Skandapurana 2.4.12
English (machine translation) 2.4.12
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Śaunaka said:
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Great is the merit and fruit bestowed by the māhātmya of Kārtika.
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When was the dhātrī tree produced, and how did it attain fame? (1)
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Why is it sacred, and why is it the destroyer of sins?
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By whom was it made the āmardakī? Tell this here in detail. (2)
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Sūta said:
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I shall explain, O best of the twice-born, how it indeed bestows merit.
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On the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight of Ūrja, one should perform the worship of the dhātrī tree. (3)
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The great āmardakī tree destroys all sins.
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A person who approaches the shade of the dhātrī tree on the fourteenth [tithi] known as Vaikuṇṭha (4)
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should worship there the lord of gods, Hari, accompanied by Rādhā.
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Then one should perform one hundred and eight circumambulations (5)
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with gold, or silver, or fruits, or āmalaka fruits.
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One should perform one hundred and eight circumambulations with one [offering] each time. (6)
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Prostrating with eight limbs on the ground, one should pray to the Supreme Lord:
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Taking shelter in the shade of the dhātrī tree, he should listen to this sacred story;
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And afterwards feed the brahmins and give a sacrificial gift according to his means.
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When the brahmins are satisfied, Hari is pleased and bestows liberation.
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In this matter I will tell you a story that bestows meritorious fruits;
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Even Brahmā is not able to describe the fruit of the āmardakī tree fully.
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Formerly, when the single cosmic ocean had arisen and the stationary and moving creation was destroyed,
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When the hosts of gods and demons were destroyed, and serpents and rākṣasas had perished,
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There the Lord of the supreme gods, the eternal supreme Self,
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Chanted the supreme Brahman, the ultimate, imperishable nature of his own Self.
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Then, as he chanted Brahman, a breath came forth before him;
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Through devotion at the sight of that, water flowed from his two eyes.
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Bursting forth in a weight of tears of love, a drop fell upon the earth;
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From that drop arose of itself the great tree, the dhātrī,
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Abounding in branches and twigs, weighed down by a burden of fruit;
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It is proclaimed as the very first growth among all trees.
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Brahmā created it first, and only after that did he create creatures:
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Gods, dānavas, gandharvas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, and pannagas.
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The blessed god also created humans, pure and spotless.
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Those gods arrived where the dhātrī, dear to Hari, was;
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Seeing it, those fortunate ones were filled with extreme wonder,
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Pondering again and again: 'We do not know this tree.'
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As they were thus pondering, a bodiless voice spoke:
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'This is the āmardakī tree, the foremost, for it is sacred to Viṣṇu.
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By mere remembrance of it, one obtains the fruit of gifting a cow;
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From seeing it, the merit is doubled, and from eating it, tripled.
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Therefore, the āmardakī must always be honored with every effort;
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Pertaining to Viṣṇu, it is said to remove all sins and destroy iniquity.
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At its root resides Viṣṇu, and above that, the grandfather [Brahmā];
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On the trunk rests the blessed Rudra, the Supreme Lord;
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On the branches are the suns, and on the twigs the deities;
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Deities reside in the leaves, and the Maruts in the flowers;
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All the lords of beings reside in the fruits.
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Indeed, this dhātrī is declared by me to embody all the gods.
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Therefore, it should be worshipped for the attainment of all desired aims.'
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Once the yogin Nārada stood before Brahmā;
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Having bowed to the Lord of the universe, exceedingly astonished, he asked:
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Śrī Nārada said:
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'Just as a fine grove of tulasī is always dear to Hari,
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Is a dhātrī grove likewise dear to Śrī Hari in the month of Kārtika?'
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Brahmā said:
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'He who worships Hari in a dhātrī grove and dines under the shades of the dhātrī
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In the month of Kārtika—his sin is destroyed.
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Sacred fords, sages, gods, and all sacrifices in Kārtika
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Ever take resort in the dhātrī and remain there while the sun is in Libra.
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Whatever little merit a man performs in the shade of a dhātrī,
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That becomes multiplied ten million times; there is no doubt about this.
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In this very connection, they cite this ancient history:
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In the city of Ayodhyā there was a certain vaiśya, O best of the twice-born;
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He was destitute of son and wife, and tormented by poverty due to fate.
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He quenched the fire of his belly by alms, O Nārada.
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Once, tormented by hunger, that vaiśya begged from a merchant.
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Taking the chickpeas obtained as alms, he went to the shade of a dhātrī;
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There he ate them in the month of Kārtika, O Nārada.
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Some of those chickpeas were left over there, O Nārada;
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They were given by that vaiśya to a twice-born emaciated with hunger.
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By the power of that merit, he became a wealthy king on earth.
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Therefore, gifts should always be given in the month of Kārtika
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In a dhātrī grove, O best of sages, for the attainment of all desired aims.
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Taking resort in the shade of a dhātrī in Kārtika, he who listens
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To the narrative of Hari is released from sins, just like the son of the twice-born.'
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Nārada said:
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Who was that brahmin's son, O Brahmā? What sin had he committed in the past?
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How did his liberation occur? Tell me this in full detail.
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Brahmā said:
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Long ago, on the northern bank of the Kāverī, there lived an excellent brahmin
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named Devaśarman, who had mastered the Vedas and their auxiliary sciences.
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He had an ill-behaved son; to him his father spoke words for his welfare:
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"Now comes the month of Kārtika, beloved of Hari.
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In it, perform ritual ablutions, giving of gifts, vows, and observances.
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O son, perform the worship of Hari with tulasī flowers,
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giving of various lamps, salutation, and circumambulation."
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Hearing this speech of his father, the son, overcome with anger,
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spoke to his father, the wicked soul reviling him with trembling lips:
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The son said:
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"Father, I will not accumulate merit in Kārtika."
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Hearing these words of the son, [the father] angrily spoke to that son:
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"O foolish one, become a mouse in the hollow of a tree in the forest!"
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Terrified by the fear of that curse, he bowed and said to his father:
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"Tell me, O master: how may my liberation from this evil womb come to be?"
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Thus propitiated, the brahmin spoke the means of expiation:
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"When you hear of the merit arising from the vow of Ūrja, beloved of Hari,
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then your liberation shall come to pass from hearing that tale, O son."
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Thus addressed by his father, he became a mouse at that very moment,
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living for many thousands of years in a cave in the dense forest.
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Once, during the month of Kārtika, Viśvāmitra together with his disciples,
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having bathed in the river and worshipped Hari, resorted to the shade of a dhātrī tree.
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He narrated to his disciples the māhātmya relating to Ūrja.
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At that time, a certain ill-behaved hunter went about hunting game;
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seeing the gathering of seers, the killer of living beings formed the desire to kill [them],
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but merely upon seeing them, he then attained a virtuous mind.
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Then, bowing to the brahmins, he said: "What is being done here by your honors?"
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Thus addressed by him, the best of brahmins, Viśvāmitra, said to him:
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Viśvāmitra said:
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"Of all months indeed, Kārtika is declared the best.
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Whatever rite is performed in it expands like the seed of a banyan tree.
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Whoever performs ritual ablution, giving of gifts, and worship in the month of Kārtika,
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and also the feeding of brahmins, that yields imperishable fruit."
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Hearing the duty explained by the seer to the hunter, the brahmin [mouse],
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casting off the mouse's body, then attained a celestial body.
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Then, bowing to Viśvāmitra and recounting his own tale,
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permitted by the seer, he mounted an aerial chariot and went to heaven.
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The son of Gādhi was amazed, and especially so was the hunter.
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The hunter too, having performed the vow of Ūrja, went to Hari's abode.
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Therefore, by every effort in Kārtika, before Keśava,
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taking shelter in the shade of a dhātrī tree, one should listen to the narrative.
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Even a mouse was freed from an evil birth by hearing the narration of Ūrja;
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whoever listens to it or recites it attains liberation, without a doubt.
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Taking shelter under the shade of a dhātrī tree, one should partake of a meal in the forest,
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having first performed ritual ablution in water located in the forest.
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Having performed the daily rites, one should then worship Mādhava;
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sheltered beneath the shade of a dhātrī tree, endowed with devotion to Hari,
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one should listen to the celestial narrative extolling the greatness of the month.
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Then with devotion one should feed brahmins, best among knowers of the Veda;
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then, O best of brahmins, one should eat oneself, remembering Hari.
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When the vow is thus performed in Kārtika, beloved of Hari, O brahmin,
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the sin that is destroyed, O son, listen attentively:
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from food not offered to Hari, from looking at the sun while eating,
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and likewise from the sin of hearing the words of a menstruating woman during a meal,
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and whatever fault of improper touch occurs at the time of eating,
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from eating prohibited food, and from food defilement while eating—
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as well as from discarding pure [food] during an auspicious time, O lover of Hari,
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all the sin incurred by these [actions] is certainly destroyed. (64)
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Therefore, with every effort, one should take a meal under an āmalakī tree. (65)
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If a brahmin wears a garland of āmalakī beads during the month of Kārtika,
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and likewise a garland of tulasī beads, his merit is endless. (66)
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A man who, taking shelter under the shade of an āmalakī tree,
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offers a row of lamps, especially so, his merit is endless. (67)
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Rādhā and Dāmodara should be worshipped, especially beneath a tulasī plant;
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in the absence of tulasī, auspicious worship should be performed beneath an āmalakī tree. (68)
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He who has eaten even once beneath the shade of an āmalakī tree in Kārtika,
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and provided food to a married couple, is freed from the taint of [impure] food. (69)
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He who, when the month of Kārtika is completed, having worshipped the auspicious āmalakī,
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and fed a married couple for the pleasure of Rādhā and Dāmodara,
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afterwards eats himself, his prosperity shall never perish. (70)
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Whatever Vaiṣṇava in this world holds an āmalakī fruit, O sage,
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he becomes dear to the gods, what to say of human beings? (71)
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A man whose limbs are anointed with āmalakī fruit, who is endowed with āmalakī fruit,
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and who eats meals of āmalakī fruit, becomes Nārāyaṇa. (72)
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He who constantly holds āmalakī fruits in the hollow of his hands,
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to him the divine Nārāyaṇa grants the desired boon. (73)
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A man desiring prosperity should always perform his ritual ablution with āmalakīs;
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Viṣṇu is pleased with āmalakīs, especially on the eleventh lunar day. (74)
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On the ninth, on the new-moon day, on the seventh, on a solstice or equinox, on Sunday,
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and during an eclipse of the moon or sun, one should avoid a ritual ablution with āmalakīs. (75)
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A man who, taking shelter under the shade of an āmalakī tree, offers a funeral ball,
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his ancestors attain liberation through the grace of Mādhava. (76)
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A man who wears an āmalakī fruit upon his head, hand, mouth,
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arms, and on his neck, my child, adorned with āmalakī fruits, (77)
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as long as a garland of āmalakī beads hangs on a man's neck,
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for so long does Keśava sport with delight upon his body. (78)
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An āmalakī fruit, tulasī, and earth originating from Dvārakā:
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fruitful is the life of him in whose house this triad exists. (79)
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For as many days as a man in the Kali age wears a garland of āmalakī beads,
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for that many thousands of yugas shall his dwelling be in Vaikuṇṭha. (80)
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He who wears a pair of garlands made from āmalakī and tulasī,
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that man who [wears them] around his neck shall dwell in heaven for ten million kalpas. (81)
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He who, having gone under the shade of an āmalakī tree on the twelfth lunar day, worships Hari,
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and feeds brahmins right there, (82)
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and himself eats pulse, sweetmeats, and other foods there,
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for him there is no return [to rebirth] even in hundreds of millions of kalpas. (83)
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One should worship Hari with the fruits and leaves of both tulasī and āmalakī. (84)
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When tulasī accompanied by an āmalakī tree is watered in Kārtika,
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sins such as the murder of a brahmin are dissolved, (85)
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just as the twice-born Dharmadatta attained liberation in ancient times. (86)
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Nārada said:
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“In the month of Kārtika, it must always be resorted to and worshipped by men;
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[yet] during Cāturmāsya it is not to be used—so it was stated by you formerly.
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Therefore, explain everything to me completely.” (87)
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Brahmā said:
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“In the month of Kārtika, O brahmin seer, on the auspicious tenth lunar day of the bright fortnight,
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beginning from that day, it may be used in rites for gods and ancestors. (88)
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Those men who, beginning from the tenth lunar day, worship Madhusūdana with its leaves and fruits,
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go to Vaikuṇṭha. / When the Kārtika observance is completed, one should take a meal in the grove. (89)
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When the vow of Kārttika is completed, one should perform a forest picnic.
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On the tenth, or on the twelfth, or on the full-moon day,
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or on the fifth, O fortunate one, one should take a meal in the grove. (90)
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Equipped with all provisions and accompanied by the elderly and children,
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the wise man should enter a grove adorned with āmalakī trees, (91)
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and adorned all around with mango, baka, and sacred fig trees, nīm, and kadamba trees,
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as well as banyan and tamarind trees. (92)
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Going there, O greatly wise one, he should first have the recitation of auspicious day (puṇyāha) performed;
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and at the base of the myrobalan (dhātrī) tree he should make the worthy seat for the deity of the site (vāstupīṭha),
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and an auspicious square altar, one cubit in length;
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likewise, having made a secondary altar in front of the altar, O high-minded one,
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it should be adorned with mineral pigments for the sitting of the god;
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- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit