Skandapurana 4.6
English (machine translation) 4.6
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4.6.1
Pārāśarya said:
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"Listen, O highly fortunate Sūta, to the narrative that is the twin sister of the Veda,
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keeping which in his heart, a person partakes of the goals of human life in this world.
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Then the sage, having plunged into the river of the stream of nectar that was the joy of the darśana of Śrī
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together with his wife, attained supreme delight.
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O Sūta, born from the sacrificial fire-pit, whose mind is immaculate,
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listen to one well-spoken saying uttered by the wise of old:
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'For those good people in whose hearts assisting others remains awake,
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misfortunes perish, and prosperities arise at every step.'
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That purification is not obtained by ritual ablutions at sacred fords, nor that fruit by generous gifts,
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nor can it be attained by severe austerities, which is obtained by helping others.
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The dharma that comes from helping others and the dharma arising from gifts and the like—
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when both were weighed together on a balance by the Creator, the former proved heavier.
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Having thoroughly churned the whole web of words, precisely this has been determined:
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there is no dharma higher than helping others, and no sin worse than harming others.
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This is illustrated by Agastya, who was a benefactor:
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where was such grief born of Kāśī, and where was the sight of Śrī's face?"
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Life and wealth of various kinds are unsteady like the tip of an elephant's ear.
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Therefore, doing good to others is the sole duty of a wise man.
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Since a man can scarcely contain himself anywhere merely by obtaining the name of fortune,
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beholding Fortune herself before his eyes, the sage attained the fulfillment of his goal.
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Then, as he was walking along at his pleasure, he saw Śrīśaila from afar,
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where the glorious god, the destroyer of Tripura, resides in person.
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Then the sage, with a delighted mind, addressed these words to his wife:
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"Remaining right here, beloved, behold what is supreme and most lovely,
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this glorious peak of Śrīśaila, from the sight of which
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rebirth for human beings in this world never occurs again.
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Indeed, this mountain is eighty-four yojanas in extent;
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since it is composed entirely of liṅgas, one should circumambulate it."
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Lopāmudrā said:
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"I wish to submit a humble question, if my lord permits.
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For a woman who speaks [without] being permitted by her husband becomes fallen."
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Agastya said:
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"What do you wish to say, O lady? Speak the truth without hesitation.
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For words spoken by women like you never lead to distress for a husband."
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Then, bowing humbly to the sage, the noble lady asked,
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for the welfare of all and to dispel her own doubt:
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Lopāmudrā said:
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"If by seeing the peak of Śrīśaila rebirth is no more,
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and if this is truly so, for what purpose is Kāśī sought?"
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Agasti said:
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"Listen, O beautiful woman; what you have asked is true, O faultless one.
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This has been repeatedly determined by sages contemplating reality.
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There are many places of liberation, and there too a conclusion has been reached.
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I shall tell them to you now; focus your mind for a moment.
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First is the king of sacred fords, renowned as Prayāga,
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fulfilling wishes among all sacred fords, granting dharma, pleasure, wealth, and liberation;
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Naimiṣa, Kurukṣetra, Gaṅgādvāra, Avantikā,
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Ayodhyā, Mathurā, and Dvārakā, as well as Amarāvatī;
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Sarasvatī, the confluence with the sea, the confluence of Gaṅgā and the ocean,
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Kāñcī, Tryambaka, and the banks of the Saptagodāvarī;
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Kālañjara, Prabhāsa, and likewise Badarikāśrama;
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Mahālaya, likewise Oṃkāra, and the sacred field of Puruṣottama;
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Gokarṇa, Bhṛgukaccha, Bhṛgutuṅga, and Puṣkara;
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sacred fords such as Śrīparvata, and likewise Dhārātīrtha;
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and also the mental sacred fords, truth and the rest, O beloved.
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These indeed bestow liberation; no doubt should be entertained here.
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And the sacred ford of Gayā, which is declared to bestow liberation on ancestors,
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their sons also become freed from their debt to their forebears."
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His lawful wife said:
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"The mental sacred fords that have been mentioned, O noble-minded one,
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which ones are they in this world? You ought to explain this."
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Agastya said:
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"Listen, O sinless one, as I declare the mental sacred fords,
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bathing properly in which a person attains the supreme goal.
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Truth is a sacred ford, patience is a sacred ford, restraint of the senses is a sacred ford,
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compassion for all beings is a sacred ford, and uprightness is a sacred ford.
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Generosity is a sacred ford, self-control is a sacred ford, contentment is said to be a sacred ford,
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celibacy is a supreme sacred ford, and gentle speech is a sacred ford.
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Knowledge is a sacred ford, steadfastness is a sacred ford, and austerity is proclaimed a sacred ford;
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the highest sacred ford among sacred fords is the supreme purity of the mind.
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Having the body washed with water is not called a ritual ablution.
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He is truly bathed who is bathed in self-control, pure, and cleansed of the impurities of the mind.
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One who is greedy, slanderous, cruel, deceitful, and attached to sensual pleasures,
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even if he bathes in all sacred fords, remains sinful and dirty.
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A person does not become pure merely by discarding bodily dirt;
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but when mental dirt is cast away, one becomes exceedingly pure within."
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Water-dwelling creatures are born and die in water alone;
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yet they do not go to heaven, with the impurities of their minds unpurified.
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Excessive attachment to sense objects is said to be mental impurity;
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indeed, detachment toward those very objects is proclaimed as one's purity.
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A wicked mind within is not purified by bathing at a sacred ford,
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just as an impure liquor pot is not cleansed though washed a hundred times with water.
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Giving, sacrificial worship, austerity, cleanliness, resort to sacred fords, and learning—
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all these are not sacred fords if one's inner disposition is not pure.
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Wherever a man dwells with his host of senses restrained,
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there for him are Kurukṣetra, Naimiṣa, and the Puṣkaras.
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In the water of knowledge purified by knowledge, which removes the impurity of passion and hatred,
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he who bathes in that sacred ford of the mind attains the supreme state.
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This, O goddess, has been declared to you as the character of the mental sacred ford.
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Hear also the cause of the sanctity of earthly sacred fords.
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Just as certain parts of the body are traditionally regarded as most pure,
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so on the earth certain localities are traditionally regarded as most holy.
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Through the wondrous power of the earth, the water, and radiant energy,
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and through the possession by sages, the sanctity of sacred fords is remembered.
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Therefore, in both earthly and mental sacred fords constantly—
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he who bathes in both of them goes to the supreme state.
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Without fasting for three nights and without visiting sacred fords,
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and without giving gold and cattle, one is indeed born poor.
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Having sacrificed with rituals such as the Agniṣṭoma accompanied by generous priestly fees,
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one does not obtain that fruit which [is gained] by visiting sacred fords.
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He whose hands, feet, and mind are well controlled,
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and [who possesses] knowledge, austerity, and renown, enjoys the fruit of a sacred ford.
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He who has turned away from accepting gifts, is content with whatever comes,
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and is free from egoism, enjoys the fruit of a sacred ford.
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He who is without deceit, free from worldly enterprise, eats little, has conquered his senses,
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and is freed from all attachments, enjoys the fruit of a sacred ford.
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Free from anger, pure in intellect, speaking the truth, firm in his vows,
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and looking upon [all] beings as himself, he enjoys the fruit of a sacred ford.
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Visiting sacred fords, wise, full of faith, and concentrated in mind,
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one who has committed sins would be purified—how much more one who performs pure deeds!
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He will not go to animal birth; he is never born in an unholy land;
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he will not be miserable, he shares in heaven, and he finds the means to liberation.
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One lacking faith, sinful in nature, an unbeliever, one whose doubts are unsevered,
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and one devoted [solely] to rationalism—these five do not share in the fruit of a sacred ford.
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Those who traverse the sacred fords according to the prescribed rule,
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enduring all dualities, steadfast—those men share in heaven.
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Desiring to make a pilgrimage to sacred fords, having first observed a fast at home,
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and having worshipped Gaṇeśa, the ancestors, brahmins, and holy men according to one's capacity,
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having broken the fast, joyful, holding to his vows, he should set out again.
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Returning and worshipping the ancestors, he will receive the stated reward.
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A twice-born seeking food at sacred fords is not to be examined, but simply fed;
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and offering of funeral cakes [made] of roasted barley flour, sacrificial cooked porridge, or milk rice
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should be made, as seen by the seers, or with oil-cake and molasses.
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A śrāddha should be performed there without the water offering and invocation.
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Whether at an improper time or at a proper time, at a sacred ford a śrāddha and libation
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must be performed without delay; one should not cause any obstacle.
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Having reached a sacred ford incidentally, one should perform a ritual ablution at the sacred ford;
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he obtains the fruit born of the ritual ablution associated with the pilgrimage to a sacred ford.
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For men who have committed sins, pacification of sin occurs at a sacred ford;
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the sacred ford bestows the stated reward upon men who have faithful souls.
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He who goes for another's sake obtains a sixteenth part;
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half of the fruit of the sacred ford belongs to him who goes incidentally.
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Having made an effigy of kuśa grass, one should plunge it into the water of the sacred ford; / and he for whose sake one plunges it shall indeed obtain an eighth part.
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Fasting at a sacred ford should be observed, as well as the shaving of the head, / because sins situated in the head depart through shaving.
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On the day before the day on which the sacred ford is reached,
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a fast must be observed; on the day of arrival, one should offer a śrāddha.
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In connection with the sacred ford, the subsidiary rites of the sacred ford have also been told by me before you.
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This is indeed an instrument for heaven, and truly a means to liberation.
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Kāśī, Kāñcī, and Māyā, Ayodhyā and Dvāravatī as well,
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Mathurā, and Avantikā: these seven cities here bestow liberation.
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All of Śrīśaila bestows liberation, and Kedāra even more than that;
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and higher than both Śrīśaila and Kedāra, Prayāga bestows liberation.
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Avimukta is distinguished even above Prayāga, the foremost of sacred fords;
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as in Avimukta, so nowhere else is there nirvāṇa, without doubt.
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The other sacred fields of liberation bring about the attainment of Kāśī;
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a man of disciplined mind, meditating on Kāśī after hearing this,
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and having recited it to brahmins endowed with faith and devotion,
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to kṣatriyas intent on righteousness, to vaiśyas walking in the good path,
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and to śūdras devoted to brahmins, that twice-born becomes free from sin.
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Thus ends the sixth chapter, named 'The Chapter on Sacred Fords', in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa of the fourth [book] in the glorious Skandapurāṇa of eighty-one thousand verses.
Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit