus posture, fair, holding a citron fruit in hand,

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having ten hands, with an exceedingly gracious face, absorbed in meditation.

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This object of meditation has been declared to you; therefore, one should practice meditation.

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And this is the characteristic of meditation: even for half a twinkling of an eye, clearly,

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he who is established in concentration does not become separate from the object of meditation.

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Having thus mounted this plane that is hard to ascend, the knower of yoga

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should thereafter think of nothing at all; that is proclaimed to be absorption (samādhi).

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Hear the characteristic of absorption as I describe it properly:

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Free of sound, touch, and taste, devoid of smell and form,

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having reached the Supreme Person, one is proclaimed to be established in absorption.

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Reaching that [state], a man is never overcome by obstacles,

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and established in absorption he is not shaken even by severe sorrow.

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Even if conches and the like are sounded by the hundreds in his ears,

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and kettledrums are struck, he does not perceive external sound.

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Struck by blows of a whip, his body burned by fire,

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or standing in terrible, extreme cold, he does not perceive external touch.

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What need to speak of external form, smell, or taste for such a person?

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He who, having seen the Self by the self, attains absorption once again,

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neither thirst nor hunger ever afflicts him.

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Neither in heaven nor in Pātāla, nor anywhere among mortals is there that happiness

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which a man finds upon attaining unshakeable absorption.

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Even for one who has thus ascended in yoga, O joy of the Kurus,

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five bitter obstacles arise; hear how they occur:

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the intuitive (prātibha), the auditive (śrāvaṇa), the divine (daiva), the whirlpool of confusion (bhramāvarta), and the terrifying (bhīṣaṇa).

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Intuition (pratibhā) regarding all scriptures is this intuitive obstacle, and it is sāttvika;

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through it, the yogin would quickly acquire pride of mind. / Hearing from thousands of yojanas away is the auditive obstacle;

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this is the second [obstacle], and it is sāttvika; intoxicated by it, one is ruined.

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That by which he sees the eight realms of the gods is called the divine obstacle;

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this too is a sāttvika flaw; from pride in it, he is ruined.

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When he is agitated in the whirlpool of people, like a whirlpool in water,

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this flaw is called the whirlpool (āvarta); it is rājasika and full of great terror.

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Because the yogin's unsupported mind wanders through flaws,

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due to falling away from all foundations, it is a tāmasika quality called confusion (bhrama).

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With their yoga destroyed by these, all classes of divine beings

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are swept around again and again by these exceedingly terrible obstacles.

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Therefore, having wrapped himself in a white blanket consisting of mind,

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the yogin should contemplate the supreme Brahman, directing his mind toward it.

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Sāttvika foods should indeed be consumed by one desiring perfection (siddhi);

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by rājasika and tāmasika foods the yogin would never achieve perfection.

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From faithful, self-restrained, Vedic-learned, great-souled men

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who do not deviate from their own duty, alms should be begged by the yogin:

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alms-food consisting of barley, or buttermilk, or milk, or barley gruel,

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or ripe fruit and roots, broken grains, oil-cake, or roasted grain flour—

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these foods are taught in tradition as bringing about perfection for yogins.

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And having recognized the time of death through portents, the practitioner of yoga—

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composed, he should practice yoga in order to deceive death.

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And I will declare the omens by which a knower of yoga knows death.

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He whom a faithful woman wearing red and black garments, singing here,

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a woman leads toward the southern quarter in a dream—he too does not live.

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Having seen in a dream a naked Jain mendicant laughing,

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and seeing him leaping about, one should know that his death has arrived.

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Mounted on a vehicle drawn by bears and monkeys, singing toward the southern direction,

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one who goes, or sinks down in mud or cow dung, does not live.

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A river devoid of water, with hair, burning charcoals, and likewise ashes and serpents—

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seeing it full of any one of these in a dream, he does not live.

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By dreadful, hideous, rough men with raised weapons,

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struck by stones in a dream, a man instantly meets death.

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At sunrise, a man before whom a howling female jackal comes face to face,

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whether moving inversely or circumambulating, he instantly goes to death.

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He does not perceive the smell of a lamp-flame, and likewise vomits fire at night;

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he does not see himself reflected in another's eye—he does not live.

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Indra's weapon [a rainbow] at midnight, or likewise an eclipse during the day—

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having seen it, he should consider that his life has reached its end.

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The nose becomes crooked, and one ear droops while the other rises,

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and the left eye of someone waters—his life is departed.

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When the face becomes slightly red, and the tongue turns black,

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then the wise man should know that his own death is near.

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He who in a dream goes toward the southern

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direction in a carriage drawn by camels and donkeys, and who, even closing his ears, does not hear a loud sound,

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he will not live; likewise in a dream, for him who has fallen the door is closed,

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and he does not rise, and his white gaze turns red.

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He who enters fire in a dream and does not come out again,

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or from entering water [likewise]—his life comes to an end then.

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And he who is attacked by wicked spirits at night or by day,

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whether natural or deformed—Yama and Antaka are near to him.

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Toward the deities, the gurus, parents, and likewise knowers of wisdom,

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if he speaks ill and acts with contempt, though he was once a devotee, he does not live.

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Having thus seen contrary omens, the knower of yoga,

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properly resorting to concentration, should become steadfast in absorption.

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If he does not desire death for you, then he does not submit to it.

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Or, if he should desire liberation, he should release [the breath] through the crest of the head.

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Moreover, when the body is abandoned, whatever impediments

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approach the yogin—hear about them too, O son of Pāṇḍu:

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In the realm of Īśāna, in the city of the Rākṣasas, the Yakṣa and the Gandharva,

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in that of Indra, of Soma, of Prajāpati, and of Brahmā—in these eight are perfections.

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And they are eight—hear them: that of earth, and that of fire,

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that of wind, that of space, that of mind, that of ego, and intellect.

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Each is divided eightfold, doubling successively in order:

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eight initially, and sixty-four in the end. Hear them as follows:

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Stoutness, shortness, childhood, old age, and youth,

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various species, own-form, and sustaining the body with four [elements],

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constantly without the earthy part—these are the eight earthy perfections.

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When the element of earth is conquered, these arise in the realm of Īśāna.

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Dwelling in water as on dry land, without distress he can drink up the ocean,

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attaining water everywhere, even a dried fruit becoming liquid,

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sustaining the body with three [elements], or holding rivers in the hand,

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woundlessness of the body, and radiance—this is taught as the group of eight.

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The eight former ones and these eight are taught in the city of the Rākṣasas.

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Producing fire from the body, freedom from fear of its heat,

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