Skandapurana 6.3.142

English (machine translation) 6.3.142

Language: English

6.3.142.1

The venerable Mārkaṇḍeya said:
Then, O great king, one should go to the excellent Rukmiṇītīrtha,
where by merely performing ritual ablution one becomes handsome and fortunate. // 142.1

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Especially on the eighth, fourteenth, and third days,
one should perform ritual ablution there and will not be born in this world again. // 142.2

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A person who, having bathed in the Rukmiṇītīrtha, gives a gift of gold,
does not encounter sorrow through the power of that sacred ford. // 142.3

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Yudhiṣṭhira said:
How did such greatness come to this sacred ford, O lord of sages,
by which this sacred ford grants beauty and good fortune? Tell me. // 142.4

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Mārkaṇḍeya said:
I shall narrate an ancient legend just as it happened,
which was told of old by the elders through succession, O Bhārata. // 142.5

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I shall relate that to you; listen with a single-minded heart.
There was a city named Kuṇḍina which Bhīṣmaka protected. // 142.6

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Supplied with elephants, horses, and chariots, wealthy, exceedingly glorious,
surrounded by a thousand women, he ruled an excellent kingdom. // 142.7

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His wife, the queen, was dearer [to him] than life itself.
Upon her he begot a single son, Rukma. // 142.8

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A second child, a daughter named Rukmiṇī, was born.
Then a bodiless voice spoke indeed to that king: // 142.9

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'This maiden must be given to a four-armed one on earth, O Bhīṣmaka!'
Hearing that speech, he rejoiced along with his beloved [wife]. // 142.10

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Accompanied by learned brahmins, he entered the maternity room.
Having caused benedictions to be recited, he gave her the name Rukmiṇī. // 142.11

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Because she had a golden mark from her birth, O Bhārata,
she was then called Rukmiṇī by the brahmins. // 142.12

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Then, in the course of time, she became eight years old.
And remembering repeatedly that speech previously uttered // 142.13

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by the bodiless voice, the king, the lord of the earth, reflected:
'To whom should this girl be given by me? Who will be the four-armed one?' // 142.14

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Meanwhile, Damaghoṣa, the prominent lord of Cedi,
arrived there from the excellent Raivata mountain. // 142.15

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He entered the royal palace where King Bhīṣmaka was.
Seeing him arrived at his home, the king honored him. // 142.16

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Having offered a spacious seat, he led him to the assembly and seated him:
'Is all well with you, O king of kings, O Damaghoṣa endowed with prosperity? // 142.17

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Today has become an auspicious day; I was eager for the sight of you.
My daughter, O king of kings, has indeed reached eight years of age. // 142.18

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She is to be given to a four-armed one, said a bodiless voice.'
Hearing Bhīṣmaka's words, Damaghoṣa spoke this: // 142.19

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'My son is four-armed, renowned throughout the three worlds.
Let this maiden be given to him, to Śiśupāla, O Bhīṣmaka!' // 142.20

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Hearing that speech of Damaghoṣa, O ruler of the earth,
Rukmiṇī was then promised by Bhīṣmaka to Śiśupāla. // 142.21

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The auspicious ceremonies were commenced there by Bhīṣmaka, O Yudhiṣṭhira.
Those kinsmen who lived in the various directions and other lands // 142.22

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were all invited and arrived in due order.
Then Balarāma and Keśava, ornaments of the Yādava lineage, // 142.23

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invited, came to Kuṇḍina, to Bhīṣmaka's [palace].
Those two best of Yadus were honored properly by Bhīṣmaka. // 142.24

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Then, at the time of dusk, Rukmiṇī, infatuated with desire,
went outside the city with her female companions to worship Ambikā. // 142.25

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There she saw Hari, the lord of gods, wearing the attire of a cowherd.
Seeing him, she fell into bewilderment, agitation brought on by love. // 142.26

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Keśava, too, seeing her, said to Saṃkarṣaṇa:
'This jewel among women, dear brother, should be abducted—this is my mind.' // 142.27

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Hearing Keśava's words, Saṃkarṣaṇa said:
'Go, O mighty-armed Kṛṣṇa, and seize this jewel among women swiftly! // 142.28

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And I will follow along behind your path,
causing great slaughter among all the Dānavas.' // 142.29

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Having obtained Saṃkarṣaṇa's assent, Keśava, the slayer of Keśin,
took the maiden, placed her on his chariot, and departed swiftly. // 142.30

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He departed suddenly, O king, with the speed of the wind itself.
Then a great cry of despair arose in Bhīṣmaka's city. // 142.31

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The enraged Dānavas rushed out like the tide of the great ocean,
all roaring, armed with weapons, running upon the path of the chariot. // 142.32

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Then they reached Baladeva, who followed the path of the chariot.
A battle took place between them and Bala, bringing destruction to all beings, // 142.33

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just like formerly in the Tārakā battle renowned in the worlds.
Mace in hand, mighty-armed, Bala had no equal in the three worlds. // 142.34

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Dragging them violently with his plowshare, he felled them with blows of his mace.
Balabhadra of mighty strength could not be slain by the Dānavas. // 142.35

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He crushed all the Dānavas and stood firm like an unshakeable mountain.
And seeing Bala enraged, hard to overcome even for the gods, // 142.36

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Bhīṣmaka's son, possessed of great fiery energy, celebrated as Rukmin,
accompanied by an akṣauhiṇī of exceedingly heroic men, // 142.37

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bypassing Balabhadra, then challenged [him] in battle.
Having bypassed that battle swiftly along the chariot-path, // 142.38

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Lord Keśava then departed along with Rukmiṇī.
Crossing the Vindhya ahead, the imperishable teacher of the three worlds // 142.39

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reached the bank of the Narmadā, where he had formerly attained perfection;
whereby he became invincible by the power of this sacred ford. // 142.40

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For this reason, dear child, it is called Yodhanīpura.
Rukma too, that lord of Dānavas, arrived... // 142.41

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Enraged, he answered Acyuta: “Halt! Halt! Do not flee! / Today I will send you to Yama's abode with sharpened arrows!”

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Thus the two heroes roared at each other. / A terrible battle ensued between them, like the one between the fire-born [Skanda] and Tāraka.

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The dānava discharged volleys of arrows against Keśava. / Disregarding his arrows, Keśava, the slayer of Keśin,

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Viṣṇu himself, then grew enraged and took up the Sudarśana discus. / Just as he was about to strike him, he was checked there by Rukmiṇī:

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“He does not recognize you as the lord of the gods, the four-armed Janārdana. / Taking pity on me, show your own form.”

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Addressed thus by Rukmiṇī, he showed [it], O Bhārata. / Seeing that form, the gods standing in the sky praised him. / Then the god gave divine vision to Rukma, O Bhārata.

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Rukma said: / “O Keśava, that your chest was struck with arrows by me, / devoted to sin and wretched of fortune, you ought to forgive all that.

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Formerly, O Lord, Jānakī was given by Janaka himself; / by me is Rukmiṇī given to you, O Keśava, lord of the gods.

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Marry [her] according to rule, with the rite prescribed by the sacred ordinances.” / Having heard Rukma's words, the teacher of the world was then pleased.

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The lord of the god of gods said to Rukma, the son of Bhīṣmaka: / “Go to your own city, do not fear, and rule the kingdom free from thorns.”

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Hearing Keśava's words, Rukma, best among dānavas, / bowed to that lord of the world and went to his father's house.

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When Rukma had gone, Kṛṣṇa then invited the best among the twice-born: / Marīci, Atri, Aṅgiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu,

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and the illustrious Vasiṣṭha—these are the seven mind-born [sons]. / These are the seven brahmins established with certainty in the Purāṇa,

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forbearing, blessed with offspring, adorned by great seers; / thus these truthful sons of Brahmā, O wise one,

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dwell taking refuge on the bank of the Narmadā, with their senses mastered, / dedicated to austerity and self-study, devoted to silent recitation and oblations.

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Invited by the high-souled Keśava, O king of kings, / he then performed a śrāddha according to rule, following the rite spoken by Brahmā.

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Hari worshipped those seven foremost brahmanical seers. / Janārdana gave twelve villages to them there:

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“As long as the moon and the sun [shine], as long as the earth stands, / for so long is this gift given by me; let no one be an adversary [to it].

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Whichever sinless kings preserve what has been given by me, / to them I shall bring welfare; I will grant the supreme goal.

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As long as the five great elements remain in the worlds, / for that long those who protect what has been given by me shall rejoice in heaven.

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But the fool who revokes what is given to you on the surface of the earth, / his residence shall be in hell until the destruction of all beings.

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Whether given by oneself or given by another, land must be protected; / whoever holds the earth at any time, his is the fruit at that time.

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He who seizes land, whether given by himself or given by another, / becomes a worm in excrement and sinks along with his ancestors.

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Land stolen unjustly or caused to be taken away unjustly: / the taker and the one who causes the taking is born a worm in excrement.

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The giver of land remains in heaven for sixty thousand years; / he who revokes it and he who assents [to the seizure] shall dwell in hell for as many [years].

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Those gifts given here formerly by rulers of men, which bring righteousness, wealth, and renown, / are like remnant offerings: what virtuous person would take them back?

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Having thus worshipped them according to proper rule, O Pāṇḍava, / the slayer of Madhu took Rukmiṇī's hand in marriage as ordained.

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Then the mace-bearer, having defeated all the foremost dānavas / and having accomplished that very splendid deed, went to his own place.

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Both Kṛṣṇa and Saṃkarṣaṇa set out for Dvāravatī. / Seeing that Keśava, the destroyer of distress, was departing,

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the brahmins, truthful and strict in their vows, set forth. / Seeing those brahmins coming along the road of his chariot,

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resting there for a moment, Keśava spoke these words: / “What is the purpose of your coming? Tell me everything, O best of the twice-born.

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Performing your own duties, what remains to be done for me?” / Hearing the god's words, the sages spoke:

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“Praised with true disposition for thousands of crores of kalpas, / you are difficult for mortals to attain; having attained [you], why do you abandon us?”

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Hearing the words of the brahmins, the Lord said this: / “In Mathurā, in Dvāravatī, and at Yodhanīpura,

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I shall come at the three times [of day]; truly, truly, again and again.” / Having heard this, those brahmins returned to Yodhanīpura.

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He descended by a third part in the manifestation at Mathurā. / This whole reason for the origin of the sacred ford has been told to you,

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past, present, and future, as well as the other [truths], / hearing which one is freed from all sins; of this there is no doubt.

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Whoever bathes in that sacred ford and worships Bala and Keśava, / by him the god who upholds the world, possessing the three guṇas, is worshipped.

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A person who fasts and performs circumambulation / is freed from all sins; no doubt should be held on this.

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Whatever trees are in that sacred ford, even the men who only look upon them, / they too are freed from sins, even those equal to the slaying of an embryo.

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Those who, having risen in the morning, behold Bala and Keśava, / become equal to that discus-bearing god of gods.

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They are worshipful, they are to be bowed to, their life is well-lived, / who bow down to the lord of the world, God Nārāyaṇa, Hari.”

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Whatever gift, ritual ablution, or worship of the gods is performed at that sacred ford, O king, / all that becomes imperishable for him—thus Śaṅkara declared.

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And whatever fruit is declared for those who die after entering fire, / listen to that in its entirety as it is being told, O best of kings.

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By means of an aerial chariot bright as the sun, garlanded with nets of tinkling bells, / he goes to the fiery world of Agni and rejoices there for his desired span of time.

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And those who die in the water, within the midst of Yodhanīpura, / dwell in the world of Varuṇa until the dissolution of all beings.

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For those who die by fasting at that sacred ford, O ruler of men, / their destination is one from which there is no return; no doubt should be entertained on this point.

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Now listen to the fruit of him who gives the supreme gift of a brown cow / at that sacred ford in accordance with the prescribed rites.

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As many hairs as she has, and as many as her offspring has, O descendant of Bharata, / for that many [years] they rejoice in heaven, honored with all desires.

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For as many hairs as there are on the cow, for so many years he is glorified; / and when he falls from heaven, he will then be born in the three worlds into a family possessing many cows.

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Whoever gives silver or gold at that sacred ford / is glorified in the world of Viṣṇu in a golden aerial chariot.

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Whoever gives sandals and clothing at that sacred ford / attains the heaven he desires by the power of this gift.

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Whatever fruit comes from the recitation of the Ṛg, Yajur, and Sāmavedas, / at that sacred ford, O king of kings, he attains that fruit through the Gāyatrī alone.

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Whatever merit there is at Prayāga, at Gayā, and at Tripuṣkara, / and at Kurukṣetra, O king of kings, when the sun is seized by Rāhu,

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and whatever merit is at Someśvara during an eclipse of the moon, / he obtains that fruit there merely by a ritual ablution; of this there is no doubt.

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A man who performs a ritual ablution on the twelfth day and bows to Janārdana / has delivered his ancestors and attained the fruit of his birth.

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If he feeds a single brahmin at a solstice, during Vyatīpāta, / and especially on the twelfth day, ten million have been fed.

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All the sacred fords on the earth extending as far as the ocean, O Pāṇḍava, / are present right there on the twelfth day, O son of Pāṇḍu.

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Gifts, sacrifices, oblations, and offerings of food come to an end, / but what is done at that sacred ford never perishes, O great king.

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The past and the future of this excellent sacred ford's māhātmya / has all been told to you in detail by me, O descendant of Bharata.

Thus ends the one hundred and forty-second chapter, named the Description of the Māhātmya of Rukmiṇītīrtha, in the Revākhaṇḍa of the fifth section, the Āvantyakhaṇḍa, in the Skandamahāpurāṇa consisting of eighty-one thousand verses.

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit