Skandapurana 3.1.45
English (machine translation) 3.1.45
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3.1.45.14
Śrī Sūta said: / When the liṅga had thus been consecrated by Rāma of untiring deeds, / Māruti quickly arrived, bringing an excellent liṅga. (1) / Having bowed to heroic Rāma, son of Daśaratha, that Māruti / then bowed to Vaidehī and Lakṣmaṇa, and saluted Sugrīva. (2) / Then, seeing the scion of Raghu worshipping that sandy liṅga / together with the sages, the son of the wind became furious. (3) / Extremely distressed with sorrow, his toil rendered vain, / Hanūmān, son of Añjanā, spoke to righteous Rāma: (4) / Hanūmān said: / “Ill-born was I, O Rāma, in vain, solely for affliction in the world! / I have often been tormented, O Lord, by the demons of cruel deeds. (5) / May no woman ever bear a son like me, / through whom endless sorrow is experienced in the ocean of worldly existence! (6) / I was tormented earlier by service, and even more so by battle; / now there is endless sorrow because you disregard me! (7) / By Sugrīva for the sake of a wife, and by the demon, / the younger brother of Rāvaṇa, for a kingdom, you were served, O scion of Raghu. (8) / By me you have been served without motive, O Rāma, O broad-minded one! / Among the many monkeys, I was indeed commanded by you today (9) / to bring a Śivaliṅga from Kailāsa, the supreme mountain. / Having gone swiftly to Kailāsa, I did not see the wielder of the Pināka. (10) / Having pleased him, the one accompanied by Ambā, whose mount is the bull, through tapas, / and having obtained the liṅga, O lord of the Raghus, I quickly returned. (11) / But now, having consecrated another liṅga made of sand, / you are worshipping it, O lord, along with the sages, gods, and gandharvas! (12) / In vain was this liṅga brought by me from Mount Kailāsa! / Ah, my body has become a burden to this earth, / O unfortunate as I am, O great king, O delight of Jānakī, O sovereign! / I am unable to endure this grief, O scion of Raghu! (14)”
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“What shall I do? Where shall I go? I have no refuge.
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Therefore, disregarded by you, I shall abandon my body!” (15)
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Śrī Sūta said:
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Having thus lamented repeatedly, O brahmins, the son of the wind,
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prostrated on the ground like a stick, overcome by anger and grief. (16)
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Seeing him, the lord of the Raghus too, smiling gently, said this,
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while all the gods, sages, monkeys, and demons were watching,
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consoling Māruti there and wiping away his sorrow: (17)
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Śrī Rāma said:
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“I know all the actions of oneself and of another, (18)
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of what is born, what is being born, and even what is dead at all times, O monkey!
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A creature is born and dies alone by its own karma; (19)
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and it goes to hell, while the supreme Self is free of attributes.
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Having ascertained the truth thus, do not grieve, O monkey! (20)
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Free from the three liṅgas, the single light, taintless,
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without support, immutable—behold that Self constantly! (21)
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Why do you succumb to grief, an obstacle to the knowledge of truth?
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Remain ever steadfast in the knowledge of truth, O best of monkeys! (22)
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Continually meditate, O monkey, on the Self which is self-luminous!
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Cast off the sense of ‘mine’ in the body and the rest, which opposes the knowledge of truth! (23)
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Ever practice righteousness; abandon violence toward living beings;
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serve virtuous persons; and conquer all the senses! (24)
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Always abandon the recounting of the faults of others;
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worship the deities, Śiva, Viṣṇu, and the rest at all times, O monkey! (25)
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Speak the truth constantly; cast away sorrow, O monkey!
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Knowledge of the oneness of the inner self with Brahman [destroys that which] arises from the object of delusion. (26)
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The delusion of agreeable and disagreeable is imagined in this [world] as if real;
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one superimposes agreeableness upon an object through the power of delusion. (27)
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Affliction arises in deluded men, O best of monkeys!
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Bound by the force of passion and aversion, subject to merit and demerit, (28)
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mortals go to hell, [or are reborn as] gods, animals, humans, and so on.
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Exceedingly pleasing substances such as sandalwood, agallochum, and camphor (29)
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turn to filth through contact with the body; how can that body bring happiness?
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All kinds of food, both chewable and eatable, are exceedingly splendid;
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yet through contact with it they turn into feces—how then can that body bring happiness?
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Fragrant and cool water turns into urine through contact with it;
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tell me now, O monkey: how could that lump [of flesh] be beautiful?
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Indeed, garments that are exceedingly white and clean
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become soiled with sweat through contact with it—how could it be beautiful?
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Listen to the supreme truth from me, O Hanūmat, son of the Wind!
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In this pit of saṃsāra, no happiness at all is to be found.
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First a living creature meets with birth, and after that, childhood;
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afterwards he attains youth, and then experiences old age;
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thereafter he meets death, and then undergoes birth again.
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It is solely through the power of ignorance that man experiences suffering;
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upon the cessation of that ignorance, however, he attains supreme bliss.
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The cessation of ignorance comes from knowledge alone, not from ritual action.
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Knowledge is truly the supreme Brahman; knowledge is born of the statements of the Upaniṣads.
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And that knowledge arises in one who is dispassionate, not in any other,
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truly in one who is qualified foremost, by the grace of the teacher.
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When all desires that abide in his heart are released,
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then a mortal becomes immortal, and here itself attains the supreme Brahman.
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Whether waking, sleeping, eating, or standing still,
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cruel Death drags this person away constantly.
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All accumulations end in depletion; all elevations end in fall;
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unions end in separation; and life ends in death.
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Just as for ripe fruits there is no fear other than falling,
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so for men who are born there is no fear other than falling [into death].
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Just as a house with firm pillars perishes when it decays in time,
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so men perish, subject to old age and death.
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Through the passing of day and night, the lifespan of men is destroyed;
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grieve for yourself! Why do you grieve for another?
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Lifespan perishes whether standing or running, O lord of monkeys:
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death walks together with [man]; death sits together [with him];
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having travelled to a distant land, death returns along with [him].
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Wrinkles have come upon the body, the hair has turned white;
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the body decays through old age, and through breathing difficulty, coughing, and the like.
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Just as two pieces of wood might come together in the great ocean,
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and having come together, drift apart through the course of time, O monkey,
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so wife, son, daughter-in-law, fields, and wealth
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meet together somewhere and then depart elsewhere, O monkey.
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Just as someone standing along the road [says] to a traveler walking on the way:
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“I too will travel along with you,”
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and the two, having joined together for a time, depart elsewhere again,
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even so the union with wives, sons, and others is transitory, O monkey.
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Along with the birth of the body, death is certainly born;
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there is never any counteracting an inevitable death.
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When this body falls, the embodied soul follows the course of its karma;
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having obtained another body, my child, it abandons the former body.
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Living beings do not dwell constantly in one place, O monkey;
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all are separated one by one according to their own karma.
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Just as the bodies of living beings perish and come into existence,
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the self has no birth and death, O best of monkeys.
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Therefore, O son of Añjanā, meditate day and night on griefless, non-dual,
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pure Brahman whose nature is being.
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Action done by you is action done by me; what is done by me is done by you;
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therefore the installation of my liṅga is the installation of your liṅga, O monkey.
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Because the auspicious moment was passing, the sandy liṅga made by Sītā
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was installed here by me; therefore, do not feel anger or sorrow.
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Install the liṅga brought from Kailāsa on this auspicious day;
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let this liṅga become renowned in the three worlds by your name!
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Having seen Hanūmadīśvara, Rāghaveśvara must be seen.
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The hosts of Brahmarākṣasas were slain by you, O monkey;
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Therefore, by establishing a liṅga in your own name, you will be liberated.
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Given personally by Hara, the Śiva named Hanūmat,
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a man who beholds it and Rāmanātha will have accomplished his purpose.
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Even at a distance of a thousand yojanas, by remembering Hanūmat's liṅga,
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and remembering Rāmanātheśvara as well, he will attain union [with Śiva].
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He has performed sacrifices with all rituals and carried out austerity completely,
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by whom the two Great Gods, Hanūmadīśvara and Rāghaveśvara, have been seen.
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The liṅga made by Hanūmat, the liṅga made by me,
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the liṅga belonging to Jānakī, and the liṅga Lakṣmaṇeśvara;
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that which was made by Sugrīva, and by Nala the builder of the bridge;
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made by Aṅgada, by Nīla, and likewise by Jāmbavat;
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and the jewel-liṅga established by Vibhīṣaṇa;
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the liṅga made by Indra and the gods, and that established by Śeṣa and others—
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thus this Śiva manifests directly in eleven forms.
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For Maheśvara is always present in these liṅgas.
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Therefore, install Maheśvara for the purification of your multitude of sins.
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Moreover, if you, O fortunate one, will uproot the liṅga
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made of sand by Sītā and installed here by me, my child,
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I will then install this liṅga brought by you.
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Reaching Pātāla, Sutala, Vitala, and Rasātala,
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and piercing Talātala, this [liṅga] firmly stands.
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Who could have the strength to break the liṅga consecrated by me?
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Arise, monkey! Uproot this liṅga installed by me,
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and quickly install the liṅga brought by you; do not grieve!"
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Addressed thus, having bowed to him, the monkey, unaware of its true reality, [thought]:
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"I will swiftly uproot the excellent sandy liṅga,
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and respectfully install the liṅga brought from Kailāsa.
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What burden could the uprooting of a sandy [liṅga] be for me?"
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Having reflected thus in his mind, Hanūmat, the son of the wind-god,
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as all the gods, sages, monkeys, and rakṣasas were watching,
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as Rāmacandra looked on, and as Lakṣmaṇa looked on,
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and as Vaidehī looked on, that mighty one forcefully seized
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that sandy liṅga with his hand swiftly, using all his effort.
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Even shaking it with great effort, the son of the wind-god
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was unable by his power to move the sandy liṅga.
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Then, making a clamorous shout, the bull among monkeys,
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raising his tail, hurled it with his hands, using his own strength.
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Even shaking it in numerous ways thus, the monkey,
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the son of the wind, was not at all able to move it.
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Wrapping it with his tail and touching the earth with both hands,
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the monkey, the son of the wind, then flew up swiftly into the sky,
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shaking the entire earth with its seven continents and mountains.
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At a mere krośa from the liṅga, swooning and vomiting blood,
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Hanūmān fell upon the ground, O brahmins, his limbs trembling.
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From the mouth and from both eyes of the falling son of the wind,
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from his nostrils, ear-holes, and anus, O best of the twice-born,
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a stream of blood flowed forth, and that became a pool of blood.
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Then a cry of distress arose from all, including gods, asuras, and humans.
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Both Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, running along with the monkeys
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accompanied by Jānakī, O brahmins, were then agitated with grief.
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Accompanied by Sītā and the mighty monkeys, the two heroes
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shone then upon Mount Gandhamādana, O brahmins,
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like the moon and sun accompanied by the host of stars in the night.
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They saw Hanūmat, his body shattered,
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fallen on the ground in a swoon, vomiting blood from his mouth.
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Seeing him, all the monkeys, crying out in grief, fell to the ground.
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With both hands, Sītā compassionately touched Hanūmat, the son of the wind,
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who had fallen upon the surface of the earth, saying, "Dear child! Dear child!"
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Rāma too, having seen Hanūmat, the lord of monkeys, fallen down,
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placed him in his lap and stroked his body with both hands.
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Shedding water born of his eyes, O brahmins, he spoke to the son of the Wind:
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Thus ends the forty-fifth chapter, titled 'The Description of the Teaching of the Knowledge of the Absolute Truth by Rāmacandra', in the Setumāhātmya in the Brahmakhaṇḍa, the third [part] of the auspicious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit