Skandapurana 2.4.14
English (machine translation) 2.4.14
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Pṛthu said:
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O brahmin, the vow of the month of Ūrja that was described in detail by you,
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and the worship of Viṣṇu at the root of a tulasī plant that was declared by you therein—
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on account of that, I wish to ask about the māhātmya arising from tulasī.
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How is she so exceedingly dear to that God of gods who bears the Śārṅga bow?
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How was she born, and in what place, O Nārada?
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Tell this briefly; you are considered by me to be omniscient.
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Nārada said:
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Listen attentively, O king, to the māhātmya arising from tulasī.
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I shall tell you all of that ancient event, together with its legend.
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In ancient times, Śakra went to Mount Kailāsa to see Śiva,
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surrounded by all the gods and attended by crowds of apsarases.
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As soon as he reached Śiva's abode, he saw there
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a man of terrible deeds, fearsome with a fanged face.
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He was asked by him: “Who are you, sir? Where has the Lord of the universe gone?”
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Though asked thus again and again, O king, he did not speak at that time.
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Then, enraged, the wielder of the thunderbolt reproached him and spoke these words:
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“Hey! Even though being questioned by me, you have not given an answer!
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Therefore I will strike you with my thunderbolt. Who is your protector, O evil-minded one?”
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Having said this, the wielder of the thunderbolt then struck him hard with the thunderbolt.
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By that, his throat turned blue, and the thunderbolt turned to ashes.
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Then Rudra blazed up with fiery brilliance as if burning [the world].
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Seeing [this], Bṛhaspati quickly folded his hands in reverence,
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and, casting Indra like a staff upon the ground, began to praise [him]:
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Bṛhaspati said:
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Homage to the sovereign of the gods, the three-eyed one, the one with matted locks,
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the slayer of Tripura, Śarva; homage to the destroyer of Andhaka!
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To the multiform one, of supreme form, manifold in forms, to Śambhu,
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to the destroyer of the sacrifice and the bestower of the fruits of sacrifices!
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To the ender of death, to Time, and to the bearer of the serpent of death,
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homage to the cutter of Brahmā's head, to the brahmin, homage, homage!
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Nārada said:
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Praised in this way then by Dhiṣaṇa, Śambhu spoke to him,
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withdrawing the flame of his eye capable of burning the three worlds:
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"Choose a boon, O brahmin! I am pleased with this praise of yours.
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By giving life to Indra, you have won renown: 'Live!'"
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Bṛhaspati said:
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"If you are pleased, O God, protect Indra who has sought refuge [with you].
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May this fire arisen from the eye of your forehead be pacified."
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Īśvara said:
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"How can the fire re-enter the eye on my forehead?
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I will cast it far away so that it does not torment Indra."
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Nārada said:
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Having said this and holding it in his hand, he hurled it into the salt sea.
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It fell at the confluence of the ocean and the Sindhu-Gaṅgā.
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Instantly it assumed the form of a child there and wept.
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By the sound of him crying, the earth trembled repeatedly.
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[All worlds] beginning with heaven up to Satyaloka were deafened by that sound.
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Hearing it, Brahmā went there, wondering, 'What is this?'
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Thereupon he saw that child in the lap of the ocean.
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Seeing Brahmā arrive, the ocean too, with palms joined,
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bowed down his head and placed the child in his lap:
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"O Brahmā, this little son of mine was born at the Sindhu-Gaṅgā.
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Perform the birth-rites and other sacraments today, O Guru of the Universe!"
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Nārada said:
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As the ocean was speaking thus, that child, the ocean's son,
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seized Brahmā by the beard, shaking him again and again.
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As he shook his beard, water flowed from [Brahmā's] eyes.
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Somehow freeing his beard, Brahmā then said to the ocean:
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Brahmā said:
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"Because this water of mine was drawn out from my eyes by him,
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therefore he shall be celebrated by the name Jalandhara.
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Right now he shall become a youth, master of all weapons and missiles.
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He will be invulnerable to all living beings except Rudra.
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Where he arose, there alone he will meet his end."
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Nārada said:
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Having said this, he summoned Śukra and consecrated him to the kingdom.
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Taking leave of the lord of rivers, Brahmā disappeared.
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Then, his eyes blossoming with joy at seeing him, the ocean
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asked for Vṛndā, the daughter of Kālanemi, to be his wife.
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Those asuras, headed by Kālanemi, then gladly gave that daughter to him.
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And obtaining her, the foremost of friends, the mighty one, assisted by Śukra, ruled the obedient earth.
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Thus ends the fourteenth chapter, entitled 'Description of the Birth of Jalandhara', in the Māhātmya of the Month of Kārttika, in the second section, the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, in the collection of eighty-one thousand verses.
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit