Skandapurana 2.9.12
English (machine translation) 2.9.12
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2.9.12.1
Skanda said:
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Then, delighted, those sons of Kaśyapa approached the place of churning,
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and again for a thousand years they churned the ocean of milk.
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Even though the ocean was being churned by all of them in that manner, nothing
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came forth; and the churners became weary, with panting mouths.
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And the great serpent Vāsuki fell into exhaustion of his vital breath;
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even Mount Mandara did not remain steadily fixed in one place during the churning.
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Seeing them all dispirited, Pradyumna, by Viṣṇu's command,
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entered into the gods, the asuras, and the king of serpents, and infused them with strength.
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Aniruddha too at that very moment mounted that lord of mountains
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and stood with a thousand arms like another great mountain.
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Then, having obtained supreme vigor, they churned with speed,
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filled with wonder, those hosts of suras and asuras gladly churning the great ocean.
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By the power of Nārāyaṇa, the gods and others felt no exhaustion;
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and that churning shone brilliantly then, through their pulling equally together.
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As the great ocean was churned, there flowed from all around it then
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the saps of great trees and juices of many herbs.
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From the ocean thus transformed arose the moon, the repository of the digits,
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who is spoken of as the presiding lord of the beauty of all medicinal herbs.
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Then the wish-granting cow, the presiding deity of cattle,
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the cow providing sacrificial offerings, appeared, possessing a luster like that of the cool-rayed moon.
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Then a white horse appeared, the presiding deity of horses;
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and Airāvata, the lord of elephants, four-tusked and shining like the moon.
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Then came the Pārijāta, the divine tree, the king of trees;
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then arose the gem of jewels named Kaustubha, resembling a ruby.
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Then arose the apsarases, the abodes of beauty and grace;
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then the goddess Surā was born, the presiding deity of all intoxicants.
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Next came the bow Śārṅga, the presiding deity over all weapons,
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and then arose Pāñcajanya, the conch, the presiding deity of musical instruments.
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Thereupon the moon, the Pārijāta, and likewise the host of apsarases
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at that moment went to the path of the sun and remained there.
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The leaders of the daityas quickly seized the intoxicating wine and the king of horses;
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the king of gods took Airāvata with the consent of Hari.
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The Kaustubha, the bow, and the conch went straight to Viṣṇu,
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while they all gave the cow yielding oblations to the ascetics.
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As the ocean was churned further, Śrī herself appeared directly,
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delighting the three worlds, whose brilliance had been lost, with her glance.
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All indeed—gods, asuras, humans, and others—desired to take her;
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yet because of her majesty none could approach her.
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Then Indra, having recognized her as Śrī by the lotus in her hand,
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attained supreme joy, as did Brahmā and others who knew her nature.
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Meanwhile the ocean came in person, [set] her on a golden seat,
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saying 'This is my daughter,' and taking her, sat down with her on his lap.
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Though the ocean was churned yet more vigorously by those mighty ones,
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who were patient and desirous of the nectar, no nectar appeared at all.
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Then, slackening their efforts, hopeless of the nectar's emergence,
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the sons of Kaśyapa, O sage, became despondent with withered faces.
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Seeing them in that state, the blessed Lord, the ocean of compassion,
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the all-pervading one, laughing, prepared himself to churn, O brahmin.
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Shining with yellow garments, his loin-cloth securely bound by a jeweled girdle,
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he grasped the serpent in the middle with two arms on either side.
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The daityas, holding the serpent's head, stood on one side;
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all the gods, holding its tail, stood on the other.
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And standing between them, the Lord churned the ocean with ease,
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giving joy to the eyes, his bracelets glittering on his moving hands.
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Then Brahmā, standing in the firmament with the foremost seers,
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he showered him with flowers, making shouts of victory.
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Then, from the churned ocean, the male Dhanvantari was born,
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fair-limbed, from a portion of Viṣṇu, holding a jar of nectar in his hand.
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Taking that nectar, which is indeed the highest essence
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of all liquids such as clarified butter, he approached the presence of Śrī. // 12.30
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Thus ends the twelfth chapter, named 'The Origin of the Fourteen Jewels during the Churning for Nectar,' in the Vāsudeva Māhātmya of the second [section], the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses. // 12
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit