Skandapurana 2.2.28

English (machine translation) 2.2.28

Language: English

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Then, by the majesty of the mantra, the Man-Lion, the Lord,

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was seen by Indradyumna and all the others in a wondrous form,

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licking the entire universe all around with his blazing tongue,

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as if risen to swallow the entire Rudra of cosmic fire at the end of time,

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pervading the vault of heaven and earth with his fiercely scorching splendour,

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the all-pervading Lord possessing manifold eyes, faces, necks, hands, feet, and ears,

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a deity full of all wonders, a sheer repository of fiery energy.

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Terrified with fear and agitated, they were not even able to praise the Lord.

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asked his father: “O blessed one, why does he appear thus?

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He descended for blessing, yet he inspires fear.

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All are now petrified with fear, suspecting the cosmic dissolution.

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You alone, O blessed one, know his divine sport, O Lord of the worlds.”

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Hearing those words of Nārada, the lotus-born [Brahmā], smiling,

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“Seeing Jagannātha descended and bearing a wooden body,

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the worlds will disregard him, though he is directly of the nature of Brahman.

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Foolish people who do not know the truth must know his greatness.

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He has been addressed with the king of mantras by which Parameṣṭhin,

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invoked by which formerly, tore apart the great asura.

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Having assumed such a form exceedingly difficult to behold and terrifying,

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this form is the highest culmination of Viṣṇu of immeasurable fiery energy,

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by worshipping which people attain the state from which rebirth is hard to encounter.

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Facing Nṛsiṃha, he, filled with joy, spoke this praise:

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“Obeisance to you, peerless lion among the foremost gods! Obeisance to you, sole lion to the elephants of masses of sins!

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Obeisance to you, lion on the farther shore of the ocean of sorrow! Obeisance to you, divine lion made of light!

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Obeisance to you, wondrous lion embodying all forms! Obeisance to you, lion who liberates from afflictions!

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Obeisance to you, Nṛsiṃha of divine form! Obeisance to you, sole lion among the best of heroes!

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Obeisance to you, lion who tears asunder the Daityas! Obeisance to you, supreme lion of the gods among the gods!

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Obeisance to you, sole lion in the forest of Vedānta! Obeisance to you, sole lion in the cave of the yogins!

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Obeisance to you, lion, peerless lion of righteousness! Obeisance to you, lion on the peak of the Nīla mountain!”

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Having thus praised that divine lion, the lord of creatures [Brahmā] drew a lion-yantra,

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and initiated him into the king of mantras proclaimed directly in the Atharvaveda,

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which those devoted to Vedānta call the Vaiṣṇava liberation,

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wherein the four Vedas are directly and eternally established,

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reciting which great mantra the lord Svāyambhuva Manu formerly

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performed creation after receiving it from this four-faced [Brahmā],

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whose secondary fruit are the powers such as atomicity.

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This single great mantra is the very cause

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for obtaining the four aims of human life; what need to speak of trivial desires?

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This single great mantra grants the fruit of all sacrifices;

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it grants [the merit of] all sacred fords; it grants the fruit of all gifts and vows.

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Just as this god in the form of a divine lion is a forest fire

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to the heap of cotton that is all heaps of sin, so too is this king of mantras.

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Practicing this, ascetics indeed cast off the disease of worldly existence.

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By merely receiving it, seizing spirits, epilepsy, Rākṣasas,

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Ḍākinīs, Bhūtas, Vetālas, Piśācas, serpents, and malevolent planets

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flee from afar, nor are they able even to look upon him.

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Then, having obtained the king of mantras from the four-faced one, Indradyumna saw

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Nṛsiṃha, whose body was radiant, whose chest was embraced by Lakṣmī,

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holding the discus and the bow, whose eyes were the moon, sun, and fire,

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whose pair of lotus hands were extended over his knees, having an elevated nose,

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seated comfortably in the yogapaṭṭa posture upon a thirty-two-petalled lotus

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composed of the letters of the mantra, in the center shining with the praṇava on the pericarp,

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laughing heartily, gazing at his auspicious lotus face,

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his lotus face adorned with a mane, his form gleaming with divine jewels;

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and behind the all-pervading lord, spreading a thousand hoods in the form of an umbrella,

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he saw Balabhadra, who wields the ploughshare and plough.

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Having seen Puruṣottama of such a kind, the king rejoiced;

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and, his mind filled with wonder, he asked the lotus-seated one:

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“O Lord, wondrous indeed is this deed of the slayer of Madhu!

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How could it be possible for us to comprehend it, O creator of the worlds?

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At the conclusion of the sacrifice, he assumed such a form made of wood;

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and the Lord himself, mounted on a chariot, entered inside the temple.

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That voice concealed in the sky previously said to me:

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‘By means of the super-human tree, there will be four forms.’

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Now he is seen well-established as one alone.

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Is this māyā, or is it reality? Tell me according to reality, O Lord,

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if you consider me a worthy vessel to hear it, O creator of existence!”

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Hearing this, [Brahmā] then replied to that best of kings who was filled with doubt.

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“The primordial form of the Lord has the appearance of Nārasiṃha, O king,

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revealed to you by Nārāyaṇa out of grace toward me.

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‘This is a wooden form’—such a notion that it is merely an image

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should not be yours, O tiger among kings! For this is the form of the supreme Brahman.

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Because it cuts through (khaṇḍanāt) all sufferings and because it bestows unbroken (akhaṇḍa) bliss,

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this wood (dāru) by its very nature is called the supreme Brahman.

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Thus the god made of wood, in accordance with the four Vedas,

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is the creator of the worlds, and from that he also created himself.

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Between the Brahman as sound (śabdabrahman) and the supreme Brahman, no difference is admitted;

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in dissolution this is only one, but in creation difference operates.”

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Word and meaning are mutually interdependent, O king;

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a word exists for the purpose of meaning, and through a word [meaning] is understood.

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Therefore, the four Vedas are the meaning; the words and meanings are of such nature.

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The plough-bearer (Balarāma) has the form of the Ṛgveda; the man-lion (Nṛsiṃha) is the Sāmaveda.

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This Subhadrā is the form of the Yajurveda; the discus is considered to be the Atharvaveda.

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The Veda is fourfold; this division forms a single mass through non-difference.

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Therefore let there be no doubt in you: the all-pervading Lord is one, yet manifold.

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And in his other incarnations he operates according to this same rule.

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Thus both difference and non-difference of Jagannātha have been declared to you, O king.

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Practice [worship] with devotion according to whatever pleases your mind.

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For this Lord consists of all forms and consists of all mantras.

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Just as and by whomsoever he is worshipped, in that very manner he bestows fruits upon him.

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Just as purely refined gold, fashioned according to one's desire, O king,

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obtaining various designations in this world, produces various kinds of satisfaction,

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even so the Blessed Lord has manifested here by his majesty, O king.

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Whatever trust a person has, so great is his attainment of perfection.

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With an inner self purified by action, mind, and speech,

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worship Govinda here, who bears a wooden body,

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in order to attain the fruit of the four goals of life as desired by you.

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Worship this Viṣṇu with this king of mantras.

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There is no mantra superior to this, nor has there been, nor will there be.

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Worshipped with this, Viṣṇu becomes pleased that very moment;

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the Blessed Lord, who is affectionate to his devotees, grants even his own abode.

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What need has he of sacrifices, sacred fords, observances, gifts, and austerities,

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who worships Viṣṇu in wooden form stationed on Nīlācala?

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I tell you the truth, O king; having heard it, keep it in mind:

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stationed on Nīlācala at the base of the banyan tree on the shore of this ocean,

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having seen Brahman disguised as wood, which is immortal, one is liberated; there is no doubt.

Thus ends the twenty-eighth chapter, in the dialogue of the sage Jaimini, in the Glorification of the Puruṣottama-kṣetra, in the second Vaiṣṇava Section, in the venerable Skanda Mahāpurāṇa containing eighty-one thousand verses.

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit