Skandapurana 2.2.29
English (machine translation) 2.2.29
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Jaimini said:
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Having spoken thus to the tiger among kings, for the sake of sustaining the world,
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the lotus-seated one (Brahmā), having invoked in his heart the lion-shaped [Lord],
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that form of light belonging to Viṣṇu which had been manifested earlier—
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the four forms that were seen formerly at the stepping down from the chariot—
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all of them saw those very same forms seated on the throne once again.
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With the twelve-syllable mantra he worshipped Balabhadra;
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with the Puruṣasūkta, this untainted Nārāyaṇa;
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with the Devīsūkta and with the twelve-syllable [mantra], the discus.
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Having worshipped [them], he represented [this] to favor the king:
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Brahmā said:
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O Blessed Lord, Lord of the chiefs of the gods, granter of grace to devotees!
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A thousand lifetimes of Indradyumna practicing devotion to you
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have passed; at the end of them he has beheld you.
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For the darśana of you, O Blessed Lord, is the cause of union with you.
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Although he desires to worship you by the discipline of devotion,
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order that discipline of devotion by which he may meditate on you,
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with place, time, vows, and likewise with various offerings.
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Desirous of drinking the sweet nectar of your command fallen from your lotus face,
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this king, O Jagannātha, looks upon you without blinking.
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Jaimini said:
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Thus petitioned by the lotus-born [Brahmā] in person,
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the Lord, though having a wooden body, smiled and spoke with a deep voice:
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The sacred idol said:
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Indradyumna, I am pleased with you because of your devotion and desireless deeds.
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Such wealth has not been expended by anyone other than you.
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I grant you a boon, O king: may your devotion to me remain steadfast.
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Because my abode has been built by you, casting away tens of millions in wealth,
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even upon its destruction, O best of kings, this place will not be abandoned by me.
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Even at another time, whoever else shall cause a palace to be built,
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that renown will surely be yours alone; out of affection for you, my presence will abide there.
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Truly, truly, once again truly, only the truth do I tell you:
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Even upon the destruction of the temple, I shall never abandon that place.
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With this wooden form I will abide here for the second half of life,
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until the lotus-born [Brahmā]'s second half of cosmic life is completed.
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In the second four-age cycle of this Manu Svāyambhuva,
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in the first Kṛtayuga, in [the month of] Jyeṣṭha—such was the performance of the sacrifice—
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on the full moon of Jyeṣṭha I descended; that is the holy day of my birth.
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On that [day] one should perform my ceremonial bath according to the rite of the great bath,
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on each image, O great king, together with preliminary consecration, in an opulent manner.
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I shall destroy the sin accumulated through millions of births,
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and the fruit of all sacred fords and sacrifices, as well as the fruit of all gifts,
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reaches also those who behold it, O king of kings.
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North of the banyan tree there is indeed a well composed of all sacred fords.
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Having created it beforehand for ablution, it was slightly covered with earth;
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I descended afterward. Uncover and reveal it!
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It should be purified on the fourteenth [day], after offering an oblation according to rule
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to the protective guardian of the sacred field and to the guardians of the directions.
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Amid the melodious sounds of conches, kāhalā horns, and muraja drums,
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the twice-born should draw the water from there with golden jars.
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On the full moon of Jyeṣṭha, in the morning, having bathed me together with Brahmā,
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as well as Rāma and Subhadrā, one will attain my world.
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Moreover, whatever man beholds me being bathed at that time, O best of kings,
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he never again incurs the bondage of a body.
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Having had a sturdy platform erected and decorated in the northeastern direction,
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adorned with the beauty of canopies and sprinkled with sandalwood water,
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having bathed me there with Rāma and Bhadrā, one should lead [us] back.
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He who with devotion gazes upon me proceeding southward,
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certainly obtains whatever he desires in his mind.
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Then, having kept me [secluded] for fifteen days, O king,
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one should never look upon [me], whether shapeless or handsome.
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Having performed this bath of Jyeṣṭha, one is freed from all sins.
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You should celebrate the great festival called Guṇḍicā, O ruler of the earth,
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by the mere celebration of which a person is freed from sin.
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On the fifth of the month of Māgha, and on the eighth of the bright fortnight of Caitra—
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these times are indeed praised for the great festival called Guṇḍicā.
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Especially the second [lunar day] of Āṣāḍha conjoined with Puṣya grants liberation;
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in the absence of the asterism, it should be observed simply on that lunar day for my perpetual delight.
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On the second [day] of the bright fortnight of Āṣāḍha, conjoined with Puṣya,
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having mounted me, Rāma, along with Bhadrā, upon a chariot on that [day],
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and having gratified numerous twice-born to set the great festival in motion,
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[one should go to] the pavilion named Guṇḍicā, where I was born in ancient times.
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At that time it was the great altar of the thousand horse sacrifices;
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no place holier than it exists here on earth.
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Where you made offerings for five hundred years for my pleasure,
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therefore no other earthly place brings greater delight to me.
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Just as this [mountain] with its blue peak, now adorned with your temple,
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brings great delight to me through the request of the four-faced [Brahmā],
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even so the great altar of your sacrifice in the sacred field of Nṛsiṃha,
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the abode of my birth, brings me everlasting joy.
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I remained there for a long time, and I have the utmost fondness for it.
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This lotus-born [Brahmā], my very self, has installed [me] in the temple.
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Through his pleading and by your devotion, I constantly remain here.
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Likewise, having gone from here, I shall spend nine days there.
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There is your lake containing all sacred fords, O great king;
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on its shore I shall dwell for seven days out of a desire to show grace.
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Mortals who behold me residing there go to my abode.
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Thirty-five million sacred fords exist in the three worlds;
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they all come to your lake due to my presence.
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Having bathed there according to rule and having beheld me with a devout disposition,
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they surely never again experience suffering in a mother's womb.
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Those who see [me] having returned on the ninth day, facing the southern quarter,
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at every step obtain the fruit of a horse sacrifice;
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having attained and enjoyed pleasures equal to Indra's, in the end they enter into me.
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My awakening, my sleep, my turning onto my side,
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the covering in Mārgaśīrṣa, and the great festival of the Puṣya ritual ablution,
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O king, one should perform my play upon the swing during the full moon of Phālguna.
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Those who see me on the swing, worshipped while facing south,
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are freed from sins such as the killing of a brahmin; of this there is no doubt.
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Having worshipped me on these two [occasions], having seen me, and having bowed down,
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one obtains the fruit of eight thousand horse sacrifices for each.
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In Caitra, on the bright thirteenth, one should perform the completion of the rite;
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in the month of Caitra, on the fourteenth, worship of me with damana flowers;
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for people who [do this] in the bright fortnight, all sins are destroyed.
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In the bright fortnight of Vaiśākha, there is the third [day] known as Akṣayā;
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on that day, one should smear me with most splendid fragrant unguents.
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Those who perform my eternal festivals for my delight—
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each of these is proclaimed to bestow the four aims of life.
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Jaimini said:
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Having thus granted a boon to Indradyumna, O twice-born,
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the Lord, his auspicious face smiling like a lotus, spoke to Brahmā:
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"O four-faced one, everything has been accomplished by me for your delight;
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indeed, your will is my own will; surely there is no difference between the two of us.
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As for your praying to me in ancient times in the form of Mādhava,
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this incarnation has been undertaken by me as the fruition of that very prayer.
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Having seen me here, worshipped me, and abandoned one's vital breaths, one is liberated;
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in due course, all [will attain] communion with me together with you.
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Whatever a mortal utters with his speech while serving me here,
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he surely attains that; and by staying here, the king [too will attain it].
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Go now to Satyaloka! Let the deities go to heaven!
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I remain here firmly established until the completion of your lifespan."
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Then all those delighted divine seers and foremost of gods,
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having bowed to the God with their heads, went to their own abode.
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And the Lord God Jagannātha, assuming the form of the image,
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remained silent, bringing joy to all people.
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Righteous Indradyumna too, devoted to Viṣṇu and firm in vows,
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accompanied the lotus-born [Brahmā] and turned back at his command:
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"Duly arrange all the festivals and processions commanded by the Lord.
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When Jagannātha is pleased, all the moving and unmoving world is pleased."
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Placing the command of the lotus-born upon his head, the lord of the earth,
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prosperous and rich with abundant treasures, together with Nārada,
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carried out all the festivals, beginning with the ablution in Jyeṣṭha.
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Thus ends the twenty-ninth chapter in the Puruṣottamakṣetramāhātmya of the second [section], the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, in the Skanda Mahāpurāṇa of eighty-one thousand verses.
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit