Skandapurana 2.2.13
English (machine translation) 2.2.13
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2.2.13.13
The sages said: / "And how did the site of Kapoteśa become renowned, O great sage? / Who indeed was the pigeon, and who was the Lord? You ought to tell us this." / Jaimini said: / "Formerly, it was Kuśasthalī, unfit for resort by any living beings, / covered all around with thorns having the sharp edges of kuśa grass, / devoid of trees, without any reservoir of water, like an abode of piśācas. / When formerly no other god was worshipped besides the Blessed Lord, / Dhūrjaṭi [Śiva] then had a rivalry, [thinking:] 'May I also be worthy of worship!' / Reflecting thus, he fixed his mind on devotion to that very Viṣṇu: / 'Having stayed in a place free from all sensory objects, without possessions, / undertaking very great austerity, I shall please that Hari. / What should I say to the Lord of Ramā? What is the praise of the husband of Śāradā? / Or what else would cause satisfaction to the Lord of the entire universe? / Therefore, no other external object is indeed of use to him; / undertaking internal sacrifice with an guileless mind, / I shall worship Hari, the teacher of moving and unmoving beings, who gives himself to his devotees; / by his grace, may I become worthy of worship by all.' / Then, having formed this resolve, free from all dualities, / he went to holy Kuśasthalī near the blue mountain. / Then Maheśvara performed severe austerity, subsisting on air; / though the Lord has eight forms, he became minute like a pigeon. / Then the Blessed Lord, pleased, bestowed sovereignty upon him at that time, / by which he became equal to himself in worship, honor, and the like. / By the power of his austerity, the site became like Vṛndāvana, / its interior adorned with lakes, ponds, pools, and rivers, / with various trees and creepers bearing fruits and flowers in all seasons, / resounding with the humming of bees intoxicated with honey,
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crowded with flocks of various birds, a refuge of comfort for all living beings.
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Because through his austerity Śiva became like a pigeon,
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by Murāri's command he achieved the status of Kapoteśvara here.
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By his command Tryambaka always resides here together with Mṛḍānī.
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Those who worship Kapoteśa, praise him, or bow down [before him],
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freed from sins, go indeed to Puruṣottama.
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Hereafter I shall declare the greatness of Bilveśa, O twice-born.
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In ancient times, daityas dwelling in Pātāla, having broken through the surface of the earth,
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afflicted the earthly realm and devoured the people.
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In order to relieve the burden [of the earth], the Lord and master born from Devakī's womb,
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when he was ruling the earth,
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at that time arrived at that place along with the Yādavas and Pāṇḍavas.
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Having bathed in the water of the king of sacred fords, to that Nīlamādhava
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having bowed from afar mentally, he approached the entrance of the daityas.
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Seeing that terrible chasm, which was impassable to humans,
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deluding the worlds with illusion and proclaiming the worshipfulness of Śiva,
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taking a bilva fruit and invoking the three-eyed Lord there,
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having worshipped the enemy of Tripura, the slayer of asuras praised him:
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The Blessed Lord said:
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Obeisance to you who are beyond the three guṇas, who effect the division of the three guṇas,
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who consist of the triple Veda, who transcend the triad, who know the three divisions of time, obeisance!
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To the one whose eyes are the moon, sun, and fire, who is devoted to sacred knowledge, the supreme self,
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the treasury of the eight sovereign powers, to you of eightfold form, obeisance!
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Whose form is beyond darkness, the destroyer of darkness, imperishable,
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by whom the darkness of ignorance is severed—to that one free from darkness, obeisance!
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Having thus praised himself by himself, the Lord and master,
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by his grace saw the chasm easily penetrable.
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By that path the Lord went to Pātāla along with his army.
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Having slain the daityas there, fierce in strength, the reliever of the burden,
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having returned, staying right there, having fully worshipped
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the bull-bannered [Śiva], the Lord, establishing Śiva to block the entrance,
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this said the one of great intellect, who is won by devotion, the bearer of the mace:
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“O Dhūrjaṭi, remain in the temple, blocking the exit of the asuras.
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Who other than you, O Śambhu, is capable of destroying the army of the demons?”
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Having established Mahādeva, he then went to Dvārāvatī.
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From that time forth, Bilveśa attained renown on earth.
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That Bilveśa is the primal rule of the king of sacred fields, O twice-born.
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Seeing that destroyer of sins, the imperishable husband of Mṛḍānī,
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one obtains all desires and overcomes insurmountable misfortune.
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The greatness of Kapoteśvara and Bilveśvara has indeed been told to you.
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Beyond this, O sages, what else do you wish to hear?
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Thus ends the thirteenth chapter in the dialogue between the sage Jaimini, in the Greatness of the Sacred Field of Puruṣottama, in the second section, the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skandapurāṇa of eighty-one thousand verses.
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit