Skandapurana 3.1.4
English (machine translation) 3.1.4
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The seers said:
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O venerable Sūta, best of knowers of the Purāṇas, who was that rākṣasa
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Who afflicted the great-souled Gālava, a devotee of Viṣṇu?
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Glorious Sūta said:
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I shall tell of that cruel rākṣasa, O brahmins; listen with respect
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To how he became a rākṣasa through the power of a curse of the sages.
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Formerly, in the peak of Kailāsa, at Hālāsya, the temple of Śiva,
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There were twenty-four thousand sages who expounded the Veda,
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Headed by Vasiṣṭha and Atri, all devotees of Śiva, endowed with great splendor.
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All their limbs were smeared with ashes, their foreheads marked with the tripuṇḍra,
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Adorned with garlands of rudrākṣa beads, devoted to the chanting of the five-syllable mantra;
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Inhabitants of the city of Madhurā, they worshipped the lord of Hālāsya,
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The master of beings, the moon-crested consort of Umā, for the sake of liberation.
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Once, at that place, a mighty gandharva, the son of Viśvāvasu,
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Named Durdama, O lords among brahmins, devoted to gatherings of profligates,
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Surrounded by a hundred women, naked in a reservoir of water—
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he sportively played with those unclothed young women with delight.
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To that sacred ford of the Lord of Hālāsya, Vasiṣṭha, along with other sages,
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departed from the temple of Śaṃkara, intending to perform his midday rites.
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Then, beholding those seers, those women, overcome with fear,
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covered themselves with garments; but the reckless Durdama did not.
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Then Vasiṣṭha, enraged, cursed that shameless one:
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Vasiṣṭha said:
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"Because, O gandharva Durdama, upon seeing us, out of shame
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you did not cover yourself with clothing, swiftly become a rākṣasa on that account!"
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Having said this, Vasiṣṭha, the foremost of sages, addressed those women:
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"Because you covered yourselves with garments upon seeing us, O excellent women,
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therefore I shall not curse you. Go hence to heaven!"
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Thus addressed by Vasiṣṭha, the women then, with palms joined,
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bowed down to Vasiṣṭha with minds humbled by devotion,
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and amidst the circle of sages spoke thus to Vasiṣṭha:
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The women said:
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"O venerable one, knower of all righteousness, son of the four-faced Brahmā,
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O ocean of compassion, looking upon us, you should not be angry.
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A husband alone is declared to be the supreme ornament of women.
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The woman who is bereft of her husband, O sage, even if she has a hundred sons,
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is called a widow in the world; that is considered death for women.
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Therefore, O sage, show favour with regard to our husband, out of respect.
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A single offense ought to be forgiven by sages who perceive the truth.
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Grant forgiveness, O ocean of compassion, to your disciple here, Durdama!"
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Being thus besought by the women of Durdama,
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Vasiṣṭha, pleased, spoke these words again, O best of brahmins:
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"My word can never be false, O fair-browed ones.
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I shall tell you a remedy; listen with faith.
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The curse of your husband will certainly have a duration of sixteen years.
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At the expiration of the sixteen years, this Durdama in the form of a rākṣasa
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will go by chance to Cakra tīrtha, O celestial damsels.
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There resides the great yogin Gālava, devoted to Viṣṇu.
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This rākṣasa will approach that sage in order to devour him.
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Then, to protect Gālava, the excellent discus dispatched
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by Viṣṇu will sever his head, O women, without doubt.
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Then, regaining his true form, liberated from the curse, the noble Durdama,
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your husband, will go again to heaven; there is no doubt about this.
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Then, having reached heaven, this Durdama, your husband,
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bearing a handsome guise, will take his pleasure with you, O lovely ones."
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The auspicious Sūta said:
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Having spoken thus to those excellent women of Durdama,
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Vasiṣṭha, devoted to the Lord of Hālāsya, swiftly departed to his own hermitage.
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Then the women, embracing their husband Durdama, distressed,
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wept, agitated by sorrow and plunged into the midst of an ocean of grief. / Even as they were looking on, Durdama became a rākṣasa,
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with huge fangs, a massive body, and red beard and hair.
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Seeing him, the women, agitated by fear, departed for heaven.
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Then, in the guise of a rākṣasa, this Durdama of terrifying form,
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devouring all living creatures, from country to country, from forest to forest,
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wandering with the speed of the wind, then went to Dharma tīrtha.
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Thus sixteen years passed while he was wandering.
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Then, at the end of the sixteen years, O lords of sages, this rākṣasa,
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in order to devour the sage Gālava who resided at Dharma tīrtha,
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rushed forward with the speed of the wind; and he [Gālava] praised Janārdana.
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Praised by Gālava, Viṣṇu then impelled his discus
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to protect the sage Gālava who was oppressed by the rākṣasa.
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Then, arriving, the discus of Hari severed the head of the rākṣasa.
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Then, abandoning his rākṣasa body and endowed with a divine form,
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mounting an excellent aerial chariot and showered with flowers, Durdama,
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bowing down with joined palms, paid homage to Sudarśana
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and praised it with foremost words pleasant to the ear, with reverence.
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Durdama said:
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O Sudarśana, homage to you, sole ornament of Viṣṇu's hand!
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Homage to you, destroyer of asuras, radiant with the splendor of a thousand suns!
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By a fraction of your grace, having abandoned this rākṣasa body,
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I have attained Viṣṇu's own form. O disc weapon, homage to you!
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Permit me to go to heaven, O beloved of Viṣṇu;
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my wives are grieving, their hearts anguished by separation.
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Indeed, so that my mind may remain fixed on you as long as I live,
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grant your grace unto me in that way. O disc, homage to you!
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Thus praised with devotion by Durdama, Viṣṇu's disc,
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O best of sages, immediately granted him favor, saying: "So be it."
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Permitted by the disc weapon, Durdama bowed to the sage Gālava,
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and, permitted by him, the gandharva went to heaven.
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When Durdama had gone to heaven, Gālava, the best of sages,
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prayed to the disc, the unexcelled weapon of Viṣṇu:
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"O disc weapon, crusher of great asuras, I bow to you!
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On the border of Devīpaṭṭana, in this unexcelled sacred ford of Dharma,
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manifest your presence, which destroys all sins.
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Due to your presence here, for all sinners who bathe [in it],
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destroy their sins, and bestow eternal liberation.
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Ordain for the world its renown as Cakratīrtha.
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From your presence, let there be the destruction of fear for the sages here
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from now on, O noble one. O disc weapon, homage to you!
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Let there be no fear of bhūtas, pretas, and piśācas, O lord!"
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Thus entreated by Gālava, O best of sages,
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the disc said, "So be it," and vanished into that sacred ford.
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The venerable Sūta said:
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Thus, O brahmins, the origin of that rākṣasa has been told to you by me,
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and the māhātmya of Cakratīrtha, which removes impurity, has been narrated,
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hearing which a mortal on earth is freed from all sins.
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The seers said:
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O disciple of Vyāsa, O great sage, O Sūta, best of mythologists!
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Beginning from Darbhaśayana up to the limit of Devīpattana,
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the unexcelled Cakratīrtha extends over a great expanse;
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tell us now how it became broken in the middle.
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You ought to dispel this doubt that resides in our minds.
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The venerable Sūta said:
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In ancient times, indeed, all the mountains possessed wings and were swift as thought;
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along with the surrounding hills they roved, traveling through the skyways.
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In cities, in realms, in villages, and in forests,
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the mountains continually leaped down and rested everywhere on the earth.
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Wherever the mountains swooped down and came to rest,
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there men, cattle, and likewise hosts of other living beings
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instantly met death, being crushed by the mountains.
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When the classes of people, beginning with the brahmins, were destroyed straightway,
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the gods quickly fell into distress due to the absence of sacrifices and other rites.
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Then Indra, intensely enraged, seized the thunderbolt and, moving swiftly,
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suddenly cut off the wings of the powerful mountains.
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All the mountains, their wings being cut off by Indra,
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having no other refuge, plunged into the ocean out of fear.
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And while all the mountains were falling into the salt ocean,
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some fell into Cakratīrtha as well, mistaking it for the ocean.
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Its interior filled in the middle by those various fallen mountains,
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the greatly sacred Cakratīrtha suffered a breach in its middle.
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By chance, the great mountains did not fall on the two sides there;
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therefore, indeed, at Darbhaśayana and likewise at Devīpura,
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it appears broken in the middle, as if divided in two,
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for Cakratīrtha was turned into dry ground by the mountains falling in its middle.
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The venerable Sūta said:
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Thus it has been related to you, O chief sages, how this sacred ford was made into dry land in the middle.
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just as once the towering mountains suddenly fell here, their wings severed by Indra. (64)
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Thus ends the fourth chapter, titled “Liberation from the Curse of the Gandharva Durdama,” in the Setumāhātmya of the third [part], the Brahmakhaṇḍa, in the Skandapurāṇa comprising eighty-one thousand verses. (4)
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit