Skandapurana 4.48
English (machine translation) 4.48
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Skanda said:
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Listen, O son of Mitra and Varuṇa! In Dvāravatī, the foremost of the Yadus,
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for the slaughter of the Dānavas and the removal of the earth's burden, (1)
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Kṛṣṇa himself, having the radiance of fire, manifested—
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Vāsudeva, the abode of the universe, from Vasudeva through Devakī. (2)
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He had eighty-one hundred thousand sons possessing the luster of the sun.
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Even in heaven there were no boys like these of such good conduct, O jar-born one! (3)
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They were exceedingly endowed with beauty, exceedingly great in strength,
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exceedingly skilled in weapons and scriptures, and exceedingly possessed of auspicious marks. (4)
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To see them, the mind-born son of Brahmā, a treasure of austerities,
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having a bark loincloth, wearing a black antelope skin as garment, [5]
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holding a staff of Brahmā, having a fine girdle of triple-twisted muñjā-grass,
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adorned with a garland of tulasī resting upon his chest, (6)
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his body glistening with an unguent of the essence of Gopīcandana,
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all his limbs emaciated by austerity, blazing like embodied fire, (7)
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Nārada, who moves through the sky, came to the city of Dvārakā,
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which was built by Viśvakarman and had surpassed the splendor of the heavenly city. (8)
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Seeing that Nārada, all the descendants of Vṛṣṇi,
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having bowed their necks very low and folded their hands upon their heads, prostrated. (9)
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Sāmba, deluded by the totality of pride in his own handsome form,
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did not bow to the sage there, laughing at [the sage's] physical condition. (10)
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Understanding that intention of Sāmba, that great sage
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Nārada entered the exceedingly delightful palace of Kṛṣṇa. (11)
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Then, seeing Nārada arriving, Kṛṣṇa went out to meet him,
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honored him with a honey-mixture, and seated him on his own seat. (12)
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Having held conversations with manifold topics, Nārada then, in private,
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spoke into Kṛṣṇa's ear concerning the conduct of Sāmba: (13)
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"Surely there is something here, O increaser of Yaśodā's joy!
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Generally that does not happen; or rather, O Lord, nothing is impossible in the case of a woman. (14)
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Among the youths dwelling in the three worlds, Sāmba is exceedingly handsome,
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and the mental disposition of unsteady-eyed women is by nature very fickle. (15)
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Infatuated-eyed women do not consider lineage, character, learning, or wealth;
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they look only at beauty, bewildered by the god of love. (16)
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Or is the behavior of the cowherd women not known to you?
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Except for the eight chief queens, O Kṛṣṇa, these women desire him!" (17)
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From the natural disposition of fair-browed women and from the words of Nārada,
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Kṛṣṇa, having learned the entire matter, also considered it to be true. (18)
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"The constancy of unsteady-eyed women lasts only so long, and the discernment of their minds lasts only so long,
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as a suitor does not stand in a secluded place, and they are not in private with a suitor; not otherwise." (19)
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Reflecting thus in his mind, the wise Kṛṣṇa, damming up the torrent
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of the river of anger with the dam of discernment, sent Nārada away. (20)
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Kṛṣṇa did not perceive any misconduct at all in Sāmba anywhere,
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even though he watched day and night after that divine sage had departed. (21)
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When some time had passed, the sage came once again,
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and knowing that Kṛṣṇa was seated amidst his playful women, (22)
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Nārada called Sāmba, who was playing outside, and said this to him:
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"Go quickly to Kṛṣṇa's presence and announce my arrival." (23)
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Sāmba too thought for a moment in this way: "Shall I go or shall I not go?
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How can I go to my father who is in a private apartment in the company of women? (24)
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And how can I not go upon the command of this celibate,
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the splendor of all whose limbs flashes like blazing embers? (25)
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Once, when the young princes were prostrating, he was put to shame by me.
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If even now I do not go on the command of this great sage, (26)
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then a great disaster will occur here on account of the perception of two offenses.
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Even my father's anger towards me is quite praiseworthy, but not that of a brahmin. (27)
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Those burned by the fire of a brahmin's anger never sprout again,
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while those burned by other fires grow back like trees scorched by a forest fire." (28)
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Having reflected thus for a moment, Sāmba entered his father's inner apartment.
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Just as the son of Jāmbavatī [approached] Kṛṣṇa in the midst of the assembly of women,
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and bowing from afar, made his petition, full of apprehension,
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at that moment Nārada followed after him to accomplish his own purpose.
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Then Kṛṣṇa also, seeing Sāmba and Nārada with sudden fluster,
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stood up, putting on his yellow silk garment.
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When the son of Devakī stood up, all those cowherd women too,
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embarrassed, stood up, gathering their respective garments.
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Taking that great sage by the hand, upon a costly couch
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Kṛṣṇa seated him; and Sāmba went away to play.
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Seeing the slip of those women who stood before him,
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whose best limbs were melted by Kṛṣṇa's erotic sports, the sage spoke to Hari:
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"Look, look, O highly intelligent one! Having seen the son of Jāmbavatī,
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these women have fallen into a lapse, their minds agitated by his handsome form."
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Then Kṛṣṇa, summoning Sāmba, instantly cursed his son,
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who, through misfortune, was looking [at them], though all were like Jāmbavatī to him:
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"Because having seen your beauty these cowherd women have lapsed,
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and because of your untimely arrival, therefore quickly become a leper!"
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Trembling with fear of that terrible, great affliction, Sāmba too
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appeased Kṛṣṇa repeatedly for the pacification of his sin.
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Kṛṣṇa, recognizing Sāmba as his own legitimate son,
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said to him: "For release from leprosy, go to the city of Viśveśvara.
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Worshipping the Sun there, you will regain your natural state,
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since nowhere except in Vārāṇasī is there the destruction of great sins,
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where Viśveśvara is visibly present, and where that river of heaven is.
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For those great sins where no expiation has been seen by the sages,
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the purification of them certainly exists upon reaching the city of Vārāṇasī.
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For in Vārāṇasī one is freed not only from [ordinary] sins;
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by Śaṃkara's command, one is freed even from natural sins.
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Anciently, Avimukta was created by the Enemy of Pura for the liberation
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of all living beings who abandon their bodies at the end, out of compassion.
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There, in Śambhu's Ānandavana, is the removal of your curse.
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Therefore, Sāmba, go quickly; in no other way is there relief from the curse."
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Then, taking leave of Kṛṣṇa, with his actions freed from karma,
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Nārada, having accomplished his purpose, departed by the path of the sky.
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Sāmba, having reached Vārāṇasī and worshipped the Sun,
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and having made a pond behind it, attained his natural state.
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From that time forth, Sāmbāditya, the Sun that removes all afflictions,
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gives all devotees health and all fortunes.
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A person who performs a ritual ablution in the Sāmba pond on Sunday at dawn,
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and worships Sāmbāditya, is never overcome by diseases.
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A woman does not meet widowhood through the service of Sāmbāditya;
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a barren woman gives birth to a son endowed with pure beauty.
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O twice-born, on the bright seventh lunar day in the month of Māgha, falling on a Sunday,
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there is declared a great festival, auspicious and equal to the festival of the Sun.
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One is released from severe disease by performing a ritual ablution there at dawn;
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and by worshipping Sāmbāditya, one attains imperishable merit.
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Whatever merit is gained at the Sannihitā [lake] in Kurukṣetra during the sight of Rāhu [at an eclipse],
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that same merit is gained on the Sun's seventh day in Māgha at Kāśī; there is no doubt.
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In the month of Madhu, on a Sunday, the annual pilgrimage should take place.
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Worshipping there with aśoka flowers, having performed a ritual ablution in the pond according to rule,
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a person [who worships] Sāmbāditya is never overcome by griefs;
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he becomes freed that very moment from the sin committed over a year.
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In the western direction from Viśveśa, here by the noble Sāmba,
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the auspicious form of the Sun was properly worshipped.
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This future image of his has been recounted before you, O Agastya.
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Having worshipped it, bowed down to it, and made eight circumambulations,
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a person becomes free from sin and obtains the fruit of living in Kāśī.
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The māhātmya of Sāmbāditya has been told to you, O noble-minded one;
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merely by hearing which, a person never sees the realm of Yama.
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Now, O sinless one, I will relate Draupadāditya to you.
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Likewise, Draupadāditya is to be worshipped, bestowing perfection upon devotees.
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Thus ends the forty-eighth chapter, entitled "The Narration of the Māhātmya of Sāmbāditya," in the first half of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, in the fourth [part of] the venerable Skandapurāṇa, the Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit