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Skandapurana 5.37

English (machine translation) 5.37

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5.37.2

Sūta said: / Then he saw an assembly of brahmins resembling the gods, / seated on the ground full of charm, O best of brahmins: / some, knowers of the Veda, intent on expounding the Veda, / were intensely angry with one another, disputing in their desire for victory;

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others, knowers of sacrificial lore, were dedicated to explaining sacrifices; / there brahmins speaking on Brahman were seen by the hundreds;

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other tigers among brahmins, skilled in the Vedāṅgas, / standing before assemblies, were expressing their doubts;

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others, intent on the study of the Veda with a loud voice, / properly filled the circle of the cardinal points with sound everywhere there, O best of brahmins;

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others, seized with curiosity, questioned one another on difficult passages, / while others laughed upon identifying one straying from the path;

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others were devoted to discussions on the Smṛti, and others were reciters of the Śruti; / others questioned one another about doubts arising from the Smṛti;

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and other excellent brahmins recited the Purāṇa / in front of the elders, seated in the midst of the assembly there.

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Then, having seen those brahmins of strict vows / and greeted them, that sage spoke with respect and humility:

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"The desire has arisen in my mind to build a temple to Śambhu, / O tigers among brahmins; therefore, let a site be indicated.

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Having constructed an excellent temple to that Śambhu, the god of gods, / I shall worship him alone whose banner bears the bull."

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Although he spoke thus repeatedly and unweariedly, / he received no answer from them, whether good or bad.

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Then, his mind seized by anger, that sage / cursed those excellent brahmins in a loud voice so that all could hear completely:

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Durvāsas said: / "Arrogance born of learning, arrogance born of wealth, and a third born of high birth: / these belong to those blinded by pride; these very things are the self-restraint of the good.

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Since these very haughtinesses are established among you, / therefore, even in your lineage, they shall be filled with pride.

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Always bereft of affection, even fathers with their sons / shall live in this city, to say nothing of kinsmen and others!"

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Having spoken thus, that foremost among the twice-born then turned back, / having met with supreme disrespect from the brahmins, O best of brahmins.

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Now, among them was an elder brahmin of wise intellect, / renowned by the name Suśīla, who had mastered the Vedas and Vedāṅgas.

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Seeing that sage departing angry and insulted, / he quickly went after him, calling out, "Stop! Stop!"

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Then, having approached the sage who had gone far, and bowing down to him, / he said, "O brahmin, forgive the brahmins at my word.

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Absorbed in their own Vedic study, your word was not heard by them; / on that account no reply was given; I speak the truth.

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Therefore, land is given by me to you for a temple of Śambhu; / in this place, O best of brahmins, you ought to build a temple."

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Hearing his word, Durvāsas was filled with joy; / he pronounced a blessing arising from the gift of land, O best of brahmins, / and afterwards, abiding by his word, he constructed a temple.

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Then, those brahmins learned that land had been given by Suśīla / to that ascetic for the purpose of a temple to the deity.

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All those brahmins were filled with anger toward Suśīla.

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Then, approaching him, they said: "Land has been given by you for a temple / to that wicked-minded one by whom we were cursed!

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Therefore you, too, shall become an outcast among us; / and though named Suśīla ('virtuous'), you will be called Duḥśīla ('ill-natured') by the wise!

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As for this wicked ascetic who is building a dwelling for Śiva, / no accomplishment shall arise for him, even in a hundred years!

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Likewise, in this world, praise is uttered by men for temple-builders; / therefore, as all look on, there shall be no fame for this wicked-minded one!"

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"This temple will indeed be known as Duḥśīla after your name. / It will exist in name only, never completed.

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Because of him, we twice-born who are possessed of the three prides, / along with our entire lineages, have been bereft of friendliness;

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therefore this sinful man too shall become prone to anger, / by which whatever tapas he has performed will go to ruin."

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Having spoken thus, those brahmins with eyes reddened by wrath, / having completely abandoned Duḥśīla, then entered their own city.

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Duḥśīla also built his house outside that city, / just as Devaśarman was previously cast out by the city dwellers.

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Those who were born in his lineage are declared to be 'outsiders', / excluded from all religious rites of all the city dwellers.

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Sūta said: / When those lords of twice-born had departed after uttering the curse, / Durvāsas, his eyes reddened with wrath, said to Duḥśīla:

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"My mantras have achieved perfection, capable of destroying enemies— / those of the Atharvaveda, and others originating from the three Vedas.

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Therefore today I will lead this entire city, together with its beasts and birds, / to destruction, just as a wicked man destroys his enemy."

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Duḥśīla said: / "It is not proper for you, best of men, in any way to do this / deed toward brahmins, especially as a brahmin yourself.

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Whether striking, cursing, or speaking harshly, / brahmins must always be honoured by those desiring divine worlds.

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He who considers himself victorious over defeated brahmins / cooks in terrible hells such as Tāmisra.

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Therefore one should endure defeat of oneself by a brahmin, / if one desires an eternal dwelling in heaven, O best of the twice-born.

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Your mantras attained perfection in the kṣetra of these lords of brahmins; / so how can you bring about their destruction?

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For the slayer of a brahmin, the drinker of liquor, the thief, and the breaker of vows, / expiation is prescribed by the virtuous, but for the ungrateful there is no expiation.

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Therefore anger should not be felt by those dwelling in this kṣetra; / show patience, O best of sages, having mercy on me."

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Sūta said: / Assenting with 'So be it', he performed tapas dwelling there, / and attained the highest perfection, difficult even for the thirty [gods] to reach.

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That temple also became famous on earth by the name Duḥśīla, / merely by the sight of which a man is freed from sin.

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A man who meditates for a moment on the liṅga within it / and sees it on the eighth day of the bright fortnight never sees hell.

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Thus ends the thirty-seventh chapter, named 'Description of the Origin of the Temple Called Duḥśīla', in the Māhātmya of the Hāṭakeśvara Kṣetra in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, the sixth [section], in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.

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