Skandapurana 2.2.7
English (machine translation) 2.2.7
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The sages said:
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In which yuga did that King Indradyumna live, O sage?
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In which country was his city, and how did he go to Puruṣottama
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and cause the image of Viṣṇu to be made?
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Tell all this in detail, O great sage,
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faithfully according to the truth, O all-knowing one; for great indeed is our curiosity.
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Jaimini said:
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Excellent, excellent, O best of the twice-born, that you ask about the ancient
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auspicious history that removes all sins, is holy, and grants enjoyment and liberation!
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I shall relate his life as it happened in the Kṛtayuga.
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Listen, all you sages, attentive and with senses subdued.
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In the Kṛtayuga, O brahmins, there was a great king named Indradyumna,
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born in the solar dynasty, righteous, the fifth descendant of the Creator.
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He spoke the truth, had good conduct, was pure, foremost among the virtuous;
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he always protected his subjects justly, like his own offspring.
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A knower of the supreme Self, expert in knowledge, heroic, victorious in battle,
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ever active, always a worshipper of brahmins, devoted to his ancestors,
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like another Bṛhaspati in the eighteen branches of learning,
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a ruler of gods in majesty, and Kubera in the accumulation of treasure;
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handsome, fortunate, well-mannered, generous, an enjoyer, speaking kindly,
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a performer of all sacrifices, devoted to the brahmins, true to his word,
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dear to men and women like the moon on the full-moon night,
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dazzling like the sun, difficult to gaze upon, causing the destruction of enemy ranks,
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a Vaiṣṇava, endowed with truth, having conquered anger and controlled the senses.
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He sacrificed with the Rājasūya, the best of rites, and a thousand horse-sacrifices,
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the supreme, glorious [king], desiring liberation, intent upon righteousness.
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Thus endowed with all virtues, that king protecting the earth
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dwelt in the city named Avantī, renowned on earth in Mālava,
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abounding in all precious gems, like a second Amarāvatī.
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Residing there, the king offered supreme devotion to Viṣṇu,
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most wonderful, in thought, speech, and action.
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Conducting himself thus, once at the time of worship of the all-pervading Lord of Śrī,
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inside the sanctuary for worshipping the deity,
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together with scholars and poets, and those celebrated for pilgrimage,
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with astrologers and Vedic scholars, to the domestic priest standing by,
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he, showing respect, said: 'Let that excellent sacred field be known
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where we may see the Lord of the World directly with this very eye.'
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Thus addressed by the foremost of kings, the Vaiṣṇava priest,
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looking at the company of pilgrims, spoke humble words:
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'O you who are devoted to wandering through sacred fords, righteous and skilled in sacred fords,
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surely you have heard that which this lord commands.'
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Having understood his intention, a certain eloquent man who had visited very many sacred fords,
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with hands joined in reverence, spoke joyfully to the king:
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'O King, O Lord, I have wandered through many sacred fords
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on the surface of the earth since childhood, and [visited] those heard of from others.
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Known as the Oḍhra country in the division named Bhārata,
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on the shore of the southern ocean, is the sacred field of the glorious Puruṣottama,
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where there is [a mountain] named Nīlagiri, surrounded on all sides by forests;
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in its lap stands the wish-granting tree, measuring a krośa all around.
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Stepping into its shade, one dispels the sin of killing a brahmin.
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To its west is known the sacred pool called Rauhiṇa,
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filled with primordial causal waters, granting liberation by touch alone.
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Standing upon its eastern bank, fashioned from sapphire,
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is the physical form of illustrious Vāsudeva, directly bestowing liberation.
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Whoever bathes in that sacred pool and beholds Puruṣottama,
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obtains the fruit of a thousand horse-sacrifices and is liberated.
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There exists an excellent hermitage known as Śabaradīpaka,
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in the western direction from the Lord, surrounded by the dwellings of the Śabaras,
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from which goes a footpath by which one may reach the abode of Viṣṇu,
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where Jagannātha himself, bearer of the conch, discus, and mace,
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bestows liberation upon living beings by [his] darśana, he who is a treasure of compassion.
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I dwelt there in holy Puruṣottama for a year, O King,
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keeping vows as a forest-dweller to please the God of gods.
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Every night, when the denizens of heaven come
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for the darśana of the Blessed One, O Great King, divine, superhuman fragrance,
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words of varied hymns of praise, and a rain of Kalpa flowers are perceived.
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Such greatness does not manifest anywhere else in any abode of Viṣṇu.
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And an ancient event of the Purāṇas was heard by me there, O protector of the earth:
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even a crow, having an animal's body, beholding Mādhava, is liberated.
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Lacking any right to meritorious deeds, and destitute of knowledge, O king,
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afflicted by thirst, it came to drink water at the Rauhiṇa pool;
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yielding up its life-breaths under the power of Time, it attained similarity of form with Viṣṇu.
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Formerly I was a fool, but now, by his grace,
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perhaps Śeṣa would be my match across the eighteen branches of learning.
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My mind has become stainless; I see nothing other than Viṣṇu.
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Since you are a devotee of Viṣṇu and always firm in your vows,
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I have come to your presence for the sake of instructing you.
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Neither wealth nor land is solicited from you now.
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Do not regard this as false; worship Śrīdhara who resides there."
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Having spoken thus, the ascetic with matted hair, while all were looking on,
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instantly vanished; and the king, [filled with] supreme wonder,
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having become agitated in mind [pondering], "How shall this be accomplished for me?"
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spoke this to his royal priest for the accomplishment of that very matter:
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Indradyumna said:
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"Having just heard this superhuman account from a superhuman being,
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my mind hurries to that place where that Gadādhara resides.
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Indeed, my virtue, wealth, and pleasure depend on you, O best of the twice-born;
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unobstructed, the threefold aim has been accomplished by me through your favor.
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If you, O best of brahmins, go now for this purpose,
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the complete fourfold aim would now be attained by me."
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The royal priest said:
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"Certainly I shall do this, so that you may behold Keśava,
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the all-pervading Lord who directly bestows liberation, with eyes covered by mail [of flesh].
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I shall endeavor in this matter so that all of us
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will reside together with our companions in the sacred field of holy Puruṣottama.
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What greater fruitfulness than this could there be, O King, for a living being's birth?
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You shall directly behold the Person beyond darkness, Mādhava.
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My younger brother, named Vidyāpati, will go
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right now, together with your spies accustomed to wandering through the regions.
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Having gone there and beheld Jagannātha as he is on the mountain,
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and having surveyed the terrain and the settlement of thorny dwellings,
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he will swiftly bring back the news, [and] it will be for our welfare."
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Hearing those words of his, the king spoke again:
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Indradyumna said:
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"Well done, O brahmin! Having collected your thoughts, an enterprise has been resolved upon.
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I myself, immediately upon hearing this, had already made up my mind:
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'I shall dwell in that sacred field in the presence of the Blessed One.'
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Therefore let your brother go; he will accomplish what is desired."
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Having said this, the king entered the inner apartments, filled with joy.
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The royal priest, too, in due order and as prescribed,
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honoured all of them by order of the king and sent them back each to their own hermitage.
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And at an auspicious hour determined by the astrologer,
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he sent forth his brother, for whom rites of benediction had been performed by the brahmins.
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Accompanied by trustworthy spies, seated in a flower chariot,
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that brahmin Vidyāpati, O brahmins, set out.
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Seated in the chariot, he reflected in his mind:
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“Ah, fruitful is my birth, and fortunate is my night,
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since I shall behold the lotus-face of the Blessed One, which removes sin!
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He whom ascetics, striving day and night by means such as hearing,
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behold stationed in the lotus of the heart—
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Him today, abiding on the peak of the blue mountain, bearing a form
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that removes connection with physical bodies—the bearer of the discus—I shall behold directly!
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Whose form cannot be established even by the words of the Śruti, Smṛti, Itihāsas, and Purāṇas—
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having seen that never-before-seen form of that treasure of Śrī, I shall cross over the ocean of worldly existence!
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By singing whose name the threefold mass of sins perishes for those who remember Him—
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Him today, the immeasurable Lord of the Universe dwelling on the mountain, I shall see face to face!
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For one who does not cling to His lotus feet, who acquires suffering at every step,
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the darkness arising from dense delusion, resting in the soul, is never destroyed by actions.
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Having worshipped Him, the subtle one dwelling in one's own cave [of the heart], enveloped by the five sheaths, seated within the self,
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whom the voice of the Vedānta proclaims yet does not know—I bow to the primeval one who is known only by self-knowledge.
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Whose body hairs are encircled by a garland of universes, who has a thousand heads, feet, and eyes, the ancient one,
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from whose breath of wind the mass of Vedas arose, the Lord of all phenomenal creation—to Him I surrender!
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By whose māyā this deceptive form, delighting in creation, dissolution, and maintenance, was fashioned;
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who is devoid of the investigated, superposed, and base forms, having the true nature of the Praṇava;
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approaching whom by chance, even for the sake of quenching an animal's thirst,
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one attained liberation of having the same form in that very body—Him I shall bring into the range of my sight!
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Ah, indeed, my fortune is proclaimed, since the merit accumulated in a crore of births
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has truly arisen for me; with these eyes of flesh I shall behold the root cause of the universe!”
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While the brahmin was thinking thus with a delighted inner self,
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because of the chariot's speed he did not notice the long path that was traversed.
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When midday had passed and the long day was declining,
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there appeared ahead on the road a land that was an ornament of the world,
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named Oḍhra, O brahmins, which purifies the earthly realm.
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Thus beholding the edges of forests and the mountain fortresses situated along the road,
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at the time of sunset he arrived at the bank of the Mahānadī.
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Stepping down from the chariot, the brahmin dutifully performed his daily rites,
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and having performed the evening twilight prayer, he meditated upon Madhusūdana.
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Having spent the night resting in the back of the chariot, filled with haste,
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he crossed the Mahānadī and, having completed his morning duties,
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he set out, mounted on the chariot, still meditating on Govinda,
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beholding the road of the Blessed One, and the villages of Vedic scholars, sacrificers,
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and brahmins resplendent with the splendour of fire, adorned with betel nut trees.
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As soon as that brahmin arrived, having crossed the forest of Ekāmraka,
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he saw people bearing the conch, discus, mace, and lotus;
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and he perceived himself transformed, having assumed a divine form as if in another birth.
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Quickly descending from the chariot and prostrating with eight limbs,
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his eyes filled with tears of joy, he saw nothing else.
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Beholding Viṣṇu solely in his mind and outwardly as well, O brahmins,
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as the brahmin was thus proceeding, meditating, seeing, and praising Hari,
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he beheld the Nīlācala, crowded with forests, adorned with the wish-fulfilling banyan tree,
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scraping the sky, destroying the sins of those who gaze upon it.
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Most wonderful! Living beings directly endowed with the forms of Hari dwell there.
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Having ascended to the foot of the hill, searching all around, the brahmin,
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eager to behold Mukunda, did not find the path.
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Then, having spread kuśa grass upon the ground, he lay down in silence;
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for the darśana of that God, he took refuge in Him alone.
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Then from behind the mountain he heard a superhuman voice,
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as people conversed with one another on the subject of devotion to the Blessed One.
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Then Vidyāpati, overjoyed, followed it and went on.
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O brahmins, he saw [the place] surrounded on all sides by the dwellings of the Śabaras,
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an island settlement of the sacred field, renowned as Śabaradīpaka.
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Going there slowly, the brahmin entered, filled with humility,
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and saw those devotees of Viṣṇu bearing the conch, discus, and mace.
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Bowing his head, the brahmin then stood with folded hands.
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Then a Śabara named Viśvāvasu, his limbs grey with age,
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having completed the worship of Hari, adorned with the remnants of the worship,
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arrived at that very moment from the midst of the mountain, O brahmins.
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Seeing him, the brahmin felt joy and reflected:
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“This man has come from the abode of Hari, weary, adorned with the nirmālya.
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From this foremost Vaiṣṇava I shall obtain the rare news of Viṣṇu.”
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Even as he was reflecting thus, the brahmin was addressed by the Śabara.
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The Śabara said:
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“From where have you come, O brahmin, to the depths of this forest, so hard to traverse?
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You are utterly exhausted with hunger and thirst; please sit comfortably here for a while.”
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Offering water for the feet, a seat, and the respectful arghya offering to the brahmin,
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Viśvāvasu spoke in a humble voice, introducing the matter at hand:
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“O brahmin, let your sustenance be with fruits or with cooked food.
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Whatever pleases you, O twice-born, will surely be given here by me.
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Today is my good fortune, O venerable one, and my life has become fruitful,
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since you have reached my house, O brahmin, like another Viṣṇu in person!”
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To the Śabara who spoke thus, the best of brahmins replied:
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“I have no need of fruits or of cooked food, O best of Vaiṣṇavas!
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Make fruitful, O virtuous one, the purpose for which I have come from afar.
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Of King Indradyumna, who resides in the city of Avantī,
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I am the domestic priest; I have come longing for the darśana of Viṣṇu.
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Indeed, in the presence of the king, on the occasion of an assembly of pilgrims,
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it was introduced then by someone in the context of sacred fords and sacred fields.
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Thus the sacred field was described before the king by an ascetic with matted hair.
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And that brahmin related all of it in proper succession.
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For this purpose, O virtuous one, by the eager king indeed,
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Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit