Skandapurana 2.1.34
English (machine translation) 2.1.34
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Now the power of the Agastyatīrtha and of Agastyeśvara.
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Arjuna said:
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Even though drinking the nectar of your speech again and again with the folded cups of my ears,
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my mind does not attain satisfaction, through longing to hear further. // 1
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May my repeated desire to listen to your words
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not cause mental distress to you whose nature is filled with compassion. // 2
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Now I wish to hear, O great sage: in this river,
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which sacred fords are efficacious for destroying sin? // 3
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Which holy rivers are joined with her, O sage?
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Where, having cut down their sins through ritual ablution, do people have no fear of Yama? // 4
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And what holy abodes of the gods, beginning with Hara and Acyuta,
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and whatever holy places there are, stand on both of her banks? // 5
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The fruit that is attained by men in those sacred fields,
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Through auspicious rites such as ritual ablution and gifts performed according to the rules,
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All this, along with the narrative, has been understood, O best of the knowers of the Veda.
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Great delight has arisen in me; explain it to me in full detail and in due order.
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Bharadvāja said:
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What has been asked by you, O Pārtha, is told in full detail and in due order,
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The majesty of the multitude of sacred fords of this [river], beginning from Agastya-tīrtha, the foremost of sacred fords.
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By the great-souled Agastya, who is the embodiment of unbroken knowledge, / who desires the welfare of all worlds,
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And who is worthy of honor by gods and demons—
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When it first descended to the earth from that mountain,
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Where, having bathed in the great river, one attains the fulfillment of one's purpose,
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That is declared in the three worlds to be the purifying Agastya-tīrtha;
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By ritual ablution there, purification will occur even for perpetrators of great sins.
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Casting off the heap of great sins / committed throughout many births,
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People devoted to ritual ablution there rejoice in heaven.
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Those self-restrained ascetics who, having performed ritual ablution in that sacred ford,
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Bestow great gifts such as cows, land, sesame seeds, and gold,
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Attain entirely, O Arjuna, a hundredfold the fruit of the gifts
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Performed by focused persons at the Gate of the Gaṅgā.
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Here resides the Lord Īśa, renowned by the name Agastyeśa,
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Installed by the sage Agastya, who causes joy to the world.
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Those who, having bathed in that great river, worship that liṅga,
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They obtain the fruit of ten horse-sacrifices.
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Now, the determination of the time for ritual ablution in the Suvarṇamukharī:
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When the sun, leaving the sign of Sagittarius,
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Enters Capricorn, that meritorious northern course is proclaimed.
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On that day, those restrained and focused persons who, having bathed in the river,
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Behold Pārvatī's lord, Agastyeśa, worshipped by the gods,
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Having attained the fruit of a thousand Agniṣṭoma sacrifices and a hundred Vājapeya sacrifices,
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Rejoice in heaven, worshipped by hosts of gods.
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At the time of the sun's entry into Capricorn, by men desiring auspiciousness
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The darśana of Agastyeśa must certainly be performed.
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Now, the māhātmya of the Deva, Ṛṣi, and Pitṛ sacred fords:
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To the northeast of that sacred ford, at a distance of one krośa, O Arjuna,
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There is a triad of sacred fords, known by the names of Devas, Ṛṣis, and Pitṛs.
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The gods, seers, and ancestors, worshipped there by that sage,
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With joyful minds granted all desired wishes.
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Then it was declared in his presence by the gods, seers, and ancestors:
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“This triad of sacred fords, in due order, shall be praiseworthy by our names.”
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Those who, having bathed in that triad of sacred fords and offered tarpaṇa rites,
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Are completely freed from the three debts, go to imperishable heaven.
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Now, the description of the confluence of the Veṇā and the Suvarṇamukharī:
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Then, on the ground to the northeast, at a distance of two yojanas,
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The great river named Veṇā reached the Suvarṇamukharī;
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Trees on its banks felled by the forceful impact of its lofty current,
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The forest inundated by torrents of water surging from water-channels,
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Crowded with flocks of ruddy geese playing on the high slopes of its sandbanks,
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Resounding with the playful hum of swarms of bees eager for the fragrance of lotuses,
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Having passed beyond many lofty mountains,
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Beautiful with abundant waters, it joined the Suvarṇamukharī.
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Those who perform ritual ablution according to the rules at the confluence of the two rivers
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Shall attain the complete fruit of ten horse-sacrifices.
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Joined with the Veṇā, the holy river Suvarṇamukharī,
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Flowing northward, proceeded along an impassable mountain path.
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Passing along an uneven path through the midst of the mountains,
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That river shone over an extent of four yojanas.
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To the east of that place, in a region of one and a half yojanas,
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On the charming north bank of the great river that flows to the east,
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There is the famed liṅga of the foe of Tripura named Agastyeśvara,
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The remembrance of which dispels all sins for gods and mortals.
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Those men who, having bathed there in the great river with senses controlled,
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behold the Lord of Pārvatī installed by Agastya,
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casting off the accumulation of sin acquired across many previous births,
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rejoice in the abode of the gods for imperishable time. // 35
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Then turning northward, the Suvarṇamukharī flowed
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half a yojana across this region, accompanied by an assemblage of sacred fords. // 36
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Now, the confluence of the Suvarṇamukharī and the river named Vyāghrapadā.
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In that region, delightful with hintāla, tāla, and sāla trees,
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the Suvarṇamukharī and the river named Vyāghrapadā met,
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skillful in warding off manifold sins that are hard to avert, // 37-38
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adorned with dense groves of reed-thickets along its banks,
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rich with the playful plunge of the wives of Siddhas and Gandharvas,
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shining with flowers offered as oblations by the daughters of ascetics, // 39
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resounding with the clamor of flocks of swans, karaṇḍavas, and krauñcas,
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flowing eastward, having arrived by a path running between mountains. // 40
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The best among men who perform a ritual ablution there at the confluence of the two rivers
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obtain the full fruit of ten horse-sacrifices. // 41
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Now, the description of Śaṅkhatīrtha.
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There on the bank of the river named Vyāghrapadā, which removes the impurities of the world,
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shines the faultless Śaṅkhatīrtha, destroyer of all sins, // 42
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the constant dwelling-place of brahmin-seers, visited by gods and Gandharvas,
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bestowing boundless joy through sighting, bathing, drinking, and the like. // 43
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There abides the divine Lord named Śaṅkheśa, O Phālguna,
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installed in the form of a liṅga by the eminent sage named Śaṅkha. // 44
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Those who, having bathed well in that sacred ford, behold the One whose mount is a bull,
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attain the merit born of ten horse-sacrifices and go to the abode of the gods. // 45
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Joined with that [river] called Vyāghrapadā, having gone thence across an area measured at a yojana,
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resorted to by eminent sages, with auspicious, clear waters, she went near Mount Vṛṣabhācala. // 46
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Thus ends the thirty-fourth chapter, named 'Description of the māhātmya of Agastyatīrtha and various sacred fords,' in the Śrīveṅkaṭācalamāhātmya, in the second section, the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, of the glorious Skandamahāpurāṇa comprising eighty-one thousand verses. // 34
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- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit