Skandapurana 5.8

English (machine translation) 5.8

Language: English

5.8.1

Sūta said: / When Triśaṅku, the best of kings, had thus reached heaven / in bodily form through the exertion of Viśvāmitra, O best of brahmins,

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that sacred ford attained renown throughout the three worlds; / from then on, it bestowed upon people righteousness, desire, wealth, and liberation.

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It was untouched by the flaw of the Kali age, as well as by other secondary sins / and by the slaying of a brahmin and the like, through the power of the enemy of Tripura (Śiva).

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Whoever abandons his vital breaths there with a mind endowed with faith, / that mortal attains liberation, even though he might be a perpetrator of grave sins.

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Worms, birds, winged insects, beasts, fowl, and deer— / even they, dying there, go to the realm of Śiva without doubt.

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Those who perform their ritual ablution there with a mind purified by faith, / even if devoid of righteousness, go to heaven just like Triśaṅku.

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Or those oppressed by heat or thirst who plunge into its water, / they too go to the supreme abode where the divine Maheśvara resides.

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Viśvāmitra too, seeing that supreme māhātmya of the sacred ford, / abandoned Kurukṣetra and then made his dwelling there.

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Likewise, other tranquil sages, having abandoned sacred fords from afar / and made their hermitage there, attained the supreme state.

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In the same way, all humans, coming quickly from afar, / bathing there, go to heaven even after committing hundreds of sins.

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Thus, through the power of that sacred ford, O best of brahmins, / as people were easily going to the abode of the thirty [gods] (heaven),

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all rites such as the Agniṣṭoma went to ruin; / no mortal sacrificed, and no man undertook a vow,

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nor did he give gifts, nor did he resort to [other] sacred fords; / he merely performed his ritual ablution at the Liṅgabheda with a concentrated mind,

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and then went forth to heaven, mounted upon an excellent aerial chariot.

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Then, O brahmins, all the heavenly realms became packed with men / vying with the foremost gods—Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva, Indra, and the rest.

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Then all the hosts of gods, deprived of their shares in the sacrifice / and plunged into extreme distress, held counsel with one another:

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“Through the māhātmya of Hāṭakeśvara, the world of heaven is packed full, / crowded on all sides with men with raised arms vying [with us].

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Therefore, let that deed be done by which that sacred ford / named Hāṭakeśvara on the face of the earth goes to destruction.”

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Thereupon, at the command of Śakra, the dissolutive wind on all sides / filled that sacred field with dust, O best of brahmins.

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When that sacred ford was thus destroyed and elevated ground was formed, / all the sacrificial rites were performed once again.

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Then, after a great length of time, an anthill formed / in that sacred field, which gradually reached down to Pātāla.

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Then the nāgas, out of curiosity, along that path from Pātāla / would come to the world of mortals and wander upon the surface of the earth.

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Having enjoyed human pleasures there to their heart's content, / they would depart again by that very path to their own abode.

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Therefore, O best of brahmins, that anthill became known all over the earth / as the 'nāga-hole' due to the coming and going of the nāgas.

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Then, at a certain time, the blessed Indra (Pākaśāsana), / seized by the sin of killing a brahmin, lost his luster.

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Then, having received an instruction from the Grandfather [Brahmā], he entered / by that path and beheld Hāṭakeśvara in Pātāla.

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Then, from the darśana of him, he was instantly freed from sin, / and endowed once more with splendor, he returned to heaven.

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Having witnessed the power of that liṅga of the trident-bearing god / named Hāṭakeśvara, he conceived a fear arising from human beings:

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"If some man here, like King Triśaṅku, / freed of sin, should worship that liṅga with faith,

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he will surely displace me from this abode of the gods. / Therefore, I shall fill up this path leading to Pātāla."

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Then, filled with haste, Indra (Śatakratu) himself / hurled the excellent mountain Raktaśṛṅga into that hole.

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The seers said: / How did the sin of killing a brahmin befall the great-souled Indra? / And at what time? O Sūta, relate it all to us in detail!

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What is this Raktaśṛṅga mountain that was thrown down there by him? / And which Indra (Śacīpati) felt fear toward mortals?

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Sūta said: / Formerly, O best of brahmins, the daughter of Hiraṇyakaśipu, / named Ramā, endowed with supreme beauty and virtues, was married by Tvaṣṭṛ.

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Then a very long time passed for her without a son. / Then, filled with dispassion, she engaged in austerity to obtain a son,

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meditating upon Maheśvara, the lord of gods, the god of gods, / with offerings of worship and tributes, endowed with complete faith,

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restrained, limited in diet, devoted to ritual ablution and japa, / and bestowing gifts of various kinds upon the best of brahmins.

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Then, at the end of a thousand years, Maheśvara was pleased with her / and said, "I am the granter of boons; choose what you desire."

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She chose: "O Blessed One, by your grace let me have a son / who is heroic, invulnerable to weapons, and bears the form of a brahmin and a dānava,

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accomplished in Vedic study, dedicated to sacrificial rites, / renowned for splendor and fame among all embodied beings."

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The Blessed One said: / Without doubt your son will be mighty and wise, / invulnerable to all weapons, endowed with great splendor,

a sacrificer, a master of generosity, a hero, a master of the Vedas and Vedāṅgas; / he will perform in full all rites ordained for brahmins, / and he will be invincible in battle even by all the gods and asuras.

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Having spoken thus, the lord of gods vanished from there. / And in due season, she conceived an embryo from Viśvakarman.

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Then, in the tenth month, she gave birth to a radiant son, / resembling twelve suns and endowed with all auspicious marks.

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When the twelfth day arrived, after worshipping the best of brahmins, / his father gave him the famous name Vṛtra.

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Then that boy grew like the moon in the bright fortnight, / bringing joy to his father and mother, pampered by the circle of his kinsmen.

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Then, in due time, Śukra himself, coming as a brahmin / to the dānava, imparted to him the vow proper for brahmins.

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And observing the vow of a brahmacārin, Vṛtra, devoted to his preceptor, / studied the four Vedas together with the Vedāṅgas.

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Then, having attained youth, he conquered all the kings, / brought the earth under his control, and after that, Pātāla.

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Then, desiring to conquer Indra, he reached the abode of the gods / and put to flight in battle the gods headed by the thousand-eyed Indra.

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Then the wielder of the vajra fought eighteen battles with him, / yet he did not obtain victory even in one, O best of brahmins.

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Along with the surviving gods whose bodies were all slashed and wounded, / he then fled terrified from the realm of heaven to Brahmā's world.

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Vṛtra, too, enjoyed the entire three worlds with all that moves and does not move; / having established himself in Indra's position, his every obstacle was eliminated.

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The mighty one made the dānavas, proud of their strength, / the enjoyers of sacrificial shares in all the prescribed places of the gods.

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Even when sovereignty over the three worlds was thus attained, O best of brahmins, / he felt no contentment, because of his longing for the world of Brahmā.

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Then, having summoned Śukra, he bowed with humility / and spoke sweet words along with his four ministers.

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Vṛtra said: / Out of fear, Indra has gone to the world of Brahmā, O upholder of the lineage of preceptors; / tell me truthfully how there may be access for me thither,

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so that I may destroy Indra, Brahmā (Virañci), and all the rest; / and having given the world of Brahmā to you, I shall myself enjoy heaven.

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Śukra said: / There is no access there for you, O best of dānavas; / therefore, you should be content with the sovereignty over the three worlds.

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Vṛtra said: / As long as Indra remains, there is no happiness for me. / Therefore, O best of brahmins, I will strive to make my path free of thorns.

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How did Indra obtain access there, O descendant of Bhṛgu? / Tell me, O noble-minded one, why that [access] will not be mine today?

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Śukra said:
"Formerly, tapas was performed by him in Naimiṣa, O best of Dānavas, / meditating on Śaṃkara until the end of a thousand years. 62

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Indeed, by that power his attainment there came about always, / along with his servants and retinue; there is no other cause here. 63

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Whoever else also performs such tapas in Naimiṣāraṇya, / his attainment occurs in the world of Brahmā; there is no doubt of this." 64

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Sūta said:
Having heard that, he went swiftly to Naimiṣa, the excellent sacred ford; / he then performed severe tapas, meditating on Maheśvara, 65

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having appointed the best of Danus for the protection of the three worlds, / who were endowed with great strength, surpassing Śakra in prowess. 66

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Standing under the open sky in the rains, taking refuge in water in the winter, / practicing the five fires in summer, he became one who feeds on air. 67

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Thus, as he remained firm in his vow, hundreds of years passed. / Thereupon the gods, led by Brahmā and Viṣṇu, were terrified. 68

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And they held counsel constantly, solely for his destruction; / and distressed, they searched for weaknesses, but saw none. 69

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Then Viṣṇu himself spoke, having reflected in his mind for a long time, / having discerned the means of slaying Vṛtra, filled with joy: 70

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Viṣṇu said:
"The means of slaying him has now indeed been known by me, O Śakra; / having heard it, act quickly; there is no other means. 71

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He has been made invulnerable to all weapons by the holder of the trident; / therefore, prepare a thunderbolt made of bone for his slaying." 72

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Indra said:
"From the bones of which living being will the thunderbolt be made, O Lord? / Of an elephant, or of a śarabha, or of another? Tell me!" 73

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Viṣṇu said:
"It must be a hundred cubits in length, six-cornered, O lord of the gods, / slender in the middle, but thick on both sides, with a fearsome form." 74

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Indra said:
"No such living creature is seen even in the three worlds, O lord of the gods, / with whose bones a thunderbolt of such a form could be made." 75

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Viṣṇu said:
"There is a brahmin named Dadhīci, established in supreme tapas, / and twice as tall, who has made his hermitage at the Sarasvatī. 76

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Go to him and quickly beg; he will give his own bones. / For there is nothing that cannot be given by him when he is entreated." 77

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Then Śakra, along with the gods, having gone to his hermitage / on the bank of the eastern Sarasvatī at Puṣkara, O best of brahmins— 79

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Then, seeing the gods arrived at his own dwelling, / Dadhīci, delighted in mind, swiftly went forward [to meet them]. 79

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Having bowed to the thousand-eyed one as well as to the other [gods], that good sage / then performed worship of them with guest-water and the rest, and after that, 80

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standing bent low in humility, his soul gladdened, / himself bowing again and again to the thousand-eyed one, he said: 81

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Dadhīci said:
"For what purpose have the gods come? Let the task be declared quickly. / Blessed am I in whose home you have arrived, O slayer of Bala!" 82

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Śakra said:
"We have all been conquered by Vṛtra, O best of brahmins. / Strengthened by a boon, he cannot be slain by any weapons. 83

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Hari said that he may be killed by a thunderbolt produced from bone, / and there is no living being of the measure of a hundred cubits 84

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except you, O best of brahmins; therefore, give us your own / bones, by which a thunderbolt destructive to him may come to be. 85

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Perform this duty, O best of brahmins, destroying the distress of the gods; / otherwise, all the gods will completely perish." 86

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Sūta said:
Having heard that, the venerable sage Dadhīci, gladdened in mind, / abandoned his life for the sake of the welfare of those dwellers in heaven. 87

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Then those gods, delighted, took all the bones; / then they fashioned a great thunderbolt such as had been described by Viṣṇu. 88

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Then Śakra, taking that, went facing toward Naimiṣa, / filled with great fear, trembling at the arrival of night. 89

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There, standing far off, the lord of the thirty [gods] struck with the thunderbolt / Vṛtra as he was situated in meditation, intent on fleeing. 90

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He too, by the strike of the thunderbolt, was reduced to ashes— / Vṛtra, the tiger among Dānavas, like a moth reaching fire. 91

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Śakra too, thoroughly terrified with fear, went to a mountain / situated in the midst of the ocean, very difficult to climb, and took refuge on its high peak. 92

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He did not know that Vṛtra had been slain by that stroke of the thunderbolt; / he only watched the path where Vṛtra's arrival might occur. 93

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Meanwhile, the gods, the hair of their bodies bristling with delight, / having seen Vṛtra slain, praised the lord of the thirty [gods]. 94

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Not knowing that he had disappeared out of fear to that ocean mountain, / searching for a long time and reaching him with difficulty, they then 95

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saw him seated in a rugged mountain cave, / bereft of splendor, wretched, and engulfed by the murder of a brahmin, 96

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filling the ten directions with the stench emanating from his limbs. 97

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Then the four-faced one, seeing Śakra in such a condition, / standing at a distance out of fear of sin, said to the entire assembly of gods: 98

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"This Śakra, O best of gods, is engulfed by the murder of a brahmin; / therefore, he must be abandoned from afar, lest you incur sin. 99

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Look! All the marks associated with the murder of a brahmin / are seen upon his limbs; therefore, let us go to heaven." 100

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Seeing the gods arrived with the grandfather at their head, / and filled with wonder at their having suddenly turned away, / the lord of the gods, bewildered, then said: "Why are you going away, O gods, / having seen me without even speaking? Is all well in my house? 102

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Was that Dānava slain by that thunderbolt of mine? / Is that evil-minded one not searching for me for the sake of battle?" 103

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Brahmā said:
That Dānava was slain by you, O Śakra, with that thunderbolt;
the sinful one has gone under the power of death; you should not be afraid. 104

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However, from his slaying, the highly reprehensible murder of a brahmin has arisen
for you, O Śakra; therefore today we do not touch [you, who have] become untouchable. 105

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Indra said:
Many Dānavas indeed were slain by me previously;
the murder of a brahmin did not arise; how is there murder for me now? 106

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Brahmā said:
They were slain by you in battle according to the duty of a kṣatriya, O Vāsava;
all those Dānavas were pure; therefore no sin arose. 107

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This one was endowed with a sacred thread, especially engaged in austerity;
he was slain by trickery, O Śakra; therefore you are joined with sin. 108

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Indra said:
I know, O four-faced one, that my own body is joined with sin
by the signs arising from the slaying of a brahmin; therefore, declare purification to me, 109

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By which the sin arising from the murder of a brahmin quickly departs,
[and] I may become touchable to all the gods, O great-grandfather.
Brahmā said:
For that purpose, O best of the gods, you ought to undertake a pilgrimage to sacred fords;
without it, your sin will not go to destruction entirely. 111

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Sūta said:
Then, by his word, Śakra, devoted to pilgrimage to sacred fords,
wandered over the entire earth, performing ritual ablutions separately [at each], 112

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At well-known sacred fords endowed with rivers and streams,
at Vārāṇasī, at Prayāga, at Prabhāsa, and in Kurujāṅgala; 113

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And likewise at others, the thousand-eyed one did not become free from sin.
Then, fallen into despondency, he reflected in his mind: 114

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“I have bathed in all the sacred fords on the surface of the earth,
and yet I am not freed from the sin. What shall I do now? 115

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Shall I fall from the peak of a mountain, or shall I consume poison?
Deprived of the sovereignty over the three worlds, I have no heart to live.” 116

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Having thus fallen into despondency, Vāsava climbed a mountain,
and as he was resolved upon death and about to throw himself down, 117

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Just then a divine voice arose from the sky, O best of brahmins:
“O Śakra, do not commit a rash deed, having attained despondency in your heart! 118

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You have yet to rule in heaven for eight yugas.
Therefore, listen attentively for the purification of your sin, O Śakra! 119

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Swiftly carry out the instruction; it should not be conceived otherwise:
The opening which was formerly filled up with dust by you 120

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In the sacred field of Hāṭakeśvara, where the god Hara himself resides,
there a serpent-hole has arisen from an anthill, O lord of the gods, 121

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By which the serpents come out and go on the surface of the earth.
Having gone by that path to Hāṭakeśvara in Pātāla,
having bathed in the Pātālagaṅgā, worship Maheśvara! 122

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Then you will become freed from sin, there is no doubt;
and you will obtain once again the unimpeded sovereignty of the gods.” 123

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Sūta said:
Then Śakra, hearing that voice arising from the sky,
went swiftly to where that serpent-hole was. 124

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Then, having entered Pātāla and immersed himself in the waters of the Gaṅgā,
he worshipped that liṅga known as Hāṭakeśvara. 125

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Then in an instant his body became free of impurity,
and the foul odor vanished, and an increase of splendor took place. 126

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At that moment, the gods led by Brahmā and Viṣṇu arrived
and, greatly delighted, spoke to that king of the gods who was freed from sin: 127

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“You have attained purity, O Śakra, freed from the murder of a brahmin;
therefore come, let us go together to the abode of the gods! 128

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O Śakra, fill this serpent-hole again with dust;
otherwise, human beings seeking perfections, having come through this [hole], 129

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Having bathed in the waters of the Bhāgīrathī and worshipped this liṅga,
even though joined with sin, will attain the supreme state.” 130

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Then all those gods and Śatakratu,
having bowed down to the god, departed aloud once again to the abode of the gods. 131

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Then a great festival celebrating the slaying of Vṛtra took place there in heaven,
when Śakra obtained the lordship of the gods again, O best of brahmins. 132

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Sūta said:
All this māhātmya relating to Hāṭakeśvara,
which destroys all sins, has been told to you, O best of brahmins. 133

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And whoever proclaims this with devotion or listens attentively,
he goes to the supreme abode, free of old age and death. 134

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Thus ends the eighth chapter, named “The Description of the Slaying of Vṛtra,” in the Māhātmya of the Sacred Field of Hāṭakeśvara, in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, the sixth [section], in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses. 8.

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit