Skandapurana 16.223
English (machine translation) 16.223
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16.223.1
Īśvara said:
"Then one should go, O great goddess, to the liṅga worshipped in the three worlds,
known as Gātrotsarga, situated to the south of it,
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where the body was cast off by the wise Balabhadra,
and by other illustrious Yādavas there in the battle,
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where those Yādavas were destroyed by the serpent of the power of a brahmin's curse.
This holy sacred field of Puruṣottama measures a hundred bows all around,
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where Puruṣottama himself resides directly in visible form, O goddess.
That very sacred field of Viṣṇu destroys sins in the Kali age.
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It is a supreme mystery, O goddess, the most excellent of sacred fords.
Formerly in the Kṛta age, O goddess, it was remembered as Pretatīrtha;
but when the Kali age arrived, it became Gātrotsarga.
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Near Ṛṇamocana, between [it and] Pāpamocana,
one who dies having sought refuge in this middle [place] is freed from sins.
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How can its [virtue] be described, O goddess, where the fruit is infinite and great?
Indeed, by bathing [there], the fruit of a thousand horse-sacrifices is obtained.
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Where, having reached an aśvattha tree, his mind fixed in absorption,
Keśava abandoned his life-breaths, so hard to abandon, through the aperture of Brahmā.
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Having properly worshipped Nārāyaṇa directly, Balabhadra, and Rukmiṇī there,
one is freed from the three types of sins.
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Having bathed there, the man who propitiates the ancestors with devotion—
the ancestors of that giver of śrāddha become freed from the state of ghosts.
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A cow-killer, a liquor-drinker, an evil-minded person, a slayer of a brahmin, or a violator of the guru's bed,
having bathed there, immediately becomes free from sin.
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Whatever sin a man commits in childhood, in old age, or in youth,
whether through ignorance or with knowledge, O beloved,
having bathed there in the sacred ford of Gātrapramocana, he is completely freed from it.
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By offering rice-balls there, supreme satisfaction arises for the ancestors
for up to a hundred years: this Hari declared of old.
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Furthermore, whoever attentively gives food there,
in his lineage too, O queen of the gods, no man is born as a ghost."
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The goddess said:
"It was called Pretatīrtha, and later Gātravimocana.
Tell me, O Lord of the gods of gods, the cause of [the name] Pretatīrtha."
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Īśvara said:
"Listen, O goddess, I shall tell the cause of Pretatīrtha,
hearing which with devotion a mortal becomes freed from all sins.
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Formerly there was a great seer named Gautama, of praised vows;
he came from Bhṛgukalpa to the auspicious Prabhāsakṣetra,
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during the holy northern course of the sun, desiring to see the glorious Someśa.
Having seen god Someśvara and bathed in all the sacred fords,
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going on the pilgrimage to the sacred fords, he then went to Gātrotsarga.
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Then, O goddess, as soon as that brahmin reached the boundary,
just then he beheld a Vaiṣṇava grove dear to Viṣṇu,
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and the sacred field filled with the name Puruṣottama, measuring a hundred bows.
In that sacred field he saw five very terrifying ghosts,
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mounted upon a huge tree, possessing huge bodies and immense power,
with hair standing upwards, spike-like ears, and bodies bound by sinews,
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destitute of flesh and blood, naked, and with black bodies.
Seeing them, terrified with fear, he thought: 'I am ruined!'
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Having reflected for a long time and maintained firmness with effort, he said:
'Who are you of deformed forms? Formerly, in the past,
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I have never seen [beings] such as you! Why are you running about
within the sacred field, afflicted with great sorrow? This is a great wonder to me.'
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The ghosts said:
'We are ghosts, O illustrious one, who have come here from afar;
having heard of the holy, best of sacred fords, we cannot obtain entry.'
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shattered by blows from the attendants who have become invisible: / [one is] Lekhaka, Rohaka, and also Sūcaka, and Śīghraga;
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I am named Paryuṣita, the fifth, the worst committer of sin.”
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Gautama said: / “By whom were these names created completely for you, / who have entered the ghostly state? This causes me great curiosity.”
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The pretas said: / “When a brahmin was begging, this one would write on the surface of the ground / and recite no answer at all; therefore he is remembered as Lekhaka (the Scribe).
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The second climbed up onto a palace out of fear of a brahmin; / hence he was called Rohaka (the Climber). Hear about the third, O brahmin:
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many brahmins possessed of wealth were reported by him / to the king; because of that sin, he is renowned on earth as Sūcaka (the Informer).
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When asked by brahmins, he constantly ran away swiftly; / he never gave anything, and therefore he is remembered as Śīghraga (the Swift-runner).
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Bad, stale food was given by me to an excellent brahmin; / while giving to brahmins should always be feeding with sweet food. / Therefore I was born on the surface of the earth named Paryuṣita (the Stale-feeder).”
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Gautama said: / “Living beings do not exist on earth without food. / What is your sustenance? Tell me out of my curiosity.”
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The pretas said: / “Where a quarrel begins at the time mealtime arrives, / all the essence of that food we consume, O best of brahmins.
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Where men eat upon a ground that is not smeared [with cow dung], / having fallen from purity, O best of brahmins, that is our food.
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He who eats with unwashed feet facing south, / he who eats with his head covered—pretas continually consume [his food].
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If a dog, a menstruating woman, / an outcaste, or a pig looks upon a funeral offering, that food is ours to eat.
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Abandoning a hereditary brahmin who was honored by great-grandfathers, / whoever gives a gift to another, and to him with a dissatisfied mind—
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whatever religious merit belongs to that gift becomes ours. / In whichever house there are always food scraps and constant strife, / and which is devoid of the Vaiśvadeva rite, there we eat.”
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Gautama said: / “Into what kind of house do you have no entrance? / Tell me the truth, not falsehood; truth is fitting among good people.”
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The pretas said: / “Where a column of smoke arising from the Vaiśvadeva rite is seen, / into that house we have no entrance, O brahmin.
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In the house where smearing [with cow dung] is done at dawn, / and the sound of the Veda is present, there is nothing for us.”
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Gautama said: / “By what fruition of actions does a man go to the state of a preta? / You should explain this to me in full detail and properly.”
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The pretas said: / “Those who steal falsely, those who go about defiled by food scraps, / and those killed by cows or brahmins—they indeed go to the state of a preta.
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Men devoted to slander, engaged in false testimony, / who do not take the side of justice—having died, they become pretas.
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Those who throw phlegm, urine, and feces into a lake— / reaching the state of pretas, those men roam about.
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Those who, when something is being given to brahmins, to cows, and to afflicted brahmins, / chatter ‘Do not give!’—they also become pretas.
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If a brahmin should die with a śūdra’s food in his belly, / he surely goes to the state of a preta, even if he knows the six limbs of the Veda.
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A man who in his arrogance yokes three bullocks to a plow, / especially on the new-moon day, is born as a preta.
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An atheist, a reviler, a base person, one who has abandoned daily and occasional rites, / and who surely hates brahmins—that man is born as a preta.
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A betrayer of trust, a killer of a brahmin, one bent on slaying women, / a killer of cows, a killer of his guru, a killer of his father—that man is born as a preta.
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A man for whom the sixteen single-purpose funeral rites are not performed after death, / and for whom no bull is set free, is born as a preta.
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All this indeed has been told, about which we were asked, O best of brahmins. / Tell us again, O best of brahmins, whatever doubt you still have.”
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Gautama said: / “By what fruition of actions is a man not born as a preta? / Tell me that completely; I have curiosity about this.”
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The pretas said: / “One who is devoted to pilgrimage to sacred fords, intent on worshiping deities, / and always devoted to brahmins, that man is not born as a preta.
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One who constantly hears the scriptures, constantly serves learned men, / and always inquires of elders, he is not born as a preta.
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For this reason we have all come from a great distance; / [yet] we are unable to enter into this holy, supreme sacred field.
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We are despondent in the form of pretas; therefore, O best of brahmins, / O highly fortunate one, diligently become the refuge for all of us.”
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Gautama said: / “How does your liberation take place? Tell me completely. / My mind is filled with compassion; I will make an effort, of this there is no doubt.”
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The pretas said: / “A long time has passed as we abide in the state of pretas, O lord, / yet no man has arrived who might become our refuge.
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Therefore, go to the sacred field of Viṣṇu and offer a funeral rite for us, / uttering our names and lineages; from that we shall attain liberation.”
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Īśvara said: / “Then that brahmin, filled with compassion, went to the temple of Hari / and offered a funeral rite for them, each one individually.
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For whichever of them and whenever the best of brahmins performed a funeral rite, / he came to him in a dream at night and, having appeared, spoke these words:
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‘By your favor, O lord among brahmins, I am freed from the ghostly state. / May there be welfare for you; I shall depart, for my aerial chariot has arrived.’
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Thus those four best of brahmins were delivered by him.
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Then, when the fifth day arrived, that best of brahmins / performed the śrāddha for Paryuṣita according to the rules.
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Then, at the end of a dream, he saw the man Paryuṣita arrive, / speaking piteous words, afflicted with distress, and sighing repeatedly.
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Paryuṣita said: / "No liberation has come to me, O brahmin, ill-fated and sinful as I am. / I took for myself the wealth collected for the sake of a water-reservoir.
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Gautama said: / 'Tell me fully and at once: how can your liberation come about? / I will do it, without any doubt, even if it should be exceedingly difficult to attain.'
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Paryuṣita said: / 'When the northern transit of the sun arrives, go to the sacred ford beloved of Hari / and surely offer a śrāddha for me; then liberation will take place for me.'
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Īśvara said: / Addressed in this way by that ghost, the sage, that best of brahmins, / when the northern transit arrived, went to the sacred ford beloved of Hari / and then duly offered the śrāddha for Paryuṣita.
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Then at night, at the end of a dream, Paryuṣita spoke these words, / having a cheerful countenance and bearing a celestial garland and body:
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Paryuṣita said: / 'O best of brahmins, by your grace I am released from the state of a ghost. / May you fare well; I shall depart, for an aerial chariot has indeed arrived for me.
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And I have attained divinity; I am capable [of granting boons], O best of brahmins. / I will give you a boon, O brahmin; accept an auspicious boon!
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An expiation has been prescribed by the virtuous for the slayer of a brahmin, the drinker of liquor, / the thief, and likewise the breaker of vows; but there is no expiation for an ungrateful person.'
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Gautama said: / 'If a boon is to be given to me, since you are able to grant a boon, O giver of boons: / at the place where you ghosts were seen by me in great distress, / having built a hermitage there, I shall perform supreme austerity.
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[Though] I have left home again, having bathed in this great sacred ford, / whichever human beings there, out of devotion, aiming at their ancestors with devotion,
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shall offer a śrāddha according to the rules, after bathing and propitiating the gods— / by your grace, even in his lineage, / let there never be the state of a ghost, O sir, even for one possessed of sin!'
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Paryuṣita said: / 'Go, O best of brahmins, and make a hermitage there! / You will attain supreme perfection; you will attain renown in the world.
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Those excellent human beings who faithfully offer a śrāddha there / to their ancestors shall go, mounted on aerial chariots, to the heavenly abode.
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None born in their lineage shall ever go to the state of a ghost. / Wise men of steady intellect proclaim that friendship is formed within seven steps.
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Placing friendship foremost, hear what I shall say to you: / your hermitage-ground will become sacred upon the surface of the earth,
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pacifying all sins and destroying all sorrows. / O lord, let it become renowned by my name as "Pretatīrtha"!'
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Īśvara said: / Consenting to that, saying, 'So be it,' that best of brahmins went there; / he performed every rite according to the path declared in the Veda.
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He too, Paryuṣita, reached heaven rejoiced, O dear one. / All this took place formerly at this place [named] Gātramocana.
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A person who hears this properly is freed from all sins. / One who sees Puruṣottama at the conjunction of his going to sleep and waking up, / having gone to Gātrotsarga, would obtain the fruit of ten thousand sacrifices.
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Thus ends the two hundred and twenty-third chapter, named 'Description of the Glory of Puruṣottamatīrtha and Pretatīrtha', in the first [part], 'Glory of Prabhāsakṣetra', in the seventh [book], Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, of the venerable Skandapurāṇa, a collection of eighty-one thousand [verses]. // 223
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- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit