Skandapurana 2.2.23
English (machine translation) 2.2.23
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Nārada said:
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To the gatekeeper, [Nārada said]: “The royal seer Indradyumna of great renown,
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a universal monarch and foremost of Vaiṣṇavas, has arrived to see the Creator.
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Let him go before him, if you consent.”
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Addressed thus, Maṇikodara spoke again to Nārada:
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“Master, this one who has arrived with you is indeed not understood to be an ordinary person.
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Where you see the guardians of the directions, the ancestors, and the lords of the manvantaras,
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there this mortal dweller might indeed take his stand; such is his valour!
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Go yourself to the lotus-born [Brahmā], inform him, and then bring him in.
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He who stands at the entrance of the assembly hall shall enter along with the guardians of the directions.
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The four-faced Lord is one-pointed in mind toward the singer.
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We who are stationed at the door must certainly wait for the right moment.
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No anger should be directed toward me, a servant of yours and of your father.”
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Thus spoken to, Nārada went to Brahmā, the lord of the worlds;
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bowing down with an eight-limbed prostration, he reported the lord of the earth.
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Then, with a side glance, he indicated the admission of Indradyumna;
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the Lord did not say anything, because his attention was fixed on the singing.
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His mind was captivated with delight by the music of the celestial singer.
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Understanding the gesture, Nārada then
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brought in the best of kings, Indradyumna, who was closely observed by Śakra and the others.
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Seeing from afar the Grandfather, the creator of the worlds,
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the king considered him, O best of the twice-born, to be Hari in wooden form visibly manifest.
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Very slowly the king advanced, bowing down with folded hands,
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praising, bending low, prostrating, walking with steps faltering from awe;
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at a little distance the king stood, by Nārada's direction.
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Then, listening to the holy deed of the lord of the ocean's daughter being sung,
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the four-faced one remained for a moment, O bulls among the twice-born,
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being fanned on both flanks by Sāvitrī and Śāradā,
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and praised by the Vedas who bore pure bodies.
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Arranging the cycle of the yugas through kalās, kāṣṭhās, blinks of an eye, and the rest—
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for those who have reached whose world there is neither old age, birth, nor death, nor alteration of form and the like,
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nor indeed mental anguishes and physical illnesses;
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where there are no manvantaras, nor cycles of yugas,
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nor ends of kalpas—he, the Supreme Lord visibly manifest,
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spoke to that king at the conclusion of the song, as though smiling:
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“O Indradyumna of great courage, you are visibly dear to the Lord!
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The world named Satya, difficult for others to attain, is known to you.
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Desiring arrival here, sages whose sins have vanished
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and who are steadfast in austerity remain until the dissolution of all elements.
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For among creatures created in the fourteen worlds, whatever
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wondrous things exist such as consciousness—he indeed is the refuge of all of them.”
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Although knowing his business, honoring the best of kings,
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the Grandfather, supremely pleased, said to Indradyumna:
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“For what purpose have you come here? Speak that which is in your heart.
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When I am seen, immortality is not difficult to attain; what is it that is desired?”
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Indradyumna said:
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“O Inner Ruler, Lord, whence could there be anything unknown to you?
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Nevertheless, Master, the question you ask is compassion itself toward me.
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Placing your command upon my head, as spoken by your son,
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a thousand sacrifices were offered by me; at the end of them, bearing a wooden body,
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the Lord, ruler of the past, future, and present, manifested himself.
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Looking upon me solely through the power of the wealth of your grace,
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the lotus-eyed one was of such a nature; because of which I have come to your world.
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For whom a temple has been begun by me, O god—if you yourself
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go there, O Lord, and install the divine Jagannātha,
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your grace toward me will indeed bear fruit, O Creator of the world!
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For this purpose, O Master of the universe, now along with Nārada
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I have come to your world to see the pair of your lotus feet.”
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Be gracious to me and do this, for you alone are the Lord of the Universe (Jagannātha).
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You alone are that Lord of the Universe; there is no distinction between the two of you, O all-pervading Lord.
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You are the one to be consecrated and the consecrator; you are the one to be known and the one who makes known.
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Jaimini said:
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At the conclusion of this entreaty, the great sage Durvāsas,
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having bowed down with a prostration of all eight limbs, stood with joined palms,
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and, humble through modesty, spoke to the Creator, the teacher of the worlds:
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“O all-pervading Lord, held back at the entrance of the gate by the doorkeeper,
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the guardians of the quarters, along with the ancestors, and likewise the lords of the manvantaras,
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have been waiting for a long time like wretched folk, O source of the worlds.
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Therefore give the command, so that they may behold your lotus-like feet.”
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Hearing that speech of Durvāsas, the god of gods then,
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laughing aloud, uttered these words: “This is not their occasion at all.
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Do they vie with Indradyumna, succumbing to the sway of delusion?
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This king is liberated while living, his heap of karmic sins destroyed.
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He is the fifth in descent from my lineage, a Vaiṣṇava devoted to Viṣṇu.
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For these [gods] attained their status through action for the sake of enjoying pleasure.
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These deities, performing austerity while praying for arrival here,
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have come by my grace into my worship.
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Even so, permitted by you, let them come to have my darśana.”
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Then those gods entered at the word of Durvāsas.
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From afar they bowed to Brahmā, near the singers,
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[and to] King Indradyumna who was conversing with joined palms.
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Looking with a side-glance upon those bowed guardians of the quarters, the Lord of the Universe
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favored them, speaking respectfully to Indradyumna:
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“O King, truly a temple was built by you for the presence of the Lord.
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Neither that time, nor that kingdom, nor your lineage remains now, O King.
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During this interval of musical singing, a great amount of time of yours has elapsed.
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For a manvantara consists of seventy-one divine yugas.
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Your lineage has also been cut off; crores of rulers of the earth have passed away.
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The final deity and the temple—these two alone remain here.
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It is now the first yuga of the second Manu, Svārociṣa.
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For one dwelling here in my presence, there is neither death nor old age,
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nor change of the seasons, nor the maturing effects of time.
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Therefore go to the earth, O king of kings, and to the deity and the temple,
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establish your connection with it, and return swiftly.
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Or rather, I shall set out right on your heels.
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Having gone to the earth ahead of me, while you make ready
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the abundant provisions, O fortunate one, in that very time I will come.”
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Having thus instructed Indradyumna, the blessed Grandfather
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spoke to the gods standing before him with their necks bowed in humility,
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with hands joined in reverence, filled with awe, their gazes fixed on his feet.
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The Blessed One spoke with an affectionate, deep voice, O twice-born ones:
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“For what reason have all you dwellers of heaven arrived simultaneously?
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State what business of yours is to be performed by me, without delay.”
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Jaimini said:
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Having heard the words of the Creator, the gods, free from agitation,
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all rejoiced and replied to the blessed Grandfather.
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The gods said:
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“The one who was previously worshipped by us on the Blue Mountain, made of sapphire—
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how has he disappeared, O God, and now, bearing a wooden body,
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appeared at the conclusion of King Indradyumna's sacrifice?
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To learn the reason for this, to your lotus feet
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we have come here to worship; be gracious and tell us that.”
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When this was said by the gods, the blessed lotus-seated deity [said]:
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“This is a secret, O gods, which was not declared to anyone previously.
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Since you have all come together after a long time and asked,
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therefore I shall tell you the supreme secret of the gods.
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In the previous parārdha, O gods, Janārdana,
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taking a body made of sapphire, did not abandon the sacred field of glorious Puruṣottama.
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Now, however, the second half of my life has arrived,
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in the Śvetavārāha Kalpa, during the time of the Manu named Svāyambhuva.
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This period is indeed current, the morning of the very first day.
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This god, in a wooden form in the middle of the worlds,
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the Lord, will remain, honouring the measure of my lifespan.
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This Blessed One is my own self; I am made of him, O gods.
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There is nothing between the two of us in this world of moving and unmoving things.
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He who in the middle of the Milk Ocean, on Śvetadvīpa, upon a couch,
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lies observing that yogic sleep, Puruṣottama—
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he is the root, the origin of the worlds. His hairs, indeed, / are named the wish-fulfilling trees, marked with the conch and the discus.
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This tree, situated in their midst, is presided over by consciousness, O gods;
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the True Person has arisen of himself in the water of the ocean.
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Janārdana, having a wooden body, in order to enjoy the pleasures of the three worlds,
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cultivated through the yoga of devotion across many thousands of births,
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was prayed to by me formerly for the destruction of dreadful worldly existence,
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with a mind distressed by repeated creation, dissolution, and maintenance.
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For the destruction of all karmas, for the total liberation of the worlds,
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even without the difficult yogas of concentration and meditation,
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the Blessed One, Puruṣottama, became manifest for the sake of liberation.
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His body is concealed; one should not scrutinize his sacred field.
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According to the measure of the subject's perception, as he is seen, just so is he;
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the god grants the four aims of life according to however one conceives of him.
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With the mass of their sins destroyed by his darśana, by degrees on earth
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men become pure-souled and recipients of liberation."
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Jaimini said:
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Hearing this nectar of words from the Lotus-Born [Brahmā],
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the delighted gods reflected with overjoyed inner selves:
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"Leaving behind this fleeting divinity and going to the earth,
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let us worship the god in this excellent sacred field, fully self-controlled."
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Seeing the gods with faces blooming with joy, the Grandfather [said]:
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"The Lord who has become visible to bestow grace on Indradyumna,
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the image of his that has arrived here, will speak of his own accord;
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the Blessed One, fond of his devotees, will grant many boons.
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In order to consecrate the All-Pervading One in the temple of Indradyumna,
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I too will go; you must go there indeed.
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Let Indradyumna go ahead to gather the materials for the consecration;
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you, whose terms of office are expired, be his assistants there.
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The first manvantara has indeed passed now, O gods;
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going there together with Indradyumna, O best of gods,
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he shall maintain ownership of the temple and the images.
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Therefore, having collected the provisions, accompanied by helpers, he now
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on the earth, even from the remembrance of his lineage and connections—
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by my command, the Padmanidhi will go with [him] to the earth
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in preparation for all the items for the consecration of the Blessed One."
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Indradyumna too, his soul delighted upon seeing the glory of Brahmā, O twice-born,
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filled with great wonder, bowed down to the Teacher of the World;
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placing his command upon his head, along with the gods whose offices had expired,
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approved by the Ordainer, he came to the earth, O brahmins.
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Thus ends the twenty-third chapter in the Puruṣottamakṣetra-māhātmya, in the second Vaiṣṇava Section of the eighty-one-thousand-verse collection of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, in the dialogue of the sage Jaimini. (23)
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit