Skandapurana 3.1.28
English (machine translation) 3.1.28
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Śrī Sūta said:
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"A person having merely attended upon the exceedingly meritorious Koṭitīrtha,
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restraining the senses, should then proceed to the Sādhyāmṛta sacred ford to bathe.
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The Sādhyāmṛta is a great sacred ford granting the fruit of immense merit,
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allaying great distress, located on the Gandhamādana mountain.
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It is a remover of sins for people, granting all desires,
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bathing in which with devotion, a man attains all desires.
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By austerity, by celibate studenthood, or again by sacrifices and gifts,
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a mortal does not obtain that state which [he obtains] by immersion in Sādhyāmṛta.
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Those whose limbs are touched by the auspicious waters of Sādhyāmṛta—
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the sin residing in their bodies is destroyed that very instant."
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A man who performs the Aghamarṣaṇa rite in the waters of the Sādhyāmṛta,
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having shaken off his sins here, is glorified in the world of Viṣṇu.
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A man who has committed sinful deeds in his earlier years,
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and afterwards frequents Sādhyāmṛta, filled with remorse,
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that man would undoubtedly be liberated in his final years.
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Having bathed in Sādhyāmṛta, a man is freed from bodily bondage.
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Men of sinful deeds who have bathed in the waters of Sādhyāmṛta
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indeed do not go to the hells terrible with manifold afflictions.
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O twice-born ones, that destiny which comes to men from bathing in the waters of Sādhyāmṛta
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cannot be attained through sacrifices, nor through the Vedas, nor through meritorious deeds.
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As long as a bone of men remains in the waters of Sādhyāmṛta,
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for that many years they dwell in the world of Śiva, highly worshipped.
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Just as the sun at sunrise shines, having dispelled intense darkness,
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so one who bathes in Sādhyāmṛta shines, having shattered his sins.
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A man who bathes here always obtains his desired wishes,
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where in ancient times, having bathed in that greatly holy [waters], King Purūravas
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ended his separation from Urvaśī, born of Tumburu's curse.
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The seers said:
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How, O highly fortunate Sūta, did the mortal King Purūravas
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first attain union with Urvaśī, the divine woman?
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[And how] did he end the separation from Urvaśī born of Tumburu's curse?
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For what reason did the sage Tumburu curse the king?
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Explain all this in detail, O bull among sages!
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Sūta said:
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In ancient times there was a king named Purūravas, equal in valor to Śakra,
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equal to the king of kings [Kubera], worshipped indeed by the immortals.
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That best of kings protected the earth according to dharma;
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he worshipped with many sacrifices and continually gave gifts.
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While that highly intelligent king was ruling the whole earth,
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Urvaśī came to the earth because of the curse of Mitra and Varuṇa, O twice-born ones.
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Urvaśī wandered there, near that king's city,
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and sang in a garden with a vīṇā sweet as the call of the cuckoo.
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Desiring to take pleasure in the royal park on a certain occasion, curious,
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he mounted his horse and set out, surrounded by hundreds of women.
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[Seeing] Urvaśī there, whose waist could be spanned by a hand,
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the king said to her: "Be my wife!"
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She too, smitten with love, replied there to the king:
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"Let it be so, O best of men, if you will [keep] my condition.
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I will dwell near you, feeling joy."
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"I will keep your condition, O fair-browed one," he said.
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Then Urvaśī eagerly said to that Purūravas:
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"If you protect my pair of rams as if they were sons,
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and if you are never seen naked, O king,
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and if you do not give me leftover food, then I will dwell in your presence.
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And I will eat only clarified butter, O best of kings."
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Having said, "Let it be so," the king took her to his home.
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That king sported in Alakā, and also in the Caitraratha forest,
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and on the bank of the Sarasvatī, enchanting with lotus thickets.
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Sporting with her, he spent sixty-one years.
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Because of that, Urvaśī, whose affection grew day by day,
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slender-waisted, had no desire even for the world of the gods.
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Without her, that world of the gods was not delightful.
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"Therefore I will bring her back to the world of the gods," O twice-born ones—
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thinking thus, Viśvāvasu went in an instant to the earthly realm.
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Viśvāvasu, knowing Urvaśī's agreement with the king,
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assembled with the gandharvas in the middle of the night,
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and swiftly seized a ram from beside Urvaśī's bed.
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Hearing him being carried away into the sky, Urvaśī to her husband
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said: "By whom is my son being taken? Let him be released!
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Bereft of sense, helpless, to what man do I go for refuge?"
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Hearing her words in the middle of the night, Purūravas
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did not go forth then, thinking: “Let the goddess not see me naked.”
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Then, seizing the other ram as well, those gandharvas
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departed; and Urvaśī heard the bleat of that ram too.
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“The son of helpless me is being seized by thieves!”
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The goddess cried out harshly: “To what man shall I go for refuge?”
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Overpowered by wrath upon hearing that statement, the king,
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thinking, “Everything is enveloped in darkness,” seized his sword
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and rushed forth shouting: “Wicked, wicked [thief]! Where are you going?”
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Just then, a blazing flash of lightning was intensely produced by the gandharvas.
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By its circles of light, the goddess saw the king stripped of his clothes;
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her condition having been violated, she departed that very instant.
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Indeed, dropping both rams right there, the gandharvas also vanished.
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Taking the two rams, the king, delighted, returned beside his bed,
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and did not see the large-eyed Urvaśī there.
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Not seeing her, unclothed, he wandered the earth like a madman.
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The king went to Kurukṣetra, and in a pond filled with lotuses
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he saw her sporting with four apsaras women.
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“O wife, stop in your mind, cruel one!” repeatedly uttering this,
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the king lamented indeed with the hymn in many ways.
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And Urvaśī, playing with the hosts of apsarases, said to him:
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“O great king, sinless one, enough of this conduct of yours!
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I was made pregnant by you earlier; at the end of a year, indeed,
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you must come here; you will have a most righteous son.
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Then, O king, I shall dwell with you for a single night.”
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Addressed thus, O brahmins, the king returned rejoicing to his city.
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She, however, spoke to those apsarases about the king:
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“This is that best of men, with whom, assuming forms at will,
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overcome and yearning under the sway of passion,
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I lived for so long a time, O friends, with that king.”
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Told this, her friends then said to her, “Splendid, splendid!
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We too, O friend, would dwell with him at all times.”
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Thus the apsarases said to Urvaśī, their friend, at that time.
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Then, when a year had elapsed, the king also came to the edge of the pond.
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Seeing King Purūravas arrive, Urvaśī,
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with a delighted mind, gave him his son, Āyus.
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Having dwelt with him for one night, that passionate woman,
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Urvaśī quickly received from him a pregnancy destined to grant five sons.
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And Urvaśī, the foremost woman, spoke to this king:
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“Out of love for me, O king, the gandharvas will grant you a boon.
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Let a boon be asked of them by you, O best of royal sages.”
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Thus addressed by her, the king said to the best of the gandharvas:
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“My treasury is full and the circle of my enemies is conquered;
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apart from dwelling in the same world as Urvaśī, there is nothing else for me to attain.
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Therefore, I choose to spend time together with Urvaśī.”
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When the king had spoken thus, the gandharvas, pleased in mind,
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gave him a pot of fire and then said to that king:
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The gandharvas said:
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“Making this fire threefold in accordance with the Vedas, O best of kings,
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and offering with sacrifice, O ruler of the earth, attain the world of Urvaśī!”
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Addressed thus by them, the king took the pot of fire and went away.
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“Alas, indeed, I am utterly foolish!” Thus [thinking] in the middle of the forest, the king [reflected]:
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“Urvaśī has not been obtained by me; what use is a pot of fire?”
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Leaving the pot right there in the forest, the king went to his own city.
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When midnight had passed, unable to sleep, he reflected to himself:
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“For the sake of attaining the world of Urvaśī, a pot of fire
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was given to me by the foremost gandharvas, and that was abandoned by me in the forest.
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I shall bring the pot back.” Rising up, he went to the forest.
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There in the forest, Purūravas did not see the pot of fire.
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Then, seeing an aśvattha tree within a śamī tree in place of the fire,
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He reflected: “Formerly, the pot was placed by me here in this forest,
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and it has now turned into this aśvattha tree inside a śamī tree.
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Therefore, taking this [wood] which is fire by nature, having gone to the city,
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and properly making churning-sticks (araṇīs), I shall with reverence worship the fire produced from it.”
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Having so resolved, the king went to his own city.
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He made a charming fire-churning stick measured by his own finger-breadths.
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At the time of its making, O brahmins, the king chanted the Gāyatrī.
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Indeed, as many syllables as there are in the Gāyatrī being recited,
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to that exact measure in finger-breadths the king made the churning-stick.
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Having produced the three fires there by churning,
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aiming for the desired fruit of attaining Urvaśī's realm,
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the king, adhering to the Vedas, joyfully made offerings into the three fires.
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And by that very procedure of fire, he then performed many sacrifices.
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Having thereby attained the Gandharva realms, the lord of the earth,
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sported for a long time together with Urvaśī in the world of the gods, O best of brahmins.
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Then once, the slayer of Bala and Vṛtra, accompanied by all the immortals,
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watched the dance of the celestial maidens in the assembly.
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King Purūravas also came at that time to the assembly of the lord of the gods,
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in order to watch the captivating dance of the celestial maidens of the sky-dwellers.
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One by one, those maidens danced before Śakra.
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Then Urvaśī came and danced before Hari [Indra].
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Then Urvaśī, filled with pride in her skill of dancing and dramatic expression,
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saw that Purūravas and laughed most delightfully.
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The king too laughed there, beholding Urvaśī at that moment.
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Then Tumburu, the master of dramatic arts, enraged by their laughter,
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in anger cursed both of them—Urvaśī and the best of kings.
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Tumburu said:
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“Since here, in an assembly filled with many gods,
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laughter was indulged in by you two in the midst of the dance without reason and in vain,
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therefore, O best of kings, quickly, in an instant,
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let there be separation between you two!” Thus he cursed him in the presence of all the deities.
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Then the king, cursed there by the master of dramatic arts, was sorrowful.
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He took refuge with the wielder of the thunderbolt [Indra], crying, “Protect me, protect me!”
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With a plaintive voice Purūravas spoke to Puruhūta [Indra]:
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“I performed sacrifices for the sake of attaining residence in the same world with Urvaśī;
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hence, separation from her would be unbearable to me, O chastiser of Pāka!”
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To him who spoke thus, the thousand-eyed husband of Śacī said:
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“I will tell you the release from the curse; do not fear, O best of kings.
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In the southern ocean, on the holy Gandhamādana mountain,
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there is a supreme sacred ford known as Sādhyāmṛta,
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served by all the gods, Siddhas, Cāraṇas, and Kinnaras,
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and frequented by the host of great yogic sages such as Sanaka and others.
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Bestowing enjoyment and liberation upon men, granting release from all curses,
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such a sacred ford exists; go there in haste, O king.
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Since by ritual ablution here nectar (amṛta) is to be attained (sādhya) by all,
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it is therefore renowned as Sādhyāmṛta, celebrated in all the worlds.
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By ritual ablution there, your reunion with Urvaśī will occur,
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and your dwelling in my world shall take place; there is no doubt.”
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Instructed thus in return, the king, with a delighted mind,
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instantly set out, heading toward the great sacred ford Sādhyāmṛta.
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He bathed there in Sādhyāmṛta, which destroys great sins.
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From the ritual ablution there, O brahmins, the king was instantly freed from the curse.
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Immediately after the ritual ablution, he was reunited with Urvaśī.
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Seated in an aerial chariot with her, he set out for Amarāvatī.
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Like a god, he sported again with her in the abode of the gods.
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Such is the power of that unequalled sacred ford, Sādhyāmṛta,
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where Purūravas was reunited with Urvaśī by means of a ritual ablution.
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Therefore, whoever bathes in this sacred ford, which destroys great sins,
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attains desired wishes and will go to the highest heaven;
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if a person bathes without desire, O brahmins, he attains liberation.
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Moreover, whichever person reads this pure, sin-destroying chapter,
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or listens to it, gains a dwelling in Vaikuṇṭha. (94)
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Thus to you, O brahmins, the sin-destroying majesty
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of the Sādhyāmṛta sacred ford has been told by me at length with faith, (95)
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which the four-faced [Brahmā] formerly declared to Sanaka and the others. (96)
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Thus ends the twenty-eighth chapter, entitled ‘The Description of the Release from the Curse of Purūravas in the Praise of the Sādhyāmṛta Sacred Ford’, in the Setumāhātmya of the third [section], the Brahmakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses. (28)
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit