Skandapurana 5.184

English (machine translation) 5.184

Language: English

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The guest said: / All this has been related to you, how Piṅgalā became my guru. / How the osprey became [my guru], that I will tell.

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I had great wealth, abundant and ancestral.

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The sons, heirs, and relatives who were there— / all of them constantly tormented me for the sake of the wealth of crops.

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Whomever I did not give to, he harassed me, / sinking into deep despair and displaying the loss of his life.

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Some begged for wealth with gentle words, and others by creating division; / yet others with threats of danger, and some with punishment, O brahmins.

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Thus I found no happiness anywhere by their side, O sirs! / Pondering day and night the complete cessation of my distress, / I saw no means whereby peace could arise.

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On another day, an osprey was seen, holding meat in its beak, / flying through the sky in haste,

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being struck on all sides by various birds for the sake of the meat. / Then it dropped that meat out of fear of the birds.

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In that very instant it became happy, and all [the birds] departed. / By me too, afflicted in the same manner by my own relatives,

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having seen the osprey with meat being struck by those without meat, / [I realized]: through the abandonment of the meat, the osprey thrives in happiness.

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Deciding thus in my mind, I brought together all my relatives, / and then all my sons and grandsons, and declared before them:

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"Taking an oath three times truthfully: there is nothing else in my house. / Dividing the property according to rule, take it, O relatives!"

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From then on, released by them, I dwell happily, O brahmins. / For this reason, that osprey became my guru.

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Abundance of wealth leads to delusion, and delusion leads to hell. / Therefore, one who seeks liberation should abandon that wealth, which is misfortune, from afar.

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Just as meat is devoured by fish in water, by wild beasts on earth, / and by birds in the sky, so is a wealthy man everywhere.

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Even a blameless rich man is harassed by kings and others; / a poor man, even if he has committed a fault, is unmolested everywhere.

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Supported by others, stumbling at every step, / they babble falteringly—the wealthy, like drunkards.

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Hatred toward the devoted, outward affection, appetite fickle for heavy or light, / and constant bitterness in the mouth—of the rich, like people with fever.

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There is suffering in earning wealth, and in guarding what has been earned; / there is suffering in its loss, suffering in its expenditure: fie upon wealth, a vessel of suffering!

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Seeking wealth, this world of living beings serves even the cremation ground; / leaving even their progenitor destitute, even sons depart.

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A father is dear to a son, and a son to a father, / only as long as there is to be no dealing of wealth between the two; / when a relation arisen from wealth occurs, mutual enmity arises.

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For this reason, wealth was abandoned by me, O you rich in asceticism. / Therefore I dwell in happiness, through the instruction of the osprey.

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And listen, O fortunate ones, how the serpent was my guru,

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how I abandoned home having seen the conduct of the serpent. / Undertaking a household leads to great suffering, never to happiness.

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Entering a dwelling made by another, the serpent thrives in happiness; / having dwelt there pleasantly, it moves again to another such.

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It never makes the sense of 'mine' saying: 'This is my home.' / No house belongs to it, because it did not build one itself.

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He, however, who builds a mansion himself with various troubles, / that does not follow him after death, even when he has departed.

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From a home arises a wife, and then a son and a daughter; / for their sake he then commits what should and should not be done.

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Enveloping himself like a silkworm, he does not understand.

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Attached to sons, wives, houses, and fields, living beings sink down, / drowned in an ocean-mire of greed, like decrepit wild elephants.

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One man commits sins; the multitude enjoys the fruit. / The enjoyers are freed, but the doer is tainted by the fault.

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For this reason, O best of brahmins, I abandoned [household] duty / having seen the behavior of a snake, which was an obstacle on the path to liberation. 32

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He should stay one night in a village, and three nights in a city. / He who wanders thus is called an ascetic; anyone else is a mocker of yoga. 33

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He who wanders for bee-like alms when smoke has ceased and fires are extinguished, / and in the houses of the foremost brahmins—he is remembered as an ascetic, not another. 34

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Carrying a staff, he should beg alms, without that very vice [of clinging]; / he who remains, but does not attain dispassion, is certainly no ascetic. 35

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Sleeping by day, useless food, conversation about women, gazing [at them], / white garments, and gold: these are the six downfalls of ascetics. 36

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Equal toward enemy and friend, viewing a clod of earth, a stone, and gold as equal, / indifferent toward a friend or a son: he is remembered as an ascetic, not another. 37

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Equal in honor and dishonor, whether in his own land or abroad, / he who neither rejoices nor hates: he is remembered as an ascetic, not another. 38

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In whichever house he receives special alms or food, / he who does not go there again: he is remembered as an ascetic, not another. 39

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Having understood this, O brahmin, and having seen the behavior of the snake, / the abandonment of all attachments was resolved upon by me for the sake of liberation. 40

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In this way the serpent became my guru, O best of brahmins; / by its power, great splendor arose in my body. 41

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I shall also tell how the black bee became my guru: / in a certain tree, a certain black bee was seen by me as it arrived. 42

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Resorting to a branch, it made its previous dwelling. / When the spring season arrived, and the trees were in bloom, 43

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bearing fragrant fruits and blossoms, and endowed with fragrant leaves, / taking an atom from them, the finest and most excellent nectar, 44

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it always deposited it at the tip of a branch of that tree; / joyful and untiring, it was then carefully observed [by me]. 45

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Then, after a great deal of time, a great honeycomb was formed, / through which honey hundreds and thousands of others obtained satisfaction. 46

Having observed that activity, and [studying] numerous other scriptures, / having extracted the essential core from them separately, / numerous treatises and Vedānta texts were composed in full [by me], 47

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which others—just as bees [live on honey]—the brahmins live upon. 48

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Thus the honey-drinker became a guru to me, O best of brahmins; / endowed with that splendor, I [live]; there is no other reason here. 49

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Those Vedānta teachers who arise here, endowed with vows, / free from greed, and devoid of thirst—they become full of great splendor. 50

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Those of evil intellect who arise lacking even one [of these virtues], / filled with greed and delusion, sinful, they become senseless. 51

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Having seen and reflected upon numerous Vedāntas, / treatises of equal nature were composed by me, desiring the welfare of the mortal world. 52

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Thus the honey-drinker attained guruship for me, O best of brahmins; / I shall also tell you how the arrow-maker became [my guru]. 53

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In order to perceive the self, thousands of yogins endowed with knowledge / were seen by me, and they spoke according to their own capacity: 54

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‘Perception of the self will occur for a good disciple in this manner: / through the gateway born of samādhi, and through the eighty-four 55

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postures of that measure, beginning with the lotus posture, / through countless methods, and through study of spiritual philosophy.’ / Even so, the self was not perceived by me at all. 56

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Then, having attained dispassion, I wandered about the earth / in search of a guru, yet I did not find a guru for the perception of the self. 57

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When another day arrived, as I walked along the royal highway, / a king surrounded by a vast army was seen by me. 58

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Then, stepping off the path from facing the king, / I stood slightly elevated, taking shelter at the entrance of a hut. 59

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There also stood a certain man, a maker of shafts, / engaged in the work of straightening arrows with curved joints. 60

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When that king had gone far off, another servant approached. 61

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Filled with haste, even while I was listening, O brahmins, he asked him / who was intent on the work of shafts, absorbed at that time in straightening: 62

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‘How long has it been since the lord of the earth departed / by this road? Tell me, so that I may go after him.’ 63

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That man, standing with his face downward, then said to him, O brahmins: / ‘A king passing along this royal highway 64

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was not seen by me just now, O king’s servant. / Therefore ask another; if you have business with him, let him tell you. 65

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I am standing here wholly intent upon the work of arrows.’ / Hearing that speech of his, it was contemplated by me in my own mind: 66

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‘Yoga, which gives rise to knowledge of Brahman, comes from single-mindedness; / it will not be mine otherwise. Therefore, I shall perform restraint of the mind / for the complete realization of Brahman; from that, it will come to be.’ 67

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From then on, in my own mind, I always hold / the universal-formed sun residing in the lotus of the heart. 68

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Then, in the quarters, in the ends of the quarters, in the sky, and on the surface of the earth, / I see only that One, and nothing else, O best of brahmins. 69

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And I, endowed with splendor, remain by its power. 70

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Thus that arrow-maker became my guru, O best of brahmins; / hear how formerly a young girl became my guru. 71

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When, renouncing all attachment, I departed from home, / my wife followed right behind me. 72

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Taking a young son and a beautiful girl, / I, having entered the forest-dweller stage, was then addressed by my wife: 73

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‘Heed my words: liberation will certainly happen right here! / Whether a student, a householder, a forest-dweller, or an ascetic, / if he has a self-controlled mind, he surely attains liberation. 74

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Otherwise, if you abandon me and go elsewhere, / then I shall die; this is true without doubt.’ 75

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When I am dead, these two children will follow me in death, / both the girl and the boy; therefore, my lord, have compassion.

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Do not go to any other sacred ford, though you know it yourself; / this sacred field born of Hāṭakeśvara is known to be far more holy.

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I have heard this said of all the sacred fords, O powerful lord, / by the foremost of brahmins as well as by other ascetics.

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This verse has been repeated many times, O lord, as heard by me, / from the mouth of Viśvāmitra, that virtuous, truth-speaking sage:

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All sacred fords cleanse without doubt through bath and gift; / but the sacred field born of Hāṭakeśvara purifies even by remembrance.’

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Then with difficulty I undertook to dwell in a hermitage, / entering upon the forest-dweller's stage; and so I stayed there.

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While I was staying there, the girl was playing nearby, / her forearms on both sides filled with bangles here and there.

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As she ate [nothing but] edible tubers, roots, and fruits, / her body grew thinner and thinner day by day.

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Then sorrow arose in me, born of their falling off. / But after some time, only three bangles remained / on her arm, and from them a clinking sound was produced together.

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Then after a long time, only one of them remained; / and no friction and no sound arose from it as it rested there.

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Pondering that, I abandoned even that hermitage; / and in my heart I reflected, having formed this firm resolve:

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‘With many there is perpetual quarrel; with two there is friction. / I will wander alone, just like the girl’s bangle.’

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Then, having abandoned my sleeping wife with the child, / I traveled far along the path, where she would not find me.

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Sleeping wherever the sun set, eating whatever was obtained, / I wandered the surface of the earth, abandoning the bond of worldly existence.

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Then, O brahmins, knowledge arose in me thus by degrees, / especially of the past, the future, and the present.

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In this way, O best of the twice-born, that little girl became my teacher.

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All this has been related to you because I was questioned about my guru; / I am not speaking untruth before you in any way.

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In these six ways knowledge was born in me; / through these arose transcendental knowledge that produces conviction in you.

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Sūta said: / Then all those brahmins, the best of the twice-born, questioned him: / ‘Having abandoned the forest-dweller’s hermitage, your wife, and your child, / where did you go then? Tell us, and how long did you remain there?’

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The guest said: / Afraid, I [passed through] thousands and hundreds of villages, / sleeping wherever the sun set, O best of the twice-born, / through innumerable hundreds of years.

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The foremost sacred fords were seen, and likewise sacred shrines; / lofty mountains were seen, and rivers of pure water.

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While residing in Vārāṇasī, it was known by me on my own / that a sacrifice by Pitāmaha [Brahmā] was to take place in this place of mine.

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Therefore, O best of the twice-born, I arrived quickly out of curiosity: / ‘What kind of sacrifice will that be, where Pitāmaha is the sacrificer?’

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Sūta said: / In the meantime, all the gods, accompanied by Indra, arrived, / placing Vāsudeva and Maheśvara at their head.

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Having reached the proper turn, the officiating priests such as Pulastya, / and Brahmā himself, clad in a deer skin, also arrived.

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Then they were pleased with that knowledge of his; / and all the gods, being granters of boons, said to him:

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‘Therefore choose a boon—hail to you!—ask for whatever you desire. / We will surely give it to you, even if it is very difficult to obtain.’

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The guest said: / ‘If the gods are pleased and grant me a boon, / I ask for godhood in this very body,

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together with a sacrificial share equal to that of the other gods, / and especially, O best of gods, a dwelling situated above.’

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The gods said: / ‘You will certainly become a god and dwell in heaven / in this very body, but devoid of a sacrificial share.

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If we were to give a sacrificial share to you, a human, O brahmin, / the Vedic revelation would become unauthoritative by our giving it to you.’

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The guest said: / ‘I have no need of godhood if it is devoid of a sacrificial share. / Therefore, I shall strive in such a way that liberation may occur.’

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Hearing that, [Brahmā], born of the lotus, with folded hands, said to all the gods: / ‘Let all the deities listen to the beneficial words I speak.

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This brahmin has come from far away to my sacrifice; / being a Nāgara in particular, he is a vessel born of wisdom.

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Moreover, since a boon was promised to him by all the gods, / let what is desired be given to him, O best of gods.’

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Maheśvara said: / ‘Let the best of gods listen to how I will explain / in what way his satisfaction may always be greater than a sacrificial share.

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Hari is remembered as the lord of this sacrifice that is being performed; / for this reason that god is called the Person of Sacrifice.

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From this day onward, whatever ancestral rite takes place among mortals, / whether offered to gods or to ancestors, he shall be placed at the conclusion of it.

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Having recited his name, and then reciting that of the Person of Sacrifice, / food is to be given to the brahmin, O best of the twice-born.

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Thereby his satisfaction will always be greater than at the conclusion of a sacrifice. / Whatever ancestral rite may be performed without giving to him,

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all of that will become fruitless, like an oblation poured onto ashes. / And whoever will worship him at the conclusion of the rite to the All-gods—

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Equaling the name of Viṣṇu, it shall become imperishable, / even if very little is given, provided it is given with a mind purified by faith. // 117

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And whoever does not worship him at a śrāddha or a vaiśvadeva sacrifice, / everything he has performed will turn out to be futile. // 118

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When he is pleased, all the gods will attain delight; / and the ancestors come to him [who gives], turning away when he turns away, and facing him when he faces [the guest]. // 119

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Hearing those words of Maheśvara at that time, all the gods, / headed by Brahmā and Viṣṇu, joyfully replied, “So be it!” // 6.185.120

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From that time forth, the worship of the guest was established. / Therefore, with all effort, worship of the guest must always be performed / at the sacrifice of the Supreme Person, and never for oneself alone. // 121

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The Guest said: / “Here is my sacred ford where I performed austerity / in the sacred field born of Hāṭakeśvara in ancient times, O best of twice-borns. // 122

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Whenever the fourth lunar day falls together with Tuesday, / presence must be established there on that day by all the gods. // 123

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Whoever performs ritual ablution right there, that day being present, / let him obtain the fruit of all sacred fords by your grace!” // 124

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Then all the best of gods said to the Guest, “So be it!” / In the meantime, the seer Pulastya spoke to the Grandfather: // 125

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Pulastya said: / “All the priests, the gods, are standing eager with curiosity. / Let them rise quickly for the successful performance of the sacrificial rites.” // 126

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In the meantime, impelled by his words, all the officiating priests / arose and took their respective places. / Then, O best of twice-borns, that sacrifice proceeded once again, / as they performed the sacrificial rites beginning with the oblations. // 127

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Thus ends the one hundred and eighty-fifth chapter, named 'Description of the Origin and Greatness of the Sacred Ford', in the Greatness of the Sacred Field of Hāṭakeśvara, in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, the sixth [part] of the eighty-one-thousand-verse compilation in the glorious Skanda Purāṇa. // 185

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit