Skandapurana 2.2.31
English (machine translation) 2.2.31
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Jaimini said:
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Considering himself to have achieved his purpose, he should then proceed
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to the Indradyumna Lake, which originated as part of the horse sacrifice,
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on whose bank resides Hari in the form of Narasiṃha.
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Having prayed to Narasiṃha, he should duly bathe there:
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“O Narasiṃha, salutations to you, in whose excellent sacred field
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the best of kings performed a thousand horse sacrifices!
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By your grace, O Lord, I have come to bathe in the lake born from a part of that sacrifice
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of Indradyumna; please grant me permission, O Lord!”
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Then, having gone to the bank of the sacred ford and performed purification and sipping of water,
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he should make anjali and pray, reciting this mantra:
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“O [lake] whose surface of the earth was trampled by the hooves of ten million cows belonging to the horse sacrifice,
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purifier of all, filled with their urine, froth, and the water of donation,
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I have come to bathe in your auspicious water, which contains all sacred fords;
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free [me] through this bath from sin arisen across thousands of previous births!”
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Then, having entered inside, O twice-born ones, with the five Vāruṇa [mantras],
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he should bathe and, standing within the water, recite the Aghamarṣaṇa three times:
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“O sacred ford born from an auxiliary of the horse sacrifice, destroyer of all sins,
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may the sin born of ten million births perish through bathing in you!”
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Having uttered this mantra three times, O twice-born ones, he should bathe three times in that water;
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with the Viṣṇugāyatrī, he should meditate upon Hari in the form of Narasiṃha.
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The waters are called *nārāḥ* because they are the offspring of Nara;
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and they were his first resting place (*ayana*); therefore, one should remember Hari in the waters.
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A person should duly offer libations to the gods, the seers, and the ancestors;
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then he should go to Narasiṃha, who faces west.
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Having seen Śambhu, self-manifest or fashioned, or Hari facing west,
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one is freed from sins arising from ten million births.
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And he should worship that man-lion with the Atharvan mantra;
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for long ago this king of mantras was established by Nārada.
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By that very [mantra] was he worshipped for a long time by Indradyumna;
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for the form of Narasiṃha, O twice-born ones, there is no other mantra equal to it,
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by the mere utterance of which the Lion becomes pleased.
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Even with a wooden body, he was consecrated by Brahmā with this [mantra].
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With the previously mentioned articles of worship, one should worship the man-lion;
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with red China-rose blossoms and other fragrant flowers,
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one should anoint the man-lion with sandalwood, aloe, and camphor.
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[He should offer] milk rice with white sugar and cow's ghee,
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modakas containing camphor fragments, cooked in ghee,
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saṃyāva sweets and cakes fried in ghee, as well as various kinds of fruits.
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He should offer śāli rice mixed with sugar and curd.
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Having seen, touched, bowed down to, and properly worshipped the man-lion,
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a person obtains his various cherished desires; of this there is no doubt:
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godhead, sovereignty over the immortals, or the state of a gandharva, O brahmins;
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lordship, subjugation [of others], or even universal sovereignty.
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Whatever he desires in his mind, that he unfailingly obtains.
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The ritual of the Five Sacred Fords has thus been told to you who asked, O brahmins.
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Having observed this [rite] for five days, never again into a body
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composed of the five elements does a mortal enter, who keeps the vow and is devoted to Viṣṇu.
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At dawn on the full moon day, moreover, in the water of the king of sacred fords,
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having bathed according to the previously stated rule, of pure diet, his senses mastered,
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a man lives by the vow of taking only one meal a day, for [the Lord's] pleasure,
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as long as five days elapse, O best of brahmins.
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Then, having entered the temple, seeing Puruṣottama upon the platform,
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as well as Rāma and Subhadrā, he is freed from the sloughs of sin.
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With fragrant water drawn from the well
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that contains all sacred fords, whoever sees Hari being bathed on the full moon of Jyaiṣṭha,
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no connection with sin shall take hold in his soul.
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I shall tell the procedure for the performer of the festival; listen further, O sages:
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Having had a sturdy and very beautiful platform constructed on the fourteenth day,
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made of grass and wood, thickly coated with plaster, auspicious,
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or else he should make one of stone that will endure for a long time, O best of brahmins.
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For the bath of the god of gods, he should not practice deceit in expenditure.
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It should be crowded with diverse kinds of trees, cooled by the southern wind,
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constructed upon a grassy lawn [where] the waves of the sea surge,
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adorned with an elevated canopy of great price and excellence;
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he should make a thin covering for the darśana of the gods.
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They arrive together with Brahmā for the ceremonial bath of the Lord of the world,
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bringing the waters of the heavenly Gaṅgā adorned with pārijāta blossoms.
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The brahmin seers and the thirty [gods], along with Brahmā, the all-pervading Lord,
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bathe here [the Lord] stationed on the platform at the command of the Supreme Lord.
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He is to be praised with shouts of 'Victory!' and with hymns of praise by the dwellers in heaven.
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Therefore, the platform must be made adorned with garlands and chowries,
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having arches made of charming silk cloths and garlands of various gems,
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and sprinkled with fragrant incense, sweet-scented sandal-water.
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Having thus established the platform, O brahmins, to its south,
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drawing water from the well into jars made of gold,
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he should consecrate them in the pavilion according to the rule found in scripture.
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He should fill them with perfumed water [while reciting] the Pāvamānī hymn;
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this rite is declared to take place in the middle of the night of the fourteenth day.
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Slowly, slowly they should carry Hari, preceded by Halin;
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brahmins, kṣatriyas, and vaiśyas, honored and respected by the king,
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fanning [them] constantly with chowries and palm-leaf fans.
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He should not remove that ointment applied earlier from the body of Viṣṇu,
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so that his limbs may be well-nourished day after day by the fragrant paste;
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thus it should be done with effort; an emaciated limb does not bestow nourishment.
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Rejoicing, they should carry the Blessed One without negligence.
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If through negligence there should be a fall of the enemy of Mura,
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or of Bala, or of Subhadrā, it brings terror to the king and the realm.
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Moreover, there is loss of progeny and great misery for those who drop [them].
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Certain residence in hell will befall those wicked souls.
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Deluded, [they think], 'How can this wooden image remain for long?'
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Those who have no faith are indeed traitors to the Blessed One;
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they go to hell, excluded from all religious acts.
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In fools, atheists, ingrates, and ruined souls,
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arguments of disbelief arise regarding religious duties.
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For according to how much unseen destiny each person has, by that is he shaped.
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At the end of that [destiny], his temples, images, and other works decay.
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And this tree was not fashioned by anyone; it too grew of itself.
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That which surely grants boons is not considered a mere fashioned image.
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When an image is fashioned, even in former times, in the Manvantaras and the like,
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as they pass away, there still increases among human beings and the gods—
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O brahmins, among all the rulers of the earth—such devotion.
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Indeed, in the Svārociṣa Manvantara the treasury of compassion became manifest.
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And in the Vaivasvata Manvantara, in the twenty-seventh Caturyuga,
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at the close of the Dvāpara age, both Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna arrived then.
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Remaining here for three days engaged in observance,
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having worshiped Madhusūdana with devotion and praised him, they went again to Dvārakā.
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None know his true nature when they dwell in a human body;
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avatāras of this Viṣṇu proceed age after age.
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Through establishing dharma, O brahmins, they dissolve again into their own abode.
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Formerly, Brahmā was addressed by him, and he by Brahmā mutually:
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The Lord, assuming the form of wood, will remain until the end of a parārdha.
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This Viṣṇu, contemplated in pure sattva, is always the giver of boons.
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In proportion to a person's faith is their attainment of perfection.
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A person of steady mind, a devotee whose faith is kept free from negligence,
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obtains from him a very rare fruit corresponding to their effort.
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Formerly, the whole deliverance of Ambarīṣa was recounted to you.
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Therefore, in that Jagannātha whose true nature is the Supreme Self,
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having established very firm devotion, dwell in Puruṣottama.
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Therefore, with devotion this excellent platform of Śrī Kṛṣṇa must be reached,
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and Subhadrā and Balabhadra too, attending upon them indeed like kings.
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As parasols are raised and they are fanned with chowries,
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with black agallochum incense filling the directions, which resound deeply,
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with diverse musical instruments, when the hall is filled,
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with the triple symphony of music, dance, and song properly conducted, radiant with rows of lamps,
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when darkness has fallen, as the great festival swells for everyone,
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the body of the Lord of Śrī being covered out of apprehension of mishap,
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while strong silk and fine cloth are brought from afar,
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as the Teacher of the worlds has his face turned upward due to the speed of movement,
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the gods, turning their gazes, fearing he might ascend to heaven,
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cried out: “Be victorious, Rāma! Kṛṣṇa! Victory, Bhadrā!”
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Thus playfully the Lord, for the ritual bathing on the full moon of Jyaiṣṭha,
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is carried to the region of the platform at midnight by brahmins and others.
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The competitive cry of the gods, “I first!,” is heard in the sky,
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along with divine kettledrums mingled with shouts of victory.
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Then, having covered all the limbs of the manifestation of Brahman standing on the platform,
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along with the secondary image, except for the face, with fine garments,
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and having worshiped without an offering of food, using the articles of worship declared before,
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with consecrated pitchers, preceded by the chanting of peace-mantras,
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one should bathe the best of deities with the Samudrajyeṣṭhā mantra,
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for the sake of accomplishing the purpose of those who watch and those who perform the bathing.
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The men standing there who see him being bathed
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shall never again undergo ceremonial bathing in the fluid of the womb.
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Those who, filled with joy, witness the Lord’s Jyeṣṭha ceremonial bath,
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with minds yearning for the sacred procession, do not sink in the ocean of worldly existence.
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The beginningless accumulation of sins of men, committed knowingly or unknowingly,
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goes to destruction that very moment for those witnessing Hari’s ceremonial bath.
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Truly, truly, again I say truly, O best of the twice-born!
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It pacifies all torments and destroys every impurity,
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if the ceremonial bath of the Lord of Śrī on the full moon of Jyaiṣṭha is viewed with devotion.
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Whatever sins there are that require expiation,
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all of them perish for those beholding the ceremonial bath of Hari.
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There is no action higher than this, providing liberation without effort:
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namely, the ceremonial bath of Hari witnessed on the day of Jyeṣṭha's birth festival.
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Bathing, gift-giving, austerity, ancestral rites, silent recitation, sacrifice, and the like—
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such rites multiplied a crore of times, performed over a crore of lifetimes,
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do not equal the merit of seeing the ceremonial bath of Hari. // 78
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Whoever with devotion beholds Viṣṇu's ceremonial bath even in a single year,
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does not grieve, O brahmins, here in the liberation from worldly existence. // 79
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By him has sacrifice been offered with meritorious rites accompanied by abundant priestly fees given in faith;
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great gifts have been given, and crores of twice-born [brahmins] have been fed. // 2.2.31.80
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Indeed, śrāddhas have been performed by him crores of times at Gayāśīrṣa and other sacred places,
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and austerities have been practiced at auspicious times, at sacred fords, and the like. // 81
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Ablutions have been performed by him during auspicious conjunctions such as the Ardhodaya, at crores of sacred fords crores of times,
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O brahmins, whoever beholds Hari's ceremonial bath! // 82
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Truth, truth, and again truth I speak, O best of the twice-born:
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there is no deed leading to higher good than this, established upon the path revealed by scripture. // 83
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Indeed, whoever beholds Puruṣottama being bathed while standing on the dais
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attains a hundredfold the merit of a ritual ablution, of this there is no doubt. // 84
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And he who beholds Jagannātha standing on the dais, wet with bathing,
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his heart moist with dense bliss, incurs no sin whatsoever. // 85
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Whatever merit has been proclaimed in the act of beholding the ceremonial bath,
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he attains every such fruit having seen Acyuta standing on the dais. // 86
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Jagannātha alone stands there in three forms, O twice-born;
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even the sight of the ceremonial bath of each one grants enjoyment and liberation. // 87
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Whoever says, 'Be victorious, O Rāmabhadra! Be victorious, O Bhadrā!'
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and utters with joy, 'Victory, O Kṛṣṇa, Jagannātha, victory!' // 88
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at the time of the ablution, he indeed attains liberation, O best of the twice-born.
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To those by whom preliminary consecrations and other rites were performed in that bathing ceremony, // 89
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filled with faith and joy, he should bestow individual priestly fees,
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and [offer] sweet food, garments, and ornaments to the brahmins. // 2.2.31.90
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Filled with faith, he should bestow [gifts] and gratify the poor and helpless.
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Those who have come to behold the ritual ablution are indeed liberated while living. // 91
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The king should certainly honor them to the best of his ability, for the pleasure of Hari.
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Seated on an auspicious throne, one should bathe with the remaining water of the ceremonial bath. // 92
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Whether woman or man, I declare to you the merit thereof:
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one afflicted by long-standing disease becomes sound in health, and he conquers untimely death. // 93
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A sonless woman, one whose children have died, or even a barren woman obtains a son.
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One becomes fortunate among all people, and a pauper becomes wealthy. // 94
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A pregnant woman obtains a long-lived, highly virtuous son.
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The fruit born of ritual ablution in all sacred fords such as the Gaṅgā is spoken of [thus]: // 95
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the righteous soul certainly obtains the merit born of beholding the ceremonial bath. // 96
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Thus ends the thirty-first chapter in the Puruṣottamakṣetramāhātmya of the second section, the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses. // 31
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit