Skandapurana 3.2.32
English (machine translation) 3.2.32
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Vyāsa said:
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And then those messengers of Rāma, having bowed, spoke to Rāma:
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“Rāma, Rāma, mighty-armed one! [We saw] an excellent woman of fair countenance,
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adorned with fine garments and ornaments, given to speaking gentle words.
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Seeing her weeping alone, we were astonished.
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Approaching her, that celestial beauty was asked:
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‘Who are you, O lady of lovely hips? Are you a goddess, or perhaps a Dānavī?
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Rāma asks you, O lady; tell everything truthfully.’
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Hearing that speech, the woman uttered sweet words:
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‘Send Rāma—may good betide you—the supreme dispeller of my sorrow.’”
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Having heard that, Rāma then went hastily in agitation.
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Seeing her afflicted by sorrow, he himself felt sorrow.
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Rāma then spoke these words with folded hands.
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Glorious Rāma said:
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“Who are you, auspicious one, or whose wife? By whom have you been mistreated and cast out into this solitary place?
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And by whom has your wealth been stolen? Tell everything before me, O mother!”
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Having spoken thus, deeply pained by grief, Rāma, best among the wise,
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bowed down like a rod, like another bearer of the discus.
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Saluted by her, who approached him again and again,
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Rāma was praised with sweet speech and the highest joy by the pleased [goddess]:
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"O Supreme Self, supreme Lord, remover of sorrow, eternal one!
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The purpose for which your incarnation [occurred] has been accomplished by you.
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Rāvaṇa, Kumbhakarṇa, and those headed by Śakrajit,
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Khara, Dūṣaṇa, Triśiras, Mārīca, and prince Akṣa—
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countless terrible rākṣasas have been conquered on the field of battle.
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What praise shall I speak of your fair renown today, O Lord of the world, when Brahmā was born from the lotus sprung from your own limb,
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and then saw the universe contained [within you], like a banyan tree considered [resting] on a banyan leaf?
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Blessed in the world is Daśaratha, and Kauśalyā your mother,
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to whom you were born, O Govinda, Lord of the universe, supreme Person!
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Blessed is that lineage, O Rāma, into which you came yourself;
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blessed is the city of Ayodhyā, O Rāma; blessed is the world that takes refuge in you.
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Blessed indeed also is that Vālmīki by whom the Rāmāyaṇa was composed;
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by that poet, through his own intellect, the future was [revealed] to the foremost brahmins.
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This family arose from you, and by you, O lord, it has been thoroughly purified.
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A king is remembered by the worlds as a portion of Viṣṇu; you yourself, with charming virtues, are Viṣṇu indeed.
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Having descended after conceiving some purpose of the world, as you bring it to pass here, my child, may you be free of obstacles!
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Having praised Rāma with speech: 'Yet now, though you are the lord,
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I remain desolate for a long time, as if indeed [experiencing] guilt.
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Know me to be the presiding deity of the sacred field of Dharmāraṇya.
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Twelve years have passed right here, and I am sorrowful.
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Relieve my state of desolation today, O highly intelligent one!
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From fear of the demon Loha, O Rāma, all the brahmins fled in the ten directions,
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and all the merchants departed to various places, deeply distressed.
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That Daitya, who terrified the gods, was slain by the gods, O Rāma;
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having attacked this place, of great sorcery, invincible and difficult to overcome,
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those people do not return, exceedingly fearful from dread of him.
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For twelve years today, like an empty house that has no master,
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because in my oblong pond, where people were intent on ritual ablution and giving gifts,
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in that pond, O Rāma, wild boars now plunge.
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Where women with their husbands, devoted to water-sports,
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used to play, there wild buffaloes plunge into the water.
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In the place where there was once an abundance of lovely flowers,
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that [place] is choked with thorny trees crowded with lions and tigers.
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On the ground where boys continuously played together,
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and joyful young girls played with painted dolls,
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where brahmins constantly chanted the Vedas,
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there the exceedingly terrifying howls of jackals are heard.
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Where the smoke of the Agnihotra fires was seen in house after house,
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there intensely fierce forest fires accompanied by smoke are seen.
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Where dancers danced joyfully before the twice-born,
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right there, deluded spirits, Vetālas, and ghosts dance.
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Where kings sat in the assembly intent upon counsel,
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in that place sit wild oxen, bears, and porcupines.
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Where the dwellings of twice-born and merchants were seen,
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burrows resembling paved floors are seen here, O Rāma,
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and hollows of trees [appear] like lattice windows all around.
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The four-cornered sacrificial altars that were formerly lofty,
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they are seen here enveloped by mounds of anthills.
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Know my dwelling to be such, O Rāma, best of kings,
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for it is deserted on all sides, since the twice-born have gone to dwell [elsewhere].
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Because of that, my sorrow is very great; therefore protect me, O ruler of men!'
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Having heard this speech, Rāma, best among speakers, said:
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The venerable Rāma said:
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"I do not know your brahmins who have sought refuge in the four quarters.
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I do not know the number, names, or lineages of those twice-born.
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Declare accurately their clans and lineages as they are;
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then, having brought them all, I shall settle them in their own abode."
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The venerable Mother said:
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Those who were established by Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśa, O lord of men,
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were eighteen thousand brahmins who had mastered the Vedas,
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renowned in the knowledge of the three Vedas in this world, O you of boundless splendour!
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The brahmins who were established belonged to sixty-four gotras.
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Śrīmātā gave the knowledge of the three Vedas to all the best of the twice-born in the world.
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And thirty-six thousand vaiśyas, dedicated to dharma,
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are to be known as noble in conduct, devoted to serving the twice-born,
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where King Bahulārka shines together with Saṃjñā.
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The two Kumāras, the divine Aśvins, [are there], and Dhanada who replenishes expenses.
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And I, O Rāma, am the presiding deity, known by the name Bhaṭṭārikā."
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Śrī Sūta said:
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Whatever were the local customs and likewise the family traditions,
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all the ancient history was recounted by Śrīmātā before Rāma.
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Hearing her words, Rāma indeed experienced joy:
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"True, true, again true! Indeed, truth has been spoken by you.
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Because truth was spoken by you, an auspicious city by that name,
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Satyamandira itself, I shall establish, O Mother of the universe!
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May the supreme Satyamandira attain renown in the three worlds!"
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Having said this, Rāma then dispatched his servants,
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a hundred thousand in number, to bring the vipras:
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"In whatever country or province, in a forest or on a riverbank,
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at the border, in their proper abode, in a village, or here and there,
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wherever the best of the twice-born who dwell in Dharmāraṇya have gone,
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honor them with water for respectful offering and washing the feet, and bring them here quickly!
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I shall eat here only when I see the best of the twice-born.
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Whichever man shall come having shown disrespect to these twice-born,
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he shall be killed by me, punished, and banished outside the realm."
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Hearing that stern command, unbearable and impossible to resist,
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the messengers carrying out Rāma's orders went to all ten directions.
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All the brahmins were searched for; all were found and became greatly delighted.
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[The messengers] honored them with water for respectful offering and washing the feet according to the prescribed rite,
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and duly offered praise preceded by humble conduct.
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Inviting all the twice-born, they made known Rāma's command.
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Then all those brahmins, twice-born accompanied by their servants,
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all dedicated to the Vedas and śāstras, prepared to set out.
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They came before Rāma, preceded by great honor.
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Seeing the twice-born arrived, with the hair of his body bristling with joy,
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King Rāma, son of Daśaratha, considered himself to have achieved his purpose.
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Rising hastily, he went forward on foot;
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folding his hands together, shedding tears of joy,
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and falling to the ground on his knees, he spoke this word:
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"By the grace of the vipras I am the lord of Kamalā; by the grace of the vipras I am the upholder of the earth;
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by the grace of the vipras I am the master of the world; and by the grace of the vipras my name is Rāma."
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Spoken to in this manner by Rāma, those brahmins were filled with joy;
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honoring him with blessings of victory, they said, "May you live long!"
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Honored by Rāma with water for the feet, respectful offerings, seats, and the like,
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he offered praise to the vipras, bowing down like a rod.
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Standing with folded hands, he made salutation at their feet.
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Then Rāma, the son of Daśaratha, presented diverse seats
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and golden ornaments;
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he gave rings, garments, sacred threads, and earrings
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to the principal vipras, as well as cows of diverse colors,
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one hundred to each, with udders like jars, accompanied by their calves,
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covered with cloths, with bells attached, adorned with golden horns,
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having silver hooves, copper backs, and accompanied by bronze vessels.
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Thus ends the thirty-second chapter, titled 'The Description of the Founding of Satyamandira', in the dialogue between Brahmā and Nārada, in the Dharmāraṇyamāhātmya, in the first part of the third Brahmakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skandapurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit