Skandapurana 2.1.31
English (machine translation) 2.1.31
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2.1.31.1
Now, the inquiry of Arjuna to Bharadvāja out of a desire to hear the majesty of Suvarṇamukharī:
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The glorious Sūta said:
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Having performed his evening rites, blazing with the brilliance of fire,
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the bull of the Bharatas bowed down to the comfortably seated lord of sages.
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Delighted by the flow of nectar-like, cool fragrance belonging to it,
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he spoke these profound and humble words:
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Arjuna said:
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O eminent sage, in this world I alone am truly fortunate,
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since I am properly honored by you no differently than a son.
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My mind, filled with curiosity aroused by your hospitality,
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seems to hasten me to drink the divine nectar of your words.
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From what mountain was this great river born? By whom was she brought?
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What religious merit is obtained there through ritual ablutions, gifts, and the like?
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O noble sage, to me who am bowed before you, her power and origin
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you ought to tell, for grace toward devotees is indeed your duty.
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Hearing Arjuna's speech, Bharadvāja, the best of the twice-born,
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looked upon his face and, skilled in speech, spoke these words:
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Bharadvāja said:
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You, O mighty-armed Arjuna, are the purifier of the Kuru lineage.
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Especially are you worthy of my respect, because you are the younger brother of Dharmaputra.
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Many rulers of the earth have been seen, but they are not like you, O Phālguna.
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endowed with grace, straightforwardness, compassion, generosity, steadfastness, and profundity.
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Noble birth, learning, and wealth indeed cause arrogance in the powerful;
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for virtuous men like you, they are a cause of modesty.
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While abundant royal pleasures are at hand, O Kaurava,
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who else besides you does not succumb to perturbation?
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I have been won over, O son of Kuntī, by your pre-eminent virtues.
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What is there that should not be told to you whose mind is filled with curiosity?
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Hear, O king, the divine story heard by me from the mouth of a sage,
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upon hearing which all living beings are freed from the dread of sins.
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Now begins the narrative of the marriage of Śaṃkara, recounted by Bharadvāja:
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Formerly, the goddess Dākṣāyaṇī, having been insulted by her father,
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abandoned that body and became the daughter of the Snow Mountain.
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Approached and entreated by the seven seers, the Mountain,
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prepared to give his daughter in marriage to Mṛtyuṃjaya.
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He whose emblem is the bull, the Lord of the universe, in order to marry Sarvamaṅgalā,
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arrived at Himavat's dwelling named Oṣadhiprastha.
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By his command, all immobile and mobile beings assembled,
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in order to rejoice at the wedding of the Lord of creatures.
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Crushed by their immense weight, the earth in the northern region
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sank so deep that it reached down to Pātāla.
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Relieved of weight and light, the southern part rose sharply upward;
and seeing that, everyone became frightened.
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Perceiving that distortion of the earth and seeing Agastya, Maheśvara
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said, "Come here, O sagacious one!" and spoke these words:
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"Since all creatures have assembled here, the earth,
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oppressed by their weight, has undergone distortion.
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Therefore, you are capable of balancing the earth, O noble-minded one;
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for, apart from you, how could this be accomplished by anyone else here?
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Indeed, you are born from my splendor, ever engaged in protecting the worlds;
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therefore, by my word, dear child, restore balance to this earth.
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When all the people, their minds absorbed in curiosity about my wedding,
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have assembled, you too ought to have been present.
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Yet if you do not depart from here, no one at all is able
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to remove this distortion of the earth; therefore you must go, O sinless one.
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This form of mine, radiant with the auspiciousness of taking the hand of the Mountain's daughter,
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I shall display to you wherever you remain."
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Now begins Agastya's departure from the Himālayas to the southern direction for balancing the earth:
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Having spoken thus and embraced him, Maheśvara dismissed him.
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Saying "So be it" and bowing, that sage departed toward the southern quarter.
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When Agastya, that tiger among sages, crossed beyond the Vindhya mountain
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and reached the southern region, the earth attained balance.
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When the pot-born sage settled there, having removed the earth's tilt,
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the gods, gandharvas, and kinnaras praised him, trembling with joy.
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Going forth from there, he saw a lofty mountain
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standing before him, holding up the earth with its sprawling feet,
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as though fashioned by the self-manifest [creator] as a mine
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of all great medicinal herbs and jewels glowing with undivided brilliance,
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which, with its lofty peaks rich in noble torrents,
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seemed constantly to uphold the vault of heaven falling down to earth.
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Slowly climbing that mountain, Agastya, the eminent sage,
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set his mind on dwelling on its charming summit.
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On the northern shore of a lake comparable to nectar,
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possessing the splendor of lotus and blue-lotus blooms, and surrounded by various trees,
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having constructed an excellent hermitage in a captivating spot,
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and having duly worshipped the ancestors, gods, seers, and the site-deity,
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he lived there for a very long time accompanied by a multitude of sages,
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on that mountain frequented by deities, siddhas, gandharvas, and apsarases.
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As the pot-born sage remained in the penance grove with his mental faculties absorbed in austerity,
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that mountain, endowed with celebrated good fortune, acquired the name of Mount Agastya.
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Thus ends the thirty-first chapter, entitled "The Description of the Marriage of Śaṃkara and Agastya's Departure to the Southern Region," in the Praise of the Glory of the Suvarṇamukharī, in the Glory of Veṅkaṭācala, in the second section, the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, of the glorious Skandapurāṇa, a compendium of eighty-one thousand verses.
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit