Skandapurana 5.130

English (machine translation) 5.130

Language: English

5.130.1

The Lord said: / ‘This night has been assigned, O ruler of the gods, to the Dānavas, / and especially to Piśācas, Bhūtas, and Rākṣasas.

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Whatever auspicious rite is performed then, such as ritual ablution, / all of that belongs to them; this was granted long ago by the Self-manifest.’

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when a boundary was set by him alongside them and the gods, / who are worthy of their share of the sacrifice, for the elder-born offspring of Kaśyapa.

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For that purpose, ten thousand Dānavas, arrogant in battle, / holding spears and darts, blocking the sun with raised bows;

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The water that is cast aiming at the thousand-rayed sun / with the Savitṛ mantra results in their [destruction].

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Slain instantly by that water, which is like a thunderbolt, / they release the thousand-rayed sun, O ruler of the gods, constantly.

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For this reason I cast water that has the form of a missile, / addressing the twilight hour and the sun, not [worshiping] twilight [as a woman], O Pārvatī.

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Whatever the best person practices, those standing behind follow that. / When the sun advances toward sunrise, the cruel [demons] obstruct him.

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They too, O goddess, slain by the twilight waters by the best of brahmins / and by me, release him, fainting and falling down.

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For this reason, O goddess, at both twilights, / I and whatever other brahmins there are bow down to the daymaker.

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Therefore, abandon jealousy and return home, O daughter of the mountain; / abandoning you, who are praiseworthy, there is no other woman in my heart."

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The goddess said: / "Whether without desire or with desire, that you bow to this twilight, / who is named as a woman, O lord of gods, causes grief to me.

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Therefore, until you abandon the Gaṅgā and especially the twilight, / O god, there will be no satisfaction for me."

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Having spoken thus, the goddess then undertook a special vow, / showing disregard even for Mahādeva, though he himself was pleading.

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Then he reflected, "What is this state of affairs? / Even though estranged, why does she not show longing for me?

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And Pārvatī can by no means be appeased by conciliation; / the goddess is consumed by false jealousy—surely this is no small cause."

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Then, knowing that power of the mantra, the supreme lord, / having taken up meditation through very subtle knowledge, then himself

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worshiped that very mantra through the mantra and especially through nyāsa, / fully worshiping the Self by the Self.

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Just as the goddess worshiped her own five forms, having separated them, / so the god entered into the midst of all of them,

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and worshiped them, having separated them through absorption; / and having projected them outward again, he then performed the worship.

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Therefore there is no other higher being; he alone is the worshiper and the worshiped. / Because of his lordship over all gods, he manifested as Īśāna.

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While the lord Īśāna was worshiping in this manner, / the goddess, drawn by the mantra, arrived where he was.

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Then, prostrating herself with folded hands, she spoke to the god: / "All is understood by me, O omnipresent one; do not abandon me, your beloved!

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Therefore come, let us go wherever you wish, O lord; / forgive me everything, O god—that I did not obey your word."

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Then Mahādeva, delighted, embraced her of pure smiles / and spoke these words, laughing loudly, with a voice deep as a thundercloud:

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"This supreme body which has been created, arising from yourself— / whatever woman with desire worships this with devotion, / by this very procedure, will obtain a husband.

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Especially on the third lunar day for a year, O auspicious one, / she will obtain an excellent beloved who gives sons and grants all desires.

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Likewise, whichever men worship this form of mine named Īśāna, / their beloved, even if malicious, will become gentle.

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Moreover, those who worship with devotion for the sake of obtaining a maiden, / fixing that maiden in their minds, will without doubt obtain her.

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And whatever mortals, devoid of desire, worship constantly, / they will attain supreme perfection, free from old age and death."

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Having spoken thus, Mahādeva placed his beloved upon the bull, / and having mounted it himself afterwards, went to Mount Kailāsa.

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Nārada said: / "Therefore, let this daughter of yours quickly worship that / auspicious Gaurī consisting of five lumps, for the duration of a year,

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especially on the third lunar day; then she will obtain an excellent husband, / eager to gaze upon her face, exceedingly loving, endowed with good qualities such as beauty."

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Śāṇḍilī said: / "Having spoken thus, Nārada, the best of sages, then departed / on a pilgrimage to sacred fords, affectionately seen off by my mother.

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And by me also, according to his instruction, staying in maidenhood, / worship was performed for a year with the desire for a husband,

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especially on the third lunar day, beginning in the month of Mārga, O auspicious one, / with various offerings, gifts, fragrant incenses, garlands, and ointments.

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Through its power this excellent brahmin named Jaimini was obtained, / whom you have seen, O Kātyāyanī; what need is there to speak of others?

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Therefore you too, O blessed one, worship her with a concentrated mind; / you will attain great marital fortune equal to Maitreyī, O auspicious one.

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This Gaurī was not worshiped by you while living in maidenhood / for a year on the third lunar day, nor beyond that.

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Because of that, cowife rivalry has arisen, even though your marital fortune is unobstructed. / [Worship] the goddess according to the prescribed rite; this truth has been spoken by me."

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Sūta said: / Having heard all that was proclaimed by Śāṇḍilī, / Kātyāyanī then bowed to her, took her leave, and went to her own house.

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Then, when Mārgaśīrṣa arrived, on the third day of the bright fortnight, / she worshiped that goddess for a year, having found her opportunity.

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She fed married women with delicious foods and savors, / free from oil and salt, and honored them with perfumes beginning with saffron.

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Then, when the year was completed, Yājñavalkya approached her / and said: "What hardship are you undergoing, O you of pure smile,

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when I am your beloved, impassioned, and always fulfilling your desires? / Therefore come, let us go to our own abode, O auspicious one!"

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Having spoken thus, he took her, who was joyful and whose limbs were bristling with hair-thrills, / by the right hand and then went to his home.

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Thereafter, with a delighted countenance, he lived with her, / just as [he lived] with Maitreyī, always without differentiation.

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Then upon her he begot a son endowed with virtues, / named Kātyāyana, who was discerning in the knowledge of sacrifice.

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His son was Vararuci, an ocean of virtues, / omniscient in all rites and proficient in the Vedas and Vedāṅgas.

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By him, for the sake of seekers of learning, was installed here in this auspicious sacred field, / having worshipped [him] especially on a Friday fourth lunar day,

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the great Gaṇapati, with devotion, the grantor of all learning. / O brahmins, whoever before him, according to the rite of reciting the śānti hymns,

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takes up a garland of flowers and recites according to his capacity, O best of the twice-born, / that brahmin will always be an author of Vedānta in birth after birth.

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And if through incapacity for recitation he takes it with money, / that brahmin will especially become proficient in the Vedas and Vedāṅgas.

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He will always obtain birth in the home of learned men who perform sacrifices, / never in any way among fools or censured men.

Thus ends the hundred and thirty-first chapter, named 'Description of the Māhātmya of the Gaṇapati Installed by Vararuci' in the Māhātmya of the Origin of Īśāna and the Five Piṇḍikā-Gaurīs, in the Māhātmya of the Sacred Field of Hāṭakeśvara, in the sixth section, the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.

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Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit