Skandapurana 2.3.2

English (machine translation) 2.3.2

Language: English

2.3.2.2

How did this arise, and by whom was this sacred field frequented? (1ab)

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Or who is its presiding lord? Tell this in detail. (1cd)

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This is established from beginninglessness, just like the Vedas, the body of Hari. (2ab)

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Hari is directly its presiding deity, and it is frequented by Nārada and others. (2cd)

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Long ago, at the beginning of the Kṛta age, the Creator [desired] his own daughter; (3ab)

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endowed with beauty and youth, he prepared to violate her. (3cd)

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Seeing him like that, out of fury, with a sword, in five parts (4ab)

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I cut off that head. As the murder of a brahmin arose, that skull— (4cd)

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taking it in hand, I went swiftly there to frequent the sacred fords, (5ab)

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in heaven, on earth, and in Pātāla, preceded by the practice of austerities. (5cd)

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The murder of a brahmin did not leave me, and the skull remained like that in my hand. (6ab)

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Then I went to Vaikuṇṭha to see Hari, the lord of Lakṣmī. (6cd)

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Having bowed low with humility, bowing down again and again, (7ab)

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I related that entire calamity to him, the compassionate one. (7cd)

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Taking the instruction he gave, I arrived at Badarī. (8ab)

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At that moment, the murder of a brahmin trembling repeatedly before me, (8cd)

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disappeared, and that skull fell away from my hand. (9ab)

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From then on, at that sacred field, respectfully together with Pārvatī, (9cd)

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having undertaken austerity, I abide, bringing delight to the seers. (10ab)

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Just as [my] delight is in Vārāṇasī, and likewise on the peak of Śrīśaila,

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so on Kailāsa, together with Śivā, it is infinitely greater.

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Elsewhere liberation comes from maintenance [of rites] preceded by the rule of one’s own duty;

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from the mere darśana of Badarī, liberation rests in the hand of men.

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Where there is the presence of the feet of Hari, there Vaiśvānara himself [abides];

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there my liṅga is established in the form of Kedāra.

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From the darśana, touch, and worship of Kedāra, through the disposition of devotion,

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the sin accumulated in ten million births turns to ashes in that very moment.

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I dwell especially in that sacred field with only a single part;

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here indeed, fifteen parts abide within the bodily form.

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The Śiva-yogins, having conquered the fear of the bringer of death, wearing splendid garments made from the skins of deer,

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adorned with excellent sacred ashes and matted locks, themselves worship the wearer of matted locks.

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Content with fruits, leaves, water, and air, their fatigue from death overcome by minds fixed on Śiva,

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subduing their minds while dwelling on the best of mountains, possessing a great dawn of expanding, pure intellect,

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their lotus-faces possessing the gentle radiance of lotuses, their overwhelming enemies vanquished by the grace of Śiva,

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with folded hands held at the crest and their gaze on Śiva, they worship Śiva at dusk.

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Holding rosaries in their hands, partaking of peace and contentment, offering salutations, with constant, supreme prayers to the Moon-crested God,

their minds turned away from passion which afflicts people, their forms made of discerning knowledge through meditation on the lotus-feet of Hara, [they worship him] entirely through every state of being.

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For those who die in Vārāṇasī, that which is named the saving Brahman arises;

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there, for people, it arises from the worship of my liṅga.

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The fiery sacred ford shines brightly near the feet of the Lord;

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having seen the great liṅga called Kedāra, one will not partake of [another] birth.

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Skanda said:

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How did the glorious Vaiśvānara, the sole cause of all the worlds,

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come to settle at Badarī? Tell me that, O noble-minded one!

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Śiva said:

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Formerly, an assembly of celibate seers took place,

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where the divine Gaṅgā unites with the Kālindī,

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at the sacred ford named Daśāśvamedhika, renowned in the three worlds.

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There the lord Fire-eater, bowed down with modesty,

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stood before the seers and began to ask:

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Vaiśvānara said:

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Having seen [all things], you best knowers of Brahman here possess single-sighted knowledge;

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full of compassion for the wretched, moist of heart, merciful,

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how can there be liberation from hell for me, O best of the knowers of Brahman,

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whose mind is smeared with the sins born of all inauspicious signs?

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The lord of munis came to all those excellent seers;

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having bathed in the water of the Gaṅgā, he spoke these words:

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Vyāsa said:

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There is one supreme means for your expiation of sin,

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for the fault called the eating of everything: seek refuge in Badarī,

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where the divine Lord Janārdana, the God of gods, is present in person,

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Madhusūdana, the destroyer of the sins of both devotees and non-devotees.

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Having bathed there in the waters of the Gaṅgā and performed circumambulation of Hari,

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by falling prostrate like a stick, the destruction of all sins shall take place.

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Then, having heard from the mouth of Vyāsa and through the endorsement of the seers,

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Fire, facing the north, went to Gandhamādana.

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Then, having reached Badarikā and bathed in the waters of the Gaṅgā himself,

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having gone to the hermitage of Nārāyaṇa, the devout one bowed down and spoke:

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Agni said:

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The mass of pure consciousness, ancient, eternal, the Lord and Guru of the creators of the universe,

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manifold and one, the sole protector of the world, whose pure intellect shelters the Infinite—him I revere;

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who, resorting to illusory power, is called the creator of the universe through the employment of passion,

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the cause of its maintenance through goodness, and the fierce swallower of it through darkness—him I praise.

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I, whose soul is deluded by ignorance regarding the universe, take refuge through ignorance in the Lord,

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the soul, who is of the sole form of knowledge, extended across the three worlds, all-knowing because he rests on knowledge.

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To him who reveals bodily union through the desire of his devotees, whose union of yoga is offered for extensive enjoyment,

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whose power is served by yellow silk garments, the beloved one composed of the eight manifold powers—him I praise.

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Then the Lord, dwelling in the hearts of all, pleased by the hymn of praise,

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spoke sweet words to the Fire, who was seeking purification:

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Glorious Nārāyaṇa said:

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Choose a boon, fortune attend you; I have come as the granter of boons.

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I am pleased by this hymn and by your humility, O sinless one. (38)

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Agni said:

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The Lord already knows everything, the purpose for which I have come;

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nevertheless, obeying the command of the Lord, I shall state it: (39)

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I am indeed an all-devourer; how, then, can there be expiation?

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From this an exceedingly great fear arises within me. (40)

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Glorious Nārāyaṇa said:

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By mere darśana of the sacred field, living beings incur no sin.

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By my grace, moreover, may no sin ever attach to you. (41)

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From that time forth, the Fire-god, the self of beings, everywhere intensely,

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remained here through a portion [of himself], freed from all defilements. (42)

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Whoever, having risen at dawn, pure, hears this or causes it to be heard,

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attains without doubt the fruit of a ritual ablution performed at Agnitīrtha. (43)

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Thus ends the second chapter, entitled "Description of the Hymn to the Lord Composed by Agni," in the Badarikāśrama-māhātmya of the second [section], the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, in the Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses. (2)

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit