Skandapurana 5.71

English (machine translation) 5.71

Language: English

5.71.1

Sūta said: / Assenting with "So be it," they obeyed that command of Indra; / whatever pertained to the practice of the lying-in chamber, they performed completely for him.

5.71.2

Then on another day, a boy having the splendor of twelve suns, / two-armed, single-faced, and auspicious, was born from that seed.

5.71.3

As soon as he was born, he wept, exceedingly distressed; / hearing that crying, all the Kṛttikās approached him.

5.71.4

Mahāsena also, seeing those mothers who had arrived, / became six-faced, longing [for them], and likewise with twelve eyes and arms.

5.71.5

With effort, he drank from the breast of each one individually; / with two arms he embraced each of them with affection.

5.71.6

Meanwhile, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva, and the others arrived, / all the gods along with Indra, as well as gandharvas and apsarases.

5.71.7

Then an unhindered great festival took place in that spot, / by the resounding roar of songs and musical instruments with which the universe was filled.

5.71.8

The playful women of the gods, headed by Rambhā, danced for him, / and the foremost gandharvas, who were led by Citrāṅgada, sang.

5.71.9

Then all the deities respectfully gave him the name / "Skanda," because of the spilling (skandana) of the semen upon the ground.

5.71.10

Then the consecration of that boy to the commandership-in-chief / of the gods was performed directly by Śambhu himself there at that time.

5.71.11

A spear of wondrous appearance was given to him by Brahmā himself, / unfailing, for the sake of victory and the destruction of the faction of Daityas.

5.71.12

A peacock for a mount was swiftly [given] by Tryambaka, / and divine weapons by great Indra and by the high-souled Viṣṇu.

5.71.13

Then desired weapons were given to him individually by all the delighted gods, / and likewise by the host of mothers.

5.71.14

Then, placing that army commander at their head, the lords of the gods / went with their soldiers to the place where Tāraka stood.

5.71.15

And Tāraka, seeing that the gods had arrived of their own accord, / went quickly to meet them, filled with delight for battle.

5.71.16

Then a very great battle took place between the gods and the Dānavas, / whose eyes were reddened with rage, turning back only upon death.

5.71.17

Then Skanda, beholding Tāraka standing afar in battle, / challenged him and released that spear for his death.

5.71.18

Then, having pierced the heart of that demon, it fell, / terrible and drenched in blood, near the city of Camatkārapura.

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And Tāraka met his destruction, bereft of life at that very moment. / Thereupon all the hosts of gods were overjoyed, and praising that mighty one

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with manifold hymns, spoke once he was slain, / and together with Śakra they went swiftly to heaven, free from fear.

5.71.21

Skanda too, taking up that spear in that excellent city, / installed it, by which very act Raktaśṛṅga was made firm.

5.71.22

The seers said: / How was Raktaśṛṅga, even though motionless, made firm by him? / At whose word? Tell us in detail, O highly intelligent one!

5.71.23

Sūta said: / When a very terrible earthquake occurred, / Raktaśṛṅga was displaced from its position with great speed,

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by the fall of that demon, just like other excellent mountains. / Then all the mansions in Camatkārapura at that time

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were shattered when that mountain shook; the twice-born were distressed, / for the most part met their death, and others were afflicted by unconsciousness.

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Then the surviving brahmins, going to Skanda filled with wrath, / said: What is this sin done by you, lacking in wisdom?

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We have all been brought to ruin along with our sons, cattle, and kinsmen. / Therefore, stricken with sorrow, we shall pronounce a curse!

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Skanda said: / This was undertaken by me for the welfare of all the worlds, / because the fierce Dānava was slain; not otherwise, O best of the twice-born!

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Therefore grant your favor, for brahmins are ever worthy of my honor. / Even all the dead twice-born, through the resort of nectar,

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I will restore to life again, no doubt; / likewise, I will make the mountain completely steady by my own power.

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Having spoken thus and taken that spear drenched in blood, / he performed its installation upon the crest of Raktaśṛṅga.

5.71.32

Then, delighted, he addressed the four goddesses: / Ambāvṛddhā, Amrā, Māhitthā, and Camatkarī:

5.71.33

This best of mountains must be made motionless once more by you, / so that even at the dissolution of the world Raktaśṛṅga will not move from its place.

5.71.33_1

May this excellent city ever become famous by my name!

5.71.34

All the brahmins will always offer worship to you.

Saying 'So be it,' and delighted by Skanda's word, they made it / exceedingly firm in the four directions with the tips of their tridents. / Then, taking nectar, Skanda, devoted to honoring the twice-born, / revived even the dead, best of the twice-born.

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Then those brahmins there, overjoyed, gave him an excellent boon, / and he said: May this excellent city ever become famous by my name! / This is desired in my heart.

5.71.38

The seers said: / This will be called Skandapura after your name, / as well as Camatkārapura, O best of gods, right now.

5.71.39

Having constructed an excellent temple, we shall perform worship to you, / and likewise to all the four goddesses sustained by you.

5.71.40

We shall respectfully worship all of them in every rite. / And this spear of yours, O best of the foremost gods, / we shall especially worship with faith on the sixth lunar day.

5.71.41

Sūta said: / Thus addressed by the brahmins, the mighty Mahāsena / remained right there according to their word, knowing that to be an excellent sacred field.

5.71.42

Whoever worships him with devotion and pure intention on the sixth day / of the bright fortnight of Caitra, the one who rides the peacock brings him contentment.

5.71.43

And whatever man should rub his back against that spear, / having worshipped it with flowers and the like, endowed with proper faith, / he will not be afflicted with illness for a whole year, O twice-born.

5.71.44

Thus was the spear installed there by the wise Skanda, / for the protection of Raktaśṛṅga, and especially of that city.

5.71.71

Thus ends the seventy-first chapter, entitled 'Description of the Glory of the Spear Installed by Skanda,' in the glorification of the sacred field of Hāṭakeśvara, in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, the sixth [part] of the eighty-one-thousand-verse collection in the glorious Skandapurāṇa.

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit