Skandapurana 17.19

English (machine translation) 17.19

Language: English

17.19.1

The king said: / “Having taken the priestly fee from the Daitya, what did the Great Viṣṇu, Janārdana, / do? Tell me, for my curiosity is great.”

Sārasvata said: / “Thus praised by the gods, having taken the earth, the divine Hari / banished Bali once the ritual of the sacrifice was completed; / having received the priestly fee at the end of the sacrifice, the sacrifice was then complete.

17.19.3

When the third step remained incomplete, the all-pervading Lord, / having approached Bali with lips slightly quivering, said:

17.19.4

‘For debt, O lord of Daityas, there is dreadful bondage. / Fill that step for me, or else submit to bondage, O king!’

17.19.5

Hearing that word of Murāri, Bali’s son Bāṇa / stepped forward and said to the dwarf who had assumed the universal form:

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‘Having made the earth so very small and having made your body a dwarf, / and having begged for three steps, how did you attain the universal form?

17.19.7

If you ask for the third stride, O Lord of the Universe, / return to being a dwarf; Bali will grant that step!

17.19.8

Water was poured by Bali for someone of such a size as the dwarf; / [the gift] should be given to one of such a size—why now to one of universal form?

17.19.9

This universe was made by you, and Bali exists within the universe. / Those who are virtuous do not take by deceit, O Maheśvara!

17.19.10

If you consider this universe your own, O Lord of the Universe, / knowing Bali to be beyond limits and averse to devotion to you—’

17.19.11

Driving him out with a noose around his neck, by whom indeed were you prevented?
An owner of cows employs another cowherd for protection;
what does the former cowherd do then, who had been grazing them on good grass?

17.19.12

When these words were thus spoken by that son of Bali,
the blessed Lord Janārdana, the primal creator, spoke these words:

17.19.13

“The words that have been spoken in this manner by you, a boy, just now—
hear my reasoned answer to them.

17.19.14

Formerly your father was told by me, ‘O Bāṇa, three paces
give to me by [my own] measure.’ That very thing was agreed upon.

17.19.15

Does your father Bali not know my measure, my son?
Even for Bali’s benefit were these three paces taken.

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Therefore, O son of Bali, because water was poured into my hand by your father,
by that he shall reside in Sutala for the duration of a kalpa.

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When the present manvantara of Śrāddhadeva has passed, O Bāṇa,
and the Sāvarṇika [manvantara] has arrived, Bali will become Indra.”

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Having spoken thus to Bali's son Bāṇa, the god Trivikrama,
approaching Bali, spoke sweet words:

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The Blessed Lord said:
“The sacrifice being incomplete in its sacrificial fees, go, O king, to Mahātala,
the netherworld named Sutala; dwell there free from affliction.

17.19.21

Bali said:
“As I dwell in Sutala, O Lord, how shall I have
darśana of your feet, worship, and enjoyment, so that I live happily?”
The Blessed Lord said:
“O lord of the Daityas, I dwell eternally in your heart;
therefore you have attained my darśana, and again I will remain beside you.

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Likewise, another holy festival, once the great festival of Indra has passed—
that great festival named Dīpapratipad will take place there.

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There, the best among men, joyful, flourishing, and well-adorned,
will worship you diligently by offering flowers and lamps.

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There a most holy festival will take place on the surface of the earth,
marked with your name, O Daitya; through it you will be happy throughout the year.

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You will be [happy], and those men endowed with firm devotion
who worship you according to the rules, they too will share in happiness.

17.19.26

Just as the kingdom belongs to you now, so too shall that Kaumudī night be.”
Having spoken thus, the slayer of Madhu, having settled the lord of Daityas along with his wife in Sutala,

17.19.27

and having taken back the earth, went swiftly to the abode of Śakra, visited by hosts of immortals.
Having given the three worlds to Maghavat, and making the gods enjoy their sacrificial shares,

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the great lord, master of the universe, vanished while the rulers of the earth looked on.

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Having thus taken the kingdom from Bali, it was conferred upon the son of Manu,
and those Daityas were personally sent to another continent by his command.

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Those whose abode was Pātāla were settled right there.
Supreme joy arose among the gods at the subjugation of Bali.

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Again Vāmana set his mind on residing [there];
in that kṣetra, in his own city, Vāmana resided.

17.19.32

Sārasvata said:
“The holy, pure manifestation of Vāmana that removes sins has been recounted to you, O king;
when it is remembered, heard, and proclaimed, sin is destroyed and merit is attained.”

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Īśvara said:
Having thus heard the words of Sārasvata, King Bhoja,
bowing to that best of sages, worshipped him with devotion.

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Then, according to the prescribed rules, that best of kings, Bhoja,
having performed the pilgrimage to the Vastrāpatha kṣetra along with his retinue,
attained fulfillment and went in the end to the supreme abode.

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This most holy [narrative] concerning Vastrāpatha in the Prabhāsa kṣetra has been related to you by me;
having heard or recited it, endowed with supreme devotion, one goes to the abode of Viṣṇu.

17.19.36

Just as sins are washed away by bathing in the waters of the Gaṅgā,
so through the hearing of the Purāṇa comes the destruction of misdeeds.

17.19.37

This supreme secret has been spoken to you; it must not be told to one devoid of devotion to Hari,
to one devoted to reviling twice-borns, to a grave sinner, to one lacking devotion to the guru, or to one whose mind is set on sin.

17.19.38

Whatever man, disciplined and purified in mind, recites this,
his devotion to Śiva and Kṛṣṇa surely becomes unwavering.

17.19.39

Through devotion to him, the best of men attains all desires.
He should give cows, land, gold, and ornaments to the reciter of the Purāṇa.

17.19.40

One must not practice deceit in money; by doing so, one would incur poverty.
Reciting or listening three times, one attains all desires.

17.19.40_1

Thus ends the nineteenth chapter, entitled ‘The Account of the Bestowal of Boons on Bali by Vāmana, preceded by the Māhātmya of the Pilgrimage to Vastrāpathakṣetra, Concluding the Dialogue between Sārasvata and Bhoja, and Concluding the Vastrāpathakṣetramāhātmya,’ in the second [sub-section], the Vastrāpathakṣetramāhātmya, in the seventh section, the Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, a compendium of eighty-one thousand [verses].

17.19.40_2

Thus ends the second [part], the Vastrāpathakṣetramāhātmya, in the seventh Prabhāsakhaṇḍa in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa. (7.2)

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit