Skandapurana 5.168

English (machine translation) 5.168

Language: English

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The seers said: / Why is she said to give satisfaction especially to the Nāgaras? / Why is she renowned on the surface of the earth by the name Dhārā? / 1

Sūta said: / Formerly, in Camatkārapura, there was a virtuous ascetic woman / renowned by the name Dhārā, an excellent Nāgara brahmin lady; / previously, she had a friendship with the very wise Arundhatī. / 2

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When Arundhatī arrived in auspicious Camatkārapura / for the purpose of a ritual ablution at the Śaṅkhatīrtha, having come with Vasiṣṭha, / 3

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she was seen there by her, standing on the tip of her big toe, / feeding on wind, taking no food, endowed with a divine form. / 4

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And that virtuous woman was questioned by her: "Who are you? Whose daughter are you, O auspicious one? / For what purpose do you stand in severe austerity? Tell me, O auspicious one!" / 5

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Dhārā said: / "I am the daughter of the Nāgara brahmin named Devaśarman. / While I was in my childhood, widowhood befell me. / 6

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Having heard the greatness of Śaṅkhatīrtha and of Śaṅkheśvara, / I have stayed right here, devoted to his worship alone." / 7

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Arundhatī said: / "A great affection toward you has arisen in me from seeing you. / Therefore, come; let us both go to my auspicious hermitage. / 8

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On the pure bank of the Sarasvatī, which destroys all sins, / constantly delighting in discourses on the sacred scriptures, stay there with me." / 9

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Then that ascetic woman departed along with her, / having been permitted by her father, her mother, and her relatives.

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Her friendship with her lasted for a long time. / Then, after some time, that spear arrived there,

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created by Viśvāmitra for the slaying of Vasiṣṭha. / Paralyzed by Vasiṣṭha, she was turned into a goddess, / worthy of worship by gods and mortals, giving protection to all, auspicious.

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Then, O brahmins, a temple resembling the peak of Kailāsa, / adorned with various jewels, was built for her by Dhārā.

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Then that female ascetic offered praise to her:

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"Salutations to you, supreme Brāhmī! Salutations, salutations to Dhārayogā! / Salutations to you, the half-mātrā, the supreme void, and half of its half!

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Salutations to you, support of the universe! Salutations to you, bearer of beings! / Salutations to you, whose eyes are like lotus petals! Salutations to you, possessing the luster of gold!

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Salutations to you, splendid on a lion mount! Salutations to you, great-armed goddess! / Salutations to you, cherished by the deities! Salutations to you, slayer of Daityas!

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Salutations to you, who severed the head from Mahiṣa's overpowered body! / Salutations to you, fond of the Vindhya mountains, delighting in offerings of wine and meat!

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You are Lakṣmī, you are Śacī, Gaurī; you are Siddhi, you are Vibhāvarī; / you are Svāhā, you are Svadhā, contentment; you are nourishment, you are the sovereign goddess.

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You are of the nature of Śakti, O goddess, the cause of creation and dissolution. / All this threefold world, with the moving and the unmoving, is seen in you.

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Just as oil resides in sesame seeds, just as ghee resides in curds, / and the fire-eater in wood, well hidden and not easily found,

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so also you, O sovereign of deities, although omnipresent, are not perceived."

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Sūta said: / Remembered by this supreme hymn of praise, that supreme goddess / was worshipped day after day for many collections of years.

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Then, after some time, on the bright eighth lunar day of Caitra, / on that day that goddess, having been bathed in the river, was worshipped.

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Then, having given the bali offering and worship, she was praised with this hymn. / Thereupon, manifesting visibly, she spoke to that ascetic woman:

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"Daughter, I am pleased with this hymn of praise, O sinless one; blessings to you! / Choose a boon, blessings to you! I shall grant what you desire."

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Dhārā said: / "If you are pleased with me, O goddess, if a boon is to be granted to me, / then let this temple bear solely my name as well as yours.

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Furthermore, whatever Nāgara here, on this day arriving, / makes three circumambulations and offers three fruits to you,

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and praising you with this hymn makes a bow, / from all disease he must be protected by you for a full year. / And whatever woman may be barren, she must become endowed with sons; / an unfortunate woman must obtain good fortune; an ugly woman must obtain beauty; / a sick woman must be freed from sickness and endowed with all happiness."

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The goddess said: / "Known as Dhārā in this temple built by you / I shall be, without doubt, for the sake of your fame forever.

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Whatever Nāgara here, having come with devotion, O ascetic woman, / makes three circumambulations after offering me three fruits,

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he too shall be free from disease for a full year." / Having spoken thus, that goddess then vanished from sight.

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Dhārā also remained there together with Arundhatī; / even today she is seen in the sky, positioned near her.

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Whoever recounts this story of the origin of Dhārā / or listens to it, O best of brahmins, is freed from the sin born of the day.

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Therefore, it should be recited especially with every effort, / and it should be heard with devotion, especially by the Nāgaras.

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Thus ends the one hundred and sixty-ninth chapter, named "Account of the Origin of the Name of Dhārā and the Description of the Māhātmya of Goddess Dhārā," in the Māhātmya of Hāṭakeśvara Kṣetra, in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, the sixth [part] of the Skanda Mahāpurāṇa in eighty-one thousand verses.

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit