Skandapurana 2.2.8
English (machine translation) 2.2.8
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Jaimini said:
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Addressed in this manner by that brahmin, the Śabara became distressed with anxiety:
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“This Janārdana residing in secret is the source of our livelihood.
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Misfortune has befallen us, through which he may become accessible to all the world.
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If I do not show [him] to the brahmin, he will utter a curse upon me.
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A brahmin is to be revered by all, and especially this guest;
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if his desire remains unfulfilled, both worlds will be lost to me.”
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Reflecting thus, Viśvāvasu, the foremost of the Śabaras,
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remembered the ancient tradition current in the settlement of the Śabaras:
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“When this god has disappeared, when Mādhava is concealed within the earth,
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King Indradyumna, possessing valor equal to Indra,
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who will even go to Brahmaloka in a human body,
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will arrive here with his subjects, and having sacrificed with a hundred horse-sacrifices,
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will establish Viṣṇu made of wood in a fourfold form.
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If great good fortune has arisen for this brahmin guest,
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then the disappearance of the Lord, or his presence, must come to pass.
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Therefore, I shall show him Acyuta, who is of sapphire blue.
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Human effort has no power when a task has been ordained by the divine.”
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Having reflected thus in his mind again and again, the Śabara
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spoke to the brahmin who stood before him, meditating upon the imperishable Viṣṇu.
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The Śabara said:
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“Indeed, even previously this report was heard by us:
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King Indradyumna will take up residence here.
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You are even more fortunate than he, since you will see Nīlamādhava
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with your own eyes first, O brahmin! Come, let us go up to the plateau.”
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Having spoken thus and taking him by the hand, he went into the dense path,
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climbing higher and higher along the path rough with stones,
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passable only by one man at a time, impassable and filled with thorns,
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guiding with words the brahmin walking upon the dark-filled path.
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Within two muhūrtas, the two reached the bank of the Rauhiṇa pool.
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Beholding it, he said to the brahmin: "This pool, O best of the twice-born,
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is the great sacred ford called Rauhiṇa, the source of all waters.
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Bathing here, a mortal goes to the abode of Vaikuṇṭha, O twice-born.
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To the east of this is that great banyan tree, the Kalpacchāya,
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stepping into whose shade one wipes away [the sin of] murdering a brahmin.
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Between these two, O brahmin, standing inside the arbor,
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behold directly Jagannātha, taught by the Vedānta.
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Having seen [Him], abandon the entire manifold accumulation of sin;
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henceforth, though fallen into the ocean of worldly existence, grieve no more."
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Jaimini said:
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Having bathed in the pool, the wise brahmin, his mind exceedingly delighted,
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bowing from afar with his head, mind, and speech to Hari,
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praised [Him] with a one-pointed mind and a voice choked with joy.
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Vidyāpati said:
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"O You who transcend Pradhāna and Puruṣa, all-pervading one, higher than the highest!
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O transformation into the moving and the unmoving, O supreme truth, homage be to You!
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By rites taught by the Śrutis, Smṛtis, Purāṇas, and Itihāsas,
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You alone are to be propitiated, O Lord of the universe!
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From You all this universe arises at creation, O all-pervading Lord;
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having You as its foundation, O God, it is maintained by You alone.
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At the end of a kalpa, everything is withdrawn and resides with ample space
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at ease within Your belly, O Self of all! Homage be to You, the Inner Ruler!
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Homage to You, God of gods! Homage to You whose form is the three Vedas,
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who constantly illuminate the world in the form of the moon, sun, and others!
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The Gaṅgā, embodying all sacred fords, by contact with whose lotus foot
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purifies all the worlds—homage to Him, the Purifier!
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The oblations purified by mantras duly offered into the fires
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You transform [into food]; homage to You who make the world live!
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Living on a portion of whom, whose nature is bliss, the worlds subsist,
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homage to that Brahman-Self, devoid of all impurities!
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To the spotless one, whose form is auspicious, the wielder of māyā,
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devoid of all attachment, homage to You, the witness of the universe!
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To the one with many feet, eyes, heads, mouths, and arms, victorious over all,
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whose essence is all living beings, homage to You who possess all forms!
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Homage to You, beloved of Kamalā! Homage to You who sit on a lotus!
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Homage, O lotus-petal-eyed one! Protect me, O Puruṣottama!
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Afflicted by roaming in worthless worldly existence, truly by diseases and grief,
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deliver me from this mass of worldly sorrow, who have taken refuge at Your lotus feet!"
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Jaimini said:
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Having thus praised the ruler of the gods, the God whose form is the Praṇava,
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he bowed and chanted the Praṇava mantra before Hari.
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At the end of the recitation, seeing the brahmin standing with peaceful mind,
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hands folded in reverence, and considering himself fulfilled, the Śabara said:
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Viśvāvasu said:
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"You have accomplished your purpose by beholding the Lord now, O bull among the twice-born.
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The day has ended; let us go home. You are hungry and filled with fatigue.
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This forest is the dwelling of ferocious beasts; staying here is not suitable for us.
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As long as the sun's light shines, let us go to our home."
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Having spoken thus and taking the brahmin by the hand once more,
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the Śabara, O best of the twice-born, swiftly came to his hermitage.
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The brahmin, too, meditating on Jagannātha, the ocean of bliss,
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did not feel the pains arising from hunger, thirst, and weariness.
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Even upon the road rough with stones and impassable with heaps of thorns,
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walking along, he felt no pain because of his joy and disregard for the body.
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As the two, the brahmin and the Śabara, were thus walking toward the Śabara's home,
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reached it in the evening, O twice-born, the foremost of Vaiṣṇavas.
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There, to the guest who had arrived, the brahmin, the best of Śabaras
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honored him with various arrangements of food to chew and to eat.
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Then, fully satisfied by the royal offerings presented by him,
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he felt great astonishment at what was exceedingly difficult to obtain for a Śabara:
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"This Śabara dwells in the middle of a rugged forest,
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living on forest produce. How within his house
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are foods fit for a king easily available? This is a great wonder!"
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To the brahmin who had thus fallen into wonder, the Śabara then
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spoke with affectionate words, bowing low in deep humility:
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The Śabara said:
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"O brahmin, are you free from fatigue? Are you free from hunger and thirst?
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Whence can there be comfort for city dwellers in the house of forest dwellers?
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Urban ways are unknown, especially to Śabaras.
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Among those who serve the king, the king's minister and the domestic priest are the foremost.
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Between them, the priest is to be honored as equal to the king, in accordance with the scriptures.
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King Indradyumna is an emperor of great majesty.
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If you are pleased, O brahmin, he will surely be pleased."
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When the forest dweller had spoken thus, that twice-born man, greatly pleased,
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spoke with affection to the Śabara, who spoke with such wondrous humility:
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Vidyāpati said:
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"O virtuous one, these things brought by you for my entertainment
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are superhuman, unseen here even by kings.
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It is marvelous: such an accumulation of divine items in the house of a Śabara!
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My curiosity to have this explained grows very great, O virtuous one."
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The Śabara said:
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"O brahmin, my mind is not inclined to disclose this.
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Even so, O best of the twice-born, out of devotion to a guest, I shall tell you.
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The hosts of gods, led by Śakra, arrive every day, O twice-born,
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bringing divine offerings to worship the Lord of the World.
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Having worshipped Jagannātha, having praised and bowed down to him with devotion,
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and having delighted Puruṣottama with songs, musical instruments, and dances,
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the foremost of the gods always return to heaven.
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These divine articles are the nirmālya of the Lord of the World;
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they have been given to you, a learned man. Why do you marvel?
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By partaking of Viṣṇu's nirmālya, we are free from disease and old age;
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with our sons and relatives, we all live having a lifespan of ten thousand years.
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By partaking of Viṣṇu's nirmālya, the heap of sins is destroyed;
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it is no wonder, O best of the twice-born, that one may become a recipient of liberation."
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Hearing of this rare deed, the brahmin, his hair standing on end,
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his eyes filled with tears of joy, considered himself fulfilled:
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"Ah! Though born a Śabara, he beholds the imperishable Lord!
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He enjoys His divine remnants of food day and night!
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There is no other equal to him in the world, on the earth with all that moves and is still,
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as is this devotee of Viṣṇu, the Śabara on the Blue Mountain.
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What is the use of going to my own home today, to a family of unhappy mind?
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Forming a friendship with him, I will stay here within the forest."
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Having reflected for a long time, the brahmin, his mind attached to Śrī Kṛṣṇa,
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again said to the Śabara: "If you have favor toward me,
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O virtuous one, friendship must be made with you; this is my firm resolve.
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What is the use of returning and serving the king, a cause of unhappiness in the hereafter?
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Staying here with you, worshipping Madhusūdana,
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I will strive so that the bondage of a body may not happen to me again.
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O good friend, by good fortune my meeting with you has taken place;
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by your grace I will cross the ocean of existence, hard to cross.
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They praise this as the essence in this world, in the ocean of worldly existence:
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friendship with a Vaiṣṇava, which carries one across the sorrowful cycle of birth and death.
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By living together with a friend, before my very eyes again
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will come the Lord, the lotus-eyed one, bearing the conch, discus, and mace.
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If I return, friend, King Indradyumna
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he will reside right here to worship the Lord.
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And he wishes to build a vast temple here, dear to the Lord. (70)
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‘I will arrange a thousand services
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for worshiping the Lord of the world’—such was the king’s great vow. (71)
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I promised [this] before him; please be pleased and agree to it.” (72)
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The Śabara said:
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“Friend, there is well known here just such an ancient account. (73)
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Indradyumna’s coming will happen just as you have told.
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Only, the king will not see Mādhava there. (74)
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Very soon the Lord, covered with golden sand,
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will disappear; this was promised to Yama. (75)
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Through the ripening of great good fortune, you have perceived Him directly;
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when Indradyumna approaches, He will certainly conceal Himself. (76)
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Yet this matter must not be told by you, friend, before the king.
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Coming here and not seeing the Supreme Lord, (77)
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that king, undertaking the vow of fasting unto death, will see the Holder of the Mace in a dream.
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By His command, the fourfold wooden forms of the Lord (78)
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he will worship with devotion, having [them] consecrated by the Self-manifest [Brahmā].
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Hari’s presence here will endure as long as our lineages last. (79)
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Through the Lord’s grace, no doubt should be entertained in this matter.
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Therefore, friend, do not be sorrowful about this; very quickly indeed (80)
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it will be accomplished before long. Friend, now sleep peacefully.
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In the morning, after seeing the all-pervading God of sapphire again, (81)
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bathing in the ocean, we shall look for a good site on its shore (82)
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for the king’s dwelling, according to his desire, my friend.”
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Having exchanged these and other holy stories with one another,
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the two of them slept in an auspicious place on a bed spread with leaves. (83)
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When night had dawned, the two, with the water of the king of sacred fords [the ocean],
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performed their ritual ablution according to rule, bowed to Mādhava, (84)
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and after deciding upon a place fit for the king to reside, they went back.
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Then, having taken leave of his friend, to carry out the king’s instruction, (85)
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mounting his chariot, that brahmin returned to the city of Avantī. (86)
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Thus ends the eighth chapter in the dialogue with the sage Jaimini, in the Puruṣottamakṣetramāhātmya of the second [section], the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa of eighty-one thousand verses. (8)
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit