Skandapurana 5.211

English (machine translation) 5.211

Language: English

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The seers said: / The holy triad of sacred fords has been heard in this sacred field / called Hāṭakeśvara, which was described by you to us, O son of Sūta.

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We wish to hear the māhātmya belonging to Viśvāmitra; / explain that to us now, for our curiosity is immense.

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Sūta said: / The other shore of the ocean and of the earth can be discerned here, / as can the stars, O best of the twice-born, but of that sage's virtues,

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the limit cannot be discerned by anyone, of that wise son of Gādhi, / who, though a kṣatriya, attained the status of a brahmin, O best of the twice-born;

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by whom, even when King Triśaṅku had fallen to the state of an outcaste, / the gods were visibly made to partake of sacrificial shares;

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by whom, in rivalry with Brahmā of old, O best of the twice-born, a creation / was commenced, and then he was dissuaded by the gods who bowed down [to him].

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Let the māhātmya of his sacred ford, which destroys all sins, / be heard from me as I speak [of it] now, O best of brahmins.

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By him, that noble soul, a pool was made there with his own hand, / tearing open the earth's surface on all sides even without a weapon.

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There, having meditated, the river Jāhnavī was brought from Pātāla, / whose very pure water came forth into the mortal world.

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and very sweet, destroying all sins through ritual ablution. / By him too the Sun, the remover of darkness, was established there.

Whoever, having bathed in his auspicious pool on a Sunday that is a seventh lunar day / in the bright fortnight of the month of Māgha, bows to the Sun, / is freed from all leprosy as well as sins, O best of brahmins.

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In the northwestern quarter from it, there is a step-well produced from water, / constructed by Dhanvantari, which destroys all diseases.

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There previously Dhanvantari of noble intellect performed austerity; / endowed with austerity, meditating and composed, he offered praise.

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Then after a long time the Sun, pleased with him, / said: “I am a giver of boons; ask [a boon], O noble-minded one.”

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Dhanvantari said: / “The person who with devotion performs ritual ablution in this pool, O lord, / for him may there be the destruction of all diseases, O best of gods.”

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The Blessed Lord said: / “Whoever today, on this auspicious day, on a Sunday that is a seventh lunar day, / performs ritual ablution with a concentrated mind at sunrise, / even if afflicted with disease, he shall immediately become free from disease.

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And being free from disease, [if full of desire] he will attain desired desires; if free from desire, he will attain liberation.”

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Having spoken thus, the Sun, the best of the gods, vanished; / and then Dhanvantari, joyful in mind, went to his own abode.

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Now after some time, a king named Ratnākṣa, / the celebrated ruler of Ayodhyā born in the Solar race,

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grateful, generous, constantly devoted to his own wife, / brave, supremely splendid, the slayer of all enemies,

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through the ripening of previous karma, O brahmins, / contracted the terrible disease of leprosy, incurable in the three worlds.

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There was no medicine in the world, O brahmins, that was not used by him, / nor any gift that was not given there by that noble-minded man afflicted with leprosy.

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In whatever manner he took medicines and gave gifts, / in that very manner his body was utterly emaciated by the disease.

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Then, having attained detachment, O best of brahmins, / that king installed his son on the throne and desired to enter the fire, / although he was forbidden by all of them—his wives and trusted servants.

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Having given gifts to brahmins, having worshipped the best of gods, / having spoken to the circle of his friends, and having instructed his own son,

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at that very time, while wandering at will, / a certain pilgrim arrived, endowed with a divine form and body.

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Then, seeing that whole city of the king agitated, / he, filled with astonishment upon seeing a certain man, asked, O brahmins:

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The pilgrim said: / “Why has this entire great city become agitated, O good man, / devoid of joy, filled with children and elders whose eyes are full of tears?”

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He said: “This king, afflicted with the disease of leprosy, / deeply despondent, is about to enter the blazing fire.

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Because of that, this entire city has reached supreme sorrow; / deeply attached to his virtues, it will surely go to death.”

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Having heard that, the pilgrim quickly went and spoke to the king,

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as if reviving all the dead people of the lord of men: / “O king, because of this sorrow born of disease, do not / enter the fire, when there exists a sacred ford that brings about the destruction of all diseases!

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O king, my body was like yours; / having bathed there, it immediately became like this again, O lord!

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Whoever performs ritual ablution there on a Sunday that is a seventh lunar day / at the rising of the Sun, though afflicted with disease on earth,

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he, freed from disease, would instantly become whole; / likewise he is freed from sins, just as I am, O best of kings.”

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The king said: / “In which country is such a great sacred ford? Tell me quickly!”

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The pilgrim said: / “On the surface of the earth there is the famous, excellent Nāgara sacred field. / Overcome by the disease of leprosy, I went there, O king,

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in order to see it, being intent on a pilgrimage to sacred fords. / Seeing me there, wretched, afflicted by disease, and deeply sorrowful, / an ascetic who was a resident there said out of compassion:

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‘In the northwestern quarter from the god who reclines on the waters, / there is a greatly sacred ford bearing the waters of Viśvāmitra.

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Having gone there, perform ritual ablution on a Sunday that is a seventh lunar day, / especially when the bright fortnight of the month of Māgha has arrived,

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whereby your leprosy will depart at the rising of the Sun.’ / Having heard that, I also reached that [place] on a seventh lunar day connected with a Sunday, / and then performed ritual ablution there in the cascade sacred to Śambhu.

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Then, having emerged from it, as soon as I looked at my body, / so soon it became like this, O king; this which is told to you is true.

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Therefore, O king of kings, you too perform ritual ablution there / on a Sunday that is a seventh lunar day at the rising of the Sun,

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whereby your disease will be destroyed, and even your great sin.” / Having heard that, the king quickly went along with him.

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He performed ritual ablution thus on a Sunday that is a seventh lunar day, / when the month of Māgha had arrived, in the auspicious water of Viśvāmitra.

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Then he immediately became freed from leprosy, / possessing a divine form and body, like a second Kāmadeva.

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Then the delighted lord of men gave to that pilgrim / thirty million pieces of gold, and then he spoke these words:

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“By your grace I am freed from this very terrible disease; / therefore, you go to your own home, and I will stay right here with complete peace of mind.

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I will constantly perform austerity together with my wife; / my son, capable in the duties of kingship, has been installed on the throne.”

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Having spoken thus, he sent him and the other servants who had come / back to their own homes, while he himself remained right there.

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Having made a delightful hermitage together with his wife, / he attained supreme perfection in time, O best of the twice-born. (51)

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From his name, this sacred ford then became famed in heaven, / removing all diseases, delightful, and destroying all heinous sins. (52)

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There the god of gods, the Sun, was installed by that great-souled one / under his own name, known as Ratnāditya. (53)

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Whosoever, having bathed there on a Sunday which is a seventh lunar day, beholds [him], / is freed from sin and goes to the realm of the Sun. (54)

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What else happened there, arisen in that sacred field, O best of the twice-born, / that I shall recount; listen with concentrated minds. (55)

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There lived a certain rustic man in that region, afflicted with old age; / he was a leper, yet he continually herded cattle. (56)

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Once, while he was tending cattle below the mountain there, / one beast strayed from the right path out of greed for grass. (57)

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On a Sunday which was a seventh lunar day, it fell into his mountain stream; / and it was not noticed by him at all as it went. (58)

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Now, just as he was at home preparing to take his meal, / the owner of that beast arrived, scolding him: (59)

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“Why has that beast of mine not returned to my house? / Therefore bring it back at once, or else I will take your life!” (60)

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Sūta said: / Hearing that, terrified with fear, the leper went quickly / along the very path by which he had wandered on the ground by day. (61)

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Then from afar he heard the cry of that beast / fallen into a deep pit, as the night was ending and darkness still lingered. (62)

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Then, going to that pit and entering into the water, / he dragged out that beast with difficulty from the terrible mire; / and taking it, he went slowly toward the dwelling. (63)

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Having handed it over to him, he went back to his own hermitage. (64)

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Then he slept, O fortunate ones; and when he awoke again / at dawn, he beheld his body completely free from leprosy, (65)

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endowed with supreme beauty; his eyes wide with astonishment, / he pondered: “What indeed is this sudden destruction of disease? (66)

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Surely this is the power of that sacred ford at nightfall today, / where I plunged into the deep mud for the sake of the beast.” (67)

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Then he looked at [the beast] after going there out of great wonder: / it too was freed from scabies and enveloped with radiance. (68)

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Having gone there himself and recognized it as an excellent sacred ford, / he performed austerity right there, meditating upon the Sun, (69)

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dwelling properly in the forest, unwearied day and night; / and he attained supreme perfection, difficult to reach even for the thirty [gods]. (70)

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Therefore, with every effort, one should perform a ritual ablution there. (71)

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And one should worship that god, the Sun, who draws up the water. / Even today, even in the Kali age, a man who has bathed there becomes pure. (72)

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Whoever worships him with devotion in that reservoir of sacred water / on a Sunday which is a seventh lunar day, he too is freed from sins. (73)

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Whoever, standing before him, recites eight thousand Gāyatrī [mantras], / he too, freed from disease, is liberated from all heinous sins. (74)

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Whoever with faith gives a cow dedicated to him, / not even a person born in his family line is seized by disease. (75)

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All this about the origin of the Sun [shrine] has been told to you by me, / the māhātmya from the hearing of which a person is liberated from sin. (76)

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Thus ends the two hundred and twelfth chapter, entitled 'The Description of the Ratnāditya Māhātmya,' in the Māhātmya of the Hāṭakeśvara Sacred Field, in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, the sixth [part], in the Skanda Mahāpurāṇa of eighty-one thousand verses. (212)

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit