Skandapurana 2.2.45
English (machine translation) 2.2.45
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The sages said:
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O sage, this sacred observance, the Mūrtipañjara, has been heard,
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which generates inner joy and is exceedingly great in its majesty.
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The twelve holy festivals that have been described, dear to the Lord—
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tell us of the two remaining of them, O great sage!
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Jaimini said:
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I shall describe the vernal festival, the Damanabhañjikā,
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by performing or beholding which Puruṣottama is pleased.
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The herb named damanaka, which was mentioned of old, O brahmins—
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on the thirteenth day of the bright fortnight of Caitra, one should gather it by the roots.
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In the middle of it, one should make a very auspicious maṇḍala named padma.
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Inside it, one should install the worshipped substitute image of the deity,
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accompanied by Śrī and Satyabhāmā, and worship them according to the rules.
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At midnight, indeed, one should have this rite of the God of gods performed.
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Formerly, at midnight as well, the Lord crushed the asura Damana;
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having crushed him, he experienced supreme delight, and that herb arose from his body.
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On that very thirteenth day, one should meditate upon the herb as the demon.
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Having folded his hands in reverence, he should utter this speech:
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'You slew the demon Damana of old, the thorn of the three worlds;
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he, transformed in this manner, stands before you.
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Whatever delight you had at his origin then, O Mādhava,
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let there be the very same delight now in the crushing of Damana.'
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Having said this, one should place the herb in one hand of the deity.
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Then one should pass the remainder of the night with dance, song, and the like.
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Then, when the sun has risen, taking the deity preceded by the herb,
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one should convey him near the Lord of the Universe, O best of the twice-born.
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Then, one should worship Jagannātha with offerings as before.
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Having slain Hiraṇyakaśipu, [Viṣṇu wore] the garland of entrails produced from his body—
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Having placed [it] on your neck, just as you were pleased after slaying Hiraṇyakaśipu / and [putting on] the garland of entrails born of his body, so this damana grass
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has been offered by me upon your limbs, O Lord, for your pleasure.'
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Having recited this, one should place the auspicious fragrant grass upon Hari's head.
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Then, beholding with joy Hari's lotus-face that brings delight,
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freed from worldly sorrow, one attains unsurpassed happiness.
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Taking a sprig of it on one's head as it falls from Viṣṇu's head,
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freed from all sins, one shall dwell firmly in the city of Viṣṇu.
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Thus ends the forty-fifth chapter, entitled 'Description of the Rite of Breaking the Damana Plant', in the Puruṣottamakṣetra-māhātmya of the second [part], the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skandapurāṇa of eighty-one thousand verses.
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit