Skandapurana 4.57.57.1

4.57.57.1

Skanda said: / The Lord of the Universe, accompanied by the Universal Mother and by me, O best of sages, / preceded by Nandin and Bhṛṅgin, along with Mahāśākha and Viśākha, / accompanied by Naigameya, surrounded on all sides by the Rudras, / joined by divine seers, praised by Sanaka and the others, / acclaimed by the rulers of all temples and the guardians of the quarters, / shown the sacred fords by the personified tīrthas, his auspiciousness sung by gandharvas, / worshipped by apsarases with sprout-like dancing hands, / cheered on all sides by celestial instruments unstruck in the sky, / the faces of the quarters deafened by the seers' chanting of the Veda, / praised by multitudes of cāraṇas, surrounded on all sides by aerial chariots, / showered on every side with roasted grains falling from the handfuls of the brides of heaven, Mahādeva, his bodily hairs standing on end with intense joy, / presented with offerings of garlands by many hosts of vidyādharīs, / acclaimed by yakṣas, guhyakas, siddhas, and sky-dwellers, / with auspicious entry-omens made before him by deer and birds, / praised by kinnarīs and kinnaras with delighted faces, / his grand festival celebrated by Viṣṇu, Mahālakṣmī, Brahmā, Viśvakarman, / the lord Nandin, and Gaṇeśa, / with the waving-of-lights ritual performed all around him by serpent maidens, / Mahādeva entered the auspicious city of Vārāṇasī. / Descending from the lord of bulls while all the gods looked on, / the bull-bannered Lord embraced the ruler of the gaṇas and said: / “That I have attained the auspicious city of Vārāṇasī, / which was exceedingly difficult even for me to reach, is indeed the grace of this child. / For what is difficult to accomplish even for a father on the surface of the three worlds / can be easily accomplished by his son; the example for this is seen in me. / By this elephant-faced one, through the abundance of his own intellect, / something was enacted here in such a way that my attainment of Kāśī might take place. / Truly I am a father with a worthy son, since what had long been contemplated by me