Skandapurana 4.20
English (machine translation) 4.20
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4.20.1
The two gaṇas said:
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Having departed from that forest, O twice-born, the son of Uttānapāda
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reached the delightful, great Madhuvana on the bank of the Yamunā,
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the primal, holy place of the Lord Harimedhas;
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even a sinful creature, having reached it, surely becomes sinless.
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Repeating [the name of] the supreme, untainted Brahman called Vāsudeva,
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with eyes motionless in meditation, he saw the universe filled with him.
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Hari was in all directions; Hari was in the rays of the sun;
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Hari went through the forest in the forms of jackals, deer, lions, and the like.
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In the water, the Lord Hari was present in the form of frogs, turtles, and so on;
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Hari was in the stables of kings in the form of horses and the like.
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He has infinite form in Pātāla, and in the sky he is named Ananta;
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though one, he has attained infinitude through endless variations of form.
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He who always dwells among the gods, and who indeed is the dwelling place of the gods,
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he is Vāsudeva, because he shines everywhere through his pervasive presence.
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Where this root viṣḷ, meaning 'pervasion', attains its full meaning,
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those [qualities] are indeed in the name and true nature of Viṣṇu, whose character is to pervade all.
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And because he governs all the sense faculties, the Supreme Lord
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is renowned as Hṛṣīkeśa, he who is situated everywhere.
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Since his devotees never fall away even when the great dissolution occurs,
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he alone in the entire universe is the infallible, omnipresent, imperishable one.
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He who maintained this moving and unmoving universe by his mere play,
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by the abundance of his nature as its sustainer, is here the all-nourishing Viśvambhara.
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His two eyes looked at nothing except the abode of Viṣṇu;
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the lotus-eyed one was to be beheld, none other by his vow, hence [he looked nowhere else].
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His two ears also became receptive to no other words
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than 'Mukunda, Govinda, Dāmodara, Four-armed One!'
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Except for the worship of Govinda's feet and actions pleasing to him,
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his two hands, marked with conch and discus, performed no other work.
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His mind contemplated the pair of feet of Hari, which are free from duality;
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abandoning all other contemplation, it indeed attained unshakeable stillness.
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His feet, having taken refuge in Viṣṇu, never wandered anywhere else
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outside the courtyard of Nārāyaṇa as he performed vast austerity.
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His speech was employed as an authority in describing the qualities of Govinda,
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while he remained sitting silently, performing austerity of great essence.
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Relishing the sweet nectar of the name of the beloved of Kamalā [Lakṣmī],
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his tongue had no desire for any other taste.
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Delighted by the lotus-fragrance of glorious Mukuṃda’s pair of feet,
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his unhasty nose smelled no other scent.
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Touching the two feet of the enemy of Madhu, the sense of touch
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of that king’s son attained the joy of all tactile sensations.
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Reaching Damodara, the supreme reality and the foundation of sensory objects like sound,
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Dhruva’s senses were then fulfilled.
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All the radiances of the moon, the sun, fire, and the stars
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were eclipsed upon the rising of the sun of his austerity, which illuminated the three worlds.
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Indra, Candra, Agni, Varuṇa, Samīraṇa [Vāyu], the lord of wealth [Kubera],
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Yama, and the chief of the Nairṛtas became anxious about their own positions.
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So too the other dwellers of heaven who ride in aerial chariots, headed by the Vasus,
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were terrified of Dhruva, their anxieties increasing on account of their offices.
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Wherever Dhruva planted his foot upon the surface of the earth,
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there indeed the earth bent down, oppressed by his weight.
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Ah, even the waters in contact with his limbs abandoned their sluggishness
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and, flavorful and standing in place, flashed elsewhere out of fear of him!
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Whatever radiances were scattered all around, endowed with the qualities of perfection,
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all of them became guests to his eyes by the power of his austerity.
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Ah, the touch of its own quality was constantly brought within range of his skin
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by the wind, even though it stood in distant regions!
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Even space, possessing the quality of sound, with an intention to worship Dhruva,
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made the entire collection of sounds take refuge in his ear.
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Worshiped daily even by the five elements,
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he, whose mind was offered to Govinda, regarded only austerity as supreme.
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Through meditation on the one whose chest is illuminated by the Kaustubha jewel and who wears yellow silk garments,
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the prince beheld the universe as filled with light.
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Indra was seized by an immense worry out of fear of his austerity:
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“If he desires my position, Dhruva will certainly take it away.
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The host of apsarases is able to restrain the restraints of self-controlled ascetics;
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but that prevails over a youth. What can I do here regarding a child?
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Desire and anger are my two helpers
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in destroying the austerity of ascetics; they cannot prevail over this child Dhruva.
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Indeed, only one means will prevail for me over the child:
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I will send here a horde of spirits of terrifying form to frighten him.
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Frightened by the spirits because of his childhood, he will certainly abandon his austerity.”
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Having so resolved, Indra dispatched a horde of spirits.
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One, whose whole body had the form of a bear, with a neck long like a camel’s
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and with frightful teeth, rushed at the boy.
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Another, tiger-faced, opening his hideous mouth,
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with a body as tall as an elephant, approached roaring repeatedly.
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Another, with hideous fangs, devouring raw flesh in haste,
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rushed toward him in fury, seeming to threaten him upon seeing him.
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Tearing high banks with the very sharp tips of his horns
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and breaking the ground with his hooftips, a great bull roared at him.
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Another, having become a serpent terrifying with the expansion of its hood
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and its excessively darting double tongue, hissed near him, covered in blackness.
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Another, shaped like a buffalo, hurling mountains from the tips of his horns,
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striking the earth with his tail and snorting, reached him swiftly.
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Another, having two thighs resembling date palm trees
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scorched by a forest fire, a ghost with an open mouth, terrified him.
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Another, brushing the clouds with the hairs on his head, tall and with a sunken belly,
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with deep-set, tawny eyes, terrified him.
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Holding a sword in his hand, with a broken mouth, holding a skull in his left hand,
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emitting a fierce battle roar, another rushed at the child.
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Taking a huge sāl tree, shouting with shrill cries,
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someone approached him from all sides like Death wielding a staff. // 46
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Bearing a vast tiger-like maw, an abode of gathering darkness,
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fashioned like the cavern of the god of death, someone rushed towards him. // 47
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Assuming the form of an owl, with most dreadful hootings
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that caused the heart to tremble, someone terrified Dhruva. // 48
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A certain yakṣiṇī, bringing the crying child of someone,
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drank blood from its belly and devoured its bones like lotus stalks. // 49
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“I am thirsty today, and I will drink your blood, O Dhruva,
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just as that of this boy!” so she said while crunching the bones. // 50
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Having brought grass and wood and scattered them all around,
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a woman kindled a forest fire magnified by a gale. // 51
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Assuming the form of a vetālī, shattering trees and mountains,
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a woman blocked the path of the sky, making him tremble violently. // 52
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Another, in the form of Sunīti, beholding him from afar,
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wept, exceedingly afflicted with grief, beating her breast again and again, // 53
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and uttered flattering words wrought with great illusion,
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exhibiting an exceedingly intense maternal affection filled with compassion: // 54
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“Alas, my child, death seeks to slay me, who have no refuge but you!
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Save me, save me, whose life is departing, O you who are affectionate to those seeking refuge! // 55
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From village to village, city to city, road to road, forest to forest,
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hermitage to hermitage, mountain to mountain, I wander exhausted, desperate to see you. // 56
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From the time, O child, that you set forth for austerity,
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starting from that very day, I have set out in search of you. // 57
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Just as you were pained, O child, by those harsh words of your co-wife [mother],
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so too am I deeply burned by the fire of those words. // 58
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I do not sleep, I do not wake, I do not eat, nor do I drink;
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I meditate on you alone, like an ascetic woman separated [from her beloved]. // 59
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With eyes impoverished of sleep, not even in a dream do I,
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unfortunate as I am, behold your joyful face that brings me delight in every way. // 60
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Though the moon, the substitute for your face, has risen, it has not been looked upon
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by me, distressed and wishing to abandon my torment. // 61
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Even the cuckoo, sounding a sweet note resembling your conversation,
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has not been heard by me, whose ears are strewn with disheveled hair. // 62
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Pleasant like the touch of your limbs, not even the breeze
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has been embraced anywhere by me, scorched by grief, resting exceedingly. // 63
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What lands, what rivers, and what mountains, O Dhruva,
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have not been crossed on foot for your sake by me, a king's wife? // 64
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Seeing all this to be impermanent, I have been blinded;
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protect me, your nurse and mother, O son, by becoming a blind person's staff for me! // 65
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Where are these tender limbs of yours, and where is this austerity?
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It is harsh, to be accomplished by mature men with hardy limbs, O best of men! // 66
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What is to be attained by you, sinless child, through this austerity
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that is greater than being the son of the ruler of the earth? Tell me that now! // 67
4.20.136
At this age, O boy, you should be playing constantly
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with children's toys together with other youngsters of the same age. // 68
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Then, having attained the age of youth, constantly intent on contemplation,
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you should become one who has mastered all the branches of knowledge. // 69
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Then, having attained skillful youth, fulfilling the objects of the senses,
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you will enjoy many pleasures: women, garlands, sandalwood paste, and the like. // 70
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Having then fathered many virtuous sons devoted to righteousness,
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having transferred your royal fortune to them, then perform austerity! // 71
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Why this exertion in austerity just now in childhood?
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When will the fire of dried cow-dung on the great toe reach the crown of the head? // 72
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Austerity should be performed by someone defeated by enemies, robbed of honor,
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or fallen from fortune; which of these are you? // 73
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Hearing this speech, ‘Austerity should be performed by one robbed of honor,’ Dhruva,
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sighing a long, hot sigh, again meditated upon Hari in his heart. // 74
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Without replying to his mother, and abandoning all fear of beings,
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Dhruva once again became intent on meditating upon Acyuta. // 75
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And that host of spirits, adorned with many terrifying ornaments,
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displaying terror, saw around him the Sudarśana discus,
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flashing with intense radiance all around, resembling a solar halo,
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and created by Adhokṣaja to protect him from evil spirits.
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Beholding that Sudarśana discus flashing,
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terrific, filled with garlands of flames, protecting Dhruva on all sides,
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and [Dhruva] whose heart was utterly unshaken, his mind surrendered to Govinda,
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rising up like a sprout of austerity that had broken through the earth,
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that host, conversely filled with fear, bowed down to Dhruva,
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who was steadfast in his resolve, and departed just as they had come, their purpose thwarted.
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Just as a bank of roaring clouds gathered agitatedly in the sky
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becomes scattered in vain upon meeting the slightest gust of wind, [so did they].
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Then all the gods, frightened, together with Indra,
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took counsel and swiftly went to Brahmā for refuge, O twice-born.
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Having bowed down and praised the Grandfather,
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and seeing an opportunity to speak when asked the reason for their coming,
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The gods said:
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“O Creator, by the radiant son of Uttānapāda
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who is practicing austerities, all the dwellers of the three worlds are tormented.
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O Father, we do not clearly know Dhruva's desire:
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whose position among us does that boy of great austerity wish to seize?”
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Thus addressed by the gods, the Four-Faced One smiled,
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and then replied to all of them whose minds were frightened of Dhruva:
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Brahmā said:
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“O gods, you must not fear Dhruva, who seeks a permanent abode;
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go, all of you, free from anxiety: he does not desire your position.
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No one, anywhere, need ever fear that devotee of the Lord;
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certainly those who are devotees of Viṣṇu never afflict others.
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Having worshipped Viṣṇu, the Lord of gods, and obtained his own desire from him,
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he will indeed make stable the positions of all of you as well.”
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Having heard this speech uttered by Brahmā, the gods
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bowed down and, greatly delighted, returned to their respective abodes.
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Then the lord Nārāyaṇa, seeing that steadfast-minded boy
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who had no other refuge, went on his chariot drawn by Garuḍa and spoke:
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Glorious Viṣṇu said:
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“I am pleased, O fortunate one of noble vows; choose a boon!
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Desist from this austerity, O boy; you have been exhausted for a long time.”
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Having heard that nectar of speech, opening both his eyes,
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he beheld an expanse of radiance like sapphire gems,
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as if heaven and earth were a lake blossoming all around
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with clusters of freshly blooming blue lotuses,
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and as if the whole universe were surveyed by the streams of glances of the goddess Lakṣmī;
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Dhruva then saw that space between heaven and earth.
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Resplendent like a streak of lightning in the midst of a rising bank of clouds,
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Kṛṣṇa, clad in yellow garments, was received by him as a guest to his eyes.
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As if the sky were a touchstone marked with a line of gold from Meru,
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even so was the one whose vehicle is Garuḍa beheld then by Dhruva.
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Just as the deep-blue sky is adorned by the moon,
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even so he saw Hari then, adorned with yellow garments.
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Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit