Skandapurana 4.22
English (machine translation) 4.22
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4.22.1
Śivaśarman said:
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This delightful narrative of Dhruva, which destroys great sins
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and brings about great wonder, having heard this meritorious [story], I am satisfied, O attendants!
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Agastya said:
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Even while the twice-born was speaking thus, the aerial chariot, travelling with the speed of wind,
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reached Maharloka, which is beyond the world of heaven and supremely wonderful.
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Then, beholding the world enveloped on all sides in splendor,
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the twice-born asked the two attendants: 'What is this charming world?'
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Then the two said to the brahmin: 'Listen, O great-minded one!
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This is indeed that Maharloka, beyond the heavenly world, supremely wonderful.
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Here dwell those whose lifespan is a kalpa, their blemishes washed away by austerity,
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the entire mass of their afflictions destroyed by the remembrance of Viṣṇu.
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Having perceived the universe as made of light through sincere meditation,
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the best of gods, united with great yoga, dwell here.'
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While the Lord's two attendants were narrating the story in this manner, O dear one,
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in half an instant the aerial chariot brought them to Janaloka,
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where the pure mind-born sons of Brahmā reside—
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Sanandana and the rest, masters of yoga, all of them celibates who have drawn up their seed—
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and other yogins who are unfaltering lifelong students;
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freed from all dualities, exceedingly pure, they dwell [there].
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Tapoloka was brought within range of their eyes from Janaloka
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by that aerial chariot moving with the speed of thought,
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where those Vairāja deities dwell, free from burning [torment],
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whose minds are on Vāsudeva and whose actions are dedicated to Vāsudeva.
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Having pleased Govinda through austerity, free from desires,
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having reached this Tapoloka, they dwell with subdued senses:
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those who live by gleaning ears of grain, those who use their teeth as a mortar,
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sages who crush [grain] with stones, and those who eat fallen leaves;
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those who practice the five-fire penance in the summer, who sleep on bare ground during the rains,
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and who pass the nights in water in the middle of winter and the cold season;
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thirsty renunciants who drank only drops of water from the tips of kuśa grass,
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subsisting on air, exceedingly hungry, touching the ground with the big toe of their foot;
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with arms raised, gazing at the sun, motionless like a post on one foot;
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those who do not breathe out by day, and those who breathe out once a month;
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those observing the vow of fasting for a month, and those observing the four-month vow;
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those who drink water at the end of a season, and those who fast for six months.
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And those who blink only once a year, thirsting for drops of rainwater;
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and those who have become like tree trunks, giving pleasure as rubbing-posts for deer; 18
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and those inside whose thickets of matted hair birds have built their nests;
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whose bodies have anthills overgrown on them, bundles of bones held together only by sinews; 19
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and whose limbs are wrapped around with creeping tendrils,
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and on whose bodies crops have grown due to their long standing; 20
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those rich in tapas whose bodies are afflicted by such severe tapas,
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living as long as Brahmā, dwell in Tapoloka, free from all fear."
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While that virtuous soul was thus listening to the words of the two attendants,
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just then Satyaloka, supremely radiant, came before his eyes. 22
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The two swift attendants descended there from the aerial chariot,
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and together with him bowed down to the Creator of all the worlds. 23
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Brahmā said:
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"O attendants! This wise brahmin has crossed to the farther shore of the Vedas and Vedāṅgas;
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he is expert in the conduct taught by the Smṛtis and averse to sinful acts. 24
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Ah, highly wise brahmin Śivaśarman! I know you.
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You have done well, dear child, by releasing your life-breaths at a splendid sacred ford. 25
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All this that has been seen by you is fleeting and transitory;
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after the daily dissolution, I create it again and again. 26
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Hara dissolves everything up to the realm of Virāj at every step.
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What to say of mortal men, who are like gnats? 27
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Among the four classes of living beings, there is indeed only one excellence of humans
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in that glorious realm of Bhārata, the land of action: 28
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having completely conquered the fickle sense-organs together with the mind;
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abandoning the enemy greed, which destroys all hosts of virtues; 29
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eradicating through reflection desire, which destroys the lineage of dharma,
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depletes stores of wealth, and brings old age and gray hair; 30
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conquering with firmness the enemy anger, which takes away
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tapas, fame, prosperity, and even the body, and leads to a dark destiny; 31
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ever casting aside pride, which provides the sole ground for heedlessness,
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serves as the sole refuge for negligence, and wards off fortunes; 32
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abandoning egotism, which causes belittlement everywhere
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and makes an effort to impute faults even to virtuous people; 33
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leaving delusion, which plants great treachery, destroys the intellect,
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blinds utterly, and reveals the hell of blinding darkness; 34
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and mounting the stairway of dharma taught by the Śruti, Smṛti, and Purāṇas,
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trodden by great men, they come here with ease. 35
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All heaven-dwellers desire the land of action, O brahmin,
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because there they enjoy what they have acquired in high and low stations. 36
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There is no country equal to Āryāvarta; there is no city like Kāśī;
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there is no liṅga equal to Viśveśa anywhere in the circle of the cosmic egg. 37
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There are many kinds of heavens, devoid of anything other than pleasure,
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all yielding the single fruit of good deeds, endowed with all prosperity. 38
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Nothing in the cosmic orb is more delightful than the world of heaven;
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all strive for heaven through tapas, gifts, vows, and the like. 39
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'The nether worlds are even more delightful than heaven'—so Nārada,
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arriving from Pātāla, declared among the dwellers of heaven: 40
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'Where bright, radiant gems cause delight,
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set in ornaments on the bodies of Nāgas—with what can that Pātāla be compared? 41
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In Pātāla, adorned on all sides by daughters of Daityas and Dānavas,
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in whom would joy not arise, even in one who is liberated? 42
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There the sun's rays spread light by day, not heat,
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and the rays of the moon at night are solely for illumination, not for cold. 43
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Where time, even when passed, is not noticed by the Dānavas and others;
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where there are lovely forests, rivers, and lakes with perennial water; 44
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melodious calls of male cuckoos, fine, pure garments,
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most delightful ornaments, and fragrant unguents; 45
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sounds of lutes, flutes, drums, and other instruments, captivating to the ear;
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and where the great liṅga Hāṭakeśa indeed grants all desires. 46
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These and other delightful things are fit to be enjoyed by the Dānavas.'
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are enjoyed by Daityas and serpents whose domain lies within Pātāla.
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Even more delightful than the Pātālas, O brahmin, is the Ilāvṛta realm,
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which extends all around, resting against the mountain peak of gems,
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where the meritorious ever enjoy all pleasures, O brahmin,
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and where deer-eyed maidens are endowed with eternal, fresh youth.
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This is declared to be a land of enjoyment, earned in exchange for virtue;
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it is enjoyed by people like you who have relinquished their bodies at sacred fords,
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by those who speak without cowardice and are not bereft of sons, fields, and the like,
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whose stores of happiness, life, and wealth have been expended for the benefit of others.
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Indeed, there are many continents situated amidst the oceans,
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yet nowhere on the surface of the earth is there a continent equal to Jambūdvīpa.
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Even there, among the nine realms, Bhārata is the foremost.
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This is declared to be the realm of action, difficult even for the gods to attain.
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The eight other realms, such as Kiṃpuruṣa, are for the enjoyment of the gods;
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descending from heaven, the inhabitants of paradise disport themselves in them.
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Nine thousand yojanas in extent,
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this first realm, Bhārata, lies to the south of Meru.
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Even there, the region between the Himālaya and the Vindhya mountains yields supreme merit.
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Between the Gaṅgā and the Yamunā, the Antarvedī is supreme on earth.
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Kurukṣetra is indeed superior to all sacred fields;
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and even greater than that is Naimiṣāraṇya, the supreme means to heaven.
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Even more than Naimiṣāraṇya in this entire orb of the earth,
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the King of Tīrthas excels above all sacred fords.
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Bestowing heaven and granting liberation, fulfilling every desired fruit,
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that great sacred field is Prayāga, renowned as the King of Tīrthas.
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In former times, O brahmin, all sacrifices were weighed by me on a scale,
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against that excellent and delightful sacred ford, desirable for fulfilling desires.
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Seeing that it surpassed eminent sacrifices replete with priestly fees and the like,
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Hari, Hara, and the other deities gave it the name 'Prayāga'.
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From the mere remembrance of its name, of Prayāga at the three junctions of the day,
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sin never resides anywhere in the body of the one who remembers.
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There are many sacred fords that protect from sin,
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yet they are unable to grant anything beyond the cleansing of committed sins.
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The heap of sins accumulated across countless past births,
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which is extremely difficult to dispel by vows, gifts, austerities, and recitations,
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trembles exceedingly in the limbs of a person of auspicious birth
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who sets out for the King of Tīrthas, like a tree buffeted by the wind.
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Then, when a man of resolute mind has traversed half the way to Prayāga,
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[the sin] seeks another footstep to depart from his body.
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When, by good fortune, the King of Tīrthas becomes a guest to the eyes of the noble-souled one,
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[sin] flees with great speed, like darkness at sunrise.
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Whatever sins reside in the physical body made of seven bodily elements,
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they settle in the hair, and they too depart with the shaving [of the head].
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Having thus become free of taint, he should then bathe in the confluent waters of the white and dark [rivers];
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whatever desire he contemplates, that very desire he obtains, without fail.
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An abundant store of merit and virtuous enjoyments as desired,
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he attains heaven by that merit; while one without desires attains liberation.
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Whoever bathes desiring liberation, having cast aside all other desires,
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he too attains liberation from the desire-granting King of Tīrthas.
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Whoever, abandoning the King of Tīrthas, desires fulfillment from another
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in the great realm named Bhārata, clearly will not attain his desire.
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I perceive no difference between Satyaloka and Prayāga, O brahmin;
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those who perform auspicious deeds there are dwellers in my realm.
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Mortals longing for a sacred ford need not resort to any other tīrtha
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elsewhere on the circle of the earth, than to Prayāga, the King of Tīrthas.
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Just as the difference, O best of brahmins, between a king and an ordinary servant,
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such is the analogy declared between Prayāga and other sacred fords.
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Whoever in any manner gives up his life in this sacred ford,
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incurs no fault of suicide and attains his desired goals.
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And for whatever fortunate person even the bones remain here, O brahmin,
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not even the slightest sorrow arises for him in any birth whatsoever.
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One who desires to make expiation for the sin of killing a brahmin and other sins
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must resort to Prayāga according to rule; [this is certain] from the word of the brahmins—there is no doubt.
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Why say much, O best of brahmins? By one desiring great prosperity
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the black-and-white sacred ford, supreme on the surface of the earth, should be resorted to.
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Even compared to Prayāga, the lord of sacred fords in all the worlds,
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liberation indeed comes effortlessly in Kāśī upon the demise of the body.
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Even compared to Prayāga, Avimukta is delightful indeed, there is no doubt,
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where Viśveśvara himself directly presides.
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Than Avimukta, the great sacred field presided over by Viśveśa,
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nothing anywhere in this cosmic egg is more delightful.
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Although this sacred field of Avimukta is within the cosmic egg,
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by its measure of five krośas it is not within the cosmic egg.
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For just as the water of the single ocean rises,
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so the Lord lifts up that sacred field even from the cosmic dissolution.
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O brahmin, this sacred field rests on the tip of the trident of the Trident-bearer;
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[it is] in the sky, not resting on the earth—those of foolish intellect do not see it.
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Here it is always the Kṛtayuga, and here indeed it is always a great auspicious festival;
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there is no fault caused by the setting or rising of planets in the hermitage of Viśveśvara.
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There it is always the northern course [of the sun]; there it is always the great auspicious conjunction;
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there it is always auspicious where Viśveśvara abides.
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Just as there are thousands of cities upon the earth's surface, O brahmin,
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so Kāśī should not be thought [to be an ordinary one], for this [city] is transcendent anywhere.
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The fourteen worlds were created by me, O best of brahmins;
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the creator of this city is the Lord Viśveśvara himself.
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Anciently, Yama, having performed difficult austerity for a long time,
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obtained authority over the three worlds, leaving aside the city of Vārāṇasī.
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Whatever the deeds of all moving and unmoving beings are,
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they indeed fall within the range of Citragupta, except those done by an inhabitant of Kāśī.
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O best of brahmins, the entry of Yama's messengers
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into the midst of Kāśī city is never [permitted] anywhere; his attendants are its protectors there.
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Viśveśa himself is the punisher of those who abandon the body there in Kāśī;
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and of those who commit sins even there, Kālabhairava is the punisher.
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One should not commit a sin there; the torment of Rudra is terrible!
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Ah, the state of being a goblin of Rudra is more unbearable than the hells!
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If such is one's mind that 'Only sin is to be committed,'
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then it should be committed elsewhere at ease, for the earth is vast indeed.
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Even a lust-stricken creature protects his one mother;
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even by a sinner, Kāśī alone should be spared by one desiring liberation.
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By one given to slandering others, by one lusting after another's wife—
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by him Kāśī is not to be frequented: where is Kāśī, and where is that hell?
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Those who constantly crave wealth here through unlawful acceptance,
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or another's property through deceptions—by those men Kāśī is not to be frequented.
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One should constantly avoid in Kāśī any action that inflicts harm upon others;
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Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit