Skandapurana 3.1.35
English (machine translation) 3.1.35
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Yajñadeva said:
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“O seer Durvāsas, great in wisdom, discerning in the higher and lower,
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who was this one named Durvinīta, who went with his guru's wife?
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Whose son was he? How was that brahmin [purified] through ritual ablution at Dhanuṣkoṭi?”
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was instantly freed from the sin arising from violating the guru's wife?
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You ought to tell this in full to me who have faith. // 2
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Durvāsas said:
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Formerly, in the Pāṇḍya country, there was a learned brahmin. // 3
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His name was Idhmavāha, and his wife was Ruci.
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He had a son, a brahmin named Durvinīta. // 4
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While the son was still in his childhood, his father died.
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Having performed the post-funerary rites for his father, that Durvinīta // 5
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dwelt at home for some time together with his widowed mother.
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Then a famine occurred for twelve years due to lack of rain. // 6
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Then, O best of brahmins, he went to another country together with his mother.
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Having reached Gokarṇa, which was abundant with heaps of grain, // 7
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he lived for a very long time together with his widowed mother.
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Then, after many a day had passed, Durvinīta, // 8
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his intellect deluded by the ripening of former bad deeds—alas, indeed!—,
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his body pierced by the arrows of the Bodiless One, his mind perverted through passion, // 9
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violently dragged his mother who was crying 'Do not!', and that sinner,
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his mind bewildered by desire, enjoyed her in sexual intercourse, O best of brahmins. // 3.1.35.10
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Afflicted with distress after the discharge of semen,
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that Durvinīta, considering the sin in his mind, wept in extreme sorrow: // 11
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'Alas, I have committed a great sin! I am foremost among great sinners,
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since, overpowered by the arrows of desire, I went to my own mother!' // 12
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Having thus reflected in his mind in the presence of the sages there,
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despising himself, he spoke this to those sages: // 13
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'O brahmins, for the sin of violating the guru's wife,
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declare an expiation for me, O knowers of the true meaning of the scriptures, solely out of pity toward me! // 14
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If atonement can come from death, I will die—there is no doubt.
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Whatever expiation is spoken by you for me now, // 15
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truly, O brahmins, I will perform that—whether death or something else.' // 16
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Hearing those words of his, some foremost sages there,
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deciding that even speaking with him was a fault,
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kept silence. Some sages violently [cried]: // 17
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'Wicked-minded one, you violator of your mother, foremost of great sinners!
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Go away, go away!' the best of brahmins said repeatedly. // 18
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Restraining them, the merciful, all-knowing store of compassion,
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Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana, then spoke to Durvinīta: // 19
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'Go quickly to Dhanuṣkoṭi on Rāma's bridge together with your mother.
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When the sun is in Capricorn, during the month of Māgha, continuously for one month, // 3.1.35.20
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with your senses conquered, anger conquered, free from malice toward others,
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fasting for one month, perform the ritual ablution together with your mother. // 21
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You will surely become purified from the guilt of violating the guru's wife.
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There is no sin whatsoever that is not destroyed by bathing at the bridge. // 22
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In the Vedas, Smṛtis, and Purāṇas, the praise of Dhanuṣkoṭi
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is proclaimed in many ways as the destroyer of the five great sins. // 23
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Therefore, go in haste to Dhanuṣkoṭi together with your mother.
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Accept my word as authoritative, like the word of the Veda, O brahmin! // 24
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For one who has bathed at the tip of the bow of glorious Rāma, O son of a brahmin,
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even crores of great sins are not counted at all. // 25
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Other expiations have been taught in the Smṛti treatises by Manu and others;
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therefore, go to Dhanuṣkoṭi, the destroyer of great sins.' // 26
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Thus addressed by Vyāsa, O best of brahmins, Durvinīta
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bowed to Vyāsa and set out for Dhanuṣkoṭi together with his mother. // 27
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When the sun was in Capricorn, in the month of Māgha, for the space of a month continuously,
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together with his mother, fasting, his anger mastered, his senses restrained, // 28
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he bathed at the tip of the bow of glorious Rāma after taking a vow,
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bowing to Rāmanātha at the three junctures of the day with devotion. // 29
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Having broken his fast at the end of the month together with his mother, his intellect purified,
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he went again to Vyāsa's presence to report what had happened to him. // 3.1.35.30
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Having bowed again to Vyāsa, Durvinīta spoke these words: // 31
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Durvinīta said:
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"O Lord, ocean of compassion, Dvaipāyana, greatest of men!
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By your grace, at Dhanuṣkoṭi together with my mother,
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fasting throughout the month of Māgha, unwearied,
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I performed ritual ablution, bowing to Maheśvara.
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From now on, O Vyāsa, venerable lord, affectionate to devotees,
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instruct me in truth, O sage, concerning what should be done by me."
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Hearing these words of that Durvinīta, the sage,
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Vyāsa, a partial incarnation of Nārāyaṇa, spoke to Durvinīta:
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Vyāsa said:
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"O Durvinīta, your sin born of union with your mother is gone today,
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and the mother's sin caused by union with you is destroyed.
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No doubt should be held here; the truth has been spoken to you by me.
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All kinsmen, one's own people, and other brahmins who are there—
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they will all accept you, O Durvinīta, along with your mother.
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Purified through my favor from bathing at Dhanuṣkoṭi,
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take a wife and practice the duty of a householder.
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Abandon injury to living beings, and follow the eternal dharma.
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Serve good people constantly with a mind endowed with devotion.
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Do not abandon regular daily duties, foremost of which is the twilight worship.
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Restrain the aggregate of the senses, and worship Hara and Hari.
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Do not speak slander of others, and never indulge in envy.
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Seeing another's prosperity, do not feel distress in vain.
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Look upon other men's wives always as upon your mother.
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Never forget the Vedas that you have studied.
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Do not disrespect guests; perform the śrāddha on the day of the ancestors.
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Do not speak malice against anyone, even in a dream.
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Constantly [study] the Itihāsas, Purāṇas, and Dharmaśāstras;
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likewise, examine again the Vedānta and the Vedāṅgas.
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Cast off shame, and chant the names of Hari and Śaṃkara.
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Apply the tripuṇḍra and smear ashes with the mantras of the Jābāla Upaniṣad.
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Wear rudrākṣas always, and be devoted to purity and good conduct.
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With tulasī and bilva leaves, both Nārāyaṇa and Hara
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you must worship, O dear one, once, twice, or thrice a day.
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Mixed with tulasī leaves and sprinkled with water that washed the feet [of the deity],
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always eat the food of the divine offering before Śambhu and Nārāyaṇa.
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Offer the oblation called Vaiśvadeva for the purification of food.
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Satisfy with food the lords of ascetics established in Brahman who come to your house,
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as well as the aged, others who are helpless, the sick, and religious students.
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Render service to your mother, and remain devoted to the domestic fire.
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The great five-syllable mantra combined with the praṇava,
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likewise the eight-syllable mantra, and other mantras as well, O twice-born,
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recite with self-restraint, meditating upon the presiding deities of the mantras.
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Always practice other such duties taught in the Smṛtis as well.
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Having observed your vows in this manner, liberation at the end of the body shall surely be yours."
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Thus addressed by the sage Vyāsa, Durvinīta bowed to him,
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performed all that was spoken by him, and attained liberation at the end of the body.
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His mother too, having died in due time from bathing at Dhanuṣkoṭi,
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attained supreme liberation, which grants freedom from rebirth.
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Durvāsas said:
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"Thus the deliverance of Durvinīta and his mother
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by ablution at Dhanuṣkoṭi has been narrated to you by me, O Yajñadeva.
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To purify [him] from the murder of a brahmin, you too quickly
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take this son, O brahmin, and go to Dhanuṣkoṭi, which bestows liberation."
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Sindhudvīpa said:
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Thus addressed by Durvāsas, Yajñadeva took his own son
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and went, O Rāma, to Dhanuṣkoṭi, which bestows liberation.
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Having gone, that twice-born dwelt there for six months
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together with his son, self-restrained, O jackal and monkey!
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He and his son bathed at Dhanuṣkoṭi for six months.
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At the end of six months, a bodiless voice addressed Yajñadeva:
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"The sin of killing a brahmin has been removed from your son, O Yajñadeva,
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as well as [the sins] of stealing gold, drinking liquor, and consorting with a Kirāta woman.
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Indeed, this son of yours is freed from other sins too;
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do not doubt it, O Yajñadeva, best of brahmins!"
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Having spoken thus, that bodiless voice then ceased.
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Having heard the words of the bodiless voice at that time, Yajñadeva,
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satisfied, along with his son, worshipped Rāmanātha,
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and bowing to Dhanuṣkoṭi together with his son, then,
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delighted, departed for his own country, his own village, and his own house.
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With his son and wife, he lived happily for a very long time, entirely at peace.
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Sindhudvīpa said:
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"O jackal and monkey, thus have I related to you both
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the deliverance of Sumati, this son of Yajñadeva,
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from great sins through immersion in Dhanuṣkoṭi.
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Therefore, go to Dhanuṣkoṭi for the purification of your sins;
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there can be no purification of sin otherwise, even by tens of thousands of expiations."
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Glorious Sūta said:
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Having heard these words of Sindhudvīpa, O best of brahmins,
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the jackal and monkey quickly crossed the great road,
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went with effort to Dhanuṣkoṭi, and having bathed in its water,
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freed from all sins, seated in an excellent aerial chariot,
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showered with rain of flowers by the gods, highly radiant,
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adorned with necklaces, armlets, crowns, bracelets, and the like,
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resplendent with two chowries waved by celestial women,
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they went to the delightful city of the gods and shared half the throne of Indra.
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Glorious Sūta said:
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"Thus has been recounted to you, of the jackal and the monkey too,
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the release from sin through immersion in Dhanuṣkoṭi, O brahmins.
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Whoever hears or reads this chapter with devotion,
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that person obtains the fruit born of ritual ablution in Dhanuṣkoṭi,
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and swiftly attains even liberation, which is hard to obtain by hosts of yogins."
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Thus ends the thirty-fifth chapter, named 'Description of the Liberation of the Jackal and the Monkey' in the praise of Dhanuṣkoṭi, in the Setumāhātmya, in the third Brahmakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa containing eighty-one thousand verses.
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit