Skandapurana 2.7.23
English (machine translation) 2.7.23
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Śrutadeva said:
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"Now therefore I shall declare the māhātmya that destroys sin,
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of Akṣayatṛtīyā, in the bright fortnight in the month of Mādhava.
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Those who perform the morning ritual ablution on that [day] at the rising of the sun,
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they all, freed from sin, go to the supreme abode of Viṣṇu.
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Whoever performs water oblations dedicated to the gods, ancestors, and sages,
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by him has [all] been studied, by him have sacrifices been offered, and by him have a hundred śrāddhas been performed.
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Those men who worship Madhusūdana and listen to his story
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on Akṣayya-tṛtīyā, those men partake of liberation.
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Whatever auspicious gift they make on that day to please the enemy of Madhu,
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that indeed bears imperishable fruit by the decree of the chastiser of Madhu.
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This lunar day has the gods, the seers, and the ancestors as its deities, and is exceedingly auspicious;
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when eternal duty is performed, it gives satisfaction to all three.
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And how this lunar day came to be famed, that too I
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shall tell you, O tiger among kings; listen with an attentive mind.
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Formerly, there was a battle between Puraṃdara and Bali;
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then a duel ensued between the gods and the daityas.
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Having conquered Bali, the daitya who dwells in the realm of Pātāla,
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he returned to earth and went to the hermitage of Utathya.
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There he saw his wife, pregnant and walking slowly,
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richly adorned with a girdle-cord bound about her shifting hips,
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surpassing intoxicated bees and cuckoos with the tinkling sound of her bracelets,
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a charming woman clad in beautiful variegated garments, of sweet speech and bright smile,
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adorned with breasts resembling shining jars,
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divine, with a face like a blooming lotus and lovely eyes like blue water-lilies,
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delightful with cheeks pale like the interior of a ketakī flower,
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sighing with fatigue, eyes piteous, standing at the entrance of the leaf-hut.
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Seeing her sleeping somewhere on a bed, he succumbed to infatuation;
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Pākaśāsana forcefully enjoyed the pregnant woman.
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Then the fetus in the womb, fearing its own fall,
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distressed, covered the entrance to the vulva with its foot.
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Thereupon the semen of the enemy of Bali fell right onto the ground.
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The venerable Pākaśāsana grew furious at the one in the womb;
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with eyes reddened at the corners with anger, he cursed the one in the womb:
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‘Be blind from birth, O evil-minded one, since you insulted me with your foot
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and covered the entrance to the vulva!’ Then he named Dīrghatapas
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was born from that semen discharged by the foot through the network [of vessels].
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Afterwards, Indra quickly departed, fearing the curse of the seer;
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seeing Hari fleeing, all the young brahmacārins laughed.
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Then, filled with shame, he went to an auspicious cave on Mount Meru;
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hidden there, he performed great and arduous austerity.
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While the lord of the gods was dwelling concealed on Meru, overcome with shame,
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the daiteyas, led by Bali, learned that news through secret [spies];
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attacking the gods, they enjoyed [their kingdom], and Bali the lord [enjoyed] Amarāvatī.
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The powerful Śambara and others forcibly enjoyed the splendors of the guardians of the directions
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when the realm of the celestials was left without a master.
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Not knowing who their protector was, the gods, preceded by Agni,
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questioned the god Dhiṣaṇa, the stainless teacher of the gods;
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they asked for news of Indra: ‘Where indeed is our lord staying?
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This realm of the celestials has been overrun by the daityas and left without a ruler.
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Why does that god not come? A great deal of time has passed, O mighty lord!
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Let us go to where he is, O Dhiṣaṇa, and let us make our petition to that lord.’
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Thus questioned by the gods at that time, Dhiṣaṇa said to them:
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‘Having conquered Bali in Rasātala, he went to the hermitage of Utathya;
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and having forcefully enjoyed [his] wife, he was reviled by his disciples alone.
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Shamed to go to heaven, he entered a cave on Mount Meru;
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there he remains together with Śacī, reflecting on his own deed, the mighty lord.’
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Hearing his words, the gods, preceded by Agni,
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went swiftly to the cave on Mount Meru to see and petition the lord.
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Seeing there the lord of the gods, Pākaśāsana, hiding in the cave,
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they praised him with diverse hymns of praise celebrating his world-renowned heroic deeds:
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‘O Indra, salutation be to you, ruler of all the gods!
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We are oppressed by the daityas and, deprived of you, sorely tormented.
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Fallen from our stations, we wander through various lands in misery, dear lord.
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Therefore, come forth, O lord of the gods, and slay our enemies, O vanquisher of foes!’
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Thus praised at that time by the gods, he came out from the mouth of the cave.
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Bowed down with shame, gazing at the ground with his eyes,
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he said nothing at all, his speech faltering from sorrow.
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Recognising this, Dhiṣaṇa spoke to that terrified lord of gods:
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“Have no fear, O lord of gods; this universe is subject to karma.
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Honor and dishonor, pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat—
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these arise in accordance with past actions, without a doubt.
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The soul follows its karma; sorrow is ordained by destiny according to time.
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The wise generally do not grieve, nor do they exult out of joy.
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Therefore, O lord, this sorrow has come to you from prārabdha karma.
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Having met with it, O Maghavan, you ought not to grieve at all.”
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Thus addressed by his guru, Maghavan spoke to the chiefs of the immortals:
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Indra said:
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“Due to the sin of union with another's wife, my strength, prowess, spotless fame,
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the power of mantras, the power of sacred texts, and the power of knowledge, O giver of honor,
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have become stripped of vigor; because of that, I remain silent.”
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Having heard the words of Pākaśāsana, [the gods], joined by their teacher,
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deliberated in secret to regain his strength.
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Then their guru, the foremost of the wise, spoke to them with compassion:
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Bṛhaspati said:
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“This month named Vaiśākha is indeed dear to the slayer of Madhu.
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All the lunar days in this month dear to Mādhava are auspicious.
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Even there, in the bright fortnight in this month, the day called Akṣayā [arrives];
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whoever performs ritual ablution, giving of gifts, and the like with faith upon it,
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thousands of his sins are indeed destroyed, without a doubt.
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Faultless sovereignty, strength, and courage also arise.
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Therefore, on that third day, for the slayer of Vala,
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let us cause the pious duties of ablution, gifting, and the like to be performed for obtaining his welfare.
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And that power of learning, of mantra, and of sacred texts will return;
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his strength, courage, and fame will become just as before.”
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Having thus deliberated, the guru, concentrated in mind along with the gods,
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caused these pious duties dear to Hari to be performed by Indra.
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On the Akṣayyā Tṛtīyā, which grants the fruits of enjoyment and liberation,
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by that the lord's strength, courage, and the rest became just as before.
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Even the sin of union with another's wife vanished immediately.
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Afterward, with misfortune destroyed, Śakra shone like the moon released from Rāhu;
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and in the midst of the deities, he shone just like Hari.
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Then, joined with the gods, having conquered the Asuras,
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endowed with good fortune through the māhātmya of the third day,
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he entered Amarāvatī along with riches, amidst the sounds of conches, musical horns, and drums.
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Permitted by Śakra, the gods went to their own abodes;
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then they obtained their shares of sacrifice just as of old.
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The ancestors received their portions of funeral cakes just as before.
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The sages were satisfied in their Vedic recitation, and the Daityas met defeat.
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From that time forward in this world, the third day called Akṣayā
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became celebrated across all worlds, granting satisfaction to gods, seers, and ancestors.
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Therefore, this [day] is most sacred, cutting away all [past] karma,
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granting enjoyment and liberation to men—the third day called Akṣayā.
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Thus ends the twenty-third chapter, entitled “The Narration of the Eminence of Akṣayya Tṛtīyā”, in the dialogue between Nārada and Ambarīṣa, in the Vaiśākhamāsamāhātmya, in the second section, the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit