Skandapurana 14.12

English (machine translation) 14.12

Language: English

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Pulastya said: / Then one should go, O best of kings, to the unsurpassed Rūpatīrtha, / which removes all sins of men and bestows beauty and good fortune.

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There, formerly, an excellent apsaras named Vapuḥ, renowned in the world, / attained perfection, O great king, as is related from of old.

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Long ago, there was an Ābhīra woman: deformed, with a distorted face, / pot-bellied, with a crooked neck, and with coarse teeth and hair.

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Once, wandering on Mount Arbuda to gather fruit / on the third day of the bright fortnight of Māgha, she fell into a mountain waterfall.

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Wearing divine garlands and garments, endowed with celestial limbs, / with lotus eyes, lovely locks of hair, and marked with all auspicious marks,

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she was transformed, O great king, by the power of this sacred ford. / At that very moment, Śakra arrived there

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for sport on that best of mountains, and saw her of auspicious eyes. / Then, pierced by the arrows of Kāma, he spoke to that slender-waisted woman:

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Indra said: / "Who are you, speak, O fair-hipped woman! For what purpose have you come here? / Are you a goddess, or a Nāga maiden, or a Siddha woman, or a Vidyādharī?

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My mind has been stolen by you, O woman of lovely brows, with eyes like lotuses! / I am Śakra, the lord of all the gods. Turn your love to me, O sweet-smiling woman!"

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The woman said: / "I am an Ābhīra woman, O lord of the thirty [gods], and one of many husbands. / I came for the sake of fruit and fell into the mountain waterfall.

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Having bathed, I obtained this beautiful and auspicious form. / Indeed, you are difficult for the gods to attain, how much more so for mortal-born beings?

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All the gods are subject to your control; why do you show longing for me? / Turn your love to me, O lord of the thirty [gods], as you desire, O chief of the gods!"

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Pulastya said: / Addressed thus by her, Śakra then made love to her. / Having sated his passion, he spoke to that slender-waisted woman:

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Indra said: / "Choose a boon, O auspicious lady, whatever is in your heart. / I am pleased by your humility; I will grant an excellent boon."

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The woman said: / "On the third day of the bright fortnight of Māgha, whatever man or woman / performs a ritual ablution with devotion, let all the gods be pleased with them;

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let a beautiful form be born for them, difficult to attain even for the thirty [gods]; / and take me, O thousand-eyed one, to the abode of the gods, O chief of the gods!"

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Pulastya said: / Saying to her 'So be it', and taking her, the chief of the gods / went to heaven along with her in an aerial chariot.

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Because a beautiful body (vapus) was obtained by her, therefore, O best of kings, / she became an excellent apsaras renowned by the name Vapuḥ.

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On the third day of the bright fortnight of Māgha, in that reservoir of water, / all the gods perform their ritual ablution at dawn, endowed with devotion,

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as do other divine maidens and women of the Siddhas and Yakṣas. / Whoever performs a ritual ablution there at that time, O lord of men,

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obtains such a form as was obtained by her in the past. / All Siddhas, Vidyādharas, and Uragas will be present there.

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To the eastern side of it there is a very splendid cave, / where the maidens of Pātāla come and perform ritual ablution.

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Having bathed there and taken water, they enter that cave. / There, at the seat of Vināyaka, is abundant water springing from rock.

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A person endowed with that water becomes perfected. / Whoever, having taken that water, goes wherever he pleases,

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either in heaven or on the surface of the earth, he is not overpowered by anyone. / At the opening of the cavern there is a tree named tilaka.

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By its flowers and fruits, every undertaking is accomplished; / by eating them or by wearing them, a person becomes perfected.

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Moreover, the stones inside that cave look like conch shells on all sides; / touched by that water, they become golden.

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Whatever barren woman drinks the water there accompanied by [fruit/flowers of] the tilaka, / even if she is a hundred years old, immediately becomes pregnant.

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Even a mortal afflicted with disease who performs a ritual ablution there / immediately becomes free from sickness, and one seized by evil planets is released.

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The affliction caused by bhūtas, pretas, and piśācas is instantly destroyed; / when touched by that water, all bad deeds are destroyed.

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Even worms, winged insects, piśācas, birds, and wild beasts / who are touched by that water will instantly go to an auspicious destination.

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Yayāti said: / "Indeed, this wonderful māhātmya of Rūpatīrtha that has been told to me / by you, O brahmin, has never been before and will never be again.

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What is the reason here, O brahmin, that it is considered superior to all others? / Tell me everything in detail, for my curiosity is immense."

Pulastya said: / "Formerly, austerity was performed there by Aditi, O best of kings, / when Indra had fallen from his kingdom and Bali was the lord of the three worlds, / [and] the four-armed [lord] descended from Aditi, O best of kings.

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When that great Viṣṇu, slayer of the asuras, was born to Aditi, / [she placed him] in hiding at the entrance of a cave out of fear arising from the Dānavas.

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As soon as he was born, Hari was placed by her in that mountain stream. / Therefore that sacred ford attained sanctity, granting men their desires.

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There is no other reason, O king; this that I have spoken is the truth. / On the third day of the bright fortnight of Māgha, Trivikrama was born there.

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The tilaka, the foremost of all trees, was tended like a son; / it was constantly served by Aditi with her own hands with auspicious waters.

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All this, the supreme māhātmya of the sacred ford, has been recounted to you. / Therefore, one should perform ritual ablution there with every effort; / it grants all desires to mortals in this world and the next.

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Thus ends the twelfth chapter, named 'Description of the Māhātmya of Rūpatīrtha', in the third Arbuda section, in the seventh Prabhāsa section, in the Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses. // 12

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit