Skandapurana 4.44
English (machine translation) 4.44
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4.44.3
Skanda said: / Then, Hara, the lord of the universe, residing in a jeweled palace of peerless brilliance shining within the caves of Mount Mandara, / surrounded on all sides by the gods, and clothing the sky with his own peaks— / he, charming with a slender digit of the moon, / the author of peace, did not find happiness, burning with fever born of separation from expanding Kāśī. / The paste of Malaya-born sandalwood, applied even by the foe of Tripura to cool the fire of separation, / now truly assumed a burning thirst.
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The soft [lotus-stalks] of lotus ponds that remove burning heat were turned into bracelets;
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when they were pronounced by the Lord to be snakes, they became truly so—ah, the will of the Great Lord!
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The full moon, soft essence churned from the ocean of milk and extracted by the gods,
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became emaciated, its body dissolving under the heat radiating from the head of the Lord, burned by separation.
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Because Hara, afflicted with burning pain, held the celestial river
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which removes anguish in the broad corner of the bower of his matted hair, he does not release it even now.
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Śaṃkara, master of his senses, was forcibly brought under the power of that great longing of separation;
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he sat despondent among the assembled gods, enveloped by intense torment.
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It is an exceedingly wondrous thing that though he is himself the pure fire,
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the lord of the three worlds was scorched by the fire born of separation from his own city.
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He who continually adorns his forehead with a digit of the moon—
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that very moon, quite contrarily, burned even that Lord.
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Poison glistens in the region of his throat, yet he was not tormented by that;
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wondrously, he was tormented only by the clusters of cold rays of the nectar-rayed [moon]!
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To remove that anguish of separation with splashes of gleaming water mixed with yellow sandalwood,
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his heart burned even from that, but not from the fiery breaths arising from the hoods of expanding serpents.
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Hara destroys every delusion arising from the false notion of a snake in a garland and the like;
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wondrous it is that in his case, even on a real garland, the delusion arose that it was a great snake!
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Though he completely removes the threefold torment even when merely brought into the path of memory,
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the Unborn himself, tormented by separation from Kāśī, spoke somewhat to himself:
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“If only the breeze coming from Kāśī would embrace my limbs,
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then my burning torment would find peace; it does not do so even by immersion in Lake Mānasa!
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Alas, how would that burning torment have subsided which was fostered by Dakṣa's daughter,
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if the daughter of the Himālaya had not swiftly become a life-giving creeper for me?
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Dakṣa's daughter, passing away when abandoning her body, did not cause my mind to suffer
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as it burns intensely with this immense heat born of separation from Avimukta!
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O Kāśī, when shall I joyfully attain again the happiness born of embracing you,
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by which my wonderful limbs will immediately become cooled?
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O Kāśī, destroyer of multitudes of sins, the fire born of separation from you,
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wondrously flares up with the gentle nectar streams of the moon's digit as if with clarified butter!
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Formerly, my burning pain born of separation from Dakṣa's daughter vanished through the medicine that was the daughter of the Himālaya;
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now, indeed, I shall by no means attain peace unless I quickly behold Kāśī!”
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Reciting thus in his mind, Śiva, entirely concealing the outward signs of his torment,
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was somehow perceived as separated [from his beloved] by the Mother of the World, the mother of intellects. // 4.1.44.20
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Though she formed half his body, she did not know the cause of his longing;
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he, the destroyer of the burning distress of bowed living beings, was addressed with words by his beloved: // 21
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Śrī Pārvatī said:
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“O omnipresent one, everything is in your hand! What separation can there be for you, whose yoga shines forth?
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Ah, your ashes grant prosperity; though she bears the shoots of every misfortune, the earth bears all creatures! // 22
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O Lord, through not beholding you, the worlds instantly go to ruin like something pitiful.
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Even an ordinary person cast out from your fraction of grace was once affirmed by you with ‘Om’. // 23
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The moon, the sun, and fire do not cause you distress,
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since, O three-eyed one, they are your eyes; and your beloved [Gaṅgā] of sparkling water rests on your crest. // 24
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These serpents of yours never bite, and poison does not spread [in you], O blue-throated one!
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And I, O Vāmadeva, am the fair woman making up your left side, united with your mind. // 25 //”
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When this beneficial speech was thus spoken by the mother of the seeds of cyclic existence,
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Giriśa took up speech to reply to that weaving of words. // 26
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The Lord said:
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“Ah, Kāśī!” Saying this, Bhava, who possesses the eight forms, manifested the eight emotions.
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Quickly Śivā realized: “Surely Hara has been captivated by Kāśī!” // 27
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Then, having the creepers of that forest as her childhood companions, Śivā introduced the topic of that forsaken city which bestows liberation. // 28
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Pārvatī said:
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“Let us go, O Bhava, destroyer of Smara, to the city of Kāśī, / held aloft upon your trident even during the cosmic dissolution when the waters meet the vault of heaven,
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which displays the beauty of a white lotus! // 29
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The earth of the king of mountains, though exceedingly beautiful, does not please me, O Dhūrjaṭi,
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as does your Kāśikā, the foremost of cities, which, though situated upon the earth, is truly not of the earth! // 4.1.44.30
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Where, in Kāśī, there is no fear born of the Kali age; where, in Kāśī, there is no rebirth after death;
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where, in Kāśī, there is no fear arising from sin—O Lord, how may she become a guest of our eyes? // 31
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Are there not here thousands of cities, grounds of all prosperity at every step?
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Yet none equal to Kāśī has ever come within the range of my eyes; I swear by you, O Śiva! // 32
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Are there not in heaven hundreds of cities, birthplaces of every wonder?
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Yet all those cities become like blades of grass before your abode, O enemy of the cities, enemy of worldly existence! // 33
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The fever born of separation from Kāśī does not merely torment you, but torments me just as much here.
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The remedy for quenching this burning heat is either that city, or else my birthplace. // 34
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I did not consider my birthplace capable of quelling the burning heat born of separation,
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once I reached Kāśī, which grants complete peace and is the cause of destroying all anguish. // 35
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Here, the Fortune of liberation was never seen face-to-face anywhere by any embodied being;
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I know, O granter of bliss, that this Kāśikā is indeed liberation incarnate, granting all happiness. // 36
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Liberation is not attained here by samādhi through steadying the senses, nor by abandoning that samādhi,
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nor by the rites of sacrifices, nor by knowledge of the Vedas, as it is by shedding the body in Kāśī. // 37
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There is no such happiness in heaven, so how could there be in the exceedingly beautiful realm of Pātāla?
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Where is there even talk of a shelter of joy among mortals such as belongs to one who merely bears a body in Kāśī? // 38
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In your sacred field, the Avimukta, O bearer of the trident, never forsaken by the Fortune of liberation,
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the best of living beings who applies even his mind always practices the six-limbed yoga. // 39
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By men here, bodily perfection is not quickly attained through six-limbed yoga
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in such a way as it is attained with ease by reaching Kāśī and fixing one's gaze upon you for an instant, O Śiva. // 4.1.44.40
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Better indeed is the state of a beast, devoid of intellect, than human existence, the receptacle of much intellect,
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whose rising is fruitless without the sight of Kāśī, resembling a bubble on the water all around. // 41
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Fulfilled are the two eyes that have seen Kāśī; fulfilled is the body dwelling in Śiva’s Kāśī;
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fulfilled is the mind that has taken shelter in Kāśī; fulfilled is the face turned toward Kāśī. // 42
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Better indeed is that dust of Kāśī, exceedingly pure, destroying passion and darkness, radiant like moonlight,
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which, reaching the forehead of those who prostrate on the ground of Maṇikarṇikā, is highly honored by the gods! // 43
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Neither the world of the gods, nor Satyaloka, nor the world of the Nāgas
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can match Maṇikarṇikā, where the ear of one making the great departure becomes the receptacle of the elixir of Brahman. // 44
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The ground of Maṇikarṇikā is a place of great splendor, where the mass of darkness comes to an end—
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that darkness which, though nourished across hundreds of lifetimes, cannot be subdued by the rays of the sun, fire, and moon! // 45
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Is it the auspicious throne of the state of nirvāṇa, or the soft couch of the Fortune of liberation,
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or rather is the ground of Maṇikarṇikā the birthplace of the excellent bulb of supreme bliss? // 46
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Where the number of past liberated beings is counted by people sitting happily
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with gleaming, fine gravel, yearning for the great festival of casting off their own bodies! // 47 //”
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Skanda said:
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O sage, Aparṇā, having thus described the city of Vārāṇasī,
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again addressed the wielder of the Pināka for the sake of regaining Kāśī:
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The glorious Pārvatī said:
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“O Lord of the Pramathas, Lord of all, whose conduct is ever independent!
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O giver of boons, act in such a way that I may go to Ānandavana.”
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Skanda said:
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Then, having heard Girijā’s words, charming with the praise of Kāśī
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and surpassing the sweetness of nectar, Giriśa, delighted, [spoke]:
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The glorious God of gods said:
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“Ah, dearest Gaurī! By the drops of nectar of your speech
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I am thoroughly gratified. Now I shall strive to regain Kāśī.
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You know, O great goddess, that great vow of mine:
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I enjoy a thing that has not been enjoyed before by another, not anything else.
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Since King Divodāsa, by the word of the Grandfather,
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rules the city righteously, what means may be devised?
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How can that king, devoted to righteousness and intent on protecting his subjects,
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King Divodāsa, be separated from the city of Kāśī?
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An obstacle can affect only one who walks in unrighteousness, and none other.
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Therefore, whom shall I send, O goddess, who could separate him from Kāśī?
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Whoever causes an obstacle to those pursuing the path of righteousness,
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to that very person, on the contrary, an obstacle arises, O increaser of my love!
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Without a flaw, I do not venture to overthrow that king;
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for it is by me indeed, my dear, that the upholders of righteousness must be protected.
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Old age does not overcome him; death does not seek to slay him;
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diseases do not afflict him: these three belong to the follower of righteousness’ path.”
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Reflecting thus, the Lord saw before him the circle of Yoginīs,
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exceedingly mature, capable of accomplishing difficult tasks.
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Then, having deliberated with the goddess, O great sage, Vyomakeśa,
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Hara, summoned the host of Yoginīs and spoke these words:
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“Go quickly, O Yoginīs, to my city Vārāṇasī,
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where King Divodāsa amply rules the kingdom with righteousness.
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So that the king, falling from his own duty, may swiftly abandon Kāśī,
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contrive, O wise ones, endowed with the power of illusory magic.
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So that I, having restored the city of Vārāṇasī anew,
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may go from here, O Yoginīs, act quickly!”
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Having thus received the favor and bearing his command upon their heads,
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having bowed down, the group of Yoginīs departed from there.
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Entering the sky, with a speed greater even than thought,
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those Yoginīs went along, speaking to one another with joy:
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“Today we are exceedingly fortunate, since by the God of gods himself,
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favored, we have been dispatched to the glorious Ānandakānana.
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Today, all at once, two great gains, not easily attained, have occurred:
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honor from the King with the Three Eyes, and the sight of Kāśī.”
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Thus, with joyful minds, that host of Yoginīs, leaving the bower of Mount Mandara
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and quickening their speed of flight in the sky, made that city a guest of their eyes.
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Thus ends the forty-fourth chapter, named 'The Description of Kāśī,' in the first half of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit