Skandapurana 2.2.12
English (machine translation) 2.2.12
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Jaimini said:
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When Brahmā's son [Nārada] had spoken thus, King Indradyumna,
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having heard the sage's words, rejoiced in his inner self.
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Reflecting with supreme discernment, he considered his exertion fruitful:
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“Ah, supreme is my good fortune, earned across many births,
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that the Grandfather of all the worlds has taken interest in my undertaking!
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He made his own son, who is liberated while living, my helper.
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For as the helper of men is, so indeed is the outcome of the task.
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Such is the precept of the elders heard in all assemblies.”
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Reflecting thus, the king dismissed the members of the assembly.
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Then, taking the sage by the hand, he entered the inner quarters, O twice-born ones.
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Having honoured him according to rule, upon a couch with him indeed,
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the king spent the remainder of the night conversing reciprocally.
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Then, at clear dawn, having performed his daily duties,
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and worshipped the Lord of the Universe, he crossed the great river.
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With the path shown ahead by the ruler of the Odhra country who was leading the way,
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accompanied by his army, he set out towards the sacred field of Ekāmravana.
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Having traversed a short distance, reaching [the river] named Gandhavahā,
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the swift [king] crossed that rapid river of cool water.
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At the time of the morning worship of Koṭiliṅgeśvara,
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the king heard from afar the sound of carcarī songs, conches, kāhala horns, mṛdaṅgas, and muraja drums,
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pervading the great forest.
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Believing it to belong to the Lord residing on the Blue Mountain,
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delighted, he said to Nārada: “Where does this sound come from, O great sage?
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Has the Supreme Lord residing on the crest of the Blue Mountain arrived,
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since this tumultuous sound is heard at the time of His worship?
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Or is some other deity nearby, O sage?”
Thus questioned by the king, the bull among sages spoke:
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“O King, that sacred field is extremely hard to attain, kept secret by the Enemy of Mura.
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The Lord is not known by any men to be there.
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For you are the best among the fortunate; through your good fortune, by your family priest,
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the Lord was somehow seen by means of the path of restrained senses.
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You are equipped with armies having six components, O best of kings,
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yet you have undertaken an extreme venture; I have doubts, O protector of the earth.
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The Blue Mountain is situated at the third yojana.
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This Ekāmrakavana is the sacred field of the all-pervading Lord of Gaurī [Śiva].
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Not far from here, O ruler of the earth, he took refuge, being terrified.”
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Indradyumna said:
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“How was the Lord of Gaurī terrified, or to whom did he take refuge,
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he who formerly burned dreadful Tripura with a single arrow?
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Astonishment has arisen in me regarding this; I wish to hear what is rarely told.
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Bhava [Śiva], the supreme purifier, is the protector of those terrified of worldly existence.
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For what reason was he stricken with fear? Who indeed was capable of conquering him?”
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Nārada said:
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In this matter I shall recount to you an ancient event, O king:
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Formerly, having been brought under sway by her tapas, he married Gaurī.
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The Lord Nīlalohita, a celibate student on the Himalaya,
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abandoned his vow of celibacy, tormented by the arrows of the Bodiless One.
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He disported with that radiant lady, intoxicated by youth, O king,
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and enjoyed in her father's domain pleasures coveted even by the gods.
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Then once, as the virtuous woman was stepping out from her dwelling-house,
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she was addressed gently with a smile by her mother, in the presence of the noble women of the family:
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“O noble lady, great tapas was performed in the dense forest for the sake of a husband,
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and a husband of no family, devoid of qualities, and old was obtained, O fair-faced one!
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Day and night you do not leave the presence of such a one.
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Tell me, my child, what virtue is there, or what ornaments and clothes
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have been obtained born from your husband's favor? Dwelling in my house alone,
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you stay for a long time, O blessed one, pampered with the pleasures of your father.
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In the three worlds, maiden daughters married from their father's house
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depart adorned by their husband to their husband's home—so we have heard.
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I, however, being the mind-born daughter of the ancestors from the world of the ancestors,
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came here, O highly fortunate one, and was married by the Snowy Mountain.
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This was spoken by me in jest, not out of anger, O tremulous-eyed one;
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it must not be spoken before your husband, for he is considered equal to Viṣṇu.”
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Nārada said:
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Hearing this speech of her mother, pained by the disparagement of her husband,
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her lower lip trembling with anger, she uttered not a single word.
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She went near her husband, concealing the mother’s words,
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and spoke a sharp yet affectionate speech of measured words:
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“O Lord, this residence in the father-in-law's abode is not proper
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even for the lowly; how much less for you, the teacher of the three worlds?
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Therefore dwelling here is not suitable for us two, nor is it pleasing to me, O omnipresent one.
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Are there no lands suitable for residence for you, the Lord?”
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Thus spoken to by Śivā, the blessed Lord who bears the bull on his banner
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mounted the bull together with her and swiftly went to the Central Region.
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Passing beyond all sacred fords and the great purifying Prayāga,
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on the northern bank of the Gaṅgā flowing toward the eastern ocean,
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he built the city named Vārāṇasī for Gaurī’s residence,
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measuring five krośas, charming, and adorned with excellent palaces,
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endowed with hundreds of watchtowers, possessing countless gardens,
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provided with various sacred fords, crowded with manifold people,
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radiant, constructed by Viśvakarman at the command of Dhūrjaṭi,
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[a city] where sins are destroyed by the pure and cool waves of the Gaṅgā.
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There, in the center of the city adorned with golden ramparts and watchtowers,
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well-fashioned with pillars of gems, fulfilling all desires,
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Paśupati disported with her, as Madhusūdana with Śrī.
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That city is never at any time abandoned by the Lord of the Universe;
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known as Avimuktā, she grants liberation to mortals,
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resorted to in former times, O ruler of men, by those who fear worldly existence.
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Dwelling there at that time, richly adorned by that husband of hers,
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Gaurī did not even remember her mother and father, O king.
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When many ages had thus elapsed, the Lord went to Mount Kailāsa,
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having established there ten million liṅgas of himself.
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Kings protected that city frequently, O king.
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There was one named the king of Kāśi in the former Dvāpara age;
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he propitiated the Lord Śambhu by severe tapas.
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Thinking, “In battle I shall overcome Acyuta,
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who conquers kings led by Jarāsandha,” that monarch
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[pleased Śiva], and the Wielder of the Pināka, being gratified, granted him a boon:
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“You shall conquer the slayer of Kaṃsa in battle, O subduer of enemies!
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For your sake, mounted upon the bull, I myself shall fight together with the Pramathas.”
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Having obtained this boon from Śambhu, that infatuated king,
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valorous as he was, challenged Hari, the wielder of the conch and discus, in battle.
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That blessed Lord, the Inner Controller, having known such an occurrence,
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[Viṣṇu] dispatched his discus to slay the king of Kāśī.
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That discus of terrifying appearance, shining like a thousand suns,
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having severed the head of the king of Kāśī, and then his army and that city,
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burned them, O king, enraged, knowing Viṣṇu's intention and power.
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Seeing that exceedingly grave deed, Paśupati, enraged,
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surrounded by his gaṇas and mounted on his bull, bearing the Pināka, charged towards it.
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Then, having seen the Sudarśana discus first before him,
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Śambhu hurled the Pāśupata weapon, like a cosmic portent of doom.
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Formerly a boon had been obtained from Viṣṇu by Śambhu, who had pleased him with devotion:
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‘I will replenish your weapon with power when remembered by you;
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if you turn against me, however, it shall become devoid of luster.’
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And when this terrible Pāśupata weapon was rendered futile,
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and Vārāṇasī was burned, the bull-bannered [Śiva], terrified with fear,
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praised Puruṣottama, the origin of the worlds, who has no beginning:
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Mahādeva said:
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O Nārāyaṇa, supreme abode, supreme Self, higher than the highest!
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O you whose sovereign power is existence, consciousness, and bliss, taintless one, homage be to you!
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O cause of the universe, performer of actions such as creation through the distinctions of the guṇas,
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hidden by your own māyā, self-luminous one, homage be to you!
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Not inside, yet outside; outside, yet inside; situated far off, yet near at hand;
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heavy, light, firm, more subtle, and grosser—homage be to you!
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O peerless one, millions of Brahmā’s [lifespans] and half an instant of mine
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arise from the play of your glance: homage to that embodiment of Time!
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Surrounded by hosts of universes held in each single hair,
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whose body is beyond measure: homage to that universal Self!
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Homage be to you who measure the dissolution and birth of the Creator by his own measure of time,
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and the arrangement of manvantaras and the like!
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I was created from tamas, O Lord, ignorant of your majesty.
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Therefore forgive my offense; protect me who have approached for refuge!
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While the burner of Tripura was making this hymn of praise,
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Adhokṣaja, relinquishing the form of the discus, manifested himself,
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gracious of countenance, glorious, bearing conch, discus, and mace,
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seated on Garuḍa upon a lotus throne, adorned with a garland of forest flowers,
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radiant with necklaces, earrings, armlets, diadem, and other ornaments,
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holding Lakṣmī on his left lap and having Satyā on his right side,
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an ocean of compassion possessing a charming body like a dark raincloud.
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As if possessed by anger, he spoke to the trembling lord of Girijā:
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The Blessed Lord said:
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O Śambhu, after so much time, how has this bad judgment come upon you,
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that for the sake of a king who is a mere insect you have stood up to fight with me?
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How many powers of mine were not known by you, O Dhūrjaṭi?
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True, your Pāśupata weapon is invincible to gods and asuras together;
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yet that discus is the form of my anger, which does not spare even you.
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Who indeed, except you, wanders in the world disrespecting me?
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Formerly you were strengthened by numerous austerities as [part of] my body;
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now, if you wish to sport here for a long time together with Gaurī,
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and if you wish this city of Vārāṇasī to remain long-standing,
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there is a sacred field renowned on earth by my name, the glorious Puruṣottama-kṣetra,
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on the shore of the southern ocean, adorned by the Nīlācala mountain,
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ten yojanas in extent, reaching as far as the Viraja-maṇḍala.
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Progressively purifying is that sacred field as far as the Citrotpalā river;
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from there onwards, whatever region reaches up to the southern ocean,
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step by step most excellent, is the Nīlādri, which bestows liberation,
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where indeed I abide in four forms, made of sapphire.
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To the north of it is the renowned forest named Ekāmraka;
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dwell there with Pārvatī without fear, O destroyer of Tripura!
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By the self-manifest [Brahmā] creating all the worlds at my command,
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you shall be anointed as king even there over ten million liṅgas.
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And this sacred ford which is Maṇikarṇikā consists of all sacred fords;
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abandoning your egoism here, go there with your retinue.
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Nārada said:
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Thus addressed by Vāsudeva, Tryambaka, his neck bowed down,
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folded his hands in reverence and spoke to the slayer of Madhu:
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Mahādeva said:
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“O God of gods, O Lord of the universe, O remover of the distress of those bowed down, O Lord!
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O Lord of the world, obeying your command is the cause of the highest good for me.
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As for the pride displayed by me out of delusion, O Lord,
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in that very matter, O Lord, your own favor was the cause of my fickle mind.
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Since you command, O Lord of gods, my journey to Puruṣottama,
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placing that upon my head, I shall go to that auspicious sacred field that grants liberation.
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Make a compact today to grant me your favor:
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Do you yourself protect my sacred field, O Puruṣottama,
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so that it will never again suffer such destruction.”
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In this way this sacred field was established in ancient times by Mahādeva.
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Worshiping the Lord Puruṣottama accompanied by Bala and Śrī,
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here the lover of Umā was directly installed by the Supreme Lord.
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We shall go there and behold the destroyer of the cities,
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the husband of the mountain-born goddess, who shines as a sun dispelling the mass of dense inner darkness.
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This sacred field belonging to Śambhu is the supreme destroyer of darkness.
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It washes away passion; it is the celebrated, auspicious Virajamaṇḍala.
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Renowned for its abundance of sattva is Puruṣottama, which grants liberation.
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As many other sacred fields as have been heard by you to grant liberation,
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all of them truly bestow liberation right here, O king of kings.
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This sacred field, O great king, for those whose minds are tainted by wicked deeds,
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does not come into the path of faith; it is the secret of the disc-bearer.
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Jaimini said:
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Hearing Nārada’s words, the king, delighted in heart,
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spoke to that tiger among sages, his eyes wide with wonder:
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“Well spoken to me, O brahmin, is this most holy sacred field,
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where that lord of Umā dwells, and Puruṣottama is the protector.
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We must certainly go there, even though the path is winding ground,
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since this is the great cause for obtaining the desired goal.”
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Jaimini said:
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Then at noon, O twice-born, the sage and the king,
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together with their army, reached the sacred field called the Ekāmra forest.
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The king, bathing in the Bindutīrtha and worshiping
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Puruṣottama situated on the bank according to the rules, went to the great temple of Koṭīśvara.
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Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit