Skandapurana 16.85
English (machine translation) 16.85
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16.85.1
The goddess said: / “The Saṃnihitā that was mentioned by you there, O bull-bannered Lord, / how did that great river arrive from Kurukṣetra, O god? / What power is attributed to it, and what is the fruit of ritual ablution and the like?” 1
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Īśvara said: / Hear, O goddess, I shall explain where the auspicious Saṃnihitā is situated, / which destroys the sins of all creatures merely by being seen and touched. 2
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Three bow-lengths to the west of the primeval Nārāyaṇa, O goddess, / that great goddess stands, a great river in the form of a stream. 3
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I shall relate its origin in brief; listen, O beloved: / Out of fear of Jarāsandha, O goddess, Viṣṇu together with his retinue, 4
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taking all the Yādavas—children, old men, and merchant-folk— / made Mathurā desolate and came to Prabhāsa. 5
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He requested a place from the ocean for the sake of dwelling. / At that very time, the sun, god of gods, 6
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was seized by Rāhu, O goddess, when the time of the eclipse arrived. / Seeing that, all the Yādavas were plunged into great despair, 7
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not having reached the Saṃnihitā. Janārdana said to them: / “Do not fall into despair, O best of the Yadus, while I am here! 8
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Behold my power today on this earth for the sake of dharma: / I shall bring here fully the holy Saṃnihita lake!” 9
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Having spoken thus, the Lord entered into meditative absorption. / While Viṣṇu of immeasurable splendour was thus meditating, 10
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an auspicious stream of water burst forth before him, / cleaving open the surface of the earth for the ritual ablution of the enemy of the Asuras. 11
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Then all those Yādavas, led by Rāma and Sāmba, / performed their ritual ablution, O great goddess, while the sun was seized by Rāhu. 12
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They obtained the religious merit arising from the Saṃnihitā, / having truly obtained the full fruit of a pilgrimage to Kurukṣetra. 13
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In this way that holy Saṃnihita lake was obtained. / Having bathed there, O great goddess, while the sun is seized by Rāhu, / one obtains the entire fruit of the Agniṣṭoma sacrifice. 14
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Whoever feeds a brahmin there with food of six flavours in according with the rules, / by feeding just one, ten million are fed. 15
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Whoever causes a fire sacrifice to be performed there near the Saṃnihitā, / by offering each single oblation, he obtains the fruit of ten million fire sacrifices. 16
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If, standing in that place, he undertakes the recitation of mantras, / by reciting each single mantra, he obtains the fruit of reciting ten million mantras. 17
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A gift of gold must be given there by those desiring the fruit of the pilgrimage; / and having bathed, Janārdana, the primeval god, must be worshipped. 18
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Thus indeed the full fruit of the Saṃnihitā has been told to you. / Heard by men possessing true faith, O beloved, it removes sins. 19
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Thus ends the eighty-fifth chapter, entitled ‘Description of the Māhātmya of the Saṃnihitā,’ in the first [sub-section], the Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya, of the seventh section, the Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses. 85
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit