Skandapurana 11
English (machine translation) 11
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11.1
Skanda said: / Hear, O slayer of Vātāpi, of [the river] that removes sins in Kāśī, / which occurred in the Padma Kalpa regarding the twice-born Damana. / He was the son of Bhāradvāja, named Damana by name. / Having performed the ceremony of the muñja belt and acquired the body of knowledge, / realizing that life is full of the sorrows of saṃsāra and also fickle, / the wise Damana departed from his own house. / Setting out in a certain direction, having attained supreme detachment, / at every hermitage, at every mountain, at every ocean, at every forest, / at every sacred ford, at every river, he wandered, engaged in austerity. / Whatever shrines exist here across the earth, / he dwelled at that many, with his senses and mind restrained. / Yet no steadfastness of mind was attained by him anywhere, / nor was a teacher of his desire seen anywhere at all. / Then, once by the course of destiny, that ascetic named Damana / beheld on the bank of the Revā the sacred ford of Amarakaṇṭaka / and also the great sacred shrine of Oṃkāra there. / Seeing it, he became joyful at heart and attained steadfastness of mind. / Then, beholding the Pāśupatas there, rich in austerity,
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their bodies adorned with sacred ash, having performed the worship of the liṅga,
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their bodily maintenance regulated, having engaged in contemplation of the Āgamas,
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sitting at ease before him, unswerving in mind,
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he bowed and sat down there in the presence of their teacher,
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his two hands folded, his neck bent down in reverence.
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Then the Pāśupata teacher, the great sage named Garga,
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overcome by old age, his body emaciated through austerity,
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intent on the worship of Śambhu, foremost among all ascetics,
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questioned Damana thus: “Who are you, and why have you come here?
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Though young, you are dispassionate; whence is this? Tell, O excellent one.”
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Having heard this [inquiry] given with affection, Damana said:
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“O venerable Pāśupata teacher, lover of the worship of the Omniscient One,
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I shall tell you truly the activity of my own mind.
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I am an heir of a brahmin, having laboured in the Vedas and Śāstras.
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Knowing the vanity of saṃsāra, I took resort in forest-dwelling.
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Desiring great perfection with this very body,
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I bathed in many sacred fords, and mantras were chanted by the crores;
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many deities were worshipped, and many offerings were made;
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many teachers were served for a long time;
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very many nights were spent in great cremation grounds;
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ah, the summits of great mountains were inhabited by me;
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thousands of divine herbs were successfully prepared by me;
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again, elixirs were consumed by me many times;
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undertaking great daring, caves inhabited by the perfected ones,
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resembling the mouth of Death, were entered by me many times;
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and great austerity was performed with numerous restraints and observances.
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Yet I have not seen even the sprout of perfection anywhere, O lord.
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Now, wandering the earth, having reached you,
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steadfastness of mind has been reached, as if by one who has attained perfection.
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Surely, whatever word shall come forth from your lotus mouth,
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by that alone great perfection will be mine, not otherwise.
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Therefore, speak good instruction on how perfection may be mine,
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very great [perfection] with this very earthly body.”
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Hearing this speech of Damana, the teacher Garga then
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spoke of an excellent, great wonder seen directly with his own eyes,
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while all the disciples of steadfast mind were listening there.
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of those seeking liberation, who observed the great Pāśupata vow.
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Garga said:
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If you desire accomplishment even in this very body,
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then listen attentively, and I shall tell you.
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In the great sacred field Avimukta, which grants all accomplishments to the virtuous,
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the supreme mine of the jewels known as duty, wealth, pleasure, and liberation,
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to all creatures of every action who have taken refuge [there],
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it is like a lamp to moths, a great elephant to the mass of darkness,
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a forest fire to the tree of past actions, a submarine fire to the ocean of mundane existence,
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an ocean of milk to the goddess of liberation, a meeting-place of happiness,
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the bestower of supreme awakening to those asleep in a long slumber,
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a roadside shade-tree to living beings exhausted by wandering to and fro,
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the wielder of the thunderbolt against the mountain of great sins accumulated over many births,
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the producer of supreme welfare for men who merely utter its name,
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the supreme abode of the Lord of the Universe, the boundary between heaven and liberation,
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whose surface is perpetually washed by the surging waves of the River of Heaven—
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in such a great sacred field, which removes the whole flood of sorrow,
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I shall tell you, O wise one, what happened right before my eyes.
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Where there is no fear of Death, where there is no fear of sin,
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who is capable of properly describing the greatness of that sacred field?
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Whatever sacred fords there are in this world that destroy the sins of creatures, ah!
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they all come continually to Kāśī for the sake of their own purification.
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Even if someone who eats everything and sells everything should dwell in Kāśī,
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that mortal attains a destination which cannot be attained elsewhere by sacrifices or gifts.
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The great tree of mundane existence, sprung from the seed of passion,
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when felled in Kāśī by the axe of the long sleep, does not grow again.
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Among all barren soils, Kāśī is the most barren:
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this seed of the sower, when sown in it, does not sprout at all.
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Those who will remember Kāśī here, even they, if virtuous,
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freed from the flood of sins, will certainly go to the supreme state.
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The glory of all the worlds, beginning with Satyaloka, is perishable;
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but the imperishable glory of the liberated one is obtainable there by the command of Śiva.
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The glory seen in the case of worms, insects, and moths casting off their bodies in Avimukta—
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where else does it exist within the sphere of the universe?
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When Vārāṇasī has been reached, somehow through the course of time,
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that means must be adopted by which there is no departure outside.
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To the east stands Maṇikarṇīśa; Brahmeśa stands to the south;
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Gokarṇa is in the west, and likewise Bhārabhūta in the north.
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This is the supreme sacred field, of great fruit, in Avimukta.
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Having bathed in the pool of Maṇikarṇī and seen the all-pervading Viśveśvara,
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and circumambulated the sacred field, one obtains the fruit of a Rājasūya sacrifice;
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and the great-grandfathers of one who offers a śrāddha there are liberated.
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A sacred field equal to Avimukta, even in the cosmic egg,
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does not exist anywhere, truly, truly—it bestows accomplishment upon the practitioner.
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Where fierce, great attendants with nooses and swords in their hands,
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of gentle intellects, constantly protect the sacred field from the cruel.
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At the eastern gate, Aṭṭahāsa, surrounded by ten million gaṇas,
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terrifying, protects the sacred field day and night from the wicked.
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Likewise, Bhūtadhātrīśa is the protector of the south of the sacred field;
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Gokarṇa, surrounded by ten million gaṇas, guards the western gate.
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So too the great gaṇa Ghaṇṭākarṇa guards the northern gate;
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Chāgavaktra [guards] the northeast corner; the formidable one [guards] the quarter of fire [the southeast];
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Śaṅkukarṇa guards the southwest quarter, and Dṛmicaṇḍa the wind quarter [the northwest].
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Thus these exceedingly radiant gaṇas always protect the sacred field.
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Kālākṣa, Raṇabhadra, Kauleya, and Kālakampana—
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these gaṇas, stationed on the opposite bank of the Gaṅgā, protect it on the east.
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Vīrabhadra, Nabhas, Kardamāliptavigraha,
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Sthūlakarṇa, and Mahābāhu are stationed on the other side of the Asi.
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Viśālākṣa, Mahābhīma, Kuṇḍodara, and Mahodara
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protect the western gate, stationed in the region of the threshold.
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Nandisena and Pañcāla, Kharapāda, Karaṇṭaka,
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Ānanda, Gopaka, [and] Babhru protect [it] on the bank of the Varaṇā.
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In that most meritorious sacred field, there is the liṅga named Oṃkāra.
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There practitioners attained supreme perfection with this very body.
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Kapila, and also Sāvarṇi, Śrīkaṇṭha, Piṅgala, Aṃśumat—
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these Pāśupatas indeed became perfected through the worship of that liṅga.
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Once, having performed the worship of that liṅga, all five of them,
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dancing while emitting the huḍut sound, dissolved into that liṅga.
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And another wondrous event that took place there I shall tell you;
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listen, O intelligent one, O Damana, best of brahmins.
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O sage, a female frog moving about there in the presence of the liṅga,
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eating the consecrated grains from offerings of flowers, would always circumambulate it.
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She did not find death there because she ate Śiva’s offerings;
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her death occurred outside the sacred field because of that sin.
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It is better even to drink poison, but one should never consume Śiva's property.
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Poison kills a single person, but Śiva's property kills sons and grandsons.
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Those whose limbs are nourished on Śiva's [property] should not be touched by good people;
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as the karmic fruition of that, they become dwellers in Raurava hell.
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A crow, catching sight of that female frog hopping about
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here and there, seized her in its beak and went outside the sacred field.
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That frog was dropped outside the sacred field by the crow.
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Then in course of time that female frog, [because of what she had done] right there in that best of sacred fields,
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by circumambulating and also by touching the liṅga,
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possessing both merit and demerit, was born as a girl in the house of the flower-seller.
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She had well-formed limbs and was marked with auspicious signs,
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yet she was born with the face of a vulture because of eating the consecrated grains of the flower-offering.
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She fully understood the secret lore of music and possessed an exceedingly sweet voice;
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the seven notes, the three scales, the twenty-one modulations,
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the forty-nine melodic patterns, the one hundred and one rhythms,
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the six principal rāgas, and for each of them five female counterparts,
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and twenty-six rāgas and rāgiṇīs that bring delight to musical passion,
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as well as sixty-five others according to divisions of region and season—
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as many rhythms as there are, so many rāgas indeed.
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Every day, through this esoteric knowledge of song, that girl of auspicious vows,
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named Mādhavī, of sweet speech, worshipped Oṃkāra constantly.
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Though she had attained priceless youth, that daughter of the flower-seller,
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by virtue of impressions from her previous birth, thought highly of Oṃkāra indeed.
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Her mind, naturally restless, through the service of that liṅga,
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attained steadfastness, O Damana, as does a great soul through yoga.
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Neither hunger, thirst, nor sleep by day or night afflicted that girl.
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Her mind was untiring in gazing upon that liṅga.
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As many twinklings of the eyes as there were for her day and night,
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just so much time was considered by that virtuous maiden to be a great obstacle:
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"Whatever time of mine has been wasted, interrupted by the blink of an eye,
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how can there be an expiation for that, caused by not looking at the liṅga?"
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Pondering thus, she did not abandon the worship of Oṃkāra.
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Longing for water, she drank the nectar of the name of the liṅga.
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Her eyes, extending to her ears, had no desire to see anything else,
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leaving aside the Oṃkāra liṅga, which resides in the heart-sky of the virtuous.
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Her two ears were intent on receiving no other sound;
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her two hands became exceedingly skilled in weaving beautiful garlands for it.
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Her feet did not walk anywhere else out of a desire for pleasure,
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leaving the courtyard ground of Oṃkāra trodden by the lotus-like Lakshmi of liberation.
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[She worshipped] Oṃkāra, the syllable Om, the essence, the revealer of the supreme brahman,
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having the form of the triad of the Brahman of sound, the abode of nāda, bindu, and kalā,
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the eternal imperishable syllable, the primal form, of universal form, the higher and the lower,
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the best, the choice, the boon-giver, eternal, tranquil, Īśvara,
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the sole generator of all the worlds, the sole protector of all the worlds,
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the sole destroyer of all the worlds, the sole being praised by all the worlds,
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devoid of beginning and end, eternal, Śiva, Śaṃkara, the imperishable.
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[who is] the one, beyond the three guṇas, who has made his dwelling in the hearts of devotees,
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free from conditioning attributes, formless, changeless, taintless,
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spotless, devoid of ego, free from worldly appearance, self-arisen,
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delighting in his own self, infinite, all-pervading, all-seeing,
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all-bestowing, all-experiencing, everything, the abode of all bliss.
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Her organ of speech, pronouncing that [name] day and night,
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never uttered any other name of anyone else anywhere.
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Tasting day and night the nectar of the syllables of this name,
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her tongue knew no other taste at all.
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Mādhavī would constantly perform sweeping and [make] colourful garlands
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around the temple there, as well as worship and cleaning of the vessels.
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Those Pāśupatas who were engaged in worshipping the Lord of the Praṇava there—
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she would constantly serve them out of great devotion, regarding them as fathers.
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Once, on the fourteenth day of the month of Vaiśākha,
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that Mādhavī, having fasted during the day, kept vigil at night.
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When the devotees gathered for the pilgrimage had dispersed in all directions in the morning,
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she swept [the area] and performed other tasks, joyfully worshipped the liṅga,
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and, singing sweet songs and dancing in her natural grace,
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meditating upon the liṅga as the Om-syllable, dissolved into that liṅga.
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The highly wise woman [dissolved] with this very earthly body,
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while our foremost teachers and ascetics looked on.
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A light arose from the liṅga, filling the sky,
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and into that light the girl entered, becoming made of light herself.
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Even today, on the fourteenth day of the bright half of Vaiśākha, the residents of the sacred field
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make a pilgrimage there accompanied by great festivities.
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Having kept vigil there and fasted on the fourteenth day,
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they attain supreme knowledge, wherever they may die.
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Whatever sacred fords exist everywhere within the belly of the cosmic egg,
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all of them come on the fourteenth day of Vaiśākha for the darśana of the Om-maker.
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In front of the liṅga is an exceedingly excellent cave named Śrīmukhī;
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it is the gateway to Pātāla, and indeed the perfected beings dwell there.
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Those observant of good vows who stay in that cave for five nights
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behold serpent maidens, and they tell them what is auspicious and inauspicious.
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In the northern direction of that cave there is a well with mineral water;
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having drunk it for six months, one drinks the elixir of Brahman.
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Having seen the liṅga Nādeśvara there, one becomes the source of sound;
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the universe consisting of all sound comes within range of one's hearing.
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Having bathed there in Matsyodarī, the celestial river submerged by the Varuṇā,
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a creature achieves the ultimate goal and grieves no more anywhere.
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Countless devotees of Oṃkāreśvara have attained perfection
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with this very earthly body, which instantly became divine.
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Avimukta is the supreme sacred field, higher even than the whole cosmic egg;
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higher even than that is declared to be Oṃkāra on the bank of Matsyodarī.
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Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit