Skandapurana 6.3.211

English (machine translation) 6.3.211

Language: English

6.3.211.1

Chapter 211 / Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: / That wondrous deed of the god of gods done for the world, / I shall tell you all of that, for the dwellers on the banks of the Narmadā.

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The god, having become a leper smeared with red fragrant ointments, / begged from the twice-born who had staked their good deeds, when the time of the śrāddha had arrived.

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His limbs were oozing with blisters, covered with flies and worms, / having foul skin, a repulsive face, stinking, and stumbling at every step.

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Going to a brahmin's dwelling, faltering at the door, he said this: / 'O master of the house, today a well-prepared meal with the brahmins

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I wish to eat together with them in your house.' / Then, seeing that brahmin, [the guests] along with the sacrificer

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oozing on all his limbs, said, 'Fie, fie!' / 'Get out at once, foul-smelling one, quickly from the house, O lowest of the twice-born!

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This [food] prepared for all has become uneatable because of the sight of you!' / Saying only 'So be it,' the god of gods, Maheśvara,

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went into the clear sky, being watched by the best of the twice-born. / When the god had vanished from sight, having bathed and sprinkled [water] all around,

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as the twice-born ate, O king, each in his own dish, / wherever they looked, there were many worms.

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Having seen that, they fell into astonishment, and all said, 'What is this?' / Then a certain brahmin, virtuous and unswerving, said this: 211.10

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"With hesitation regarding the king of yogins in that great assembly of brahmins, / He who came here previously, that yogin is the Supreme Lord.

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I think this is his sport, born of the ripening of his scolding; / the fruit comes from no other than a guest, according to the certainty of scripture.

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The Supreme Self is truly worthy of worship, and especially a guest; / but whoever does not worship a guest who has arrived at the time of a śrāddha,

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Piśācas and Rākṣasas undoubtedly snatch away his [merit]. / Whether handsome or deformed, filthy or wearing soiled garments,

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Whether a lord of yogins or an outcaste, one should not scrutinize a guest." / Having heard his word, led by the patron of the sacrifice,

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The brahmins ran in all directions to search for the twice-born man. / Meanwhile, somehow, by someone, he who had entered the deep forest

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Was seen, and "Seen, seen!" was shouted; by that [shout] they all arrived. / Then they beheld that brahmin standing motionless like a post.

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He did not weep, he did not move, he did not twitch, nor did he look. / Some spoke piteously, and others praised [him] likewise.

Being constantly praised with pleasing words, the Three-eyed One [was addressed]: / "O Lord of gods, especially for the brahmins afflicted by hunger, / whose food is all ruined, you ought to restore it."

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Having heard the words of those brahmins, O Yudhiṣṭhira, / the god, pleased through supreme compassion, spoke to them indeed:

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"O noble ones, by me, being pleased, that very food of yours has been turned into nectar; / let the brahmins eat together with kinsmen and servants, and let them constantly worship my maṇḍala."

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Thence arose the auspicious abode of the trident-bearing God of gods, / renowned as Muṇḍin, which removes all sins, / especially on the full-moon day of Kārttika, equal to the sacred ford of Gayā.

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Thus ends the two hundred and eleventh chapter, entitled "Description of the māhātmya of Muṇḍitīrtha," in the Revākhaṇḍa of the fifth book, Āvantyakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, a compendium of eighty-one thousand verses.

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit