Skandapurana 2.5.7
English (machine translation) 2.5.7
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2.5.7.1
Brahmā said:
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Tell me, O Lord of gods, the māhātmya arising from the classes of flowers,
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and what fruit a man obtains by each particular flower. // 1
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The Blessed Lord said:
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Listen, O son, I shall declare the māhātmya originating from flowers,
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by which flower my complete pleasure is aroused, without doubt. // 2
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Mallikā, mālatī, yūthikā, and atimuktakā,
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pāṭalā, karavīra, jayantī, and vijayā; // 3
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kubjaka, stabaka, karṇikāra, kuraṇṭaka,
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campaka, cātaka, kunda, bāṇa, karcūramallikā, // 4
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aśoka, tilaka, and likewise aparayūthikā,
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These varieties of flowers are praised for my worship, O son.
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And the leaf and flower of the ketakī, and likewise the bhṛṅgarāja,
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and the leaf and flower of tulasī bring me immediate delight.
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Water-born lotuses, as well as red and blue water-lilies,
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[and] the white water-lily are indeed exceedingly dear to me in the month of Saha.
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And those very flowers are praised for me, O son,
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which possess color, taste, and fragrance.
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Scentless flowers are also considered commendable to me,
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as well as other fragrant ones, but excluding the ketakī.
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The bāṇa, campaka, aśoka, karavīra, yūthikā,
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pāribhadra, pāṭalā, bakula, and the mountain-dwelling [creeper],
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the bilva leaf, śamī leaf, and the leaf of the bhṛṅgarāja,
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the tamāla and āmalakī leaf are commended in my worship, O son.
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With flowers born in the forest or leaves grown on mountains,
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not stale, undamaged, sprinkled with water, and free from insects,
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or indeed with flowers grown in a garden, one should worship me.
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According to the excellence of the kind of flower, religious merit especially arises.
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To a worthy recipient endowed with austerity, good conduct, and virtues, who has mastered the Veda,
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whatever reward a man obtains by giving ten gold coins,
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that reward a mortal obtains in [the month of] Saha by giving a flower.
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And when a single droṇapuṣpa flower is offered to me,
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the fruit is greater than that of giving ten gold coins, O son.
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Learn from me how the difference exists from one flower to another:
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Superior to a thousand droṇapuṣpa flowers is the flower of the khadira;
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superior to a thousand khadira flowers is the śamī flower;
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superior to a thousand śamī flowers is the bilva flower;
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superior to a thousand bilva flowers is the baka flower;
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superior to a thousand baka flowers is the nandyāvarta;
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superior indeed to a thousand nandyāvartas is the karavīra.
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The white flower is best among a thousand karavīras;
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better than the white karavīra flower is the pālāśa flower.
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Superior to a thousand pālāśa flowers is the kuśa blossom;
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superior indeed to a thousand kuśa blossoms is the wild garland.
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Superior indeed to a thousand wild garlands is the campaka;
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superior to a hundred campaka flowers is the aśoka flower.
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Superior to a thousand aśoka flowers is the śevantī flower;
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superior to a thousand śevantī flowers is the kujaka flower.
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Superior indeed to a thousand kujaka flowers is the mālatī flower;
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superior to a thousand mālatī flowers is the sandhyā flower.
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Superior indeed to a thousand sandhyā flowers is the trisandhyā flower;
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superior to a thousand red trisandhyās is the white trisandhyā;
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superior to a thousand white trisandhyās is the kunda flower.
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Superior indeed to a thousand kunda flowers is the jātī flower;
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among all classes of flowers, the jātī flower is best here.
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Whoever gives a very beautiful garland made of a thousand jātī flowers
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duly to me—hear the fruit of his merit:
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For thousands of crores of kalpas and hundreds of crores of kalpas,
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he dwells eternally in my abode, equal in prowess to me.
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And of those [plants] whose flowers are commended in my worship,
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their leaves are commended, and in their absence, their fruits.
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Worshipping me with these leaves, flowers, and fruits as well,
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one obtains for each of them the reward of ten gold coins.
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Those who worship with these kinds of flowers in the month of Saha,
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being pleased, I grant them devotion; of this there is no doubt.
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Wealth, sons, and a wife—whatever indeed he desires,
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all that I bestow, O lord of gods, when gratified by these flowers.
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Thus ends the seventh chapter, named "Description of the Fruit of Placing a Garland of a Thousand Flowers around the Neck of Viṣṇu following the Statement of the Pre-eminence of the Jātī Flower", in the Mārgaśīrṣamāhātmya, in the dialogue between Brahmā and Viṣṇu, in the second section, the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, in the Skandapurāṇa comprising eighty-one thousand verses.
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit