Skandapurana 3.3.7

English (machine translation) 3.3.7

Language: English

3.3.7.99 — 7 parts

3.3.7.99.1

Sūta said: / Thus addressed by the sage, that virtuous brahmin woman / bowed to him and then asked the procedure for worshiping Śiva. (1) / Śāṇḍilya said: / When one fasts on the thirteenth day of either fortnight, / three ghaṭīs before sunset one should take a ritual ablution. (2) / Wearing white garments, steadfast, restrained in speech, bound by vows, / having performed the prescribed twilight prayers and recitation, he should begin the worship of Śiva. (3) / Having smeared the ground before the god properly with fresh water, / and constructed a charming maṇḍala with clean cloths and other materials, the wise man, (4) / adorning it with canopies and the like, with fruits, flowers, and fresh sprouts, / drawing a variegated lotus endowed with the five colors, (5) / sitting there upon a steady, very auspicious seat, endowed with devotion, / having properly procured all the worship implements, being pure, (6) / the intelligent man should consecrate the seat with the mantra spoken in the scriptures. / Then, having performed purification of oneself and purification of the elements and the rest in proper order, (7) / having performed three breath-controls with the seed-syllables accompanied by the dot, / having deposited the letters of the alphabet according to rule, and meditating on that supreme deity, (8) / having completed the alphabet, and then meditating once again on supreme Śiva, / bowing to the guru on the left side, he should bow to Gaṇapati on the right. (9) / Having deposited Dharma and the others on the pair of shoulders and thighs, and on the navel and the two sides / Adharma and the others, and Ananta and the others, he should deposit the mantra upon the heart-seat. (10) / Beginning with the foundational power, following in order up to the nature of wisdom, / having deposited them in the stated order upon the lotus of the heart properly visualized, (11) / which is delightful and consists of the nine powers, he should meditate on the god, the lord of Umā: / resembling ten million moons, three-eyed, bearing the crescent moon upon his crest, (12) / with reddish-brown matted locks, radiant with a jewel-encrusted crest, / blue-necked, of noble form, adorned with a serpent-necklace, (13) / with hands granting boons and fearlessness, holding an axe, / wearing serpent-bracelets, upper armlets, armlets, and rings, (14) / clad in a tiger skin, seated upon a jeweled throne.

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Having meditated [upon him], on his left side he should visualize the Daughter of the Mountain: (15) / lustrous like a blooming hibiscus flower, having the radiance of the rising sun, / resembling a flash of lightning, slender, delighting the mind and eyes, (16) / bearing the crescent moon on her crest, glossy, with dark curled hair, / charming with swarms of bees, adorned with dark forelocks, (17) / the graceful play of her round face illuminated by jeweled earrings, / her mirror-like cheek-halves marked with fresh saffron paste, (18) / her sprout-like red lower lip shining with a sweet smile, / conch-necked, auspicious, with lotus-bud breasts rising up, (19) / possessing four radiant arms with the noose, the goad, and gestures of fearlessness and boon-granting, / adorned with rings and bracelets glittering with many jewels, (20) / endowed with a golden girdle-string shining above three folds [of the waist], / wearing a red garland and red garments, anointed with divine sandalwood paste, (21) / her lotus feet bowed to by the crests of the wives of the guardians of the directions, / mounted on a jeweled throne, with the king of serpents as her ornament. (22) / Having thus meditated on Mahādeva and the goddess, the Daughter of the Mountain, / and having worshiped the god with perfumes and other offerings in the order of ritual deposition, (23) / he should offer [worship] with the five Brahmamantras in the prescribed places or in the heart, / and a separate handful of flowers upon the body, and thrice upon the heart with the primary mantra. (24) / Then, the practitioner himself becoming Śiva by means of the primary mantra, / he should then worship the god again in sequence on the external seat. (25) / Being composed, he should state the solemn resolve there at the beginning of the worship. / Having joined his hands in reverence, he should contemplate Śaṃkara in his heart: (26) / 'For the removal of debt, sin, misfortune, and poverty, / for the destruction of all sins, be gracious to me, O Śaṃkara! (27) / Tormented by the fire of sorrow and grief, afflicted by the fear of worldly existence, / distressed by many diseases, wretched—save me, O rider of the bull! (28) / Come, O lord of the gods of gods, O Mahādeva, bestower of fearlessness! / Receive, together with Pārvatī, your worship performed by me.' (29) / Having made this solemn resolve according to rule, he should perform the worship of the Absolute.

3.3.7.99.3

One should worship the Guru and Gaṇapati on the left and right; / one should worship the lord of the field in the northeast corner, and then Vāstoṣpati in proper order; / one should worship Vāgdevī there, and then worship Kātyāyanī. / [One should worship] righteousness, knowledge, dispassion, and sovereign power with vowels ending in 'namaḥ' / in the corners starting from the northeast, [as] the feet of the pedestal in succession. / With these two, the bindu and the visarga, one should worship unrighteousness and the others. / In the four directions in the forms of sattva, and in the center Ananta together with the Tāraka [mantra]; / one should install the three guṇas—sattva and the rest—in those forms upon the pedestal. / Above its covering, [one should place] Māyā along with Lakṣmī and Śiva. / At the end of that, furthermore, a lotus, the complete threefold maṇḍala, / covered with petals, filaments, and anthers, inscribed in order with the letters of the Tāraka. / Having thus worshipped the three lotuses, devoutly in the middle of the maṇḍala, / one should worship Vāmā, Jyeṣṭhā, and Raudrī in the cardinal directions beginning with the eastern division. / One should worship the nine Śaktis, beginning with Vāmā, accompanied by the nine vowels; / and one should worship [them] in the heart with the pedestal mantra preceded by the three seed-syllables. / Surrounded by the first limbs in circumambulation, and by the five forms and Śaktis, / and by the three Śakti forms, and by others endowed with the two treasures, / encircled by Ananta and the rest, by the Mothers, by the Bull and others, / by the supernatural powers beginning with aṇimā, and by Indra and the others along with their weapons; / the Bull, Kṣetrapāla, Caṇḍeśa, Durgā, Skanda, and Nandin, / Gaṇeśa, and the commander of the army, each characterized by their respective marks; / aṇimā, mahimā, garimā, and laghimā, / īśitva, vaśitva, prāpti, and prākāmya— / these are declared to be the eight sovereign powers, consisting purely of light; / previously with the five Brahmamantras, in order beginning with Hṛllekhā, / the worship with the limbs, Umā and others, and Indra and others, was declared by those sages. / One should worship Umā, Caṇḍeśvara, and the others starting from the north. / In this way, Sadāśiva, the embodiment of light, endowed with these surrounding deities,

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the God accompanied by Umā, should be worshipped with the offerings. / Having bathed Mahādeva with waters from a well-established conch and with the five nectars, / composed in mind, with the Rudrasūktas, / one should arrange the offerings such as the seat with diverse mantras. / One should arrange a golden seat furnished with divine cloth. / With pure water, one should offer the arghya endowed with eightfold qualities, and the pādya; / with the same, one should offer the water for sipping, and the madhuparka rich in honey. / Having offered water for sipping again, one should perform the bath with mantras. / One should offer the sacred thread, clothing, and ornaments; / one should offer highly purified perfume consisting of eight ingredients. / And then the bilva, mandāra, kahlāra, lotus, / dhattūra, karṇikāra, hemp-flower, and jasmine, / kuśa, apāmārga, tulasī, mādhavī, campaka, and others, / bṛhatī, and oleander, as they are obtained—the practitioner / should present fragrant and diverse garlands; / incense produced from black aloe, and a spotless, auspicious lamp, / [and] an unguent mark. / Then an offering of milk-rice accompanied by ghee and side dishes, / accompanied by modakas and sweet cakes, mixed with sugar and jaggery, / anointed with honey, combined with curds, and provided with drinking water; / with that very oblation, one should sacrifice into the fire energized with mantras, / according to the rite prescribed in the Āgama, guided by the words of the guru. / Having offered food to Śambhu, [one should offer] once more excellent betel, / incense, a charming waving of lights, a parasol, and an excellent mirror, / having presented them duly with Vedic and Tantric mantras. / If one is unable oneself and destitute, one should worship according to one's means; / the Lord of Gaurī is pleased with merely a flower offered with devotion. / Then one should worship all who form his retinue, beginning with Gaṇeśa; / having praised him with various hymns, the wise one should bow down with the eight-limbed prostration. / Then, having circumambulated the Bull, Caṇḍeśvara, and the rest,

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and having duly offered the worship, one should pray to the husband of Girijā: / 'Victory, O God, Lord of the universe! Victory, O eternal Śaṃkara! / Victory, O presiding Lord of all gods! Victory, O one worshipped by all gods! / Victory, O one beyond all qualities! Victory, O bestower of all boons! / Victory, O eternal one without support! Victory, O imperishable supporter of the universe! / Victory, O Lord known only through the universe! Victory, O one adorned with the king of serpents! / Victory, O husband of Gaurī, O Śambhu! Victory, O one with the crescent moon on your crest! / Victory, O one resembling ten million suns! Victory, O refuge of infinite virtues! / Victory, O Rudra, Virūpākṣa! Victory, O inconceivable, taintless one! / Victory, O Lord, ocean of compassion! Victory, O dispeller of the distress of devotees! / Victory, O Master who carries across the ocean of transmigration that is hard to cross! / Be pleased with me, O Mahādeva, who am distressed and grieving in transmigration; / having removed all fear of sin, protect me, O Parameśvara! / Sunk in great poverty, struck down by great sin, / ruined by great sorrow, afflicted by severe disease, / burdened by the weight of debt, tormented by my past actions, / afflicted by the planets—be gracious to me, O Śaṃkara!' / A poor man should thus pray at the end of worship to the husband of Girijā; / or a wealthy man, or a king, should pray to the divine Lord: / 'May long life, constant health, increase of treasury, and elevation of strength, / [and] perpetual joy be mine through your grace, O Śaṃkara! / May my enemies go to destruction; may my planets be propitious; / may robbers perish in the kingdom; may the people be free from calamity; / may famine, plague, and distress come to pacification upon the earth; / may there be abundance of all crops, and may all directions be full of happiness!' / In this manner one should worship the God, the husband of Girijā, at twilight; / afterwards, one should feed brahmins and satisfy them with gifts. / Bringing destruction to all sins, destroying all poverty, / the worship of Śiva that bestows all desired boons has been proclaimed by me. / The multitude of great mortal sins, as well as minor sins...

3.3.7.99.6

One should refrain from everything else rather than steal Śiva's property. / In the Purāṇas and in the Smṛtis, expiations are seen / for sins such as killing a brahmin, but not for those who steal Śiva's property. / What is the use of saying much on this matter? I state it in half a verse: / Worship of Śiva destroys even a hundred killings of a brahmin. / This worship of Śiva at twilight (pradoṣa) has been told to you by me, / the secret for all living beings; there is no doubt about this. / Let worship be performed in this manner even by these two boys; / from this, in just one year, you will attain supreme perfection." / Having heard these words of Śāṇḍilya, the brahmin woman, / together with those two boys, bowed down at the sage's feet. / The brahmin woman said: / "Today I have achieved my life's purpose merely by seeing you. / O venerable one, these two boys have gone to you alone for refuge. / O brahmin, this is my son, called Śucivrata; / this one is a prince, named Dharmagupta by me. / These two and I, O venerable one, are the servants of your feet; / rescue us who have fallen into this dreadful ocean of poverty." / Having thus comforted with words sweet as nectar the brahmin woman who had sought refuge, / the sage then instructed those two boys in the knowledge of the mantra for worshipping Śiva. / Then, instructed by the sage, the two boys and that brahmin woman, / having bowed to him and taken their leave, departed from the temple of Śiva. / From that time onward, those two boys, by the instruction of the excellent sage, / readily performed the worship of Pārvatī's lord at twilight. / As the brahmin boy and the prince were thus worshipping the god, / four months passed for them in utter happiness. / Once, without the prince, that son of the brahmin / went to bathe on the riverbank and wandered about in playful delight. / There, in an embankment wall split open by the torrent of a waterfall, / he saw a large, glittering treasure jar.

3.3.7.99.7

Seeing it, having approached quickly, overcome with joy and curiosity, / thinking it obtained by divine providence, he took it up on his head and went away. / Bringing it with haste and putting down the jar by force, / placing it inside the house, he spoke to his mother: / "Mother! Mother! Look at this favor of the lord of the mountain's daughter! / A treasure has been revealed in the form of a pot by the compassionate one!" / Then the virtuous woman, astonished, called the prince, / and, congratulating her own son while honoring the worship of Śiva, she said: / "Listen to my words, my two sons: divide this treasure jar / equally and take it, out of respect for my command." / Hearing these words of his mother, the brahmin boy was pleased; / the prince, confident in the worship of Śaṃkara, replied to her: / "Mother, it has arrived solely by the merit of your son; / I do not wish to take a divided store of wealth. / Let him enjoy by himself what was obtained from his own merit; / that same divine Lord will show mercy to me." / As they thus worshipped Śambhu once again with supreme delight, / a year passed for them in that very house. / Then one day, when the spring season arrived, the prince, / together with that brahmin, wandered in the midst of a forest. / Then, having gone far away somewhere in the forest, the brahmin boy and the prince / saw hundreds of Gandharva maidens playing. / Seeing all of them, charming in all their limbs and strolling delightfully, / the brahmin's son said to the prince from afar:

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Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit

Skandapurana 3.3.7

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