Skandapurana 2.1.22
English (machine translation) 2.1.22
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Now begins the determination of a worthy recipient deserving gifts.
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The seers said:
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"O venerable Sūta, omniscient one, skilled in the Vedas and Vedānta,
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to whom should gifts be given, and what is the proper time for giving?
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And who should accept them? You ought to tell us everything."
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Śrī Sūta said:
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"In the sacred field named Veṅkaṭa, which bestows great religious merit, O best of brahmins,
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a brahmin is the supreme guru of all castes whatsoever.
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Gifts should be given to him; as a learned man, he delivers [the giver].
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A brahmin should accept [gifts], excluding, however, an outcaste.
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To a eunuch, to one without a son, to one devoted to hypocritical conduct,
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to a hater of the Vedas, and likewise to a hater of twice-born men,
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and to one who has abandoned his proper duties—what is given becomes fruitless.
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To one devoted to another's wife, and to one coveting another's wealth,
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even if he is a brahmin, [and] to a [mere professional] singer—what is given becomes fruitless.
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To one whose mind is overcome by malice, to an ungrateful person, to a deceiver,
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and to a brahmin devoid of knowledge—what is given becomes fruitless.
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To one constantly intent on begging, to a violent person, and to an impotent man,
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to a seller of the [holy] Name, and likewise to a seller of the Veda,
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to a seller of Smṛti, and likewise to a seller of dharma,
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and to one whose nature is to torment others—what is given becomes fruitless.
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Whatever persons are intent upon sin and censured by the virtuous—
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One should not accept anything from them, nor should anything be given to them.
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Only to one devoted to good works, learned in the Veda, who maintains the sacred fire,
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lacking a livelihood, poor, and burdened with a household should gifts indeed be given;
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and to one dedicated to the worship of the gods, and to a narrator of the Purāṇas.
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O brahmins, gifts should diligently be given, especially to one who is poor.
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What is the use of speaking much on this point? Listen, O best of the twice-born:
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It is always possible to give to all brahmins;
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yet if a gift is given to the husband of a barren woman, that man is born as an ass.
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An atheist, one who transgresses propriety, one without sons, a fool, a wicked man,
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a thief, and a gambler—one should never salute [them].
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A heretic, an outcaste, an apostate, and a seller of the Veda,
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an ungrateful person, and one intent on sin—one should never salute [them].
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Likewise, one who is performing ritual ablution, one holding firewood and flowers in hand,
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one holding a water vessel, and one who is eating—one should not salute.
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A contentious man, a fierce man, one vomiting, one who is in the midst of a crowd,
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one carrying alms-food, and one lying down—one should not salute.
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A barren woman, a menstruating woman, an adulteress, a woman recently delivered of a child, one who procures abortion,
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one who breaks her vows, and a wrathful woman—one should never salute.
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In an assembly, in a sacrificial hall, and in temples of the deities,
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paying individual obeisance destroys past merit.
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One engaged in a śrāddha observance, one worshipping deities,
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and one performing sacrifice or water libation—one should not salute.
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He who does not return a salutation to one who salutes him,
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is to be known as not fit to be saluted, just like a śūdra.
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Therefore, at all times, an intelligent, best of brahmins
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should never salute a cruel twice-born who is the husband of a barren woman.
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Now begins the māhātmya of Ākāśagaṅgā.
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The venerable Sūta said:
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In this regard, I will narrate an ancient story concerning the wise Puṇyaśīla,
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which was spoken by Nārada to the sage Sanatkumāra.
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I shall relate that, O best of sages; listen with attentive minds.
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Formerly on the bank of the Godāvarī, devoted to all duties,
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there lived the excellent twice-born Puṇyaśīla, truthful of speech, master of his senses,
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compassionate toward all beings, a worshipper of gods, fire, and brahmins,
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pure by birth and action, devoted to the welfare of his mother and father,
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devoted to gurus, ever polite, friendly to brahmins, and respected by the virtuous.
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Endowed with such virtues, to the wise Puṇyaśīla's
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Now the acquisition of an ass-face by Puṇyaśīla on account of inviting the husband of a barren woman:
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house came a brahmin who had crossed to the end of the Vedas and Vedāṅgas.
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He was invited with great eagerness by Puṇyaśīla for his father's śrāddha.
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Having appointed that calm brahmin learned in the Veda for the ancestral śrāddha,
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the righteous man performed the excellent annual śrāddha.
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Then, after some time, upon Puṇyaśīla's face
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came an exceedingly terrible deformity, resembling the face of an ass.
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Thereupon, sorrow-minded, the exceedingly righteous Puṇyaśīla,
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sighing deeply, distressed, approached the yogin Agastya
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on the bank of the Suvarṇamukharī, frequented by hosts of seers,
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at his supreme, divine hermitage that bestows the fruits of all desires.
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Seeing in that hermitage the great-souled Agastya, served day and night by excellent sages,
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who wishes the welfare of all the world,
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he, bearing an ass-face and exceedingly grieved, bowed down to him.
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Puṇyaśīla said:
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O treasure of austerity, served by sages, obeisance to you, O Agastya!
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Protect me, protect me, a great sinner with a repulsive face, O ocean of mercy!
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By what fault has this deformity of my face occurred?
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Out of affection for me, O fortunate one, speak, O best of sages!
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Agastya said:
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O best of brahmins, O highly fortunate Puṇyaśīla, O man of great intellect,
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listen with an undivided mind, O twice-born, to [the cause of] the deformity of your face:
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Now the narration of the unfitness of the husband of a barren woman to be invited to a śrāddha:
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A certain brahmin, a treasure of virtues, who had mastered the Vedas and Vedāṅgas,
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a learned scholar of the Veda, but devoid of a son, you appointed at a śrāddha.
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Because of that great fault, your face became disfigured.
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Those in the world who, in offerings to gods and ancestors and the like, [appoint] a brahmin who is the husband of a barren woman—
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those who appoint [such a one] attain the form of a donkey's face.
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Either in an auspicious rite, O brahmin, or in an ancestral rite,
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one should never invite the husband of a barren woman, [who is] a great sinner.
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The husband of a barren woman, or one exceedingly cruel, or the husband of a Śūdra woman—
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one who desires his own welfare, O best of brahmins, should never invite [them] to a śrāddha.
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Even if he is endowed with the Veda, scriptures, and the like, of noble birth, or dedicated to rituals,
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the husband of a barren woman, O best of brahmins, must by all means be avoided at a śrāddha.
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In sacrifices such as the Jyotiṣṭoma, in vows, and in austerities,
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even if he is competent, O best of brahmins, one should avoid the husband of a barren woman at a śrāddha.
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If a worthy brahmin cannot be found, one who lives merely by spinning thread,
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having a son and good conduct, should be invited for the purpose of the śrāddha.
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In his absence, O best of brahmins, one's son or younger brother,
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or even oneself, one may appoint; but one should avoid the husband of a barren woman at a śrāddha.
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O highly fortunate Puṇyaśīla, raising my arm it is proclaimed:
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By no means should one appoint one who is destitute of a son for the purpose of a śrāddha.
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The performer of a śrāddha who appoints a brahmin who is the husband of a barren woman,
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his śrāddha is to be known as demonic, and the performer goes to hell.
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Now, the removal of that deformity of Puṇyaśīla by bathing in the Ākāśagaṅgā:
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What is the use of speaking much here? For the removal of that fault,
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I will tell you an expedient. On the auspicious bank of the Svarṇamukhī,
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Mount Veṅkaṭa stands, frequented by hosts of gods,
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the son of Meru, greatly sacred, bestowing the fruit of all desires.
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On that lord of mountains, Veṅkaṭa, bowed to by gods and asuras,
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there is indeed a very great sacred ford named Viyadgaṅgā,
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which calms all sins and increases life and health.
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Going to Mount Veṅkaṭa, in the water of the Svāmipuṣkariṇī,
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having bathed with a prior vow of intention, and immediately thereafter [going] to the sacred ford of Gaṅgā,
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having gone, perform the ritual ablution according to the rules of the sacred ford, O noble-minded one.
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From that ritual ablution alone, instantly, O noble-minded one,
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the disfigurement of this face will surely vanish that very moment; of this there is no doubt.
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Thus addressed by the great-souled Agastya,
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having bowed to that great soul, Puṇyaśīla then went to Mount Veṅkaṭa.
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Having gone there, the highly fortunate one, in the water of the Svāmipuṣkariṇī,
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having bathed with due observance, approached the Viyadgaṅgā.
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By the ritual ablution there, the righteous-minded Puṇyaśīla
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obtained a face resembling the face of Kāma. Ah, the glory of the sacred ford!
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Śrī Sūta said:
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Thus has been narrated to you, O brahmins, what was spoken by Nārada
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to the sage Sanatkumāra, O Śaunaka and other [sages] of great splendour.
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Thus, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, in the collection of eighty-one thousand verses, in the second Vaiṣṇava section, in the Veṅkaṭācalamāhātmya, the twenty-second chapter, entitled 'Description of the Glory of Ākāśagaṅgā'.
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- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit