Skandapurana 16.336
English (machine translation) 16.336
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- English
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Īśvara said: / Then, O great goddess, one should go to the excellent sacred ford Goṣpada, / where, having performed a śrāddha, a man obtains seven times the fruit of Gayā; / there is no doubt about this, if his faith is firm;
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where Pṛthu, having performed a śrāddha, delivered his father from a sinful womb, / O great goddess, the mighty lord named Vena.
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The goddess said: / In which place is this sacred ford situated, and of what kind is its origin? / Or how was that king Vena delivered from a sinful womb?
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How is merit seven times greater than Gayā produced there? / What is the rule for the śrāddha, what are the mantras there, and who are the twice-born? / You ought to explain this curiosity of mine properly, O god.
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Īśvara said: / This is a secret, O ruler of the gods, that has been asked by you. / This sacred ford is not to be revealed in this sinful age, O dear one.
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Nevertheless, I shall tell it fully out of affection for you, O ruler of the gods. / One must not speak this to a sinner, nor indeed to one devoted to dry reasoning,
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nor to an atheist, O ruler of the gods, nor to one who is not of good caste. / O goddess, there is the greatly accomplished, sacred river Nyaṅkumatī,
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brought by me for the boundary of this sacred field, O great goddess. / Situated [there], destroying sins, to the south of Parṇāditya,
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and situated not very far to the north of the dwelling of Nārāyaṇa. / In the middle of it, O great goddess, is a sacred ford renowned in the three worlds,
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known by the name Goṣpada, which removes ten million sins of men. / Near Goṣpada, indeed not very far away, is stationed
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the king of serpents named Ananta, self-manifest on the surface of the earth, / appointed by Viṣṇu for the protection of that sacred ford.
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Exceedingly terrified of hell, ancestors yearn for sons: / ‘The son who will go to Goṣpada, he will be our saviour.’ / Seeing a son at Goṣpada, a festival takes place for the ancestors:
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‘Touching the water even with his feet, will he not give [an offering] to us? / Might there be one in our family who will offer us a handful of water, / having reached Prabhāsakṣetra, at the excellent sacred ford Goṣpada?
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Might there be one in our family who will diligently perform a śrāddha once / with the flesh of a rhinoceros, or else with black greens?
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Might there be one in our family who offers a lamp at Goṣpada? / Through that, light will belong to us lasting for an entire kalpa.’
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And the ancestors of one whose food is offered at Goṣpada are truly blessed with sons. / Remaining [there] even for a single day, one purifies one's family up to the seventh generation.
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A man should offer a piṇḍa for his father and others, and even for himself by himself, / even with oil-cake or inguda fruits; through that he is liberated, O fair-faced lady.
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What is the use of the knowledge of Brahman, what of yogas, what of dying in the recapture of cows, / what of dwelling in Kurukṣetra, if one goes to Goṣpada?
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Visiting the sacred ford once, dropping a piṇḍa once, / is difficult to attain; how much more so [the fruit of] staying constantly in this sacred ford!
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That sacred ford extends half a krośa, and half of that half is exceedingly difficult to attain. / The performer of a śrāddha in the middle of it obtains seven times the merit of Gayā.
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Whoever performs a śrāddha at Goṣpada becomes indeed free from debt to his ancestors. / Especially in the middle of the footprint, he delivers a hundred families.
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The moment one sets out from home toward the Goṣpada, / at every step there is a stairway for the ancestors climbing to heaven.
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The offering of rice balls is prescribed with milk-rice alone, or with honey, / with roasted barley meal, or with cakes, or with boiled sacrificial rice, grains, and so forth.
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Whoever offers rice balls in the cow pasture, even the size of a śamī leaf, / or with edible roots, bulbs, and fruits, leads his ancestors to heaven.
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The fruit that a person obtains by offering a rice ball at the Goṣpada / cannot be told by me even in hundreds of millions of kalpas.
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Henceforth I shall describe fully the auspicious rule of pilgrimage. / Endowed with full faith, listen to the procedure for the pilgrimage:
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If a man goes to the sacred ford desiring the fruit of a Gayā śrāddha, / the wise man should perform the pilgrimage according to that procedure.
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Observing celibacy, purified, with hands and feet restrained, / faithful, believing in the beyond, reverent, the wise man should then go to the sacred ford.
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A man should not associate with an unbeliever at that sacred ford; / equipped with all accessories, supplied with items fit for the śrāddha, / keeping company with the virtuous, meditating on Gayā in his mind, he should go to the sacred ford.
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A twice-born man who proceeds thus, refusing to accept gifts, / attains without doubt the fruit of a horse sacrifice at every step.
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Having bathed there in the Nyaṅkumatī for spiritual success and the ancestors' liberation, / and having bathed, he should then perform the libation to the gods and others according to rule:
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“From Brahmā down to a clump of grass, gods, seers, manus, and men— / may all ancestors, beginning with mother and maternal grandfather, be satisfied!”
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Having thus offered libations according to rule and having performed the fire offering and the like, / a man should perform the śrāddha with rice balls according to the procedure taught in the independent text.
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Inviting there brahmins who know the scriptures and are free from faults, / and having thus offered hospitability, he should utter this mantra:
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“O Kavyavāha fire, Soma, Yama, and Aryaman, / Agniṣvāttas, Barhiṣads, Somapas, ancestral deities! / O noble ones, guarded by you, let them come here:
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Those who are my ancestors, born in this family, my kinsmen— / I have come here to offer rice balls to them, O grandfathers!”
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Having said this, O great goddess, he should utter this mantra:
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“Father, paternal grandfather, and likewise great-grandfather, / mother, paternal grandmother, and likewise paternal great-grandmother,
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maternal grandfather, maternal great-grandfather, and elderly maternal great-great-grandfather: / to them a rice ball has been offered by me; may it remain inexhaustible!”
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“Oṃ, homage to the Sun, the maintainer, who has the forms of the lotus, Mars, and the Moon.” / Having bowed and worshipped thus, he should then recite this praise:
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There, near the Goṣpada, with well-cooked sacrificial rice, / he should offer rice balls with mantras for the helpless ancestors:
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“Those who have died in our family and who have no goal, / and those who have gone to Raurava, Andhatāmisra, and Kālasūtra— / for their rescue I give this rice ball.
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Those who dwell in manifold torments and have gone to the worlds of ghosts— / for their rescue I give this rice ball.
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Those who have entered animal wombs, and those who are insects or reptiles, / or those who dwell in the womb of trees—to them I give this rice ball.
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Those who, dwelling in countless torments, were led away by the punishers of Yama— / for their rescue I give this rice ball.
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Those who are not kinsmen, those who are kinsmen, and those who were kinsmen in another birth— / may all of them attain satisfaction forever through this rice ball.
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Whosoever among my ancestors exist in the form of a ghost— / may all of them attain satisfaction forever through this rice ball.
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Ancestors, kinsmen, and others dwelling in the celestial realm, mid-air, or earth, / and those who died without rites of passage—may the rice ball be for their liberation.
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Those who have died in the paternal lineage, and likewise in the maternal lineage, / and whatever other kinsmen of the guru, father-in-law, and relatives have died;
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those in my family who have lost their rice-ball offerings, who are without sons and wives, / who have suffered omission of rites, and likewise those born blind or lame;
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the deformed, the miscarried embryos, the unknown and the known in my family— / to them a rice ball has been offered by me; may it remain inexhaustible!
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May my ancestors be freed forever from ghosthood!” / Whatever is mixed with honey, cow's milk, or ghee with milk-rice—
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may it remain inexhaustible from you at this sacred ford, the Goṣpada! / There he should recite the sacred study and all the Purāṇas,
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various hymns of praise to Brahmā, Viṣṇu, the Sun, and Rudra, / hymns to Indra, hymns to Soma, and purifying verses according to his capacity;
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likewise the Bṛhat and Rathaṃtara, the Jyeṣṭhasāman along with the Raurava, / and likewise the peace chapter and the Madhubrāhmaṇa,
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the Maṇḍalabrāhmaṇa, and whatever else brings delight there / to the brahmins and to oneself—he should recite all of that.
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Having thus offered rice balls according to rule in the middle of the Nyaṅkumatī, at the excellent sacred ford Goṣpada, / he should again recite this mantra:
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“May the gods, beginning with Brahmā, and the foremost seers be witnesses for me: / having reached this sacred ford, expiation for the ancestors has been made by me!
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I have come to this sacred ford for ancestral rites, O best of gods; / may you all be witnesses, and may I be freed from the three debts!”
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Having thus circumambulated the excellent sacred ford Goṣpada, / having given priestly gifts to the brahmins, he should consign the rice balls into the river.
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A gift of a cow should be made there, and likewise a black antelope skin, my dear, / on the Aṣṭakā days, at a prosperity rite, at Gayā, and on the death anniversary.
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Here the mother's śrāddha is performed separately, but elsewhere along with her husband; / in a prosperity śrāddha, the mother comes first, whereas at Gayā it begins with the father.
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The śrāddha should be performed here by the best of men just as at Gayā; / therefore this was declared as Guptagayā by Viṣṇu himself.
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By the gift of fragrant paste one obtains fragrance; good fortune comes from the gift of flowers; / by the gift of incense one obtains a kingdom; radiance comes from the offering of a lamp.
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By giving a banner, one is freed from sin; the pilgrim attains the world of Brahmā. / In this world, whoever offers funeral balls in the śrāddha, Viṣṇu will indeed lead his ancestors [to heaven]. (65)
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If one feeds even a single brahmin of commended vows there, / at the great tīrtha Gopracāra, it equals feeding ten million. (66)
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Thus the rite of śrāddha there has been briefly spoken to you. / Now I will tell you an ancient history: (67)
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The deed of King Vena and of the great-souled Pṛthu, / how his liberation occurred there from a cāṇḍāla's womb. / Hear all of that, O Queen of the Gods, endowed with proper faith. (68)
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This holy [account] must not be told to a slanderer, to a sinner, / nor to one who is not a pupil, nor to one who is hostile, nor in any way to one without vows. (69)
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Bestowing heaven, fame, and long life, bringing fortune, equal to the Veda, / this secret was declared by the seers; he who listens without malice, (70)
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and the mortal who recites this origin of Pṛthu, son of Vena, / having bowed to the brahmins, will not grieve over deeds done or left undone. (71)
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A protector of dharma, that king shone with splendour equal to Atri; / indeed, born in Atri's lineage, he was the Prajāpati named Aṅga. (72)
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His son was Vena, who was not particularly righteous; / he was born to Sunīthā, the daughter of Mṛtyu, a Prajāpati. (73)
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Through that fault of his maternal grandfather, with a face like Death himself, / he set dharma aside and became one whose mind was bent on sin. (74)
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He abolished the eternal order endowed with dharma; / transgressing the Vedic scriptures, he devoted himself to unrighteousness. (75)
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While he ruled, his subjects were without Vedic study or the exclamation vaṣaṭ. / That king caused a drum to be proclaimed throughout his kingdom: (76)
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‘No gifts must be given, no sacrifice must be made, while I rule the kingdom!’ / Such was his cruel vow when his destruction was at hand. (77)
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‘I alone am to be praised and worshipped with all sacrifices by the best of the twice-born! / Sacrifices must be offered to me, and oblations poured unto me!’ (78)
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Seeing that he had transgressed boundaries and was intent on oppressing his subjects, / the enraged great seers, led by Marīci, said to him then: (79)
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‘Do not commit unrighteousness, O Vena! This is not the eternal dharma! / You are born in the lineage of Atri, without doubt a Prajāpati. (80)
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Formerly your covenant was made: “I will protect the subjects.”’ / To all those brahmin seers who spoke thus, (81)
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the evil-minded Vena, skilled in words, laughed aloud and said: / ‘Who else is the creator of dharma, or whom else should I heed? (82)
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Who else on earth is equal to me in valour, sacred learning, austerity, and truth? / Thinking you are everything, you surely do not know me in reality! (83)
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The origin of all the worlds, and especially of dharmas— / thus with my body, my nature, and through sacrifice, (84)
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I could create the earth and consume it; no doubt need be had in this matter.’ / When it was impossible to persuade King Vena, (85)
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who was arrogant through obstinacy and utterly infatuated, the great seers grew enraged; / having slain that mighty one with an Atharvan mantra, (86)
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they then churned his left arm in extreme fury. / And from that arm being churned, it is heard in tradition, there was born first (87)
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an exceedingly dwarfish man, black in colour, O beloved! / Terrified, with folded hands, he stood before them, O dear one. (88)
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Seeing him distressed and overwhelmed, they said, ‘Sit down’ (niṣīda). / From him arose the Niṣāda of broad prowess, the founder of the lineage. (89)
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He also produced the fishermen (dhīvara) who arose from the sin of Vena, / and those others who dwell in the Vindhya, as well as the Tumburas and Khasas. (90)
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Delighting in unrighteousness, these who sprang from Vena's sin multiplied. / Then the great seers, agitated and filled with wrath, (91)
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churned the right hand of Vena like a fire-drill. / From that hand arose Pṛthu, blazing like fire. (92)
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Because he was born from the broad (pṛthu) palm of the hand, he was therefore named Pṛthu; / he shone with his form like burning fire incarnate, (93)
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holding the Ajagava bow and arrows resembling venomous serpents, / carrying a sword for protection, and clad in radiant armour. (94)
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When he was born, all beings rejoiced exceedingly on every side, / O great goddess, and Vena went to heaven. (95)
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Then the rivers and oceans, bringing jewels from all sides, / all attended upon the king for his consecration. (96)
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And the venerable Grandfather [Brahmā], together with the seers and immortals, / and all beings, both stationary and moving, from every quarter, (97)
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assembled then and consecrated the son of Vena as ruler of men. / Consecrated by the gods, Aṅgiras and the others, (98)
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the illustrious and valorous Pṛthu, son of Vena, assumed supreme sovereignty. / The subjects who had not been gladdened by his father were gladdened by Vena's son. (99)
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Then his name became ‘king’ (rājan) from their affection (anurāga). / The waters became rigid as he marched towards the ocean; (100)
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the mountains crumbled, and his banner never met with obstruction. / The earth bore crops without ploughing; food was produced merely by thought; / cows yielded all desires; and honey was in every fold of leaf. (101)
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At that very time, the Māgadha was also born, / from the vessel of the ladle used for all the gods, while the Sāman-singers were chanting. (102)
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Because he was born among the Sāman-singers (sāmageṣu), he is called a Magadha. / And the oblation was mixed with Indra's oblation when Bṛhaspati (103)
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poured the sacrifice to Indra; from that [error] it was born. / An inadvertence occurred there, and an expiation in the rituals: (104)
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because the oblation of the Guru [Bṛhaspati] was mixed with and overpowered by the remaining oblation, / through an inversion of high and low musical accents, that alteration of class was born. (105)
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A sacrificial origin arose in that brahmin woman from a kṣatriya source. / Therefore, because of resemblance in duty with the former, their duties are declared to be equal. (106)
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For this middling duty in truth consists of living by the kṣatriya way— / the management of chariots, elephants, and horses, while the lowest [occupation] is medicine. (107)
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For the purpose of recounting [the deeds of] Pṛthu, the two were summoned there by the great seers. / All the sages said to them: 'Let the king be praised!
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For this ruler of the earth is indeed worthy because of his deeds.' / Then the bard and the herald said to all the seers:
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'We two please the gods and the seers through our own functions; / but we do not know his deeds, nor his characteristic glory,
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by which we may compose a hymn of praise for this glorious king, O twice-born ones.' / But those two were instructed by the seers: 'Let him be praised by [the deeds] yet to come!'
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The deeds which the mighty Pṛthu performed afterwards, / those were sung and composed by the praising bards and heralds.
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Then the lord of subjects, Pṛthu, pleased with what he heard, / granted the Anūpa country to the bard, and the Magadha regions to the herald.
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From then on, earthly rulers are praised by bards and heralds; / they are extolled with benedictions by bards, heralds, and panegyrists.
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Seeing him, the great seers, exceedingly delighted, said to the subjects: / 'This son of Vena has now been appointed your king, the provider of your livelihood.'
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Then the subjects ran up to the illustrious son of Vena, / saying, 'You are the dispenser of our livelihood,' according to the words of the great seers.
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Thus addressed by the subjects, and wishing to do good for the subjects, / the mighty one took up his bow and arrows and assailed the earth.
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Then the earth, terrified by fear of the son of Vena, turned into a cow and fled. / Taking up [his weapon], Pṛthu pursued that fleeing cow.
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Having gone through the worlds beginning with the world of Brahmā out of fear of the son of Vena, / she saw the son of Vena in front of her, his hand raising the bow,
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with sharp, blazing arrows endowed with burning splendour— / him of great yoga, the great-souled one, unassailable even by the immortals.
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Finding no protection, she surrendered to the son of Vena alone, / with her hands folded in reverence—the goddess who is ever worthy of worship by the three worlds.
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And she said to him: 'Do you not see the slaughter of a woman to be unrighteous? / And how will you sustain the subjects, O king, without me?
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Upon me the worlds rest, O king; by me this universe is upheld. / Know that without me the subjects would perish, O ruler of the earth.
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Therefore you ought not to kill me, if you wish to bring about the welfare / of the subjects, O guardian of the earth! Listen to these words of mine:
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All undertakings begun with the proper means succeed. / Having killed me, you will certainly not be able to protect the subjects, O king.
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I shall be compliant; cast off your anger, O one of great splendour! / They say that females are not to be slain, even those born as animals.
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When destruction befalls a single, most sinful person of cruel deeds, / safety arises for many; in that case killing confers merit. / Though this is so, O protector of the earth, you should not abandon righteousness.'
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Hearing such speech of hers, the mighty king, / restraining his anger, the righteous one spoke thus to the earth:
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'Whoever would kill one or even many, wilfully, / for the sake of one person—whether oneself or another—incurs a sin.
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When one is destroyed, however, and many thrive in happiness, / there is indeed no further sin for him when that one is slain.
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Therefore, for the sake of the subjects, I shall kill you, O bearer of wealth, / if you will not do my bidding today for the welfare of the world.
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Having slain you today with an arrow, averse as you are to my command, / I myself shall make myself vast and uphold the subjects here.
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So, relying on my word, O best among upholders of righteousness, / keep the subjects alive constantly, for you are indeed capable, there is no doubt.
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Become my daughter, and thus I shall withdraw this great arrow, / terrible to behold, which has been deployed to kill you.' / Thus addressed, the greatly chaste [earth] then replied to the son of Vena:
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'I shall arrange all this, O king, there is no doubt. / But provide a calf for me, by which I, full of affection, may yield milk.
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And make me level everywhere, O best of all beings, / so that, flowing forth, I may cause the milk to spread everywhere.'
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Īśvara said: / Then the son of Vena cleared away masses of rocks everywhere / with the tip of his bow; thereby the mountains were elevated.
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In past manvantaras the earth was indeed like this; / by her natural state she had level and uneven [surfaces].
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For in the previous creation the earth's surface was not uneven, / nor did there exist any division into cities and villages,
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nor crops, nor cattle-herding, nor agriculture, nor trade routes.
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Formerly, in the interval of Cākṣuṣa [Manu], this was so in the past; / but in this interval of Vaivasvata the origin of all this took place. / Wherever in some places there was levelness of the earth,
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there those subjects always dwelt. / The food of the subjects was indeed fruits and roots,
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obtained with difficulty by them at that time—thus indeed have we heard. / Beginning with the son of Vena, the origin of all this occurred in this world.
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Having appointed the powerful Manu Cākṣuṣa as the calf, / Pṛthu then milked the crops from the earth with his own hand.
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Crops were thus milked from this earth by the son of Vena, / having made Manu Cākṣuṣa the calf, into an earthen vessel.
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Upon that food the subjects then always sustained themselves. / And it is heard that the earth was milked again by the seers.
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Then their calf was Soma, and the milker was Bṛhaspati; / the vessels were the metres, Gāyatrī and the rest, in every respect.
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Their milk then was austerity and eternal sacred lore. / Then again by the hosts of gods, led by Puraṃdara,
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this earth is heard to have been milked, taking a golden vessel; / the calf was Maghavat, and Savitṛ became the milker.
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The milk was declared to be strength and nectar; by it the gods subsist. / And it is heard that the earth was milked again by the ancestors:
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taking a silver vessel, [they milked] svadhā for imperishable satisfaction. / Yama, the son of Vivasvat, was their glorious calf;
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and the lord, venerable Antaka, was the milker of the ancestors. / And it is heard that the earth was milked again by the asuras:
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taking an iron vessel, gathering strength on every side, / Virocana, son of Prahlāda, was their glorious calf;
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the priest Dvimūrdhan, son of Diti, was the milker of the daityas. / He milked the milk of illusion, which brought satisfaction to the daityas.
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Through that illusion even today all those asuras, knowers of illusion, / subsist, possessing great power; for that is their supreme strength.
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And it is heard that [the earth] was milked by the nāgas, making Takṣaka the calf; / taking a gourd vessel, [they milked] great poison as their milk then.
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Vāsuki, the son of Kadrū of great renown, was their milker, / indeed of all the nāgas and serpents, O great goddess.
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By it they subsist, fierce, having huge bodies, swollen with poison, / having that for their food, conduct, strength, and refuge.
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Again, this earth was milked into an unbaked clay vessel for invisibility, / making Vaiśravaṇa the calf, by the yakṣas and puṇyajanas.
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The milker was the silver serpent who moves about the Cintāmaṇi stone, / the lord of the yakṣas, endowed with great splendor, self-controlled, wise, and of great austerity.
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By that they subsist, the yakṣas, with abundant riches. / And the earth was milked again by the rākṣasas and piśācas:
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Brahmopendra was their milker from Kubera; / their calf was mighty Sumālin, and their milk was blood itself.
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[She was] milked into a skull-vessel for invisibility by the rākṣasas. / By that milk the demons subsist here in every way.
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She was milked onto lotus leaves by the hosts of gandharvas and apsarases; / having made Citraratha the calf, [they milked] pure fragrances from the earth then.
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Their calf was Ruci, and the virtuous son of the sage was the milker. / And it is heard, O goddess, that the earth was milked again by the mountains:
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then [they milked] embodied medicinal plants and various kinds of gems. / Himavat was their calf, and Mount Meru was the milker;
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the vessel was indeed made of stone, and by that the mountains were established. / It is heard that the earth was milked again by trees and creepers:
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taking a vessel of palāśa wood, [they milked] sprouting when cut and burnt. / The flowering śāla tree was the milker, and the plakṣa was the calf, O illustrious one. / The earth, source of living beings, was milked yielding all desires.
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This very [earth], the nurse, the creator, the upholder, and the bearer of wealth, / was milked for the welfare of the worlds by Pṛthu, so we have heard.
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The support and the womb of the moving and unmoving world, / bounded by the ocean, she was celebrated as Medinī,
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because she was formerly covered with the fat and flesh of Madhu and Kaiṭabha; / and since she holds wealth, for that reason she is celebrated as Vasudhā.
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Then, through the acceptance of King Pṛthu, son of Vena, the wise, / she attained daughterhood, and hence she is called Pṛthivī.
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Extended, divided, adorned, / and garlanded with cities and mines, the earth was diligently milked by the king.
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Such was the majesty of that king, the son of Vena, best of kings. / Then he pleased the earth with righteousness at that time;
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and so the title 'king' arose upon the earth from pleasing. / Having attained the kingdom, that king, the son of Vena, thought:
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“My father was indeed exceedingly unrighteous, a destroyer of sacrifices and the like. / To what place has he gone, and how can that place be known by me?
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How can rites be performed for him who was slain by the brahmins? / How might he attain a [good] destiny through the power of sacrifices, gifts, and rituals?”
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While he was reflecting in this manner, Nārada arrived. / Offering him a seat and bowing down, he questioned him:
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“O venerable one, you know the good and evil of all the world. / My father was of wicked conduct, a reviler of gods and brahmins;
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slain by the brahmins on account of his own deeds, he has reached the other world. / To what place has my father gone—to a pit or to heaven?”
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Then Nārada spoke, having perceived [it] through his divine eye: / “Hear, O mighty-armed king, where your father stays.
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Here there is a desert region named Maru, devoid of water and trees; / in that exceedingly terrible region is your father, O best of men:
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born among mlecchas, suffering from consumption and afflicted with leprosy, / eating the remnants of mlecchas' food, covered with worms and sores.”
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Hearing those words of the great-souled Nārada, / he cried out in distress and fell into a swoon.
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Afflicted with sorrow, he thought: “What ought to be done by me?” / As he was reflecting in this manner, the thought arose in the great-souled one: / “He is called a son in the world who delivers his father.
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How then will my father be freed from sin?” / Reflecting thus, he then asked Nārada:
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“O venerable one, the entire condition of my father has been described. / By what action might his liberation be achieved, O best of brahmins? / Tell me: through vows, gifts, austerities, or pilgrimage to sacred fords?”
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Nārada said: / “Go to the principal sacred fords, O king, lord of men, / having brought your father to them from that desert region, O king.
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Where there are powerful gods and spotless sacred fords, / go there, O great king, and make a pilgrimage to the sacred fords, O lord.
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Know this as unfailing truth: the liberation of your father will come to pass.” / Hearing those words of the great-souled Nārada, / the king placed the burden of his kingdom upon his minister and set forth.
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He went to the desert land and saw [his father] among the Mlecchas, / afflicted by severe leprosy and consumption.
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For a distance of a gavyūti right there, it was deserted, devoid of humans. / Seeing this, the king was tormented and spoke these words:
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"O Mlecchas, I shall take this sick man to my own home. / There I shall make him healthy, if you agree."
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Understanding this, all those Mlecchas bowed with their entire bodies / and said to that most compassionate man: "Take him quickly, O lord of the world! / By virtue of our good fortune, O protector, you have come here yourself!
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The people who were afflicted by the foul odor have been made happy by you, O lord!" / Then, having summoned men suitable for carrying a palanquin,
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and having heard that compassionate command of the king, / they reached many sacred fords by the millions, beginning with Kedāra.
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Wherever Vainya went accompanied by Vena, / there, precisely there, a great outcry of the sacred fords was heard:
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"Alas, fate! An enemy is approaching to cause our destruction! / Where shall we go now?"—thus was their constant anxiety.
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Even at the mere sight of him, raising cries of distress, / the sacred fords flee, and the gods vanish at that very instant.
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In this way the king undertook a pilgrimage to sacred fords for three years; / no liberation was seen for him, and so he fell into supreme grief.
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Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit