Now begins the second [part], the māhātmya of the eighty-four liṅgas situated in Avantī, in the fifth Avantī section in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa. (5.2)

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Homage to glorious Gaṇeśa.

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Homage to glorious Mahākāla.

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Now begins the māhātmya of the eighty-four liṅgas situated in Avantī in the Avantī section.

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Umā said:

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Whatever sacred fords there are on earth, and likewise holy rivers,

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please describe them carefully, [those] at which funeral offerings are made. (1)

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Īśvara said:

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There is the Gaṅgā, famous throughout the worlds, flowing through the three realms,

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frequented by gods and gandharvas, and attended by sages. (2)

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The goddess Yamunā, daughter of the sun, purifier of the worlds,

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is dear to the ancestors, O goddess, and removes great sins. (3)

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The Candrabhāgā, the Vitastā, and the Narmadā at Amarakaṇṭaka,

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Kurukṣetra, Gayā, O goddess, Prabhāsa, and likewise Naimiṣa,

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Kedāra, and Puṣkara, and also Kāyāvarohaṇa,

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and likewise, O goddess, the most holy, auspicious forest of Mahākāla,

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where resides glorious Mahākāla, a fire for the firewood of sin.

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The sacred field extends for a yojana; it destroys the sin of killing a brahmin.

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The sacred field grants worldly enjoyment and liberation; it destroys the impurities of the Kali [age].

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Even at the cosmic dissolution, O goddess, it is imperishable, difficult to reach even for the thirty [gods].

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Umā said:

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Let the power of this sacred field be told, O god, O Maheśvara!

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Which sacred fords are worthy of worship, and which liṅgas exist there indeed?

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I wish to hear about them; great curiosity has arisen in me.

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Īśvara said:

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Listen attentively, O goddess, to the power that destroys sin!

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The primordial sacred field, O great goddess, is always exceedingly dear to me.

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Where there is the most holy, supreme [river] that removes all sins,

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and the holy Gandhavatī, divine, beloved of the new rivers,

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and Nīlagaṅgā as the fourth; these are proclaimed the foremost rivers.

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Having bathed at their confluence, whatever man performs a śrāddha

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[attains] three times the merit of the Gaṅgā, O goddess, bestowing the fruit of the four aims of life.

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Know, O lady of good vows, that the sacred field of Avantī extends for a yojana.

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There abide perfected liṅgas granting enjoyment and liberation:

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there are eighty-four lords (īśvaras), and likewise eight Bhairavas;

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likewise eleven Rudras, and twelve Ādityas are commemorated;

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six Vināyakas, and here are twenty-four Mothers.

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When I went there, to the auspicious forest of Mahākāla,

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all [the gods] led by Brahmā and Viṣṇu came there, filled with joy.

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This sacred field, a yojana in extent, is pervaded by these [deities], O goddess.

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Viṣṇu resides in ten stations, destroying all sins.

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Whatever person recites these names at dawn with devotion,

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freed from all sins, goes to the world of Rudra.

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Umā said:

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The eighty-four liṅgas that were mentioned by you here,

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speak of them in detail, which indeed remove all sins.

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Hara said:

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Listen, O goddess, I shall proclaim what their names are!

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Renowned on earth as the first is the supreme Agastyeśvara,

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by merely seeing which a person accomplishes their purpose.

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Umā said:

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How was this name Agastyeśvara obtained by it here?

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In what place and how did it arise? You should speak in detail.

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Hara said:

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Listen, O fortunate goddess, to this ancient tale,

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which calms all sins and bestows desired fruits!

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Formerly, the gods were conquered by the asuras, and then became dispirited.

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All their portions [of sacrificial offerings] were stolen, and the ancestors were made despairing.

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Stripped of their dominion, O goddess, the gods then wandered on the surface of the earth.

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Then, one day, those distressed [gods] saw Agastya,

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shining with the radiance of the sun, endowed with splendour, possessing vast vows.

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Then the gods, having seen him surrounded by splendour and having saluted [him],

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spoke this to the great-souled Agastya, world-renowned:

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“We have all been conquered in battle by the dānavas and cast down from heaven.

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Therefore protect us from this intense fear, O best of sages!”

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Thus addressed then by the gods, Agastya became enraged,

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and the splendid one blazed like the fire of destruction at cosmic dissolution.

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Then, burned up by the mass of blazing rays, the dānavas,

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O great goddess, fell by thousands from the intermediate space.

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Then, being consumed by that splendour of Agastya,

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all the daityas and dānavas fled in fear from the seer to Pātāla.

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Then the great-souled Agastya, having slain them, was overwhelmed with grief,

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and he became exceedingly agitated in mind with sorrow.

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"A terrible, great sin was committed by me when the Dānavas were slain.

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For non-violence is declared by Manu to be the highest dharma.

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What shall I do? Where shall I go? And how may I be purified?" // 31

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As he was contemplating thus, the Grandfather [Brahmā] arrived.

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There he spoke to the sage: "Why are you overcome with grief, // 32

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[and] appear agitated, O tiger among sages? Speak the reason quickly!"

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Bowing to Brahmā, he explained to him as he questioned him: // 33

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"O God of gods, Lord of the world, my inner mind burns!

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The guilt of slaying a brahmin has come upon me because the Dānavas were killed by me. // 34

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Out of grace, declare to me the remedy, O best of the gods!

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O god, the austerity accumulated over a long time has gone to destruction!" // 35

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The best of the gods said this: "Listen attentively to the supreme

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remedy by which the destruction of all sin will surely take place: // 36

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In the divine Mahākālavana, frequented by Yakṣas and Gandharvas,

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north of Vaṭayakṣiṇī, is an unexcelled liṅga, // 37

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situated in the southern region of the Piśācatīrtha.

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By propitiating it, all sin attains destruction. // 38

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Worship that auspicious liṅga which destroys all sin!"

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Saying "So be it!", the righteous-souled [sage] went to Mahākālavana. // 39

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O ruler of the gods, intent upon worshipping that liṅga,

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the sage remained day and night with devotion, solely absorbed in meditating upon it. // 5.2.1.40

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Then, O goddess, I was pleased with that great-souled sage. // 41

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I said: "O highly fortunate sage, listen with a concentrated mind!

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Choose a boon, O foremost of vipras, whatever is in your heart. // 42

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I am pleased by this devotion and by your difficult austerity.

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By the power of this liṅga, you have now become free of taint; // 43

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your sin of slaying a brahmin, arising from [slaying] the Dānavas, has been destroyed, O lord of sages!"

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Having heard my speech, O fair-complexioned one, he said: // 44

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"O god, if you are pleased, being fond of those who take refuge,

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may there be devotion in me to your pair of feet, O Maheśvara! // 45

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And likewise let there be no obstacle to my austerity or to my dharma."

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Having heard that speech of the great-souled one born from a pitcher, // 46

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I said, O large-eyed lady: "O sage, so shall it be!

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The god who was worshipped by you, who destroys the sin of slaying a brahmin,

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shall become famous in the three worlds by your name; so shall I. // 47

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Even the god Agastyeśvara shall be renowned throughout the three worlds."

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Having been addressed thus by me, O goddess, that vipra remained there.

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By the grace of that liṅga, he was adorned with the five mudrās. // 48

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Those men who behold that great liṅga with devotion

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shall be liberated from all sins, adorned with all desires, // 49

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noble-minded, and endowed with sons and prosperity;

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and at the end of time they go to me in aerial chariots that fulfill all desires, // 5.2.1.50

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Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit