Skandapurana 5.82

English (machine translation) 5.82

Language: English

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Sūta said: / Seeing that plight of Garuḍa, the Lotus-Eyed One / was astonished and thought: “What is this that has now occurred?

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He, from whom not even a hair fell by the blow of the thunderbolt— / how have both his wings suddenly fallen to the ground?

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Surely, because censure of women was uttered by this noble one, / and celibacy was questioned by him while looking at Śāṇḍilī,

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his wings were felled by her through the majesty of the power of her austerity. / No one else possesses such power in the three worlds.”

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Then the god whose banner is Garuḍa propitiated Śāṇḍilī / for his sake, having smiled and become endowed with humility, O best of brahmins.

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The Blessed One said: / “Indeed, a general statement regarding all women was uttered by him. / Then why, O highly fortunate lady, has he been made like this by you?”

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Śāṇḍilī said: / “Looking closely at my face, Janārdana, he smiled; / and censure of women was uttered by him using his own wit, O teacher of the universe.

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For this reason this punishment was inflicted upon him by me / in mind alone, and not by word nor by deed, O Keśava.”

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The Blessed One said: / “Even so, show him grace, O sinless one, / out of regard for my word, if you have regard for me, O auspicious lady.”

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Śāṇḍilī said: / “Whatever good or bad has been conceived by me even in thought / does not turn out otherwise, O god, especially when I am filled with anger.

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Therefore, by my command, let him worship Śaṃkara / to regain his wings; no other possesses the power to bestow them.

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Otherwise, O Lotus-Eyed One, he shall remain in this world / fixed in such a form; this truth I speak.”

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Sūta said: / Having heard her words, Janārdana said to Garuḍa, / who was filled with dejection and stood looking like a lump of meat:

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“This indeed is her boon, O best of birds, disguised as a curse, / that propitiation of Śambhu has been prescribed for you to regain your wings.

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Therefore, quickly worship the god who bears the crescent moon on his crest, / fixing your mind untroubled, unwearied day and night,

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so that, by his power, such a body may become yours once more, / without delay, through the majesty of that god, O descendant of Kaśyapa.”

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Having heard that, Garuḍa quickly undertook the Pāśupata vow; / having installed the god Īśāna, he then satisfied him.

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He performed cāndrāyaṇa penances, kṛcchra penances, and sāntapana penances, / as well as prājāpatya penances and parāka penances before him.

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Bathing at the three junctures of the day, subsequently devoted to bathing in ashes, / reciting the Rudraśiras, the Rudras, the Nīlarudras, and others,

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he performed worship himself, having bathed him according to the rules, / and offered oblations, worship, and offerings according to proper injunction.

Thus, as he remained fixed in the vow, devoted to recitation and worship, / Maheśvara became pleased at the end of a thousand years, / and said, ‘I am a granter of boons; choose your desired wish, O best of birds!’”

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Garuḍa said:
“Behold my condition, O Īśāna, which was brought about by Śāṇḍilyā!
A loss of wings was inflicted upon me; indeed, I pray to you for that.

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You must always remain right here in this liṅga now for me, O Hara,
undoubtedly at my word, if you grant me what I desire.”

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The Lord said:
“From this day onward, my dwelling shall be here in this liṅga.
And you, endowed with that [original] form, possessing extraordinary strength and speed,

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shall become, without doubt, by my grace, O bird!”
Having spoken thus, the god personally touched him with his hand.

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Then his two beautiful wings arose at that very moment,
as well as divine feathers resembling gold.

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Then, having bowed to that god, that bird, overjoyed,
took leave of Maheśvara and afterwards went to his own home.

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And the god Hara, at his word, always made his dwelling properly
in that liṅga whenever the three junctures of the day arrived.

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And if one should cast off his life-breaths in its holy sanctuary through yoga,
having undertaken fasting unto death, he is not born again.

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Even a person of sinful conduct, or an outcaste, or pitiless,
or a slayer of a brahmin, a drinker of liquor, a thief, or an aborticide,

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who worships at the three times of the day with a heart purified by faith,
and resides there for a year, is honored in the world of Śiva.

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Or whatever person beholds him on a Monday,
having devoted a single moment with sincere devotion for up to a year, O twice-born ones,

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that man also goes to the temple of Śiva, there is no doubt,
mounted upon an excellent aerial chariot and attended by hosts of apsarases.

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Therefore, by every effort, especially in the Kali age,
the god named Suparṇa should indeed be beheld by those endowed with faith.

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And likewise, life-breaths should be abandoned before him by those resorting to fasting unto death
who desire the presence of Śiva; this truth has been spoken by me.

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Thus ends the eighty-second chapter, titled ‘Description of the Māhātmya Named Suparṇeśvara,’ in the Māhātmya of the Holy Hāṭakeśvara Field, in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, the sixth [book] in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit