Skandapurana 4.8
English (machine translation) 4.8
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4.8.1
Lopāmudrā said:
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O lord of my life, hearing this meritorious story
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concerning the holy city spoken from your glorious mouth, I do not attain satiety. // 1
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In Māyāpurī, a city of liberation, Śivaśarman, the best of brahmins,
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did not attain liberation even when dead; tell the reason for that, O almighty one! // 2
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Agastya said:
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Direct liberation does not occur in these cities, O pleasant-spoken lady.
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Regarding this very matter, an ancient tale was heard by me long ago. // 3
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Listen, O beloved, to the wondrous story that destroys sins,
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which was narrated to Śivaśarman by Puṇyaśīla and Suśīla. // 4
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Śivaśarman said:
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O holy attendants of Viṣṇu, with eyes like lotus petals!
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With folded hands raised, I desire to ask something. // 5
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I do not know your names, yet I know something from your appearance:
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you must be the ones named Puṇyaśīla and Suśīla. // 6
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The two attendants said:
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For those endowed with devotion to the Lord, like you, what could be unknown?
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Our names are indeed precisely those that were spoken by you, glorious one. // 7
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Whatever else is to be asked that is in your mind, without hesitation
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ask it, O deeply wise one; we two will speak of it with joy. // 8
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Hearing these words spoken by the Lord's attendants,
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which brought great delight and touched the heart, he then replied to them: // 9
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The celestial brahmin said:
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What realm is this, devoid of splendour, appearing like persons of very little merit?
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Who are these misshapen ones? Tell this before me! // 10
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The two attendants said:
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This is the realm of the piśācas; flesh-eaters dwell here.
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Those who feel remorse after giving, or give while diminishing [the gift], // 11
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or who, with impure minds, worship Śiva only once and by chance—
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these are the piśācas, of little merit and little fortune, my friend. // 12
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Then, proceeding, he saw ahead a realm filled with joyful and plump people,
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inhabited by beings with potbellies, thick mouths, sounds deep like thunderclouds,
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with dark limbs, and hairy.
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O attendants, tell: who are these? What is this realm, and by what merit [is it attained]? // 13–14
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The two attendants said:
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This is the realm of the guhyakas, and these indeed are known as guhyakas.
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Those who, having earned wealth lawfully on earth, conceal it, // 15
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householders who follow their own path, are rich in wealth, mostly śūdras,
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who eat after sharing, and are free from anger and envy; // 16
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they know neither lunar day nor weekday, nor solstice, transit, nor festival day,
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nor do they know non-righteousness or righteousness—they are ever happy. // 17
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They know only one thing: the brahmin who is worshipped by the family;
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to him they give cows and clearly respect his word. // 18
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Because of that merit, the guhyakas, enjoying prosperity even here,
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enjoy heavenly pleasures like gods, free from all fear. // 19
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Then he looked upon a realm that delighted the eyes.
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Who are these people, and what is the name of this realm? O attendants, speak! // 20
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The two attendants said:
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This realm is of the gandharvas, and these are gandharvas of auspicious vows.
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They are the singers of the gods, cāraṇas, and chanters of praise. // 21
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Knowing music, they please rulers of men with superb singing,
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and, deluded by greed for wealth, they also praise the rich. // 22
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Fine clothes and riches obtained through the favour of kings,
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as well as fragrant substances such as camphor and the like in abundance, // 23
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they give to brahmins; day and night they sing songs.
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Their minds are set only on musical tones, having taken pains in the science of dramaturgy. // 24
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By that merit, this realm of the gandharvas is distinguished for them,
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in that brahmins were indeed pleased with wealth earned through the art of singing. // 25
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By the power of the art of music, the great celestial seer Nārada
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is honoured in the realm of Viṣṇu and is exceedingly dear to glorious Śambhu. // 26
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Tumburu and Nārada, both are very difficult even for the gods to attain;
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for Śiva is sound itself incarnate, and those two truly know the reality of sound.
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If a song is sung somewhere in the presence of glorious Hari and Hara,
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they say its fruit is liberation, or presence with both of them.
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Even if one who knows music does not attain the highest state through singing,
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he becomes an attendant of Rudra and rejoices along with him.
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In this world, this traditional precept is always sung:
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The two gods Hari and Hara are always to be worshipped with a garland of songs.
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Listening thus, in an instant he reached another charming [place].
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Then Śivaśarman asked: "What is the name of this city?"
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The two attendants said:
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"This is the Vidyādhara world, skilled in diverse arts and sciences.
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These [residents] give to seekers of knowledge food, sandals, clothing, and blankets,
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and also medicines that alleviate their afflictions.
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Free from pride of learning, they teach various arts.
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They view a disciple like a son, [providing him] with clothes, betel, and food,
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and out of righteousness they give excellent maidens, adorned [with ornaments], in marriage.
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With longing mind, they continually worship their chosen deities.
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Through these merits, these excellent Vidyādharas dwell here."
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While they were speaking in this manner, the lord of Saṃyaminī,
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Dharmarāja, arrived accompanied by the sounds of divine drums,
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placid in form, seated in an aerial chariot, surrounded by those who know righteousness,
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along with three or four servants skilled in acts of service.
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Dharmarāja said:
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"Well done, well done, O highly intelligent one, Śivaśarman, best of brahmins!
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You have accomplished that which is befitting the lineage of brahmins.
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The study of the Vedas was performed earlier, and your teachers were gratified;
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the righteousness seen in the Dharmaśāstras and Purāṇas has been respected by you.
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This quickly perishable body has been washed with the waters of the City of Liberation [Vārāṇasī].
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You alone are truly wise regarding this life and what lies beyond life.
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This foul-smelling corpse, always a vessel of impurity,
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has been well exchanged by you for the merchandise of merits from excellent sacred fords.
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For this very reason, wise men value true learning;
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those wise men do not waste even a single moment in idle passage of days.
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In the mortal world, living beings breathe for a mere few winks of an eye, surely;
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even then, they should not engage in sinful, censurable action.
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The body is ever prone to decay; wealth does not protect at death.
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Why then should even a fool not strive for exalted tasks, like you?
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Life passes swiftly and is ephemeral; the world is distressed by sorrow.
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Therefore, the mind must be set upon righteousness by truly virtuous men, as by you.
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This is the fruition of your good deeds; ah, both [of these beings] are venerable even to me,
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since these two devotees of the Lord have entered into friendship with you.
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Therefore give me an order: what assistance may I render?
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Whatever was to be done by people like me has indeed already been accomplished by you.
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Today I am extremely blessed here, since I have seen the two attendants of the Lord.
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Service [to them] should always be made known to me in the presence of their glorious feet."
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Then, having been sent off by the two, Yama entered his own city.
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And after Yama had departed, the brahmin questioned the two attendants.
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Śivaśarman said:
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"This Dharmarāja in person has, indeed, an exceedingly placid appearance,
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and his words are entirely righteous and pleasing to the mind.
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This city, Saṃyamanī, has exceedingly auspicious marks;
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yet sinners tremble greatly even on hearing his name.
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In the mortal realm, people describe Yama's form quite differently;
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yet he was seen by me differently. O two attendants, tell me the reason for that!
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By what means do people behold this realm, and who dwell here in such a manner?
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Is this alone his form, or is there another? Please explain!"
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The two attendants said:
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"Listen, gentle one: he is seen as exceedingly placid by persons like you,
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for he is righteousness personified by his very nature, [seen thus] by fearless beings possessing heaps of merit.
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This very one, indeed, is tawny-eyed, with corners of his eyes reddened with rage,
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his face dreadful with fangs, terrifying as he darts out [his tongue like] lightning,
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with hair standing upright, an extremely dark body, and a roar like clouds at the dissolution of the world,
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holding the staff of Death raised in his hand, his face twisted with knitted brows.
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"Bring him here! Cast him down! Bind him! Do not release him, O Durdama!
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Strike this exceedingly wicked person violently on the head with iron hammers!
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Seize the two feet of this wicked man and beat him against the stone surface!
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Place your foot on his throat and tear out his two eyes!
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Swiftly slice open his swollen cheeks with a razor!
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Bind his neck with a noose and hang him from a tree!
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Rip open his head with a saw like a piece of wood!
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Crush his face completely, striking it with dreadful kicks from your heels!
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Sever the hand of this sinner that reaches out for another man's wife!
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And cut off both feet of him who goes to another man's wife's house!
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Pierce the body all over at the hair follicles with needles,
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of this evil-minded one who set rows of nail-marks upon the limbs of another's wife!
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Spit into the mouth of him who smells the face of another's wife!
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Drive a sharp spike into the mouth of him who speaks slander against others!
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Roast him like chickpeas with potsherds of heated sand,
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in an oven, O Vikaṭavaktra—him who causes torment to others!
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O Krūralocana, of him who always casts blame upon the faultless,
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submerge his face in the mud of pus and blood!
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Of him who takes unbestowed goods belonging to others, his sprout-like hand
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plunge repeatedly into oil and cook on blazing embers, O Utkaṭa!
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Of him who speaks censure of his guru, and him who censures the gods,
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cast heated iron rods into his mouth, O Bhīṣaṇa!
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And of him who touches the vital spots of others, revealing the faults of others,
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drive red-hot iron spikes into all his joints!
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When one is giving his own [wealth] to another, of the sinful person who prevents it,
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and of him who cuts off the livelihoods of others, cut out his tongue, O Durmukha!
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O Kroḍāsya, of him who consumes the property of a deity, and him who eats the property of a brahmin,
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tear open his belly swiftly and fill it with worms of feces!
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He who never cooks for a deity, nor for a brahmin, nor for the sake of guests—
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cook that one who cooks only for himself in Kumbhīpāka, O Andhaka!
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O Ugrāsya, this murderer of children, this destroyer of trust,
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this ungrateful man, lead swiftly to Mahāraurava and Raurava!
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And [lead] the slayer of a brahmin to Andhatāmisra, the drinker of liquor to Pūyaśoṇita,
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the stealer of gold to Kālasūtra, and the violator of the guru's bed to Avīci!
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Likewise, his associate to the forest of sword-leaves for a full year!
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These great sinners [plunge] into a cauldron of heated oil,
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repeatedly submerging them, O Durdaṃṣṭra; by ravens with iron beaks
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make these most sinful ones, continually struck, dwell there for an entire kalpa!
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The killer of a woman, the killer of a cow, and the killer of a friend, upon the thorny Śālmali tree
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hang for a long time, with feet upwards and head downwards!
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And tear off his skin with pincers, O mighty-armed one!
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Tear out the two arms of him who embraced the wife of a friend, O Śuca!
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Into the hell of Jvālākīla, exceedingly dreadful, cast that one down
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who burns another's field or another's house with fire!
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And into Kālakūṭa [cast] the poisoner and the speaker of false witness;
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the user of false measures and the user of false scales, cast down into Kaṇṭhamoṭa!
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And lead to Lālāpiba, O Duṣprekṣya, the one who spits in sacred fords!
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And into Āmapāka [cast] the destroyer of an embryo; into Śūlapāka the tormentor of others!
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Crush in a sugarcane press the brahmin who sells juices!
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Cast down the king who oppresses his subjects into the blind well!
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The vile twice-born who sells cows, sesame seeds, and horses,
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and the seller of the wife of a maternal uncle and of liquor, O Halāyudha,
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[and] the vaiśya [who does so], pound him again and again in a mortar with a pestle!
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The śūdra who disdains a twice-born, who sits upon a couch in the presence of a twice-born,
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torment in the hell with head downwards, O Dīrghagrīva!
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The śūdra who defeats a brahmin, and the vaiśya who considers himself equal to a brahmin—"
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and the kṣatriya who acts as an officiating priest, and the vipra devoid of the Veda,
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and the seller of lac, salt, and meat, along with oil, poison, and clarified butter,
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weapons, and sugarcane products—that lowest of twice-born men!
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“O noose-in-hand, O whip-in-hand! Having firmly bound their feet,
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striking them with lashes of the whip, lead them into the scalding mire!
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Quickly embrace this unchaste woman, the defiler of her lineage,
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together with her paramour, made of glowing red-hot iron!
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He who, having taken a vow upon himself, abandons it with senses unrestrained—
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take that uncontrollable man to the torment of many bees and gnats!”
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Prattling thus and so, Yama is heard from afar by the wicked;
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he is seen as terrifying by sinners apprehensive of their own deeds.
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Those who protect their subjects here like their own begotten sons,
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and punish in accordance with dharma—those kings are his councillors.
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In whose realm the classes and stages of life adhere to their proper duty,
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those kings, having met their death in the course of time, are his councillors.
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Neither wretched, nor wicked, nor fallen into misfortune, nor grieving
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are seen in whose realm—those kings are his councillors.
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Brahmins, kṣatriyas, and vaiśyas who are ever devoted to their own duties,
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and whatever other self-restrained men there be, dwell in Saṃyaminī.
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Uśīnara, Sudhanvan, Vṛṣaparvan, Jayadratha,
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Linked texts (1)
- Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit