Skandapurana 2.7.6
English (machine translation) 2.7.6
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Nārada said:
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O king, one who does not give water in Vaiśākha to those afflicted by thirst and exhausted on the road
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enters the womb of an animal.
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In this connection they cite this ancient legend,
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the exceedingly wondrous conversation between a brahmin and a house-lizard.
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Formerly, in the lineage of Ikṣvāku, there was a king named Hemāṅga,
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devoted to brahmins, generous, conqueror of his enemies, with his senses conquered.
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As many as are the particles of earth, as many as are the drops of water,
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as many as are the stars in the sky—just so many cows he gave away.
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By him the beautiful earth was covered with kusa-grass from celebrated sacrifices;
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many brahmins were satisfied with gifts of cows, land, sesame, gold, and other riches.
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It is heard that there were no gifts that were not given by him.
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Yet water alone was never given by him, O king, thinking it easily obtained.
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Although admonished by the high-souled Vasiṣṭha, the son of Brahmā:
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“It is priceless and obtainable everywhere; what fruit can its giver obtain?”
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Through foolishness and specious arguments, he did not give water to a brahmin.
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“There is merit only in the giving of what is hard to obtain”—such was his [false] reasoning.
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He honored mutilated, destitute brahmins emaciated for lack of livelihood,
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but he did not honor brahmins learned in the Vedas, knowers of the truth, exponents of the Brahman.
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“All people will honor the renowned, worthy of great worship.
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What refuge is there for helpless, uneducated, and mutilated brahmins,
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and for the poor? Therefore they are the objects of my compassion.”
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Thinking thus, the foolish-minded one personally gave something to unworthy recipients.
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Because of that great fault, he lived as a cātaka bird for three births,
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in one birth as a vulture, and for seven births he was a dog.
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Afterward, this king was born as a house-lizard in the palace of a king,
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in the palace of the king named Śrutakīrti, the ruler of Mithilā, O king.
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He lived eating insects on the entrance gate of the house;
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for eighty-seven years that wicked-minded one remained there.
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Once, in the palace of the ruler of Videha, an excellent seer,
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known as Śrutadeva, learned in the Vedic scriptures, arrived at midday.
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Seeing him, the ruler of men rose at once, filled with joy.
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Having honored him with the honey-offering and other rites, the king, bearing upon his head
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the water that washed his feet, at that moment, by the drops that splashed,
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at the time ordained by destiny, sprinkled the house-lizard.
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Immediately its memory returned; sorrowful at remembering its former deeds,
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it cried out, “Save me! Save me!” to the brahmin who had entered the house.
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Hearing the voice of an animal, the brahmin, astonished, spoke:
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"Why do you cry out, lizard? By what action did this state [befall you]?
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Are you a god, some man, a king, or else a twice-born?
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Who are you, illustrious one? Tell me, [and] I shall deliver you today."
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Addressed thus, that king said to the wise Śrutadeva:
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"I was born in the lineage of Ikṣvāku, proficient in the Vedas and treatises.
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As many particles of earth as there are, as many drops of water,
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as many stars as are in the sky—just so many cows I gave away.
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All sacrifices were offered by me; works of public welfare were performed by me;
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gifts were also bestowed, and [the law of] Dharmarāja was observed.
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Even so, this wretched state has come upon me without upward ascent:
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three times being a cātaka bird, and being a vulture in one birth,
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and across seven births being a rabid dog was attained by me previously, O twice-born.
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As this king sprinkled water for washing your feet,
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drops were cast far off, and somehow I was sprinkled by them.
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Through that, remembrance of my births arose, and all my sin was destroyed.
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Twenty-eight future births as a lizard / are seen [for me], created by destiny; I am terrified of those births.
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I do not see the cause; tell it to me in detail."
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Addressed thus, having perceived [it] through the eye of spiritual knowledge, that ṛṣi said:
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"Listen, O king, I shall declare the cause of your vile womb.
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Water was not given by you in the month of Vaiśākha, which is dear to Mādhava,
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deeming that water to be easily available, though it is certainly priceless,
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nor [was it given] to twice-born travelers in the hot season by you who were ignorant.
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Likewise, having bypassed a worthy recipient, you gave to an unworthy one.
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Having abandoned blazing fire, an oblation is never made in ashes.
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Though it be praised in many ways, and endowed with fragrance and the like,
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people do not offer worship to a tree possessed of thorns.
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Among distinguished trees, the aśvattha has attained veneration;
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abandoning tulasī, is the bṛhatī plant worshipped?
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Helplessness cannot be the cause of eligibility for worship.
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Those who are lame and the like, who are destitute, are merely objects of pity.
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Those devoted to austerity, devoted to wisdom, proficient in the scriptures and treatises,
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having the form of Viṣṇu, are always to be worshipped, and never others.
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Even among them, wise brahmins are exceedingly dear to Viṣṇu always,
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and to the wise, O protector of the earth, Viṣṇu alone is always dear.
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Therefore, the wise person is always worthy of worship; he is considered more venerable than the venerable.
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Disrespect toward those of virtuous conduct brings misery here and hereafter.
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Service to great men is indeed the cause of the aims of human life.
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Even crores of blind beings do not see properly;
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likewise, association with tens of thousands of dullards cannot bestow benefit.
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Neither are water-filled sacred fords [alone], nor gods made of clay and stone, [truly purifying];
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they purify over a long time, but virtuous men [purify] by mere darśana.
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Through service to the virtuous, those well instructed by them do not suffer anywhere
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by birth, death, old age, and the like, just as those refreshed with nectar [do not].
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Water was not given by you, nor were the virtuous served;
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because of that, this wretched state was obtained by you, O delight of Ikṣvāku.
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I shall give to you the religious merit performed by me in Vaiśākha, for [your] pacification,
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by which you will overcome the mass of actions, past, future, and present."
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Having spoken thus and touched water, he gave the unsurpassed merit.
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When the ritual ablution performed on a single day was given by the brahmin,
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all his sins were destroyed thereby; having cast off that house-lizard [body],
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having mounted a divine aerial chariot, adorned with divine garlands, garments, and ornaments,
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while the living beings inside the house of the king of Mithilā were watching,
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folding his hands in reverence, circumambulating and bowing down,
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permitted [to leave], the king went to heaven while being praised by the immortals.
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Having enjoyed great pleasures there without weariness for ten thousand years,
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he was born in the lineage of Ikṣvāku as Kakutstha, the great lord,
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protector of the earth possessing seven continents, devoted to brahmins, approved by the virtuous,
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friend of the lord of gods, a portion of Viṣṇu himself, a great ruler.
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Instructed by Vasiṣṭha, having observed all the delightful religious duties
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taught for Vaiśākha, all inauspiciousness was destroyed in him by that.
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having attained divine knowledge, he achieved union with Viṣṇu.
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Therefore, Vaiśākha brings good fortune when observed by all men. (50)
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It bestows longevity, renown, and vigor, and destroys the flood of great sins;
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it is the primary source of human pursuits, and through it Viṣṇu is indeed pleased. (51)
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By men of all four classes, living in all four stages of life,
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this great duty must be observed in Vaiśākha, at the arrival of Mādhava. (52)
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Thus ends the sixth chapter, titled “The Story of the House-Lizard,” in the dialogue between Nārada and Ambarīṣa, in the glorification of the month of Vaiśākha, in the second Vaiṣṇava Section, in the Skanda Mahāpurāṇa of eighty-one thousand verses. (6)
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- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit