Skandapurana 3.3.11
English (machine translation) 3.3.11
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Sūta said:
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The courtesan named Piṅgalā whom I mentioned earlier,
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having cast off her former body through the merit of worshipping devotees of Śiva,
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was born again to Candrāṅgada and Sīmantinī,
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endowed with beauty, nobility, and virtue, under the name Kīrtimālinī.
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Meanwhile, in that very place, prince Bhadrāyus, [dwelling] in the merchant's house,
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grew up like the sun in the summer month, possessing great radiance.
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That chief of merchants also had an excellent son;
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he was named Sunaya and became a companion to the king's son.
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Those two boys, the royal prince and the merchant's son, deeply affectionate toward each other,
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enjoyed varied games, possessed noble forms, and were adorned with jewel-ornaments.
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For that royal prince as well as for his own son, that chief of merchants
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had the rites of passage performed in detail by brahmins.
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Having received the sacred thread at the proper time, devoted to serving their teacher,
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the two of them, endowed with humility, acquired mastery of all sciences.
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Then, when the prince reached sixteen years of age,
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that very same yogin, Ṛṣabha, arrived at his dwelling.
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Seeing that Śiva-yogin arrived, both the queen and the prince
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bowed down again and again and worshipped him with joy.
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And worshipped by the two of them, the lord of yogins, delighted in his heart,
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addressed the prince, his mind soft with compassion.
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The Śiva-yogin said:
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“Is all well with you, dear child, and is your mother free from affliction?
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Have you acquired mastery over all sciences?
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Are you ever intent upon the service of your teachers?
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Do you remember me, dear child, the guru who gave you life?”
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When the lord of yogins spoke thus, that queen, endowed with modesty,
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made her son fall at his feet and said to him:
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“O guru, this is your son; you are the father who gave him life.
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Being compassionate of soul, you should accept him as your disciple.
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Therefore protect this helpless boy who has been abandoned by his kinsmen.
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You ought to instruct him fully in the path of the virtuous.”
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Thus propitiated by the queen, the highly intelligent Śiva-yogin
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instructed that prince in the path of righteousness.
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Ṛṣabha said:
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“The eternal dharma taught in the Vedas, the smṛtis, and the Purāṇas
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should always be practiced by people according to their caste and stage of life.
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Follow the path of the virtuous, my child, and practice only righteous conduct.
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Do not transgress the command of the gods, and do not show disrespect to the gods.
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Be devoted always to cows, gods, teachers, and brahmins.
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Always honor a guest who has arrived, even if he be an outcaste.
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Never abandon truth anywhere, even when danger to life is at hand;
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only for the protection of cows and brahmins may you speak an untruth on occasion.
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Toward others’ wealth, others’ wives, and the possessions of gods and brahmins,
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relinquish desire, O mighty-armed one, even if they are rare and desirable objects.
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For good discourse, virtuous conduct, holy vows, true scripture,
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and for accumulating virtue and the other ends of life, always maintain desire, O highly intelligent one.
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In ritual ablution, silent recitation, fire-offering, recitation of scripture, and libations to ancestors,
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In the worship of cows, gods, and guests, be free from indolence, O sinless one.
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Anger, hatred, fear, dishonesty, malicious slander, insistence on evil,
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crookedness, deceit, and agitation—avoid these with diligence.
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Though dedicated to the duty of a kṣatriya, abandon senseless violence.
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Avoid groundless hostility, idle chatter, and speaking ill of others.
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In hunting, gambling, and drinking; among women and those subjugated by women;
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excessive eating, excessive anger, excessive sleep, excessive exertion,
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excessive talk, and excessive play—avoid [these] at all times.
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Supreme learning, supreme faith, supreme merit, supreme memory,
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supreme enthusiasm, supreme renown, and supreme fortitude: cultivate these.
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Be full of desire toward your own wife, full of anger toward your own enemies,
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full of greed for an accumulation of merit, and full of indignation toward the unrighteous.
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Be full of aversion toward a heretic, and full of affection toward the virtuous.
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Be difficult to persuade in bad counsel, and deaf to malicious words.
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The rogue, the violent, the deceitful, the cruel, the gambler, the fickle, the wicked,
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the outcaste, the atheist, and the crooked—avoid [them] from afar.
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Do not indulge in self-praise; discern inner intentions;
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and never be overly attached to wealth or to the whole household.
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In the word of a devoted wife, of a mother, of a father-in-law,
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of good people, and of a guru, place your trust at all times.
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Always intent on self-protection, vigilant, steadfast in vows,
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do not place trust anywhere even in your own servants.
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Do not kill one who has trusted [you], even if he is a thief, O broad-minded one.
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Do not suspect the sinless, and do not deviate from the truth.
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The helpless, the wretched, the aged, a woman, a child, the innocent—
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protect them with wealth, life, intellect, capability, and strength.
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Even an enemy deserving death, do not kill if he has sought refuge.
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Whether unworthy or worthy, whether lowly or most exalted,
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whoever it may be that asks, give to him even your head.
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Always acquire fame alone, even through great effort.
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For fame alone is the ornament of kings and of the wise.
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Prosperity arises from good renown; merit is born of good renown;
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the world shines through good renown, as does the moon with moonlight.
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A horde of elephants, horses, and gold, and a mountain-like heap of jewels—
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cast aside everything swiftly like grass if it is tainted by ill repute.
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Forgive the anger of a mother, the anger of a father, the anger of a guru, expenditure of wealth,
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the transgression of sons, and [the anger] of brahmins, O friend.
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Act for their welfare in such a way that the brahmins become pleased.
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The best of the twice-born can rescue a king sunk in distress.
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Lifespan, fame, strength, happiness, wealth, merit, and the flourishing of subjects—
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the action by which these are produced must always be pursued by you.
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Considering properly with diligence place, time, capability,
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what is to be done and what is not to be done, always perform your duty.
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Do not cause distress to anyone; ward off the distress of others.
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Trouble thieves and wicked people through good policy and might.
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In ritual ablution, in recitation, in fire-offerings, and in rites for gods and ancestors,
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be unhurried; in sleep and eating, be expeditious.
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Full of courtesy, free of deceit, truthful, pleasing to the mind of men,
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with few words and infinite meaning: speak such speech, O broad-minded one.
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Be fearless everywhere—among adversaries and in adversities.
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Be fearful toward the race of brahmins, toward sin, and toward the guru’s command.
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Toward kinsmen, relatives, brahmins, wives, and sons,
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act with an equal disposition, and likewise in dining rows.
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Toward the beneficial teachings of the virtuous, as well as holy tales
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and discussions on learning that accord with dharma, never turn away.
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In a pure place beside sacred waters, renowned and crowded with brahmins,
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in a great land devoted to Śiva, you should always dwell.
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Where an unchaste woman or a courtesan resides, where a lustful man stays,
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in a wretched land crowded with the low-born, never dwell at any time.
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Even while taking refuge in Śiva alone, the Lord of the three worlds,
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You should worship all the gods, honouring their respective days,
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always pure, always diligent, always tranquil, always steady,
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having always conquered the group of six [passions], and always seeking solitude, O sinless one;
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and the brahmins who know the Vedas, tranquil, and the self-controlled, radiant ascetics—
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[these] two verses [form a unit].
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sacred trees, sacred rivers, a sacred ford, a great lake,
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a milch cow, a bull, a jewel, a maiden, a devoted wife,
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and your own household deities—bow down to them at once.
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Rising at the hour of Brahmā, sipping water, pure in mind,
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having bowed to one's own teacher, and meditating on the god, the husband of Umā,
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and Nārāyaṇa, the lord of Lakṣmī, and Brahmā, and Vināyaka,
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Skanda, the goddess Kātyāyanī, Mahālakṣmī, and Sarasvatī,
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and the world-protectors headed by Indra, and the seers of virtuous fame,
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having then meditated on the rising sun, one should always bow down to him.
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Perfume, flowers, betel, vegetables, ripe fruits, and the like—
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having offered food, dishes, what is pleasing, and new things to Śiva, eat them.
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Whatever is given, whatever is done, whatever is chanted, bathed [for], offered into fire, remembered,
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and whatever austerity is performed, dedicate all that to Śiva.
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Whether eating, reciting, lying down, or wandering about,
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seeing, hearing, speaking, or taking, meditate constantly on Śiva alone.
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Having both arms adorned with rudrākṣa bracelets, wearing the white tripuṇḍra of ashes within a garland,
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reciting the five-syllable king of supreme mantras, always meditating on the feet of Paśupati, you should rejoice.
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Thus, O child, the summary of dharma has been told to you in brief;
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in other Purāṇas, it is proclaimed in full detail.
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Now, another secret of all the Purāṇas, which removes the entire flood of sins, holy,
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granting victory, releasing from all adversities—I shall explain the Śaiva armour for your welfare.
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Thus ends the eleventh chapter, titled 'Description of the Instruction of Ṛṣabha to Bhadrāyu', in the Brahmakhaṇḍa, the third [part] of the eighty-one-thousand-verse collection of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa.
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit