Skandapurana 2.7

English (machine translation) 2.7

Language: English

2.7.0.p1

Chapter 1: In the dialogue between Sūta and Śaunaka, the inquiry of King Ambarīṣa to Nārada desiring to know the Vaiṣṇava duties and other virtues; Nārada's praise of the month of Vaiśākha, and the greatness of the ritual ablution in Vaiśākha.

2.7.0.p2

Chapter 2: Praise of Vaiśākha; thereafter the topic of fault in not performing the vows of the month of Vaiśākha; praise of vows; the gift of water-booths in Vaiśākha; praise of the gifts of fans, umbrellas, and footwear; and praise of the gift of food.

2.7.0.p3

Chapter 3: The gift of beds, blankets, garments, camphor, flowers, saffron, sandal, gorocana, betel, fruits, and the like; the construction of rest pavilions; praise of wells, ponds, and gardens; description of the seven items equivalent to a son in the absence of a son; the greatness of the gift of betel, buttermilk, curds, rice, ghee, jaggery, sugarcanes, sugarcane juice, and sweet drinks.

2.7.0.p4

Chapter 4: Items to be avoided by those observing the Vaiśākha vow; the evil result of bathing at home; the fault in not performing vows; ritual ablution and gift-giving in rivers, the seven Gaṅgās, divine waters, and stepwells; prayer, offering of water (arghya), and worship to Madhusūdana.

2.7.0.p5

Chapter 5: Explanation of the excellence of the month of Vaiśākha with reasons.

2.7.0.p6

Chapter 6: Recital of the greatness of giving water in the month of Vaiśākha; the story of King Hemāṅgada on that subject—his birth in an animal womb due to not giving water in the month of Vaiśākha; his liberation through Śrutadeva after having become a lizard in the palace of the king of Mithilā.

2.7.0.p7

Chapter 7: Having seen that wonder, the amazed King of Mithilā questions Śrutadeva, who recounts the greatness of gifts of water and other offerings in the month of Vaiśākha; the recounting of the account of his own father on that subject.

2.7.0.p8

Chapter 8: Śrutadeva, questioned by the King of Mithilā, narrates the legend of Kākutstha, son of Ikṣvāku, concerning the greatness of Vaiśākha by means of the dialogue between Īśvara and Pārvatī.

2.7.0.p9

Chapter 9: The brāhmaṇa Śrutakīrti, questioned by the King of Mithilā, recounts the birth of Kumāra; and praise of the religious duties of Vaiśākha.

2.7.0.p10

Chapter 10: Recital of the vow of Aśūnya; praise of gifts such as umbrellas in the month of Vaiśākha.

2.7.0.p11

Chapter 11: The King of Mithilā makes the religious duties of Vaiśākha renowned; Yama, grieving due to the emptiness of the hells because all people attain a good rebirth thereby, approaches Brahmā.

2.7.0.p12

Chapter 12: Yama's representation of his distress to Brahmā.

2.7.0.p13

Chapter 13: Brahmā comforts Yama through explaining the greatness of Vaiśākha; nevertheless, Brahmā goes to Viṣṇu along with the grieving Yama; Viṣṇu grants a boon to Yama; praise of the religious duties of Vaiśākha therein.

2.7.0.p14

Chapter 14: Praise of ritual ablution in Vaiśākha, praise of listening to the account of the Vaiśākha-māhātmya, and therein the story of the two brahmins dedicated to ritual works and dedicated to austerity.

2.7.0.p15

Chapter 15: King Puruyaśas, ruler of the Pañcāla country, regains his kingdom through observing the duties of Vaiśākha.

2.7.0.p16

Chapter 16: Now, the praise of Viṣṇu by Puruyaśas on Akṣayya-tṛtīyā, and his attainment of liberation by merging [into the Lord] through the grace of Viṣṇu.

2.7.0.p17

Chapter 17: In the commencement of declaring the duties of Vaiśākha, the tale of the brahmin named Śaṅkha in connection with the gift of sandals, and therein the account of the attainment of liberation by Dantila and Kohala in connection with the exposition of the duties of Vaiśākha by the brahmin named Śaṅkha to a hunter.

2.7.0.p18

Chapter 18: The account of the previous birth of the hunter.

2.7.0.p19

Chapter 19: The declaration of the primacy of Prāṇa above all deities preceded by the exposition of the word 'brahman'; the declaration of the curse of Kaṇva upon the diminishment of the greatness of the god Prāṇa; the pronouncement of the curse by the breath-wind Prāṇa upon Kaṇva: 'Be one who betrays his guru!'

2.7.0.p20

Chapter 20: The account of living beings obtaining the fruits of births, actions, and so forth in accordance with the qualities such as sattva; description of cosmic dissolution; determination of the acts of the emanations and incarnations; determination of the characteristics of a devotee of the Lord preceded by the determination of the varieties of duties; determination of the duties of the month of Vaiśākha.

2.7.0.p21

Chapter 21: The liberation of a snake by hearing the māhātmya of the month of Vaiśākha; the narration of its previous birth; in the dialogue of Śaṅkha and the hunter, the narration of the hunter attaining the status of the seer Vālmīki in another birth.

2.7.0.p22

Chapter 22: Description of the māhātmya of the lunar days occurring in Vaiśākha; determination of the duties of the Kali age.

2.7.0.p23

Chapter 23: The māhātmya of Akṣayya-tṛtīyā.

2.7.0.p24

Chapter 24: The māhātmya of the bright twelfth lunar day of Vaiśākha; the story of Devadvija dwelling in the Kaśmīra country.

2.7.0.p25

Chapter 25: Description of the māhātmya of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and full moon lunar days of the bright fortnight of Vaiśākha; description of the fruit of listening to the Vaiśākha-māhātmya.

2.7.0.p26

Table of Contents

2.7.1.1

Now begins the māhātmya of the month of Vaiśākha.

2.7.1.2

Having bowed down to Nārāyaṇa, and to Nara, the foremost among men,

2.7.1.3

and to the goddess Sarasvatī, and to Vyāsa, one should then proclaim the triumph. (1)

2.7.1.4

Sūta said:

2.7.1.5

Once again the king questioned Nārada, the son born of the limbs

2.7.1.6

of Brahmā Parameṣṭhin, about the holy māhātmya of Mādhava. (1)

2.7.1.7

Ambarīṣa said:

2.7.1.8

"The māhātmya of all the months has indeed been heard

2.7.1.9

from you by me previously, O brahmin, whenever it was spoken by you then. (2)

2.7.1.10

'Vaiśākha is undoubtedly the foremost among these months'—

2.7.1.11

thus [it was said]. Therefore, there is curiosity to hear in detail the māhātmya of Mādhava, (3)

2.7.1.12

O brahmin: How is this [month] dear to Viṣṇu?

2.7.1.13

And what are the duties dear to Viṣṇu in the month beloved of Mādhava? (4)

2.7.1.14

And what duties dear to Viṣṇu are to be performed in it by a person?

2.7.1.15

What is the gift? What is its fruit? For whose sake should one observe these? (5)

2.7.1.16

With what substances should that Mādhava be worshipped at the arrival of the month of Mādhava?

2.7.1.17

O Nārada, explain this in detail to me who am endowed with faith." (6)

2.7.1.18

The venerable Nārada said:

2.7.1.19

"Formerly, Brahmā was questioned by me concerning the ancient duties of the months.

2.7.1.20

He related what was previously declared to Śrī by the Supreme Self. (7)

2.7.1.21

Then, among the months, Kārtika and Māgha were mentioned as distinguished;

2.7.1.22

among them, Mādhava made Vaiśākha the best of months. (8)

2.7.1.23

Like a mother to all living beings, it is always the granter of desires,

2.7.1.24

destroying all sins by means of gifts, sacrifices, vows, and ritual ablutions. (9)

2.7.1.25

It is the essence of religious duties and sacrificial rites, the essence of austerity, worshipped by the gods.

2.7.1.26

Just as the knowledge of the Vedas is among forms of knowledge, just as the praṇava is among mantras, (10)

2.7.1.27

just as the tree of the gods is among trees, just as the wish-yielding cow is among cows,

2.7.1.28

just as Śeṣa is among all serpents, just as Garuḍa is among birds, (11)

2.7.1.29

just as Viṣṇu is among gods, just as a brahmin is among castes,

2.7.1.30

just as the vital breath is among dear things, just as a wife is among friends, (12)

2.7.1.31

just as the Gaṅgā is among rivers, just as the sun is among lights,

2.7.1.32

just as the discus is among weapons, just as gold is among metals, (13)

2.7.1.33

just as Rudra is among Vaiṣṇavas, just as the Kaustubha is among gems,

2.7.1.34

so also is Vaiśākha the best among the months that cause religious merit. (14)

2.7.1.35

There is nothing equal to it in the world that brings about the delight of Viṣṇu.

2.7.1.36

When the sun is in Aries, toward one engaged in ritual ablution in Vaiśākha before the rising of the sun, (15)

2.7.1.37

the Lord accompanied by Lakṣmī shows abundant affection.

2.7.1.38

Just as the satisfaction of living beings is indeed produced by food alone, (16)

2.7.1.39

in the same way, Viṣṇu is undoubtedly pleased by ritual ablution in Vaiśākha.

2.7.1.40

Seeing people devoted to ritual ablution in Vaiśākha, he rejoices; (17)

2.7.1.41

by that alone, freed from sins, one is glorified in the world of Viṣṇu.

2.7.1.42

Having bathed even once in the morning when the sun is in Aries and having performed the daily rites, (18)

2.7.1.43

freed from great sins, that person attains liberation by merging into Viṣṇu.

2.7.1.44

If one takes even a single step for the sake of ritual ablution in the month of Vaiśākha, (19)

2.7.1.45

he undoubtedly attains the fruit of ten thousand horse sacrifices.

2.7.1.46

Even if one with a deceitful mind merely forms the mental resolve [to bathe], (20)

2.7.1.47

even he certainly obtains the religious merit of a hundred sacrifices; there is no doubt.

2.7.1.48

Whoever walks the length of a bow to bathe while the sun is in Aries

2.7.1.49

is freed from all bonds and attains intimate union with Viṣṇu.

2.7.1.50

Whatever sacred fords there are in the three worlds and within the cosmic egg,

2.7.1.51

all of them, O king of kings, are present in any outdoor puddle of water.

2.7.1.52

Recorded sins roar in the judgment hall of Yama

2.7.1.53

only until a creature performs a ritual ablution in water in the month of Vaiśākha.

2.7.1.54

All the deities presiding over sacred fords, O king,

2.7.1.55

resort to outdoor water and remain present at all times, O king.

2.7.1.56

Beginning with sunrise, up to the end of six ghaṭikās,

2.7.1.57

they remain by order of Viṣṇu, desiring the welfare of men.

2.7.1.58

To men who have not arrived by that time, they utter a terrible curse

2.7.1.59

and return to their own abodes, O king of kings; therefore one should perform a ritual ablution.

2.7.1.60

Thus ends the first chapter, named 'The Description of the Māhātmya of Vaiśākha Ablution, Preceded by the Praise of the Month of Vaiśākha', in the dialogue between Nārada and Ambarīṣa, in the Vaiśākhamāsamāhātmya of the second section, the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skandapurāṇa, a collection of eighty-one thousand verses.

2.7.2.1

Nārada said:

2.7.2.2

There is no month equal to Mādhava; there is no yuga equal to Kṛta;

2.7.2.3

there is no scripture equal to the Veda; there is no sacred ford equal to the Gaṅgā.

2.7.2.4

There is no gift equal to water; there is no happiness equal to a wife;

2.7.2.5

there is no wealth equal to agriculture; there is no gain higher than life.

2.7.2.6

There is no austerity equal to fasting; there is no supreme happiness other than giving;

2.7.2.7

there is no righteousness equal to compassion; there is no light equal to the eye.

2.7.2.8

There is no satisfaction equal to food; there is no trade equal to agriculture;

2.7.2.9

there is no friend equal to righteousness; there is no fame equal to truth.

2.7.2.10

There is no rising equal to good health; there is no protector higher than Keśava;

2.7.2.11

the wise know nothing in the world as purifying as the month of Mādhava.

2.7.2.12

Mādhava is the supreme month, ever dear to the one who reclines on Śeṣa.

2.7.2.13

Whoever passes the month dear to Mādhava without vows

2.7.2.14

promptly enters an animal womb, excluded from all righteousness.

2.7.2.15

For those mortal beings whose Mādhava passes without vows,

2.7.2.16

their sacrificial rites and public works are in vain, O best among upholders of dharma.

2.7.2.17

When a restriction is made in Mādhava concerning customary foods,

2.7.2.18

one certainly attains intimate union with Viṣṇu; of this there is no doubt.

2.7.2.19

In this world there are diverse vows requiring vast wealth,

2.7.2.20

which merely cause bodily exertion and grant yet another rebirth;

2.7.2.21

by a ritual ablution in Vaiśākha alone, one is not born again on earth.

2.7.2.22

Whatever merit is in all gifts, whatever fruit is in all sacred fords,

2.7.2.23

that fruit one attains completely from the gift of water in Mādhava.

2.7.2.24

One incapable of giving water, if desirous of prosperity,

2.7.2.25

should awaken others to do so—a beneficial deed surpassing all gifts.

2.7.2.26

All gifts placed on one side, and the gift of water on the other,

2.7.2.27

were formerly weighed in the balance: the gift of water proved superior.

2.7.2.28

Whatever mortal provides a water-booth on the road for travellers

2.7.2.29

delivers ten million members of his lineage and is glorified in the world of Viṣṇu.

2.7.2.30

For the gods, the ancestors, and the seers, O best of kings,

2.7.2.31

the gift of a water-booth truly brings supreme delight; there is no doubt.

2.7.2.32

The one by whom those exhausted from the fatigue of travel are gratified through the gift of a water-booth,

2.7.2.33

by him the gods—Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva, and the rest—are pleased.

2.7.2.34

Water to those desiring water, an umbrella to those desiring shade,

2.7.2.35

a fan to those desiring a fan in the month of Vaiśākha, O king—

2.7.2.36

the gift of these: water, an umbrella, and a fan, is superior.

2.7.2.37

When the month of Mādhava has arrived, [if one lives] without giving to a householder brahmin

2.7.2.38

a water pot, he is reborn on earth as a cātaka bird.

2.7.2.39

Whoever gives cool water to an exalted soul tormented by thirst

2.7.2.40

attains by that alone, O king of kings, [the fruit of] ten thousand Rājasūya sacrifices.

2.7.2.41

Whoever fans with a fan a brahmin afflicted by the fatigue of heat

2.7.2.42

becomes free of sin by that alone and becomes king of the birds.

2.7.2.43

Without giving a fan to a twice-born in Vaiśākha, O king,

2.7.2.44

one is beset with a hundred wind-diseases and finds only hells.

2.7.2.45

Whoever fans an eminent twice-born weary on the road, even with a cloth,

2.7.2.46

is thereby liberated and attains intimate union with Viṣṇu.

2.7.2.47

Whoever, having given a palm-leaf fan with a pure mind...

2.7.2.48

shaking off all sins, he goes to the world of Brahmā. // 24

2.7.2.49

If a man does not give a fan, which instantly dispels fatigue and brings merit,

2.7.2.50

he suffers the torments of hell and is born on earth as a foul creature. // 25

2.7.2.51

For the pacification of afflictions, beginning with the personal ones, O lord of men,

2.7.2.52

one who makes a home should diligently give an umbrella in the month of Vaiśākha. // 26

2.7.2.53

A man who gives no umbrella in Vaiśākha, the month beloved of Mādhava,

2.7.2.54

is born on earth as a shadowless, exceedingly cruel piśāca. // 27

2.7.2.55

He who gives a pair of divine sandals in [the month of] Mādhava, beloved of Mādhava,

2.7.2.56

spurns the two messengers of Yama and goes to the world of Viṣṇu. // 28

2.7.2.57

He who gives footwear upon the arrival of Vaiśākha, the month of Mādhava,

2.7.2.58

has no hellish world [to face], nor any earthly afflictions. // 29

2.7.2.59

He who gives sandals to a begging brahmin

2.7.2.60

becomes a king on earth for ten million births; of this there is no doubt. // 2.7.2.30

2.7.2.61

He who erects a rest-pavilion on the road that relieves weariness,

2.7.2.62

even Brahmā cannot describe the fruit of his merit. // 31

2.7.2.63

If he feeds a brahmin guest who has arrived at midday,

2.7.2.64

even Brahmā has not fully defined the resting-place of that fruit. // 32

2.7.2.65

The gift of food brings immediate satisfaction to mortals, O king;

2.7.2.66

therefore, no gift equal to food exists in the worlds. // 33

2.7.2.67

He who provides shelter to a brahmin exhausted from the road,

2.7.2.68

even Brahmā is unable to declare the fruit of his merit. // 34

2.7.2.69

Wife, offspring, house, and the rest; clothing, adornments, and ornaments—

2.7.2.70

for a man who does not eat, these are intolerable; for one who has eaten, they are surely enjoyable. // 35

2.7.2.71

Therefore, a gift equal to food has never been nor will ever be.

2.7.2.72

If someone does not give [it] in Vaiśākha to a brahmin exhausted from the road,

2.7.2.73

he becomes a piśāca on earth and eats only his own flesh.

2.7.2.74

Therefore, food should be given to a twice-born according to one's means. // 37

2.7.2.75

The giver of food makes one forget mother, father, and other kin, O king;

2.7.2.76

therefore, the people dwelling in the three worlds praise food. // 38

2.7.2.77

Mothers and fathers are merely the causes of birth,

2.7.2.78

and the wise call the giver of food the [true] father in this world. // 39

2.7.2.79

All sacred fords abide in the giver of food; all deities abide in the giver of food;

2.7.2.80

and all dharmas reside in the giver of food, O conqueror of enemy kings! // 2.7.2.40

2.7.2.81

Thus ends the second chapter, named 'Description of Gifts', in the praise of the month of Vaiśākha, in the dialogue between Nārada and Ambarīṣa, in the second [book], the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, a compendium of eighty-one thousand verses. // 2

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit