Skandapurana 17.15
English (machine translation) 17.15
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Sārasvata said: / Then that brahmin Vāmana, having attained knowledge in the worship of Bhava, / went to that delightful forest belonging to Mount Raivataka,
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where there were trees of many kinds, with long branches and bearing fruit: / banyans, udumbaras, bilvas, sarjas, arjunas, kadambas,
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palāśas, aśvatthas, nimba trees, dhavas, aṭīvāruṇīs, / śamī, kaṅkola, lime, bījapūra, and pomegranate trees,
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jujubes, lemon, areca palms, plantains, śallakīs, auspicious trees, / palmyra and hintāla palms, śirasas, bījakas, bamboos, and khadira trees,
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ajagas, asanas, clumps [of reeds], iṅgudīs, koraveṅgudas, / palāśas (brahmavṛkṣa), kurubakas, karañjas, and putrajīvas,
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aṅkollas, coral trees (pāribhadra), kalambas, and jackfruit trees, / bright ones, turmeric plants, gaṅgaḍīs, and vāyava trees,
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tesuṇḍakas, śirīṣas, date palms, and karavandas, / sevālīs, silk-cotton trees, śālas, madhūkas, and vibhītakas,
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myrobalans (harītakī), kaṭāhas, karyaṣṭas, and āṭarūṣakas, / vikacchavas, wood-apples, rohiṇīs, and canes,
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emetic nut trees (madanaphala), nirguṇḍīs, pāṭalas, nandi trees, / cloves, cardamoms, lavalīs, santānas, and agallochum trees,
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sandalwood and camphor trees, wish-fulfilling trees, the best of trees; / shade-providing trees worshipped by gods were then seen by Vāmana,
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whose shadow is never obstructed at sunrise or at sunset; / by merely beholding them, the destruction of all sins occurs.
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They fall within the range of vision only of those people whose deeds are virtuous. / Looking upon these trees, he then went to Mount Raivataka.
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As he looked at its lofty peak, on its summit / the brahmin beheld a great wonder, terrifying to the world:
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he saw five men standing amid smoke and flame, / black-limbed, moving through the air, ferocious, adorned with black agallochum,
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mounted upon dogs, with hands like elephant trunks, wearing girdles, / with swords and shields in their hands, making sounds with ḍamarus and terrible noise,
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making the mountain resound with the movement of feet wearing small ringing bells, / of radiant form accompanied by howls, with curly hair like kāśa grass,
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their palates busy swallowing the marrow, fat, and flesh of humans, / whose eyes were fierce with the smell and recognition of people.
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By the power of divine sight acquired through the practice of the five fires, / the foremost of brahmins, understanding the succession of duties, beheld the gods.
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These are the five guardians of the sacred field, created by Mahādeva, / very powerful, who dwell constantly on Mount Raivataka.
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They turn away mortal men on the mountain who act according to their own whim, / so that they do not see Hari, Hara, the river, the goddess, or the mountain.
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Having seen and understood [them], he meditated on the lord Maheśvara and uttered a hymn of praise: / 'Victorious are those who bear bodies marked by meditating on battle with wicked lords of Daityas, / those five brothers who possess valour equal to Indra's!
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Born from the mouth of Rudra, capable, destroyers of Dakṣa's sacrifice, / celebrated by Brahmins terrified when their oblations swallowed by their own [flames] were ruined!
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With limbs smeared with saffron, agallochum, and camphor, well-adorned, / divine beings whose limbs are intoxicated by the fragrance of wine, performing dances and songs!
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Tired from wandering across the cosmic egg, their movements terrifying by their own scent, / swift as thought, moving at will—victorious are those kṣetrapālas!'
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Pleased by these and other words, they stood before the twice-born and [one said]: / 'I am Ekapāda, the first, and the second is Giridāruṇa;
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The third is Meghanāda, and Siṃhanāda is the fourth; / I, the fifth, am Kālamegha. Tell us, what shall we do for you?'
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The twice-born said: / 'If you are pleased with me, if a boon is truly to be granted, / oh, consecrated by me, you must remain here until the dissolution of the universe!'
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First, out of great joy, Ekapāda took his place on the slope of the mountain; / while he dwelt on the mountain in that dwelling-place, Giridāruṇa also,
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Having been installed and propitiated, that granter of boons took his stand himself. / Meghanāda went of his own accord to the summit of Mount Ujjayanta;
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Likewise, Siṃhanāda entered the delightful Bhavānīśaṃkara; / he was assigned before Bhava in Vastrāpatha itself.
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The mighty Kālamegha [took his stand] on the bank of the river Svarṇarekhā; / in ancient times, the sacred ford was established for the welfare of all the worlds.
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Vāmana himself went and worshipped the kṣetrapālas. / Formerly, at the beginning of the yuga, O king of kings, all the gods assembled,
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Arriving in the country of Surāṣṭra at the sacred mountain Raivataka, / for the protection of all the worlds and the destruction of the enemies of the gods.
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Then a garland of victory was placed around the neck of Viṣṇu by the foremost gods; / the renowned, supreme name "Dāmodara" was bestowed upon Hari.
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There, first, on a day beloved of Viṣṇu during the bright fortnight of Kārttika, / having fasted along with the gods, that sacred ford was created by Viṣṇu.
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There flows the sacred river Svarṇarekhā, consisting of all sacred fords, / granting enjoyment and liberation, auspicious, bestowing the world of Viṣṇu,
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Washing away all sins, destroying disease and poverty— / Dāmodara on Raivataka, bestowing supreme bliss.
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Those who behold it are carried in aerial chariots to the abode of Viṣṇu. / The [observances of] Kārttika should not be performed at home, especially the Bhīṣmapañcaka.
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The Dvādaśī is superior to the Pañcaka; it should be observed in the water of Dāmodara. / When Kārttika arrives, morning ablution should be performed by people.
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A month-long fast should be undertaken by ascetics, celibate students, / chaste wives, and widows who desire the abode of liberation,
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Or by [eating] a single meal, or at night, or [eating only] unasked-for food, / or by fasting, severe penance, or eating vegetables,
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Viṣṇu should be served in Kārttika by people intent on offering lamps. / If the month is spent by men devoted to celibacy,
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Then residence in the city of Viṣṇu is attained alongside Viṣṇu. / Five fasts should be observed when the Bhīṣmapañcaka arrives,
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Beginning with the Ekādaśī up to the fifth day, the day of the full moon. / This is declared to be the Pañcaka that removes all sins of mortals.
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Among all months, and compared to the Pañcaka of Kārttika as well, / the Ekādaśī of Kārttika observed at Dāmodara is holy.
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Sweet food should be given in Kārttika, and sacrificial food soaked with clarified butter, / gold, silver, clothing, water, food, and fruits.
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At the end of the month, various gifts should be given: a cow, sesame seeds, and flowers. / Whatever merit [is earned] in all gifts, whatever fruit [is gained] at all sacred fords,
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And whatever [fruit is attained] through sacrifices such as the horse sacrifice, or by offering funeral cakes at Gayā— / that fruit arises for mortals when Dāmodara is beheld, O king.
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Having bathed on the Ekādaśī, one should be devoted to the worship of the deity; / having bathed [him] with the five nectars and then with water from the sacred ford,
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Mixed with saffron, agallochum, sandalwood, and camphor water, / and then having worshipped him with fragrant, hundred-petalled flowers,
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With white jasmine flowers and abundant tulasī leaves, / having offered garments and a sacred thread, one should burn incense.
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One should offer a lamp with clarified butter, or even with oil if clarified butter is absent; / various offerings of food should be presented, along with fruits and betel.
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Worship of the temple should be performed by dedicating a banner and other offerings, O king; / then a cow with its calf, which carries one across the ocean of worldly existence, should be given.
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Then, having circumambulated with sounds of singing and instrumental music, / and with recitations of the Vedas, Purāṇas, expositions, divine narratives, and the like,
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A night vigil should be kept before the deity, and a lamp should be placed on high pedestals. / Seven mountains made of the seven grains, accompanied by lamps,
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Filled with fruits, betel, and cooked delicacies, should be prepared / by learned men, Vedic scholars, disciplined brahmin householders,
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And by women, O tiger among men; a narrative of Viṣṇu should be listened to. / Thus a night vigil should be kept, free from passion and anger.
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Having observed the night vigil, when the disc of the sun has risen, / having bathed and performed the morning twilight devotion, one should attend to the midday rites.
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Having duly made water offerings to the gods, ancestors, and human beings, / and having performed the ancestral rite for the ancestors, one should give gifts according to one's capacity.
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Having worshipped the god Dāmodara again with flowers, incense, and the like, / and having worshipped the god Narasiṃha, one should also worship Garuḍa.
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Having kept the night vigil, having awakened Madhusūdana, / and having obtained the meal of Dvādaśī, the breaking of the fast should be performed by people.
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Having fed brahmins, together with sons and kinsmen, / food should be given according to one's ability to the disabled, the blind, and the destitute.
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Whoever thus undertakes a pilgrimage to Dāmodara on Raivataka, in the waters of the river Svarṇarekhā, / hear the meritorious fruit of that person:
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A slayer of a brahmin, a drinker of liquor, a destroyer of village boundaries, / one who betrays the king, one who betrays the teacher, and one who keeps false vows,
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he who gives false testimony, and he who appropriates a deposit, / a brahmin who kills a child or a woman, one devoid of twilight prayers and ritual ablution,
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he who steals the property of deities or brahmins, he who sells the Vedas, / he who sells his daughter, and he who reviles deities and brahmins,
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a brahmin who betrays trust, one who eats the food of a Śūdra, a hunter, / a seducer of others' wives, one who takes back what he himself gave,
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one who indulges in sexual intercourse on sacred days, likewise a breaker of dams, / he who does not himself approach his wedded wife who has bathed after her courses,
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a young brahmin widow who does not uphold the sacred tradition— / these and many others are great sinners, O king.
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Having bathed in the waters of the Svarṇarekhā, having beheld Hari as Dāmodara, / and having kept a night-vigil, one is liberated from all sins.
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But those evil-doers who do not assemble for the vigil / at the sacred ford on the ocean of worldly existence do not go to the city of Hari.
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As a man keeps the vigil, so do the gods contemplate his residence in the city of Viṣṇu / for the sake of the Vaiṣṇava realm, in an abode resounding with the sound of mṛdaṅgas and songs.
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Bearing mace, sword, conch, and discus, four-armed, assuming the form that removes the pride of the Daityas, / praised in song by divine beauties, touching the bodies of celestial wanderers, they go to the sky.
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In the Vārāha Kalpa, at the beginning of the yuga, Dāmodara first became renowned on Raivataka; / this is that river which is the best among rivers; this is that Hari who is the maker of the world.
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A man who recites or listens to this Purāṇa is led in aerial chariots to the abode of Madhusūdana, / supported by the arms of divine maidens, four-armed, praised by hosts of gods.
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Thus ends the fifteenth chapter, named 'Description of the Glory of Śrī Dāmodara' in the Rules for Pilgrimage to Sacred Fords Proclaimed by Sārasvata, in the Vastrāpathakṣetra-māhātmya, in the second [sub-section of the] Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa, in the Mahāpurāṇa of Śrī Skanda, in the Saṃhitā of eighty-one thousand [verses].
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit