Skandapurana 2.2.38
English (machine translation) 2.2.38
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2.2.38.1
Jaimini said:
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"Having thus granted that boon to King Śveta in ancient times, O brahmins,
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Hari, remaining inside the temple, disappeared.
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She who is Śrī of all the worlds, the cause of creation, maintenance, and destruction,
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the matchless power of Viṣṇu, is the one who serves the food.
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Lord Nārāyaṇa eats the well-cooked food that is like nectar;
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the consumption of the remnants of His food indeed brings about the destruction of all sins.
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There is no holy object equal to that on the surface of the earth.
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It is not defiled by contact with those who perform the rites of sinners.
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By the presence of Padmā, all those are held to be pure.
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Even if fallen outcasts and others touch that nirmālya
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situated in the temple of Viṣṇu, it is not corrupted; it is just as Viṣṇu Himself.
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Those observing vows, widows, and all classes and stages of life,
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consecrated priests and Agnihotrins, are purified by eating it.
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Whether poor or miserly, a householder or a ruler,"
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Whether locals or foreigners, all who have arrived there
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should not entertain pride regarding eating the offerings made to Viṣṇu.
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Whether out of devotion, greed, curiosity, or to appease hunger,
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eaten even up to the throat, it indeed purifies from all sins.
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It alleviates all diseases, increases sons and grandsons,
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removes poverty, is supreme, bestows learning, longevity, and prosperity, and brings auspiciousness.
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Great is the partiality there of Viṣṇu of boundless splendour:
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those fools, fancying themselves learned, who revile that nectar,
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upon them he himself wields punishment; he tolerates no transgressors.
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If his punishment falls upon them here, their ruin is indeed certain.
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They are cooked in the dreadful, exceedingly terrible Kumbhīpāka hell. / Its selling or purchasing is not praised, O brahmins.
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“Without eating the offerings of the Lord of the World, I shall eat nothing”:
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the person who makes this solemn vow and eats it every day,
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freed from all sins, his inner faculty purified,
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gradually attains the pure realm of Viṣṇu, no doubt.
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Even if kept for a long time, completely dried, or brought from a distant land,
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consumed in whatever manner, it expels all sins.
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If that food falls down, dropped from the mouth of a dog,
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it should be eaten even by a brahmin; what need to speak of others?
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Whether one is observing a fast or not fasting,
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whether impure, devoid of good conduct, or committing sins in mind,
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as soon as it is obtained it must be eaten; no hesitation should be made in this regard.
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The offered food of the Sustainer of the World and the water of the Gaṅgā—both are equal:
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from sight comes attainment of heaven and other realms, and from eating comes destruction of sins.
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For whatever is cooked by the Bearer of the World in the well-consecrated Vaiṣṇava fire,
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is eaten daily by the Discus-Holder throughout the yugas, manvantaras, and other ages.
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In all the earth of seven continents, there is no such presence of Hari
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as there is in this Nīlagiri, where he acts under the guise of a human.
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The supreme Brahman in wooden form, visible to the eyes of all,
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shines forth, O sages, neither seen nor heard of anywhere else.
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To him, the supreme Self, Brahman embodied as active worldly manifestation,
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Śrī, the power embodied as active manifestation, offers the oblatory food;
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Jagannātha eats that, and his remnant removes all sins.
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What wonder is there here, O brahmins, that it is called the cause of liberation?
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Faith in this does not arise in those with little merit.
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Indeed, this was proclaimed for the ages dominated by Vedic conduct;
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the Veda does not know its greatness, especially—hear this—in the Kali [age].
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In that dreadful Kaliyuga, three-quarters of dharma is ruined;
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dharma exists on only one foot, and out of fear of that [age] it moves about only in some places.
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All are intent on untruth, hypocritical, subsisting on mere words,
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mostly averse to dharma, devoted to the tongue and the genitals;
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they never meditate, perform austerity, or keep vows.
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Full of adharma, all are violent and exceedingly greedy;
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they rejoice in censuring others, without doing anything virtuous of their own.
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Through association or in sport they ruin another’s work;
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out of desire for their own petty aims, they obstruct the tasks of others.
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Despising a charming wife obtained according to dharma in their own house,
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they cling to reprehensible women of others, behaving like beasts.
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The agnihotra and other rites, or other vows, are rarely found anywhere;
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it is merely a livelihood for the twice-born, or else [a rare act] for those concerned with the other world.
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By one who has studied the Vedas without observing vows, with wealth acquired unjustly,
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and performed with deceitful miserliness, it does not yield fruit in that manner.
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In the Kaliyuga, kings are mostly averse to protecting their subjects,
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always intent on levying taxes, exceedingly wicked, and thievish in conduct.
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All are born of intermixed classes, almost like śūdras, in the Kali age;
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the kings themselves are plunderers, and śūdras are the king’s ministers.
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Vedic and traditional rituals are not properly observed in that way
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in the fourth age, O brahmins, which was intended for the other world.
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Indeed, this duty of giving is supreme; no other duty is praised.
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By deed, mind, and speech, one should desire the welfare of the twice-born.
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For thus spoke the Lord: 'The brahmin is my body;
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with whomsoever the brahmins are pleased, with him am I also pleased.
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One should regard both alike: the brahmin and Janārdana.
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Whatever word the twice-born speak, the Lord himself speaks that.'
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In whatever manner he conducts himself, the brahmin is the guru of the castes;
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even the Lord, ruler of the gods, is visibly fond of brahmins.
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Janārdana always manifests an incarnation for the sake of brahmins;
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for their protection he surely restrains the wicked age after age.
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The Four-faced [Brahmā] created brahmins first, at the beginning of creation;
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afterward, all the other castes were born separately in their lineages.
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Therefore in that Kali age the brahmin and Viṣṇu indeed—
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both are the refuge of all; and Hari is the refuge of brahmins.
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Hari alone is the refuge of all here once the Kali age has arrived;
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in sacred fields such as Śālagrāma he is remembered and also praised.
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In that holy sacred field, Nīlācala, which has the body of the Knower of the Field,
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he exists as the life-breath of all, bearing a body under the guise of wood.
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To destroy the taint of the Kali age mostly for those who have committed evil deeds,
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he grants liberation through darśana, praise, and the eating of his food offerings.
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He whose body is suffused with the remnant of the Lord of the gods,
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having that as food and having that as self, is never stained by sins.
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In other images of the Lord, an offering is made;
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even that is declared purifying, but [here] the remnant is liberating.
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Here alone the Lord actually eats; elsewhere he beholds with his eye.
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Formerly, this god was petitioned by surrounding yogins:
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'Through enjoying your flower offerings and remnants may we conquer your māyā!'
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He gives liberation effortlessly to those whose eyes are completely fixed [in meditation].
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He takes delight with Śrī through lying down, sitting, eating, and the like;
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let it be held that the activity of the Lord here is the meaning of the Veda.
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For he never acts transgressing the Veda;
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his descent age after age is indeed for the purpose of protecting the Veda.
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The Lord being an authority, how could he act contrarily?
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If he were to act contrarily, the entire world would become likewise.
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For by proper conduct the meaning of the Veda is fixed and has attained its station.
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Formerly, an excellent brahmin born in Madhyadeśa came here,
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exceptionally pure through orthodox conduct, thoroughly versed in the meaning of the scriptures,
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always calm, always restrained in body, speech, and mind, a householder.
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Having worshipped the god according to the rule of the sacred ford, maintaining his sacred fire,
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he stayed here for three nights, devoted to the worship of Viṣṇu, pure.
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[Thinking,] 'According to scripture, householders must eat the remainder of sacrifice,'
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he did not accept the god's remnant out of suspicion of another's cooking:
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'How can that which is to be prepared by deities here become fit for God?
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And because of unfitness, the food offering must surely not be accepted.'
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And when the food offering was not accepted by that learned brahmin, O brahmins,
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all his attendants also did not eat what had been offered.
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Then, overwhelmed by disease, with his body trembling,
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he along with his family became mute, afflicted by offense against the Lord.
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He reflected thus in his mind: 'How indeed without cause has there been for me,
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along with my family, an affliction breaking every limb?'
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As he was thinking thus, at the end of three nights the thought occurred:
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'Such affliction of disease would not happen to all at once!
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What offense has been committed by us against this Puruṣottama?
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Could there be an unwitting [fault] that is the cause of disease for me?'
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Having reflected thus repeatedly, he meditated on Lord Nārāyaṇa.
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At the conclusion of his meditation, he, who revealed the true meaning of the scriptures, offered praise:
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Śāṇḍilya said:
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'Even the fourteen branches of learning, which are the means for determining dharma,
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are all your words, issued from your lotus mouth.
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One should practice dharma only through them—such is the conclusion of the scriptures.
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Incarnation after incarnation is indeed for the purpose of protecting that dharma.
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He who lives transgressing it is surely one who commits an offense against you.
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I, O Lord of the gods of gods, in deed, mind, and speech,
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do not act by transgressing the Dharmaśāstra even for wealth and desire.
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The heap of sin accumulated through many thousands of births,
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I have come here to burn, O Lord, with the forest-fire of your darśana.
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What offense was committed, O Lord, by one following the path of your scriptures,
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that a fierce disease torments all my limbs without cause?
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Knowingly or unknowingly, at your lotus feet,
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whatever offense was committed, O Lord, forgive it, O ocean of mercy.
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For those whose feet slip on the ground, the ground itself is the support.
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For those who have committed offenses against you, you alone are the refuge, O Lord.
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And do you yourself forgive my sin born of an offense toward you.
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A burn born of the intense heat of fire is cured by the heat of fire;
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so then, this miserable state that has begun, born from the seed of sin, O God,
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allay with your playful side-glance, the sole cause of liberation.
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Deliver me, O Lord of the World, fallen into the ocean of sorrow!
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Can a man who has entered the path of your darśana truly grieve?
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O ocean of natural compassion, one who has come within the range of your sight,
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immersed in the ocean of eternal bliss, neither grieves nor longs.
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I am not of small fortune, O Lord, for I have seen you with my own eyes.
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This terrifying thing is surely an obstacle to my liberation.
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Therefore be gracious, O Lord of the World, toward your servant who always offends;
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out of the relationship of master and servant, forgive my offense.
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At the end of this praise, his bodily pain quickly departed then.
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Then he saw Govinda, Nṛsiṃha, fond of his devotees,
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mounted upon a divine throne, adorned with divine ornaments,
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taking in his lotus hand the sweet rice offered by Śrī,
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and dropping the remnants of each mouthful back into the vessels again and again,
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unhurriedly eating whatever collection of food was offered,
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with playful, smiling side-glances, [food] placed into his hand by Lakṣmī.
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Beholding him, filled with astonishment, that Śāṇḍilya, the best of twice-born,
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remembered the transgression committed by himself, consisting of not accepting the naivedya:
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"Where am I, of limited wisdom, and where are you, the treasury of all knowledge?
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Where are you, the emitter of the cosmic intellect, ego, and the material elements?
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How can those whose minds are bewildered by your māyā know, O Lord,
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your unbridled, indescribable will consisting of creation and dissolution?"
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While he was thus praising, Nṛhari, with that very hand smeared with food remnants,
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sprinkled the best of the twice-born over all his limbs with the leavings of his morsels.
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Sprinkled with those, which were like a sprinkling of nectar, the brahmin instantly with joy
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shone with a divine body, radiant like a sage liberated while living.
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Devotees alone indeed know the greatness of devotion;
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a barren woman can never experience the great pain of childbirth.
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Having said this, himself eating the leftover food of the Supreme Self from his body,
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the eminent scholar of the Vedas deemed himself fulfilled.
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"The ordinary Dharmaśāstra is not considered in this sacred field;
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rather, this is the supreme dharma, which is proclaimed by the Lord.
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Dharma arises from conduct, and Acyuta is the master of dharma."
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Pondering thus, the brahmin, for the sake of his family, the remainder
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gathered up himself with his fist, and his meditation was broken.
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Awakening, he contemplated that dream, his mind filled with wonder:
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"This indeed was my offense: I disrespected the Lord,
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not knowing the supremely wonderful māhātmya of eating the naivedya.
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The cosmos of eighteen [and] fourteen [worlds], washing whose lotus feet
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with liquid dharma, purified itself with that water—
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he whom Śakra and the others worship with supreme divine enjoyments,
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eats [food] made by mortals in this sacred field: a great wonder!"
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Filled with wonder in this way, O twice-born ones, with that [food]
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obtained in the dream, the naivedya, he respectfully anointed his own family.
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Then, all of them became free of disease, their minds delighted by good speech;
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considering [it] a rebirth, they praised the excellent sacred field:
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"There is no sacred field equal to this on the earth of seven continents."
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where, by giving his own leftover food, he frees human beings from sin.
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The sacred field having the greatness of Puruṣottama is exceedingly difficult to attain,
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since heaven, enjoyment, and liberation indeed rest in one's hand.
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For those afflicted in the wilderness of worldly existence who have reached here by good fortune,
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satisfied by various enjoyments, the path of liberation becomes easy.
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Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit