Skandapurana 4.29

English (machine translation) 4.29

Language: English

4.29.42 — 3 parts

4.29.42.1

Agastya said:
Without bathing in the Gaṅgā, the life of men is futile.
Is there any other means by which one may obtain the fruit of that bath? / 1
And for the incapacitated, the crippled, those crippled by indolence,
and those residing in distant lands, how can a bath in the Gaṅgā take place? / 2
Whether gift, vow, mantra, recitation of praise,
ablution at another sacred ford, or worship of a deity— / 3
if there is anything, O six-faced one, that grants the fruit of bathing in the Gaṅgā
merely through another ritual procedure, tell that to me who am bowed before you. / 4
No other than you, Skanda, born from the womb of the Gaṅgā,
knows the supreme majesty of the celestial river, O high-minded one. / 5
Skanda said:
There are lakes and rivers here with holy waters, O sage,
and sacred fords in place after place inhabited by self-subdued sages, / 6
which produce visible results and possess great majesty;
yet not even a ten-millionth part of the celestial river is found there. / 7
By this very inference, understand, O pitcher-born one:
the Gaṅgā was borne upon his head by Śambhu, the God of gods. / 8
At the time of bathing in other sacred fords, the Jāhnavī is chanted by people;
apart from the river born of Viṣṇu's foot, where else is anything capable of releasing sin? / 9
The fruit of bathing in the Gaṅgā, O brahmin, is obtained only in the Gaṅgā,
just as the taste of a grape fruit is in the grape itself and nowhere else. / 10
Yet there is one means here, O sage, by which the complete fruit
of bathing in the river of the gods may be attained; it is an utter secret: / 11
To a devotee of Śiva, peaceful, devoted to the worship of Viṣṇu,
full of faith, orthodox, and desirous of liberation from dwelling in the womb, / 12
it should be told, and never to anyone else, by anyone, anywhere.
This is the supreme secret, destroying great sins, / 13
bestowing great welfare, auspicious, granting desires, supreme,
producing the love of the heavenly river, a continuity of Śiva's delight, / 14
the thousand names of the Gaṅgā, glorious among the king of praises...

4.29.42.2

The supreme among chants to be chanted, equal to the Vedas and Upaniṣads;
It should be chanted with diligence by one observing silence, without an expounder,
In clean places, by one who is pure, and with very clearly pronounced syllables.
Skanda said:
Oṃ, homage to the goddess Gaṅgā!
Embodying the syllable Oṃ, ageless, peerless, bowed to, streaming with nectar,
Exceedingly generous, fearless, free from sorrow, Alakanandā, immortal, spotless,
Affectonate to the helpless, unfailing, source of waters, granter of nectar,
Of unmanifest characteristics, imperturbable, undivided, unconquered,
Protector of the helpless, granter of success in desired aims, increaser of love,
Substratum of qualities like atomicity, foremost to be counted, remover of falsehood,
Of inconceivable power, sinless, of wonderful form, destroyer of sin,
The mountain king's daughter, granter of the perfection of the eight-limbed yoga, infallible,
Of unobstructed power, giver of life, of endless sacred fords, with waters of nectar,
Of infinite greatness, boundless, granter of endless happiness, giver of food,
Embodiment of all deities, gentle, composed of nectar,
Subduer of the snare of ignorance, granter of a state beyond reasoning,
Destroyer of all obstacles, strung with all virtues,
Light in the darkness of ignorance, dedicated to grace,
Delightful, of faultless limbs, of infinite essence, unstained,
Granter of health, vine of bliss, destroyer of the distress of the afflicted,
Of wondrous form, conferring long life, wealthy, primordial, all-filling, served by the noble,
Refreshing, known as possessed of wisdom, joyful, giver of consolation,
Destroyer of indolence, killer of misfortunes, raining the nectar of bliss,
Irāvatī, bestower of desired things, beloved, giver of the fruit of sacrifices and charitable works,
Whose essence is praised by the Itihāsas and Śrutis, granter of welfare here and hereafter,
Exemplary in the disposition for worship, revered by Indra and others,
Radiant garland adorning the earth, delightful abode of Indirā,
Served by bees and others, supreme sovereign, beloved of Īśvara,
Remover of plagues and fear, worthy of praise, possessing an admirable course of conduct,
Of superior power, moving through the excellent assembly of the stars,
Risen along the celestial path, playing in the realm of the serpents,

4.29.42.3

Sprinkling the fertile earth with blue lotuses and high pitchers, flowing from Upendra's feet,
Cause of the filling of the ocean, increaser of noble zeal,
Destroyer of agitation, allayer of heat, beloved of the daughter of the sun,
Causer of creation, preservation, and destruction, moving above,
Carrying strength, bearer of strength, possessed of power, garlanded with waves,
Beloved of the chaste ascetic, whose path is upward, undulating, giver of the upward course,
Praised by the multitude of ṛṣis, prosperity, destroyer of the three debts,
Full of truth, granter of prosperity, embodying the Ṛgveda, fond of the upright,
Flowing along the path of the lunar mansions, radiance of the stars, showing the straight path,
Increaser of all duty and wealth, giver of nectar in each drop,
Whose nature is to prosper, worthy of worship, worshipped, destroyer of remaining sins,
Granter of sovereignty, embodiment of supremacy, tradition, lunar splendor,
Possessed of vigor, field of medicinal plants, giver of strength, bestower of boiled rice,
Nectar to the lips, granter of elevation, medicine for those sick with worldly existence,
Preeminent in generosity, belonging to Upendra, fierce, possessing the form of Umā,
Flowing along the sky's path, Ambaṣṭhā, sky-garlanded, lotus-eyed,
Ambikā, great source of waters, blinded with cataracts, remover of blind darkness,
Garlanded with rays, luminous, having accepted the six-faced one,
Destroyer of deep darkness, soothing the blind, possessed of collyrium,
Causing auspiciousness, desirable, fragrant with white and blue lotuses,
Rich in night-lotuses, rich in day-lotuses, beauty, giver of what is imagined,
Golden-eyed, wish-fulfilling cow, maker of fame, destroyer of affliction,
Best among sacrifices, fruit of sacrifice, breaking the bond of karma,
Lotus-eyed, remover of fatigue, brilliant as fire and the sun,
Moist with compassion, auspicious, destroyer of the defilement of Kali,

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit

Skandapurana 4.29

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