there is no [gift] in this world, O Nārada, as with the brahmin Suśarman. (43)
Even after bestowing numerous gifts in the month of Kārtika, O best of brahmins,

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if one is devoid of the remembrance of Hari, they never purify. (44)

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I am unable to describe the greatness of chanting the name,

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just as the denizens of hell were formerly freed by Puṣkara. (45)
“Govinda, Govinda, Hari, Murāri, Govinda, Govinda, Mukunda, Kṛṣṇa,

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Govinda, Govinda, who hold the chariot-wheel in hand, Govinda, Dāmodara, Mādhava!” (46)

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Half a verse or a quarter of a verse from the Bhāgavata daily,

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whoever recites in Kārtika, endowed with faith and devotion, [attains the highest state]. (47)

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By those who have not heard the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, nor worshipped the ancient Puruṣa,

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nor offered into the mouths of the earthly gods, the lives of those men have passed in vain. (48)

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Whoever recites the Gītā in the month of Kārtika, O best of brahmins,

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I have no power to describe the fruit of his merit. (49)

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A scripture equal to the Gītā has never existed, nor will there ever be.

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Taking away all sins eternally, the Gītā alone bestows liberation. (50)

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By reciting even a single chapter, even those who have committed every sin

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are freed from dreadful hell, just like the inert brahmin. (51)
Whoever gives a śālagrāma stone in Kārtika, O sage,

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the limit of his merit has not been defined by Viṣṇu. (52)
Having worshipped a śālagrāma, O great sage, to a learned brahmin

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whoever gives it, O brahmin, hear the fruit of his merit! (53)

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Whatever fruit comes from the gift of land extending to the seven oceans,

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that fruit one attains through the gift of a śālagrāma stone. (54)

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By the gift of a śālagrāma stone in Kārtika, just as a brahmin woman,

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though a widow, became one whose husband is alive on the fifth day of marriage. (55)
Therefore, in the month of Kārtika, preceded by ablutions and gifts,

the gift of a śālagrāma stone should be performed; there is no doubt in this. (56)
Thus in the glorious Skanda Purāṇa, in the compendium of eighty-one thousand [verses], in the second Vaiṣṇava section, in the Greatness of the Month of Kārtika, the second chapter named “Description of the Rules of the Kārtika Observance.” (2)

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2.4.2.8
To show that one obtains everything through the grace born of service to the guru, he states an illustrative story: Gautama had three disciples—Medhāvin, Kapila, and Sumati. Through excellent service to their guru, they attained divinity. Here is the famous story recounted in the Kārtikamāhātmya of the Sāroddhāra: Formerly, on the bank of the Bhāgīrathī at Siddhāśrama, the seer Gautama had three disciples: Medhāvin, Kapila, and Sumati. From their very childhood, they were dedicated to serving the guru. Once, Gautama called them and said: “O disciples, go quickly to the forest and bring kindling, flowers, fruits, and kuśa grass.” Having gathered only a few fruits and other items, they returned to their guru at midday. Gautama then became exceedingly angry and said: “O disciples, you went in the early morning, and now it is midday! You have brought very little fruit and the like; what, then, have you been doing for so long? O ill-behaved ones, if you wish to live, go back to the forest, gather many fruits and the like, and return quickly!” Hearing this, terrified, with throats withered by hunger, they went to the forest once again. There, wandering from forest to forest facing the west, afflicted with thirst, they bathed in a lake, performed the twilight devotion, drank water, and, while gathering fruits and the like, entered a terrifying forest. Night fell upon them. The roar of lions, tigers, and other beasts arose. Then, terrified, they said to one another: “Alas, how dreadful! In this deep dark forest we cannot see fruits or anything; we do not know the directions. Taking what shall we return to the guru's presence? What will become of us?” Distressed by fear and wandering here and there, they fell into a well overgrown with grass and bushes. There, bitten by serpents, they met their death. Gautama, realizing they had not returned and severely reproaching himself, went searching for them in the forest in the morning with his wife; seeing them dead in a well, he lamented. Then all [the serpents] consoled Gautama, saying: “They died solely through their own sin; why should you grieve?” Gautama said: / “Never did these best of disciples commit any sin / by action, mind, or speech. Cruel beings of this world that you are, / you struck them down in vain, for their allotted time of death had not arrived. / Therefore, the fault is not yours, nor is it that of these serpents; / the one who did this is Yama alone; hence, I shall curse Yama!” Saying this, taking water, he was about to curse Yama. Then Yama immediately arrived there and said: “O seer, this was not an untimely death for them; rather, the appointed time of great death arrived by reason of the serpent bites. Therefore, deliberate before issuing a curse; herein there is no fault of mine.” Gautama then said: “If this is so, what purpose have I in living without these good disciples? Therefore, by whatever merit I have earned and whatever austerity I have performed, through that merit and by your grace, let them attain life!” When this was said, they suddenly arose rejoicing, saw their guru and Yama before them, and bowed to them. Gautama embraced them with love and, exceedingly pleased, said, “I shall grant you a boon: / 'O men of good vows, through my grace you shall obtain / all the Vedas, the scriptures, all the auxiliary limbs, the epics, and the Purāṇas!' / When the guru had thus granted the boon, Indra arrived there with his preceptor. / He said to Gautama, the King of the Departed, and those brahmins: / 'I am Indra; may good betide you; hear my words! / By these twice-born men, indeed, all worlds have been completely conquered. / Therefore, O men of good vows, you ought to go from here to my world! / By the grace of Gautama, go in your very bodies! / Thus let their power be renowned in the world, as well as your renown and mine, / and also the fruit of honoring the guru!'” Having said this, he placed them on an aerial chariot and went to heaven; Yama went to his own city, and Gautama went to his own hermitage.

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2.4.2.12
The fruit of giving away a maiden in marriage is stated:
“An eight-year-old girl is Gaurī, and a nine-year-old is Rohiṇī; / a ten-year-old is a kanyā, and beyond that she has attained menses. / One who gives a Gaurī goes to the world of Brahmā; a Rohiṇī, to the world of the Sun; / a kanyā, to the heavenly world; a menstruating girl, to the world of Yama. / And for as many hairs as there are on the maiden's body, O son, / for that many thousands of years one is honored in the world of Rudra.”

2.4.2.32
Śveta, King Śveta, attained liberation through the practice of worshiping at Puṣkara, through the worship with lotuses. Here is the famous story in the Brahma Purāṇa: Formerly in the land of Kaśmīra, there was a king named Śveta, dedicated to sacrifices and charitable deeds, a great devotee of Viṣṇu. Having consecrated his son to the kingdom, he went to the sacred field of Puṣkara, and, drying up his body through exceedingly fierce austerity, he praised [the Lord]. At the end of his hymn of praise, seeing a terrifying man issue from his body, he asked: “Who are you, and whence have you come?” Then the hunter said: “O king, in a previous birth you were a king of Janasthāna. While hunting, you killed a sage who had assumed the form of a deer; thereby you became the slayer of a brahmin. Once at night, thinking 'May I be liberated from the fear of slaying a brahmin,' with supreme devotion you worshiped Viṣṇu with lotuses in the month of Kārtika. At that very time, suffering from an abdominal disease, with your life-breath rising to the throat, remembering your wife named Nārāyaṇī, you died. Through that merit you went to heaven; and I too, by my own radiance, remained near you there until the end of the cosmic age. Then, at the end of the cosmic age, you were born just now in the land of Kaśmīra in the house of King Sumanas, under the name of Śveta. Here also, through the recitation of the hymn of worship of Viṣṇu, you have been purified. Therefore, in the form of a hunter, I have issued from your body and have become pure.” Hearing that, the king, filled with astonishment, said to the hunter: “O hunter, since my previous birth has been recalled by you, through my grace you shall become Dharmavyādha.” Saying this, ascending an aerial chariot, he reached the supreme abode. Therefore:
“For those who perform worship of the slayer of Madhu with a thousand lotuses in Kārtika, / there is no return, even after hundreds of crores of cosmic ages.”

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2.4.2.41
Regarding Satyaketu, the story is related in the Sāroddhāra: Formerly there was a brahmin named Satyajit, virtuous, free from all desires, and always devoted to pilgrimage: "His mind delights in nothing else; he continually remembers the Gaṅgā. / Highly proficient regarding the Bhāgīrathī, especially so was that great sage." Making pilgrimages, he once went to the city of Viśālā and entered the house of Satyaketu, pointed out by the people. Then Satyaketu, seeing Satyajit afflicted with thirst, seized by hunger, and desiring food, stood up, performed the worship with offering of argha and pādhya, and said: "O best of the twice-born, by your arrival today the purpose of my life has been achieved. The ancestors are satisfied, and the gods have become well pleased. O king among the twice-born, eat the food you desire. When you have eaten, there remains nothing left for me to do; from your darśana there is indeed nothing unattainable." Then Satyajit said: "O Satyaketu, by your service and your words I am satisfied. Moreover, there are many givers of food in the world, yet none has been seen equal to you; you are the best among householders. Have you made a pilgrimage to the Gaṅgā or not?" Then Satyaketu said: "O twice-born, in my house there is no other giver of food to guests; therefore even to this day a ritual ablution in the Bhāgīrathī has not taken place." Hearing that, [Satyajit] censured him: "You have not performed a ritual ablution in the Bhāgīrathī; therefore I will not eat in your house today." Having spoken thus, he left the house and went to the Bhāgīrathī for a ritual ablution. At that very moment the Gaṅgā vanished. When he did not see the water, he folded his hands and praised the Gaṅgā: "O goddess, I have not committed even an atom of offense; grant me your darśana, you ought to forgive any wrongdoing." Praised thus, the Gaṅgā spoke to the twice-born in visible form: "O Satyajit, go to the house of Satyaketu, propitiate him, eat his food, and come back. By eating his food many have attained liberation." Hearing this speech of the Gaṅgā, he ate in the house of Satyaketu, and, permitted by him, came to the Gaṅgā, saw the Gaṅgā, and took his ritual ablution. Thus Satyaketu attained the good state solely through the religious merit of giving food.
2.4.2.43
There was a certain brahmin named Suśarman, a master of the Vedas and Vedāṅgas, calm, with senses subdued, a performer of all sacrifices, wealthy, constantly devoted to charity, engaged in the welfare of all, an expounder of the Purāṇas, a benefactor to his kin, and having many sons. In his later years, having entrusted the household burden to his sons, he went to the forest, worshipped Lord Viṣṇu, and by his own austerity reached heaven. There once Indra said to the messengers of the gods who had been defeated by the messengers of Yama: "O messengers, let the righteous go to heaven by my command; let the most sinful go to hell. Even among them, let those who are givers of cows go to heaven though they be sinners; by the gift of a cow a heap of sin is destroyed." Hearing these words of Indra, the brahmin Suśarman, in order to instruct his own sons, addressed his sons through the celestial path and said: "O sons, if you desire heaven, then by my word the gift of a cow must be made; in the three worlds there is no gift higher than the gift of a cow." Having said this, he departed. And his sons, hearing the bodiless voice, were astonished, and all gave cows according to rule; thereby they attained the good state.

2.4.2.45

2.4.2.45
Regarding Puṣkara, the renowned story is told in the Sāroddhāra: Formerly in the village of Nandigrāma there lived two brahmins named Puṣkara. Among them one was a virtuous soul and the other a sinner. Then once Yama ordered his messengers to bring the sinful Puṣkara. But they, leaving him aside, brought the virtuous Puṣkara. Then Yama, having reprimanded the messengers, with great respect said to Puṣkara: "O Puṣkara, my command was not for your bringing; go back again." Then Puṣkara said: "O Yama, I wish to see the hells where torments are experienced by sinners." Then, having seen the host of hell-dwellers shown by Yama, agitated by cries of distress and exceedingly miserable, Puṣkara, filled with great terror and moved by compassion, said to them: "O hell-dwellers, previously you considered nothing; now what is the use of wailing? You did not even utter the name of the Lord, which destroys all sin." The hell-dwellers said: "O Puṣkara, what you have spoken is true. Stay for a moment; by the wind touching your body we shall have comfort." Then, spoken to by Yama: "What is the use of these [sinners]? Go!", Puṣkara said: "O Yama, without having freed them, I do not dare to leave; therefore, if the Lord Govinda, the Self of all beings, has been worshipped by me, then by that merit let these hell-dwellers be liberated!" Having spoken thus, he remembered the name of Viṣṇu, saying, "Govinda, Govinda!" At that very moment all the hell-dwellers were liberated, assumed divine forms, and saying to Puṣkara, "Your fame will be incomparable!", went to Vaikuṇṭha. Puṣkara too, bidding farewell to Yama, went to the highest abode solely through the greatness of the [divine] Name. ..45..

2.4.2.51

2.4.2.51
As a brahmin named Jaḍa was liberated by hearing a chapter of the Gītā. On this matter, there is a well-known story in the Sāroddhāra: In the city of Vidarbha, there was a brahmin of the Kauśika lineage named Jaḍa who, having abandoned his own duty, had relations with other men's wives, drank wine, and was addicted to theft. Once, after acquiring great wealth through theft from the northern region, while returning, he was killed by thieves at the foot of a tree on the path. Then his son, constantly searching for his father, received no news at all. Thereupon, taking supplies to perform the rites for his father's afterlife, he set out to go to Vārāṇasī. Spending seven or eight nights on the path, at the foot of the very tree where his father had previously been killed, having performed the twilight prayers, he recited the third chapter of the Gītā. At that very moment, hearing a terrible sound, he saw his father descending from the sky seated in an excellent aerial chariot, endowed with a divine form. Bowing, he asked him what had happened. And his father said: 'O son, that for the sake of which you had to go to Vārāṇasī has all been accomplished today; your purpose is fulfilled, return! You have liberated me by reciting the chapter of the Gītā. Moreover, O son, my brother and others of my family have fallen into hell; all of them must be liberated by you by giving the merit of reciting the Gītā.' Having said this and given his blessing, he went to the realm of Viṣṇu. The son too, in the course of time, went to the realm of Yama, granted the merit born of reciting the Gītā, liberated the denizens of hell, and himself went to the supreme abode. 51.

2.4.2.55

2.4.2.52
Now he states the praise of the gift of a Śāligrāma stone in the month of Kārtika: 'śāligrāma...' As a brahmin woman became a widow due to the death of her husband on the fifth day after marriage, but through the gift of a Śāligrāma stone her husband regained life, whereby she became a woman whose husband was living. On this matter, there is a well-known story in the Sāroddhāra: On the bank of the Godā[varī], there was a certain vaiśya addicted to great sin and of vile conduct. Once he struck with a sword a brahmin who had taken a debt; therefore, at the end of his life, he fell into the Raurava hell. Now his son named Dharmacāra expended the wealth acquired by his father through the virtuous path of sacrifices, gifts, vows, recitations, austerities, public works, beneficence to others, and the like. Once the sage Lomaśa came to the house of the vaiśya Dharmacāra and instructed: 'Liberate your father from Raurava through the merit of gifting a Śāligrāma stone.' Then, thinking that the gift of a stone was useless and disregarding the seer's words, he remained silent; and in time, he died, while Lomaśa also departed in silence. That vaiśya Dharmacāra, from disrespecting the stone and disregarding the brahmin's words, suffered the torments of hell for a manvantara, experienced various animal wombs due to the residue of karma, and experienced births as a woman, and in the eleventh birth became the daughter of a priest-brahmin. Then the father, seeing his daughter arrived at youth, gave her in marriage to one of equal family and lineage. Then her husband died on the fifth day from a vomiting illness. Then the priest, seeing his son-in-law dead, reflecting for a moment, 'By what might the son-in-law live?', and thinking that a gift of a Śāligrāma in Kārtika was the cause for life, caused a handsome Śāligrāma with auspicious marks to be given to a brahmin through the hand of his daughter. Then at that very moment the husband regained life. Then the couple sported for a long time. In the course of time, that daughter of the priest, having become entirely freed from birth as a woman through the merit of gifting a Śāligrāma, and having attained birth as a brahmin named Viṣṇuyaśas, attained liberation every year in Kārtika through the merit of gifting a Śāligrāma. 55. In connection with the gift of the stone, he states the characteristics of the stone from the Padma Purāṇa: 'One should indicate [a stone] marked with discs, having gold in its body, with a network of rays, full of streaks of gold, adorned with the luster of crystal. / An extremely smooth one brings accomplishment, and a black one grants fame; / a pale one burns sins, a yellow one grants the fruit of sons; / a blue one bestows fortune, a red one produces disease; / a rough one generates agitation, a crooked one partakes of poverty. / One [disc] is to be known as Sudarśana; two as Lakṣmīnārāyaṇa; / one should know three as Acyuta, and four indeed as Janārdana; / the fifth as Vāsudeva, and the sixth as Pradyumna; / the seventh as Saṃkarṣaṇa, and the eighth as Puruṣottama; / the ninth as Navavyūha, and the tenth having the nature of ten; / the eleventh as Aniruddha, and the twelfth having the nature of twelve; / above that, discs seen [on a stone] are called Ananta. / When a Śāligrāma is fractured, cracked, or broken, it incurs no defect.'"

2.4.2.55_111

2.4.2.55
Just as a brahmin woman became a widow on the fifth day after her wedding through the death of her husband, yet through the gift of a śāligrāma stone her husband regained life and thereby she became one whose husband is alive. Here the well-known story in the Sāroddhāra is told: On the bank of the Godāvarī there was a certain vaiśya addicted to great sin and of vile conduct. Once he struck with a sword a brahmin who had taken a debt; therefore, at the end of his life, he fell into the Raurava hell. Then his son, named Dharmacāra, spent the wealth earned by his father on good paths such as sacrifices, gifts, vows, recitation, austerities, public works, and benevolence. Once the sage Lomaśa came to the house of the vaiśya Dharmacāra and instructed him: 'Through the religious merit of giving a śāligrāma stone, release your father from Raurava.' Then, thinking the gift of a stone to be useless and disregarding the ṛṣi's words, he remained silent, and in time he died; Lomaśa too departed silently. That vaiśya Dharmacāra, because of his disrespect for the stone and transgression of the sage's word, endured the torments of hell for a manvantara; by the residue of his karma, having passed through many animal wombs and female births, in his eleventh birth he became the daughter of a priest brahmin. Then the father, seeing his daughter having reached youth, gave her in marriage to one of equal lineage and family. Then her husband died on the fifth day of a vomiting illness. Then the priest, seeing his son-in-law dead, thought for a mere moment: 'By what means might the son-in-law live?' Considering that the gift of a śāligrāma in the month of Kārtika would be the cause of life, he caused a śāligrāma of auspicious marks and charming appearance to be given to a brahmin through the hand of his daughter. Then at that very moment the husband regained life; thereupon the couple sported for a long time. In the course of time, that priest's daughter, freed from female birth by the religious merit of gifting a śāligrāma and having obtained birth as a brahmin named Viṣṇuyaśas, attained liberation through the merit of gifting a śāligrāma every year in Kārtika. 55.

2.4.2.56

2.4.2.56
In connection with the gift of the stone, the characteristics of the stone are stated in the Padma Purāṇa: 'One should indicate it as marked with a disc, having golden parts, and possessor of a net of rays; abundant in golden streaks, and beautified with the lustre of crystal. An extremely glossy one brings perfection, and a black one bestows renown; / a pale white one burns sins, a yellow one grants the fruit of sons; / a blue one bestows fortune, a red one gives disease; / a dry, rough one causes agitation, a crooked one brings poverty. One disc should be known as Sudarśana, two as Lakṣmīnārāyaṇa; / a third one should know as Acyuta, and a fourth as Janārdana; / the fifth as Vāsudeva, and the sixth as Pradyumna; / the seventh as Saṃkarṣaṇa, and the eighth as Puruṣottama; / the ninth as Navavyūha, and the tenth as Daśātman; / the eleventh as Aniruddha, and the twelfth as Dvādaśātman; / above that, when discs are seen, it is called Ananta. Even if chipped, broken, or cracked, a śāligrāma brings no fault.' Thus are the characteristics of the forms of Dāmodara and others, which are not stated here for fear of lengthening the text. 56.

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit