Skandapurana 5.244

English (machine translation) 5.244

Language: English

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Paijavana said: / In the śāligrāma stone, how did the eternal origin of the world / attain the state of stone in the Gaṇḍakī river? Tell me that. / By your favor, O brahmin-seer, let devotion to Hari become firm. / For your honors are the embodiment of sacred fords, removing sins merely by darśana.

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Just as purity arises for men by immersing in the nectar of sacred fords, / so it has arisen for me from the nectar of your speech; of this there is no doubt.

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Gālava said: / This sacred legend is recited in the Purāṇas, / telling how that very Lord came to the state of a śāligrāma,

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and how Maheśvara became a liṅga, I shall tell you, O sinless one. / Formerly, the progenitor Dakṣa, who arose from the thumb of Brahmā—

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had a virtuous daughter named Satī, endowed with auspicious marks. / She was then wed by Hara, the knower of ordinances, according to the rite prescribed by the Vedas.

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At a great sacrifice, he, foolish in mind, harbored hatred toward Hara. / Because of that great hatred, Satī became exceedingly enraged.

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Having approached the sacrificial altar, then, by meditating upon the fire / and devoting herself to breath control, she cast off her body.

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Abandoning the share inherited from her father, endowed with her own divine portion, Satī / entered into mental meditation upon the cool Himālaya.

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Wherever the mind goes at death, governed by one's own actions, / there indeed one's rebirth takes place; of this there is no doubt.

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Indeed, having consumed herself, that goddess became the daughter of Himālaya. / There, having become Pārvatī, she undertook severe austerity,

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constantly delighting in devotion to Śiva, dedicated to the observances of Hara, / that daughter [of Himavat], fixing her mind on Maheśvara on a peak of Himavat.

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Then, at the end of a thousand years, the Lord, the author of all beings, / Maheśvara, came to that place in the form of a brahmin.

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Knowing her to be purified by austerity through tested deeds and dispositions, / he then assumed a divine form and took Pārvatī by the hand.

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[He said:] 'I have been conquered by your austerity; what pleasant deed may I do for you?' / Then she said to Maheśāna: 'My father, my guru, is the authority.'

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Having been told thus, Śaṃkara sent the seven seers. / They, having gone there, spoke of the alliance with Himavat.

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Having announced it to Maheśāna, the seers who had been sent departed. / Then, on the auspicious day, the gods, Mahendra and the others, approached Īśvara;

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and led by Brahmā and Viṣṇu, placing the sacred fire in front, they arrived. / The seers perfected in yoga [saw] the bull-bannered [god] arriving in the attire of a bridegroom.

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Himavat worshiped him with auspicious offerings of madhuparka and the like; / filled with joy through proper attentions, he considered his purpose accomplished.

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Surrounded by a host of the twice-born, in accordance with the rite prescribed in the Vedas, / he united that maiden [with him] through the ceremony of grasping the hand.

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Having circumambulated the fire, thereafter the Lord of the Mountain [questioned him]; / and when asked about his lineage and family at the time of the maiden-giving, Hara was overcome with modesty.

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By the word of Brahmā, the remainder of the rite was completed by him. / But at the time of consuming the sacrificial boiled rice, he revealed five faces.

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Accompanied by all the gods, devoted to wonder, / united for the sake of the mountain's daughter was that bridegroom, Maheśvara.

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Seeing ninety million faces, the people burst into loud laughter. / 'This is stated by Vedic revelation: O Śiva, attain steadiness!'

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Though embarrassed, she did not abandon him through five lifetimes; / the dark-eyed lady approached none other than Hara as her husband.

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The entire family of gods and of mountains rejoiced. / Then, the wedding being completed, Hara went to the bridal chamber.

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And in the presence of the gaṇas, Ambikā did not tolerate [their presence]. / Then, having given the dowry, he was sent off by the mountain.

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Respected and honored, he went to Mount Mandara. / Then, in an instant, Viśvakarman constructed a jewel-studded house for him,

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a palace for the God of gods that expanded at his will, / possessing all prosperity, of splendid luster, adorned with gems and corals,

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furnished with a thousand pillars, captivating with a jeweled platform, / at the door of which the gaṇas, Nandin and others, took their station,

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three-eyed, holding tridents in hand, shining in the form of Śaṃkara. / All around it were gardens containing thousands of pārijāta trees;

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at its door Kāmadhenu and the celestial jewel were situated. / In that most delightful house which augmented desire,

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as he dwelt together with Pārvatī, Kāma came into the range of his sight. / Assuming the form of wind and seeing Śiva, Kāma spoke to Śaṃkara:

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'Salutations to you whose form is everything! Salutations to you who have the bull on your banner! / Salutations to you, the lord of the gaṇas! Protect me, O Lord, salutations to you!

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Bereft of you, the earth touches the world like a corpse. / Nothing in the moving and unmoving creation is seen devoid of you.

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You are the protector, you are the creator, and the cause of the dissolution of the worlds. / Show mercy, O Mahādeva, and grant me the gift of a body!'

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Īśvara said: / 'Because you were burned by me of old upon the mountain in her presence, O sinless one, / you shall become embodied again in her presence alone.'

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Having been spoken to thus, Kāma then regained his own body; / he bowed to his feet, O Śūdra, and bowed low with humility.

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Then, exceedingly delighted, he bowed to the feet of Pārvatī; / having obtained favor from the presence of the two of them throughout the three worlds,

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Possessing great splendor and endowed with the power of great infatuation, the god with the flower-bow, flower-arrows, and curled hair roamed about.

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With his eyes ever rolling, he entered the bodies of the two. / With divine wines, divine fragrances, and likewise with garments, garlands, and other things,

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female friends attended on them all around at the time of enjoyment. / While he was thus sporting, a hundred years passed by

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just like a single night to him whose mind was intent on sexual union. / In the meantime, the gods, fleeing out of fear of Tāraka,

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The gods said: / "That Tāraka is exceedingly fierce, to whom a boon was given by you in former times.

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Having swiftly conquered Indra, he enjoys [the realm], worshipped by the three worlds. / Do you yourself bring about the means by which his slaying may occur."

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Brahmā said: / "Since the boon was given to him by me, he cannot be destroyed by me. / Having raised a bitter [plant] oneself, no one ought to cut it down.

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Therefore, I will tell you the means for the slaying of that mighty one. / The son who will be born from Maheśāna in Pārvatī—

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having become seven days old, he will slay Tāraka." / Having heard this speech, [the gods went] to Mandara, beautiful to the world;

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afflicted by Daityas and Dānavas, they came from the world of Brahmā.

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There, Nandī and the other gaṇas of the trident-bearing [lord] stood before the door of the house, / having turned back [the gods], with restrained minds.

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The gods said: / "The gods, their minds deeply distressed by sorrow, their luster destroyed, all having abandoned their home and shelter, / having attained the four months [of Cāturmāsya], have stood in tapas while the god is asleep, pleasing Hara supreme."

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Thus ends the two hundred and forty-fifth chapter, titled "Description of the Departure of the Gods Afflicted by Tāraka to Mount Mandara to See Śiva," in the Paijavana Episode, in the Greatness of the Cāturmāsya, in the Dialogue of Brahmā and Nārada, in the Account of the Lord Resting on Śeṣa, in the Māhātmya of the Hāṭakeśvara Sacred Field, in the Sixth Section, the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, in the Great Skanda Purāṇa of Eighty-One Thousand Verses.

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit