Skandapurana 2.2.46
English (machine translation) 2.2.46
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Jaimini said:
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Hereafter I shall declare the pilgrimage that grants imperishable liberation
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without effort to the foolish whose minds are bound by latent desires.
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In the bright fortnight of the month of Vaiśākha, in the middle of the night of the second [lunar day],
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one should make a four-cornered pavilion, smeared with plaster and furnished with an altar,
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and then enclose it with clean, well-washed cloth like a curtain,
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provided with good steps and fitted with a beautiful canopy.
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In its middle one should firmly set down an excellent, auspicious seat.
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On it, covered with a robe, one should place a golden vessel.
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On the western side of it, indeed, a pure brahmin should seat himself comfortably.
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In another vessel he should take twenty-five [palas] of sandalwood,
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finely ground, and take more than a pala of black oil.
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There should be half as much agallochum as saffron, and half as much incense-resin as saffron;
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the measure of musk and camphor should equal the incense-resin.
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He should grind all this together with water derived from trumpet flowers.
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Then he should add two palas of excellent oil of agallochum;
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having stirred it together, he should deposit it in the previous vessel.
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Covering it with ketakī leaves, he should wrap it in Chinese silk.
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He should protect it with the mantra 'Gandhas te soma' and the Garuḍamudrā.
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Thus he should deposit the preparatory offering in that pavilion.
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Then, at the time of dawn, he should take it into the presence of Kṛṣṇa.
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Having circumambulated the temple with conches, fly-whisks, umbrellas, and the like,
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and placing it before the Lord, he should worship Puruṣottama.
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He should then uncover the cloths and gaze with a divine vision;
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he should consecrate what was sprinkled with the king of mantras by snapping fingers and other [protective rites].
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Having worshipped [him] with perfume, flowers, and unbroken grains, he should anoint [him] with the hymn of Śrī,
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with a soft touch, slowly, slowly on all the limbs of the Lord of Śrī.
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The Vaiṣṇavas then praise Hari with cries of victory;
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the learned praise him with various hymns and Upaniṣads.
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With flutes, lutes, and various dances, songs, and instrumental music,
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with fans, fly-whisks, umbrellas, and diverse other offerings,
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pleasing Jagannātha, he should anoint him at the start of the third [lunar day].
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He, by the mere thought of whom the torments of embodied beings are destroyed—
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he indeed removes the torments of men by his darśana then, O twice-born ones.
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Inconceivable is the majesty of Viṣṇu, ever beyond 'it is such or such'.
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Then, with fine garments, garlands, chewable and solid foods, beverages,
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and various agreeable items, boiled and auspicious cow products,
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and with well-prepared betel, he should then worship the God.
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At that time, those men who behold Kṛṣṇa with devotion
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have no return, even in hundreds of millions of kalpas;
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attaining the form of Viṣṇu, they indeed dwell in the world of Viṣṇu.
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Formerly in the Kali age, O brahmins, the progenitor named Dakṣa,
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seeing human beings deeply miserable with internal and other afflictions,
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went there, moved by compassion, and celebrated [his] glory.
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He indeed was the first, O twice-born ones, to do so according to the injunction spoken by me:
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having smeared sandalwood on the limbs [of the Lord] in the bright fortnight of the month of Mādhava
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on the third [lunar day], he joyfully sang this praise to Jagannātha.
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Dakṣa said:
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'O God of gods, O Lord of the world, spotless with innate bliss,
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save us who are immersed in the ocean of worldly existence, O Supreme Lord!
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Tormented by varied afflictions are these human beings;
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by your thought of pity for me, and with your auspicious, nectar-like glance,
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Nourish [these men], who are dried up like withered grass, O Kṛṣṇa, [rain-]cloud! Homage to you!
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In order to deliver those confounded by the impurities of the Kali [age], O Lord of the worlds,
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This incarnation has taken place within the cavern of the Nīlācala mountain.
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Of immense sins grown over a long time, difficult to abandon,
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You alone are capable of burning the heap, O compassionate one towards the miserable and helpless!
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In this great yoga consisting of your darśana, free of the eight limbs beginning with restraint,
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Those whose mind is resolved on the sole attainment of the four aims of life
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Do not grieve in the boundless, terrifying wilderness of worldly existence.
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Knowledge of the Self independent of rites, O Lord of gods, does not liberate;
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This darśana of yours, O Lord, would liberate even without rites.
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Victory, O Kṛṣṇa! Victory, O Lord! Victory, O imperishable one! Victory, O unalterable one!
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Be pleased! Show grace to these miserable, foolish, and mindless people!”
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Having praised him thus, he fell like a rod before his lotus-feet,
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Proclaiming: “Be pleased, O Lord! Be pleased, O Lord! Be pleased, O Lord!”
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Then the Blessed One spoke to the Prajāpati in a sweet voice:
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“Arise, my child! The rare boon that you have desired
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Is granted to you: by my grace it will be so, without doubt.
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My grace is hard to attain for those of little merit, as you well know.
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You are born from my limb, and you have petitioned me;
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Having pleased me with my festival, I therefore grant it to you:
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Those who with devotion and joy behold this inexhaustible festival procession
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Shall obtain at that time whatever they desire in their mind.
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Just as anointing with sandalwood paste removes burning heat,
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So this festival of mine, O Dakṣa, destroys the threefold affliction.
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Your intellect was impelled by me, and so you performed the festival;
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Indeed, this was conceived by me in mind for the deliverance of the wretched.
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I shall give you all that was desired by you, O Prajāpati.
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These twelve great festival processions, beginning with Guṇḍicā, are purifying;
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Each one bestows liberation; all promote virtue, love, and wealth.
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Whoever beholds with devotion even one among them
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Crosses the ocean of worldly existence by that one alone and goes to the realm of Viṣṇu.”
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Jaimini said:
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Having spoken thus to the lord of creatures, the Blessed One vanished.
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Dakṣa Prajāpati too, being full of faith, by his command,
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Dwelt on the mountain for a year and witnessed the great festivals.
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Becoming an omniscient brahmin in the best lineage of Kauśika,
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He engaged the people according to rule in the great sacrifices.
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The festival processions are proclaimed for the faith of those of small intellect;
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And he, the guru of the world, whose form is the Supreme Brahman manifest,
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Was propitiated by the lord of the gods for the grace of the world.
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In whatever way he enters one’s range of vision, he certainly bestows liberation;
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He indeed fulfills all desires of women, there is no doubt about this.
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The Blessed One Madhusūdana, true to his promise, resides there;
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Seeing whom, one overcomes the sorrow arising from the ocean of worldly existence.
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What use are vows? What use are austerities and gifts? What use are penances and sacrifices?
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What use is eight-limbed yoga? What use is the ultimate Sāṃkhya?
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Having bathed in the waters of the king of sacred fords in the sacred field of holy Puruṣottama,
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And seeing with physical eyes the wooden Brahman
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Dwelling in his abode at the base of the banyan tree, one is freed from the bondage of the body.
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Thus ends the forty-sixth chapter in the Puruṣottamakṣetramāhātmya of the second section, the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skandapurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit