Skandapurana 5.209

English (machine translation) 5.209

Language: English

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Viśvāmitra said: / Having heard those words of that celestial seer Nārada, / King Siddhasena, having attained that supreme conjunction,

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when the month of Mādhava arrived, on the eighth day [of the lunar fortnight], on a Sunday, / at the rise of the sun, as soon as he had bathed and worshipped the Sun,

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he was instantly freed from leprosy. / Having then obtained a divine body, he experienced supreme contentment.

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He then performed expiation for the consumption of betel, / which, along with the leaf and lime, he had done out of ignorance.

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And then that ruler of the earth attained supreme prosperity; / he administered his ancestral kingdom just as before.

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All this māhātmya arising from Śaṅkhatīrtha has been told to you, / O best of kings. What more do you wish to hear?

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Ānarta said: / This is most wondrous, O holy one, which you have proclaimed, / that his fortune was destroyed because of consuming the leaf with lime.

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What kind of expiation was performed by him for purification? / And how did he restore his own kingdom as before?

Viśvāmitra said: / This betel vine is most meritorious and pure, O ruler of men; / [yet] consumed improperly in the mouth, it brings many faults. / Therefore, it should be consumed with care, and after giving according to one's capacity.

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Ānarta said: / How was the betel vine born? Why is it considered a great fault / to eat it improperly? You ought to tell me this now.

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Viśvāmitra said: / This is a heavy burden of questions that has been set forth to me by you; / nevertheless, I shall tell you, O king, if you are curious, / why fault arises from consuming the leaf with lime.

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Long ago, for the sake of nectar, the jar-like ocean was churned by the gods, / making Mandara the churning stick and Vāsuki the churning rope.

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Bali grasped the head region, and all the gods the tail region. / Then, by the counsel of Vāsudeva, the Tortoise supported [the mountain].

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As Mandara was turning, O best of kings, / O Ānarta, a triad of jewels arose first of all, quite suddenly:

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A dark man clad in blue garments, with a crooked nose, / black teeth, a thick head, a long neck, a potbelly, / feet shaped like winnowing baskets, flat-eyed, and terrifying;

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likewise, a vile wife of the same form as his, like a demoness, / with a child clinging to her finger, exhausted by pregnancy.

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Then all the hosts of gods, and especially the Dānavas, / abandoning the churning stick, ran forward to seize them.

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Then, seeing them deformed, filled with hesitation, / they did not seize them, O king of kings, and laughed among themselves.

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Then the Daitya Bali, standing with palms joined in reverence, said: / 'Whatever is produced first, let Brahmā and the others receive it all.

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Therefore, let the lotus-born [Brahmā] take this triad of jewels, / so that there may be success in this churning upon offering it to someone.'

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That speech of his was praised by Viṣṇu, by Śaṃkara, / by all the gods headed by Indra, and especially by the Dānavas.

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In the meantime, Brahmā took that triad / out of courtesy toward all the gods, O king, even though unwilling. / Resorting to effort again, O king, they churned the ocean.

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Then Vāruṇī arose, endowed with divine fragrance; / she was seized by Bali right before the eyes of the enemy of Bala [Indra].

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And when another whirlpool arose, the Kaustubha gem came forth; / it was taken, O great king, by the all-powerful Viṣṇu.

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Then, as another great whirlpool remained there, the Moon was born, / and he was seized immediately by the Bull-bannered [Śiva].

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Then the Pārijāta tree arose, endowed with divine fragrance; / taken by all the gods, it was planted in the Nandana grove.

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Immediately after it, Surabhī along with her calf / came forth, and went via the sky to take up her abode in Goloka.

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Then Dhanvantari was born, bearing in his hand a waterpot / completely filled with nectar, O king. / By the gods and Dānavas,

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angered simultaneously with the desire to conquer one another, he was seized; / the physician fell into the hands of the gods, and the waterpot into the hands of the Daityas.

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Filled with greed, they then churned the ocean, O king; / thereupon Lakṣmī was born with a lotus in her hand, clothed in white garments.

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She chose Viṣṇu of her own accord, O best of kings. / Then, as the ocean was being churned exceedingly by the gods and Dānavas,

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the Kālakūṭa poison arose, by which all the gods and Asuras / were brought to extreme distress and fled in the ten directions.

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Seeing that fierce poison, the lord Śambhu of fierce valor / swallowed it, O king of kings; thence he became blue-throated.

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Then, abandoning the churning stick Mandara as well as Vāsuki, / there was a battle between the Daityas and the gods for the sake of the nectar.

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Then Viṣṇu, assuming the form of a woman, spoke to those Daityas. / Then Bali, delighted, gave that very nectar to her. 35.

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Placing supreme trust [in her], he fought with the gods. / Then Viṣṇu, casting off the female form, assumed a male appearance. 36.

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Taking that very nectar, he went to where the gods were. / With a joyful heart, he said to them: 'Drink the nectar, O gods! 37.

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Attaining immortality through it, destroy the Dānavas!' / Agreeing with 'So be it,' they drank the supreme nectar. 38.

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And having thus become immortal, they slew the great Asuras in battle. 39.

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While their drinking rite was taking place there, O lord of the earth, / Rāhu, eager [for it], drank the nectar disguised as a god. 40.

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That great Daitya was spotted at that moment by the moon and the sun, / and reported to Hari: 'O King, this is no god, but a great Asura!' 41.

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Hearing that, the Sudarśana discus, blazing like a thunderbolt, / was released by Vāsudeva to slay him, O best of earthly kings. 42.

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O lord of the earth, to whatever extent his body had been permeated / by the nectar, his head was severed by that unfailing [discus]. 43. / But as that son of Siṃhikā had attained immortality, / Acyuta then spoke to him in the gentlest words of conciliation: 44. / 'Abandon the Daityas, O fortunate one; be well-disposed to the gods. / You shall always receive supreme worship within the circle of the planets.' 45.

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Agreeing with 'So be it' and leaving those foremost Daityas, / he abides in the planetary circle and receives the worship of mortals. 46.

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In the meantime, vanquished by the foremost gods, / the Daityas fled in terror in all directions, and some met their death. 47.

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The nectar that remained after drinking was placed in the Nandana grove, / at the very post where the lord of elephants was tethered. 48.

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That lord of elephants also stood there, exuding musth day and night; / [and] by its power, that water-pot of nectar was cracked open. 49.

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From that water-pot a creeper was then born; / climbing up the tethering-post there, it grew exceedingly. 50.

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Taking the leaves born from it, the foremost gods / ate them, considering them extraordinary and fragrant. 51.

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They were especially delighted, O King, for the purpose of purifying their mouths. 52.

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Then the physician Dhanvantari, through his own discernment, O lord of the earth, [reflected]: / 'Since it grew at the tethering-post of an elephant (nāga), it shall be the nāgavallī (betel-vine). 53.

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By my word, it shall forever be the abode of Smara.' / Thereafter he gave it the name nāgavallī. 54.

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And he made the combination so that betel (tāmbūla) is produced / with areca nut, lime, and catechu, O earthly king. 55.

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After some time, King Vāṇīvatsaraka / pleased Śakra with stainless austerity. 56.

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Pleased with that austerity, Indra then spoke these words: 57.

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Indra said: / 'O earthly king, I am now pleased with this austerity. / Speak, that I may grant you the boon that your heart has always desired.' 58.

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He said: 'If you are pleased with me, if a boon is to be given to me, / grant me an aerial chariot traveling through the sky, by which I may come to your home / continually from the surface of the earth to pay homage to you, O Lord.' 59.

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Agreeing with 'So be it,' he gave him an aerial chariot / resounding with the calls of swans and peacocks, possessing the speed of mind and wind. 60.

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Ascending it daily, he went to the abode of the thirty [gods] / filled with supreme devotion, to salute the thousand-eyed [Indra]. 61.

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Śakra gave him betel with his own hand, / and he chewed it with a delighted heart. 62.

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Even when old age arrived, his desire increased exceedingly / by the power of the betel, O lord of the earth, becoming very great. 63.

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Then, endowed with humility, that king said to Śakra: / 'Let favor be shown to me by the gift of the nāgavallī, 64.

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so that it may be brought to the mortal world and come into widespread use.' / Agreeing with 'So be it,' he then gave it to him. 65.

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Having returned to his city, he also planted it in his garden; / then, in the course of much time, it spread throughout the earth. 66.

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From tasting it, people became lustful; / no one performed sacrifices, especially not officiating for others; / all other righteous actions born of dharma were destroyed. 67.

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Then all the hosts of gods, deprived of their sacrificial shares, / tormented and overcome with anger, went and spoke to the Grandfather: 68.

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'O best of gods, righteous actions in the mortal world are utterly destroyed, / because people are devoted to lust from consuming betel. / Therefore, grant us favor so that our rites may be performed.' 69.

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At that very time, seeing the Grandfather residing at Puṣkara, / who had arrived for the purpose of a sacrifice, O earthly king, a poor man (Daridra), 70.

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bowed down and, standing bent with humility, said: / 'O best of gods, I am dejected, dwelling in the houses of brahmins. 71.

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Therefore, declare to me an excellent place that belongs to the wealthy; / there lasting and abundant satisfaction arises, O Lord.' 72.

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Hearing his words and meditating for a long time, the Grandfather / spoke to that Daridra regarding vulnerabilities for the wealthy in this world: 73.

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'O Daridra, you must always reside in the vessel of lime, / and by my word, your wife [must dwell] at the tip of the betel leaf. 74.

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Your son must dwell on the stalks of all the leaves; / and at night you, along with the two of them, must always reside in the catechu. 75.

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This group of four places is declared to cause vulnerability to the wealthy, / especially to kings; go swiftly at my command.' 76.

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Nārada said: / 'All this has been related to you, as I was asked, O lord of men. 77.

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The vulnerabilities arising from betel that befall the wealthy here— / all of those have been committed by you without knowing, O King; / therefore indeed your wealth was suddenly destroyed, O King.' 78.

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The king said: / For that reason also, tell me the expiation, O lord among sages, / should I ever eat betel in such an [improper] manner,

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by which purification arises from bad betel.

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Viśvāmitra said: / Listen, O king, I will tell the expiation that one should perform / for the sake of purification and reassurance after the eating of bad betel.

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Focusing upon an auspicious occasion and full of proper faith, / one should bring a brahmin, O king, who has mastered the Vedas and Vedāṅgas.

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Having washed his feet, one should clothe him in two garments; / having worshipped him with fragrant pastes, flowers, and the like, then having had a gold leaf made / according to one's means, one should place a pearl on the lime,

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and lapis lazuli for the areca nut, and silver indeed for the catechu; / and by this mantra one should offer it likewise to the brahmin:

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"Whatever stalk belonging to a leaf was eaten by me before, / or a leaf with lime, or likewise other catechu at night—

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for the purification of that sin, let this betel be accepted." / Then the brahmin should utter the mantra thus, O king:

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"For the benefit of the patron and for the complete purification of all sins, / whatever bad betel was eaten, through ignorance or even knowingly,

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and whatever else you may eat at some time through my favor, / no fault of that shall belong to you, beyond doubt, according to my word."

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Having given betel according to this rule, one attains purification; / a man is not seized by the fault of bad betel, O king.

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Therefore, O great king, perform this rite; / for this is most meritorious and increases great enjoyment.

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Whoever gives [it] according to this rule with devotion, O lord of kings, / is never deprived of betel, even in another birth.

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Whoever, having eaten betel, does not give this gift, / would become devoid of betel here birth after birth.

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The mouth of a wretched, impoverished man that is devoid of betel, / O lord of the earth, is a hole, not a mouth!

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Whoever gives betel to an eminent brahmin before eating [it himself], / becomes handsome, fortunate, and capable birth after birth.

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All this has been told to you: what fruit arises for men / from eating bad betel, and what [arises] through this gift, O lord of the earth,

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in connection with Śaṅkhāditya, and in the eating of betel, / which faults and which virtues there are, O king, and the gift itself at the time of eating.

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Thus ends the two hundred and tenth chapter, entitled "Description of the Origin of Betel and the Betel-māhātmya", in the Hāṭakeśvarakṣetramāhātmya of the sixth section, the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, a compendium of eighty-one thousand verses.

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit