Skandapurana 6.2.9

English (machine translation) 6.2.9

Language: English

6.2.9.32

The venerable Rudra said: / Know the ninth liṅga to be Svargadvāreśvara, O Pārvatī, / which removes all sins, O goddess, and bestows heaven and liberation as its fruit. / When those sisters, beginning with Aśvinī, came / to the supreme mountain Kailāsa, O goddess, they were filled with wonder upon seeing you: / 'We have been invited to the sacrifice together with our husbands and retinues / out of affection by our father, O goddess, with great honour. / Were you remembered, O large-eyed one, or did father forget you? / For what reason were you not invited by our father?' / Hearing those words of theirs, you, out of dishonour, / then gave up your life-breaths through yoga before them, O Pārvatī. / Then, burning with grief, they went to where the lord of creatures was / and reported the whole incident before Dakṣa just as it had happened. / Hearing those terrible words, Dakṣa said nothing at all. / When I saw you fallen on the ground having succumbed to death, O goddess, / the gaṇas were then dispatched to destroy the sacrifice. / Having gone there, those fierce gaṇas, by the hundreds and thousands, / misshapen, terrifying, frightful, bearing various weapons and of great strength, / released showers of arrows while making ferocious roars. / Then all the hosts of gods, the Vasus together with the suns, / the Viśvedevas and the Sādhyas, bows in hand, possessing great might, / marched forth to battle and unleashed sharp shafts. / Meeting there, the Pramathas fought with the gods; / they released showers of arrows like clouds discharging streams of water. / In their midst, a gaṇa of great might named Vīrabhadra / struck Śakra in the heart with a trident. / Rendered unconscious by that blow, he sank down. / Then the elephant Airāvata was struck on the frontal globes with a fist; / struck suddenly by him, that king of elephants, roaring with ferocious cries / and seized with fear, rushed towards the sacrificial enclosure. / In the meantime, the gods were routed by him; / then they sought refuge with Viṣṇu, the sole leader of the universe. / Then, filled with rage upon seeing the gods / all put to flight by the gaṇas, Viṣṇu quickly released the Sudarśana. / As that Sudarśana discus of Viṣṇu came hurtling with speed, / [Vīrabhadra] opened his mouth and suddenly swallowed it into his stomach. / When that unfailing discus, destroyer of the Daityas, was thus swallowed, / Nārāyaṇa, enraged, O goddess, rushed at Vīrabhadra. / Seizing him by both feet, he hurled him down to the ground from far away; / and as he was being struck on the ground with a mace, the Sudarśana, / accompanied by gouts of blood, issued forth from his mouth. / Having received a boon from me, O goddess, that best of gaṇas, Vīrabhadra, / did not succumb to death even though struck with the mace. / Then all the Pramathas, distressed by the power and might of Viṣṇu, / arrived with difficulty, suddenly, where I was staying, O goddess. / Seeing me with trident in hand, Viṣṇu vanished. / Indra too, together with the thirty [gods], with the ancestors and the brahmins, / his heart seized with terror of me, vanished from sight. / When the sacrifice had thus been destroyed and the host of gods was lost, / a gaṇa was then stationed by me at the gate of heaven, O goddess: / 'Entrance must never be granted to the thirty [gods], O lord of gaṇas! / A blockage of the gate must be vigilantly maintained by my command. / Whichever god is seen must undoubtedly be slain.' / And then heaven became deserted, and the gods were utterly defeated. / But when the gate of heaven was blocked, Śakra and the others, bewildered by fear, / consulted again and again and went to the world of Brahmā. / Before him, the entire blockage of heaven's gate was reported: / 'The gate of heaven is occupied by the gaṇas of the Great Lord, O grandfather! / Entrance has become difficult to obtain now that the gate is blocked. / By what means shall we go to the world of heaven as before? / We have no joy without heaven, O grandfather!' / Hearing these words of theirs, it was then spoken by Brahmā: / 'Lord Śaṃkara, the Great God, the master of the world, must be propitiated; / he, the maker of creation and destruction, is to be praised, revered, and saluted. / Difficult to attain is heaven, O gods, without his favor.

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He is the protector, the creator, the capable one, and he is our supreme refuge.

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He alone is to be propitiated, and he is considered the most worthy of worship.

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Therefore, with every effort, go to Śiva for refuge.

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I shall explain the means; let it be heard attentively.

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Accompanied by the thirty [gods], O Śakra, go quickly at my command

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to the delightful Mahākālavana, to the east of Kapāleśvara.

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The supreme liṅga Svargadvāra is situated there, O Vāsava,

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fashioned by the Great God out of compassion for the worlds.

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Propitiate it swiftly; he will grant your desire.'

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Hearing the words of Brahmā, the thirty [gods] were exceedingly delighted.

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They came then to the Mahākālavana, O great goddess,

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and beheld the auspicious, supreme liṅga that bestows the gate of heaven.

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By the mere sight of it, the gate of heaven opened.

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All went to the world of heaven just as before, O glorious one.

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Seeing the thirty [gods] free from fear, I was then petitioned by the gaṇas.

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And they were all commanded by me: 'Turn back, O best of gaṇas!

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What was promised by myself—how could it turn out false?

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The god who bestows the gate of heaven has undoubtedly been seen by the gods,

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as spoken by Virañci in the delightful Mahākālavana.'

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The hosts of the thirty [gods], beginning with Śakra, instantly reached the gate of heaven.

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From then on, Śiva became renowned as Svargadvāreśvara.

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He who bestows the world of heaven shall attain renown in the mortal world.

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Those men in the world who behold Śiva as Svargadvāreśvara,

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they indeed go to the world of heaven through the worship of Svargadvāreśvara.

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Those who see the god Svargadvāreśvara even in passing

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have no fear even in hundreds of millions of kalpas. (45)

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Whatever merit is proclaimed to come from a thousand horse sacrifices,

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greater than that is the merit, O goddess, from worshipping Svargadvāreśvara. (46)

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Whatever sin has been accumulated previously through a thousand other births,

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that sin dissolves through chanting the name of this liṅga. (47)

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On the eighth or the fourteenth [day], or on a Monday,

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those men who with devotion behold Śiva Svargadvāreśvara,

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they enter into my body, O goddess, free from rebirth. (48)

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When that liṅga is worshipped,

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a hundred million liṅgas situated within it are worshipped here. (49)

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From touching that liṅga, from praising it, and from worshipping it,

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they easily go to heaven, and one attains one's desires. (50)

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Whether free from desire or filled with desire, those who see [it] day after day,

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they too, meritorious and fortunate, indeed go to the heavenly world. (51)

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Thus in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, in the collection of eighty-one thousand [verses], in the fifth [section], the Āvantyakhaṇḍa, in the glorification of the eighty-four liṅgas, the ninth chapter, titled 'The Description of the Māhātmya of Svargadvāreśvara'. (9)

6.2.10.10

The glorious Mahādeva said:
Know the tenth, O Pārvatī, named Karkoṭeśvara, / by the mere sight of which one is not overcome by poisons. (1)
The serpents were cursed by their mother because they disobeyed her word: / 'Since my command was not obeyed by you in an act of sin, (2)
fire will burn you at the sacrifice of Janamejaya!' / Hearing then their mother's curse, terrified of death, the snakes (3)
all went to various places to preserve their lives, O illustrious one. / Śeṣa went to the snowy mountain to perform tapas, O beloved. (4)
The snake named Kambala went to the world of Brahmā; / then Śaṅkhacūḍa, lord of serpents, went to Maṇipūra; (5)
Kāliya, overwhelmed by fear, took refuge in the waters of the Yamunā. (6)
Thus those serpent kings, the nāgas, O lovely one of sweet smile, / all went to Kurukṣetra to perform tapas, O illustrious one. / Likewise the nāga Dhṛtarāṣṭra went to Prayāga, O beloved. (7)
And Elāpatra, lord of serpents, went to the world of Brahmā. / Having bowed to him who sat on the mother's lap, he spoke: (8)
'O god, we were cursed by our angry mother in your presence. / Why was she not prevented by you at the time of the curse?' (9)
Brahmā said:
'Your mother was not restrained by me because of the power of destined deeds; / indeed the snake sacrifice of King Janamejaya will take place. (10)
And you, child, by my command, go to the Mahākāla forest, / for the pacification of all serpents, quickly, filled with devotion. (11)
Worship the lord of gods near Mahāmāyā; / there your perfection will come to be by the grace of the god of gods.' (12)
Having gone there, Karkoṭa himself, collected in mind, O goddess, / worshipped the god, standing before Mahāmāyā. / Pleased with him, the lord of gods granted a boon, O illustrious one: (13)
'Those serpents that are cruel, sinful in conduct, and violent with poison, / their destruction will take place, but not of those who act righteously. (14)
I am pleased today with your devotion; enter into union with me.' / The nāga Karkoṭaka then dissolved into the god there, O beloved. (15)
From that time, the god Maheśvara became renowned as Karkoṭakeśvara; / by the mere sight of him, diseases perish. (16)
Whatever human being worships that god filled with devotion, / lordly power arises for him, and he redeems a hundred of his lineages. (17)
A sick person is freed from sickness, a suffering person is liberated from suffering; / by darśana alone, he immediately becomes freed from all sins. (18)
Those who regularly behold Karkoṭakeśvara / will obtain all desires and at the end dwell in my city. (19)
Those who see [him] on the fifth and on the fourteenth, or on a Sunday, / in their family snakes never cause harm. (20)
Even an unfortunate woman always attains good fortune; / a pregnant woman obtains a son free from disease, the ornament of his lineage; / afflictions caused by child-demons vanish, and there is no fear of untimely death. (21)
Whatever desire a devoted man meditates upon in his mind, / he attains that, however difficult to obtain, through the darśana of Karkoṭeśvara. (22)
This power that destroys sins has been told to you, O goddess, / of the god Karkoṭeśvara; hear now about the supreme Siddheśvara. (23)
Thus in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, in the collection of eighty-one thousand [verses], in the fifth [section], the Āvantyakhaṇḍa, in the glorification of the eighty-four liṅgas, the tenth chapter, titled 'The Description of the Māhātmya of Karkoṭeśvara'. (10)

6.2.11.1

The glorious Mahādeva said:

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Know the auspicious Siddheśvara to be the eleventh liṅga, O goddess,

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situated near Vīrabhadra, the granter of all perfections. (1)

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Long ago, in the Devadāru forest, brahmins endowed with yoga,

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restrained, performed tapas in rivalry to obtain perfection. (2)

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Some ate vegetables, some took no food, while others fed on leaves;

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some used their teeth as a mortar, and others used stones to grind their food; (3)

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some were devoted to the vīrāsana posture, others were engaged in inhaling smoke; (4)

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some hung with feet upward and faces downward; some lived exposed to the open sky; (4)

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others, composed in mind, performed the kṛcchra, cāndrāyaṇa, and other penances;

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yet supreme perfection was not attained even in hundreds of years. (5)

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Afflicted by distress, they reflected: 'How will perfection arise?

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Perfection is not gained here even by difficult tapas! (6)

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Thus the sacred tradition that was sung by the sages of old has become useless:

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"Everything is obtained through tapas; this world has tapas as its root." (7)

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The magical collyrium, the pill, magical flight with wooden sandals,

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the perfection of the sword, dwelling in subterranean caverns, and the wish-fulfilling jewel that was desired—' (8)

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Thus reflected those seekers of perfection, filled with extreme indignation;

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casting aside that duty of tapas, they arrived at an attitude of unbelief. (9)

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At that very time, an incorporeal voice spoke:

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comforting those Siddhas like a mother to her own begotten son:

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"O noble ones, do not hold that revelation is in vain on the face of the earth.

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Austerity is not to be despised, nor righteousness; listen to the reason for this:

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O you whose wealth is austerity, no accomplishment will come to you here;

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for that austerity performed out of rivalry and desiring accomplishment was in vain.

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From desire comes the loss of austerity, and from egotism comes pride;

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and likewise from anger, greed, and delusion; of this there is no doubt.

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He, however, who is free from rivalry, devoid of desire and anger,

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and performs action with devotion, enjoys the fruit of austerity.

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He who is perfumed with good impressions, single-minded, concentrated,

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believing in the hereafter, and full of faith, enjoys the fruit of austerity.

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The man who always regards another's wife as a mother,

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and another's wealth as a clod of earth, enjoys the fruit of austerity.

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In such a person, O brahmins, the success of austerity is seen.

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You have performed what is difficult to do purely out of rivalry.

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Therefore, even in a thousand years, accomplishment will not come to be.

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If my word is to be carried out with an unwavering mind,

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having gone to Mahākālavana, all of you concentrated,

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worship the Lord of gods, who ever bestows accomplishment.

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From the darśana of that god, supreme accomplishment is obtained.

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Even Sanaka and the others, intent on yoga, having approached the god

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and worshipped him with devotion, attained the supreme perfection.

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Formerly, by King Vasumat the very rare sword-accomplishment

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was attained through the mere darśana by the power of this liṅga.

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Travel by magic sandals was attained by the great-souled Haihaya,

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the son of Kṛtavīrya, as well as a thousand vehicles.

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And the power of making oneself invisible was obtained in former times by Anūru;

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and gold-making by the Siddha, foot-ointment, alchemy,

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and magic collyrium were likewise obtained from the darśana of this liṅga."

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Hearing the voice from the sky, those Siddhas, filled with wonder,

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went joyfully to the excellent Mahākālavana.

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And they beheld the excellent liṅga, bestower of all accomplishments;

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from the darśana of that liṅga, they attained supreme perfection.

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From that time forth, the supreme Siddheśvara was celebrated by the gods.

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Those men who see the supreme god Siddheśvara, O goddess,

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accomplishment will not be hard for them to attain on the earth.

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Those who, lacking devotion, happen to go to Siddheśvara in passing,

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they will certainly become fully accomplished; of this there is no doubt.

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Even one joined with great sins who remembers Siddheśvara,

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will indeed become perfected, endowed with knowledge and sovereignty.

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He who beholds the supreme god Siddheśvara according to rule,

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after six months the accomplishment desired in his heart comes to pass.

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Especially on the eighth and fourteenth days of the dark fortnight,

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he who beholds Siddheśvara shall behold my abode.

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The childless obtains a child, and the penniless obtains wealth;

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the seeker of learning obtains learning, the seeker of a wife obtains a woman.

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Whoever worships at a transit of the sun, on a Monday, or during an eclipse,

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having delivered a hundred ancestral families, especially his own, O beloved,

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rejoices in my world as long as the fourteen Indras endure.

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This power that destroys sin has been told to you, O goddess,

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concerning the god Siddheśvara. Listen now to Lokapāleśvara.

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Thus ends the eleventh chapter, titled 'The Description of the Māhātmya of Siddheśvara', in the Māhātmya of the Eighty-Four Liṅgas in the fifth section, the Āvantyakhaṇḍa, of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, in the collection of eighty-one thousand verses.

6.2.12.1

The glorious Hara said:

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"Know the twelfth, O ruler of gods, to be the auspicious Lokapāleśvara,

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by the mere darśana of which one is freed from all sins.

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Formerly, O goddess, hosts of Daityas by the thousands appeared,

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of great prowess, from the chest of Hiraṇyakaśipu.

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By them this earth was pervaded, together with its mountains and forests;

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all their hermitages were wrecked, and sacrifices were ruined;

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and brahmins who had mastered the Vedas and their auxiliary sciences were devoured.

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The sacrificial fire-pits were filled with dust and with intoxicating liquor;

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all the ritual pitchers were smashed, and the earthen vessels and utensils crushed to powder.

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Deprived of Vedic recitation and the vaṣaṭ-call, shorn of svadhā and svāhā,

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the earth, O goddess, was made bereft of sacrificial festivals.

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Thereupon the guardians of the world, terrified, took refuge with Mādhava.

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With folded hands, all of them afflicted with hunger and plunged into distress, spoke:

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“O Lord, we have fallen into exhaustion, deprived of our sacrificial shares!

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Formerly we were saved by you from Namuci and Vṛṣaparvan,

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from the dreadful Hiraṇyakaśipu, from Naraka, and likewise from Mura.

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So too, O best of gods, protect us; fear has overtaken us!”

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Hearing those words of theirs, the wielder of the conch, discus, and mace

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departed. Then the Daityas entered the abode of Varuṇa.

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Issuing forth from there at night, they slew the best of brahmins,

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ascetics who had undergone initiation, O goddess, devoted to vows of righteousness.

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Then they went to heaven, O beloved, and Śakra, the lord of the Maruts, was conquered.

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Likewise, having marched to the southern quarter, the King of Dharma was conquered next.

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Then, having gone to the western quarter, the king of waters was completely defeated;

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in the north, O goddess, the giver of wealth was defeated by those Daityas.

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Then, thrown into turmoil, they came to Viṣṇu for refuge.

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A means was then told by Viṣṇu to the gods, O goddess:

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“Having gone to the Mahākāla forest, O gods, concentrated with devotion,

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worship the Lord of All, Śaṃkara, who brings welfare to the world.

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There your success will come to be, through his grace.”

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Having heard this speech of Kṛṣṇa of boundless splendour,

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the guardians of the world set out for the auspicious Mahākāla forest.

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Right then and there, they were intercepted by the Daityas bearing weapons;

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fleeing once again, they arrived where the divine Janārdana was.

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They reported the terrible manner in which the three worlds had been besieged.

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Those guardians of the world were addressed again and again by Nārāyaṇa:

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“Take upon yourselves vows and adorn yourselves with skulls,

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carrying skull-topped staffs, tranquil, adorned with the five seals,

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all your limbs adorned with ashes, beautified with tiny bells,

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undertaking the Great Vow; to the supreme Mahākāla forest

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go together with Brahmā, with anklets fastened to your feet.”

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Then those guardians of the world, having heard the words of Kṛṣṇa,

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arrived, O great goddess, having assumed Kāpālika forms.

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There they beheld the great liṅga, a wondrous mass of splendour,

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and it was praised again and again with various hymns by the guardians of the world.

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Then from that liṅga a flame of fire burst forth,

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by which all those Dānavas were burnt and reduced to ashes.

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Recognizing the greatness of the liṅga, they, with concentrated minds, gave it a name.

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Because this supreme, luminous liṅga was worshipped by the guardians of the world,

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it shall become known on the surface of the earth by the name Lokapāleśvara.

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Having said this, all the thirty [gods], surrounded by the guardians of the world,

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went each to their own celestial abode, filled with joy as before.

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Those men who behold the auspicious Lokapāleśvara, O goddess,

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shall be richly endowed with prosperities in birth after birth.

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Neither poverty nor disease, nor untimely death,

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and matchless sovereignty is always born for them from its darśana.

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Whatever desire one intends when making this darśana,

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all that comes to pass for him, and upon death he attains the supreme state.

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Whatever fruit is obtained from a horse sacrifice properly performed,

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that fruit one attains, O goddess, from worshipping Lokapāleśvara.

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Even if someone should see the auspicious Lokapāleśvara merely by chance,

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he rejoices in the heavenly world forever along with the guardians of the world.

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Particularly on a solar transit, on a Monday, and on the fourteenth lunar day,

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those men who behold it with devotion on the eighth lunar day and during the two solstices,

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they become invincible here to their enemies in battle,

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and upon death they go by aerial chariot to the realm of Śakra, so difficult to attain,

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and successively to the realm of Varuṇa and of the giver of wealth, at their pleasure.

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Then they go to the world of the Grandfather, which is very difficult even for gods to attain.

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This power that destroys sin has been told to you, O goddess;

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it is hard to attain, supreme, and secret. Now listen about Kāmeśvara.

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Thus ends the twelfth chapter, named 'Description of the Glory of Lokapāleśvara,' in the Glory of the Eighty-Four Liṅgas of the Āvantyakhaṇḍa, in the fifth part of the Śrī Skanda Mahāpurāṇa containing eighty-one thousand verses.

6.2.13.5

Hara said: / Know Kāmeśvara, O goddess, as the thirteenth liṅga there, / by the mere sight of which auspicious good fortune arises. / While Brahmā was meditating, desirous of progeny, O Pārvatī, / there arose a great mass of beauty, shaped with the splendour of the sun, / covered with ornaments, attractive, adorned with heavenly adornments. / Seeing him, supreme, divine, handsome, adorned with charm, / unfathomable and unknowable, Brahmā said to him then: / 'Who are you? For what purpose, or why have you come here? / Speak, you who resemble Manmatha! You appear to me like Kandarpa.' / Hearing Brahmā's words, he respectfully said to him: / 'I am a portion produced by your intention, as you desired creation. / O noble Prajāpati, what shall I do? Command me!'

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit