Skandapurana 2.2.34

English (machine translation) 2.2.34

Language: English

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To the south of the pool that was a limb of the horse sacrifice and south of Nṛsiṃha,

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seated there, the Blessed Lord, as if descending once again,

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shone in that divine form, unfathomable to gods and asuras.

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Then, having worshipped Jagannātha with offerings of worship

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and with foods to be chewed and eaten and the like, one should gratify [him] with songs and dances,

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with diverse floral offerings and fragrant unguents,

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with incense made from black agallochum, and with lamps of fragrant oil,

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one should gratify the Lord of the worlds with numerous offerings.

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Janārdana remains for seven days on the bank of that Bindutīrtha;

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formerly, he himself granted this boon to the king:

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"O king of kings, I shall dwell on the bank of your sacred ford every year,

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and while I remain, all sacred fords will abide in it.

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Having bathed according to rule in that sacred ford, which purifies the multitude of sacred fords,

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those who gaze for seven days upon [me] seated in the Guṇḍicā pavilion—

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upon me, Rāma, and Subhadrā—shall attain union with me."

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Therefore, in that exceedingly holy [place] that destroys all sins,

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which yields the singular fruit of all sacred fords, is auspicious, and pleases Viṣṇu,

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one who has bathed, offering water to the ancestors and gods according to rule without negligence,

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having worshipped and bowed to that Narasiṃha standing on the bank,

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a man should go to the great altar, having performed the rites of purification and sipping water.

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O brahmins, he should worship as before, or bow with devotion;

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any man or woman [who does so] for seven days is no ordinary human:

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by the command of the Enemy of Mura, such a person attains union with Viṣṇu.

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The darśana of him by day is meritorious; by night it is tenfold [so].

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Whatever rite is performed in the presence of the Lord of the world,

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whether very small or abundant, becomes multiplied millions of millions of times.

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Whosoever gives great gifts, such as the gift of a man's weight in gold [or other valuables],

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even if only a single gift is bestowed, O twice-born, everything becomes given.

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Every gift is equal to Mount Meru; all brahmins are equal to Vyāsa;

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when Kṛṣṇa has gone to the great altar, this conjunction is indeed very difficult to obtain.

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The auspicious conjunctions such as Ardhodaya, described by Skanda,

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do not equal a sixteenth part of the conjunction known as Mahāvedī.

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Hereafter I shall explain the supreme duty towards the ancestors,

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a fruit which cannot be obtained on earth even by life-long śrāddhas at Gayā.

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Whether dwelling in heaven, in hell, or having entered an animal womb,

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or standing in the human species—all fathers and grandfathers,

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renowned through a hundred generations, desire that [rite] performed by their sons.

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I shall explain that excellent procedure to you; listen, O sages:

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Maghā is indeed the lunar mansion of the ancestors, granting supreme delight to them;

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a śrāddha offered there by joyous sons delights [them].

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The fifth lunar day is also excellent, causing prosperity through śrāddha;

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if there is a conjunction of both, that lunar day is exceedingly meritorious,

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on which, when a śrāddha is performed by sons, the deliverance of the ancestors takes place.

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In that [place] containing all sacred fords, in the presence of the Enemy of Mura,

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if one performs a śrāddha with faith between Nīlakaṇṭha and Nṛsiṃha,

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in that most pure region, during this supremely rare conjunction,

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having delivered a hundred generations, he is honored in the world of Brahmā.

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The kutapa period, when the sun has diminished in intensity, is recommended.

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Or, if unable, a pure person should give gold dedicated to the ancestors,

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having properly gratified them with sesame seeds for their supreme ancestral delight.

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Alternatively, he should feed brahmins or give the value of the food;

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or he may give food for a thousand to a single virtuous man.

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However, during this conjunction, no discrimination between virtue and lack of virtue is prescribed.

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During that exceedingly rare conjunction, all brahmins are equal to sages.

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On the fifth day of the bright fortnight of Āṣāḍha, when the constellation belonging to the ancestors [Maghā]

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joins the Lord of the World's arrival at the Great Altar (mahāvedī),

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if these three occur together at the Indradyumna lake,

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the conjunction is known as 'four-footed' (catuṣpāda), granting inexhaustible benefit to the ancestors.

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Men do not languish in ancestral duties after performing śrāddha here.

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Hear another thing, O brahmins; in this connection I tell you:

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Whoever performs [a śrāddha] on the new moon of Nabhas (Bhādrapada), or on any of the four Yuga-beginnings (yugādis),

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offering śrāddha dedicated to the ancestors at [the lake] born as part of the horse-sacrifice—

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the fruit of a thousand Gayā-śrāddhas performed with faith

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is indeed equal to this; there should be no doubt here.

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Giving gifts, offering oblations, and chanting mantras also dispel all sin.

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During the seven days that Kṛṣṇa resides in the pavilion here,

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each successive [day's] merit is higher than the preceding one.

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On the third day of the bright fortnight of Āṣāḍha, one should perform morning ablution

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on the bank of Indradyumna lake, in the supreme sacred field of Nṛsiṃha.

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A person should undertake this vow, having formed the resolve according to rule.

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It is named the 'forest-vigil' (vanajāgaraṇa), increasing the Lord's delight,

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quelling all sins, and bestowing the fruit of all vows.

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For seven days, he should observe silence, having performed ablutions at the three junctures of the day.

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And he should worship the god in a water-jar at the three sandhyās, filled with devotion.

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He should kindle [a lamp] with cow's ghee or with sesame oil;

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day and night, the observer of the vow should diligently tend it before Hari.

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Day after day he should dwell in silence, and night after night he should keep vigil;

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the vow-holder should chant the Bhāgavata-mantra in intervals between daily duties.

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Devoted to fasting, the observer of the vow should spend seven days.

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On the eighth day, rising in the morning, he should perform the consecration.

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Having bathed at that very best of sacred fords and returned home again,

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he should place the water-jar on a sarvatobhadra mandala in the east.

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Invoking Hṛṣīkeśa there, he should worship Him with offerings.

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And to the west of it, upon an earthen altar prepared according to rule,

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having brought the fire according to the domestic ritual rule, surrounded by brahmins,

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he should perform the fire ritual with kindling-sticks, ghee, and sacrificial cooked grains (caru).

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He should offer a thousand oblations into the fire, or one hundred of each;

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the ritual of oblations is prescribed using the Vaiṣṇava Gāyatrī.

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Having tasted the remains, he should give a sacrificial fee: a cow, cloth, and gold.

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And at the end he should feed brahmins for the gratification of the Witness of the Universe.

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Having performed this king of vows according to this rule, O brahmins,

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whichever desires one wishes for, one attains the four aims of life.

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Even a woman endowed with faith who observes the Great Altar Festival,

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who performs this excellent vow, attains that same fruit.

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Whatever fruit belongs to the performer of the pilgrimage belongs to the performer of the vow as well.

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This has been told to you, O best of brahmins, as you are filled with joy.

Thus ends the thirty-fourth chapter in the conversation of the sage Jaimini, in the Glorification of the Puruṣottama Field, in the second section, the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, in the eighty-one-thousand-verse compendium.

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit