Skandapurana 6.3.90

English (machine translation) 6.3.90

Language: English

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Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: / On the northern bank of the Revā is an excellent Vaiṣṇava sacred ford / known on the earth's surface by the name Jalaśāyin.

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Having slain the Dānavas, Janārdana slept there. / The discus was washed there by the god of gods, the discus-bearer, / and Sudarśana became sinless through resorting to the water of the Revā.

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Yudhiṣṭhira said: / Tell of Cakra-tīrtha, worshipped by hosts of sages, / the incomparable power of Viṣṇu, and the fruit of the Revā.

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Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Well done, well done, O wise Yudhiṣṭhira, you who are dispassionate! / The sacred ford, more secret than the secret, was fashioned by the discus-bearer himself.

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I shall relate to you that story which destroys sin. / Long ago there was a great Daitya famed as Tālamegha.

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By him all the gods were conquered and stripped of their kingdom, O ruler of men. / He himself consumed the sacrificial shares, [thinking,] 'I am Viṣṇu, without a doubt.'

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The heart of the giver of wealth was plundered; Śakra's elephant was seized. / The wicked one desired Indrāṇī and the jewel among horses belonging to the Sun.

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Out of fear of Tālamegha, O son of Pṛthā, the sun, the Rudras along with Indra, / Yama, Skanda, the lord of waters, Agni, the wind-god, the lord of wealth,

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along with the lord of speech and the Great Lord, distraught in mind, / went to the Brahmaloka to the Grandfather. Having seen the Grandfather there,

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the gods, led by the lord of speech, praised [him] with various hymns: / '[Praise be to you] who distribute the three guṇas and afterwards undergo distinction!'

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Seeing the gods dispirited and pale, O ruler of the earth, / the god, disposed to favour, spoke in return to the dwellers of heaven.

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Brahmā said: / Welcome to the host of gods! Your former lustre is lost; / your faces are like celestial bodies afflicted by snow's power.

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Through the subsiding of its flames, this weapon of the gods is unblazing; / the thunderbolt of the slayer of Vṛtra appears to have its brilliance blunted.

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And why does this noose of Pracetas, irresistible to foes, / in his hand take on the wretchedness of a serpent whose vigour is destroyed by a mantra?

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Kubera's dart in the heart seems to proclaim his defeat. / Vāyu has his motion checked, like a tree with broken branches.

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Even Yama, scratching the earth with his staff whose lustre is set, / though unfailing, displays the weakness of an extinguished firebrand.

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And how is it that these Ādityas, cooled by the loss of their scorching heat, / have become fully visible to the gaze, as if painted in a picture?

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Therefore speak, children: what do you seek, having gathered here? / What is the purpose of your coming? Tell without hesitation, O gods!

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For the creation of the worlds rests in me, and their protection in you. / Then, with [a glance] resembling a bed of lotuses stirred by a gentle breeze,

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the slayer of Vṛtra urged his teacher with his thousand eyes. / Having two eyes, he [looked at] Hari's eye which was greater than a thousand eyes.

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With folded hands, Vācaspati spoke thus to the lotus-seated one: / 'Father, born of your lineage is the mighty Tālamegha.'

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Rising like a comet, he torments the gods; / and because of that Dānava all the hosts of gods are afflicted.

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Tālamegha, the mighty lord of the Daityas, harasses us all. / Therefore we have sought refuge with you; O Creator, be our refuge!

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Then the blessed Creator, pleased, spoke these words to them:

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Brahmā said: / 'O gods, among you he is powerful, and equal [to the greatest]; / without Lord Mādhava, that Dānava cannot be subdued by me.'

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Then all the hosts of gods, headed by Brahmā, O king, / departed for the Milk Ocean, all distressed by that enemy.

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The gods set out swiftly, desiring to see Keśava. / Having gone to the Milk Ocean, they praised the one who lies upon the waters:

The gods said: / 'You are the origin of the universe, yet without origin; the end of the universe, yet endless. / You possess the cosmic form, yet are formless. Victory to you, worshipped by the gods!

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Victory to you who recline upon the Milk Ocean! Victory to you who are ever attended by Lakṣmī! / Victory to you for the destruction of the Dānavas! Victory, O son of Devakī!

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Victory, O Lord who hold the conch and mace in hand, bearer of the discus!' / Hearing this hymn of the gods, the one who lies upon the waters awakened.

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He spoke in sweet words resonant like the deep rumbling of clouds: / 'For what purpose have I been awakened, O Brahmā, by you capable gods and asuras?'

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Brahmā said: / 'Out of fear of Tālamegha, O Kṛṣṇa, we have come to your abode. / That sinful Tālamegha cannot be slain by anyone else, O Janārdana.

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You alone must slay that wicked one; in no other way will he meet death.'

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The blessed Kṛṣṇa said: / 'Go to your own abodes, O gods; take charge of your own subjects. / I shall slay the wicked-minded, mighty Tālamegha.

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Let the gods tell me the place where that Dānava dwells.'

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The gods said: / 'That lord of the Dānavas dwells in a cave of the Himālaya, / surrounded by twenty-four thousand maidens.

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His horses and chariots, O Kṛṣṇa, are beyond count. / Dancers of various kinds are there, countless in number, O Hari.

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Elephants like mountains and horses resembling elephants are his. / There dwells that mighty one, who strikes terror into the gods.'

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Hearing the words of those afflicted gods, the Lord / thought of Garuḍa, the destroyer of hosts of foes.

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Taking the discus in his hand, the Lord, bearer of the mace and discus, / taking up with his hands the Śārṅga bow, the pestle, and the plough, Janārdana

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mounted the king of birds to slay the Dānava. / And in the city of the Dānava, portents of dreadful form descended:

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A jackal entered among vultures together with pigeons; / and without any wind, his flagstaff fell down.

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There was fighting between a snake and a mouse, and likewise between a lion and an elephant; / rivers there flowed backward, mingled with blood; / and unseasonal tree flowers were seen everywhere.

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Then the Lord of the Universe arrived at the Himālaya, the king of mountains; / near the city, he suddenly blew the Pāñcajanya.

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At that tremendous sound, the lord of the Dānavas mounted [his chariot]; / and then the mighty Tālamegha spoke these words:

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Tālamegha said: / 'Who is this that has fallen into the grasp of death, unaware of my prowess? / Dhundhumāra, by my command, swiftly surrounded by your army,

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bind by force and bring before me that one who boasts of great strength!'

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Dhundhumāra said: / 'I shall bring him, no doubt, whether he be a god, a yakṣa, or a kinnara!' / Accompanied by hosts of chariots, along with elephants, horses, and warriors,

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the mighty source of the universe, seated upon Garuḍa, rejoiced. / 'Seize him! Seize him!' thus his servants were ordered by him.

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They ran in the four directions, hither and thither on all sides. / But by Garuḍa, who had assumed the form of fire, they were burned like moths.

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Dhundhumāra too was struck down by Kṛṣṇa with a volley of arrows; / struck in the chest, the sinner lay dying upon his chariot.

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Then all the Dānavas raised a lamentation in distress. / Thereupon Tālamegha, enraged, set forth mounted upon his chariot. / He saw Keśava, O Pārtha, bearing the conch, discus, and mace.

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Tālamegha said: / 'Other were those Dānavas, O Kṛṣṇa, who were slain by you in battle! / Those men like Hiraṇyakaśipu were unmanly, O Acyuta!'

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Having spoken thus, O Pārtha, the Dānava showered him with arrows; / but Keśava cut down the arrows discharged by the Dānava.

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Garuḍa slew the army that could not be slain by gods and asuras. / By Kṛṣṇa, twice as many arrows of his own were shot against him.

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Doubling that double number, the Dānava shot back; / and Kṛṣṇa covered even those with eightfold arrows.

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Then by the enraged Daitya, an excellent fiery missile [was discharged].

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He [Kṛṣṇa] sent a watery missile, and then the fiery one was extinguished. / Countering the watery missile, Tālamegha launched a windy missile.

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Hṛṣīkeśa [sent] a serpentine missile to quell the windy one. / The man-lion also sent forth the Nārasiṃha missile, O Pāṇḍava.

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Then seeing the Nārasiṃha missile, the mighty Tālamegha, / descending swiftly from his chariot and grasping sword and shield, [shouted:]

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'Kṛṣṇa, I will send you onto the dreadful path of Yama!' / Having spoken thus, O Pārtha, the Dānava charged toward Keśava.

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The Daitya struck with his sword Janārdana, who held the mace in his hand. / Then seizing a curved sword, Keśava, delighted in mind,

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struck Tālamegha in the chest in that great battle, O Pārtha. / Then Janārdana struck the Daitya, and the Daitya struck Hari in the fray.

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Then Janārdana, enraged, took up the infallible discus against Tālamegha, O Bhārata, / and hurled it at his head.

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His head fell down, and the mountains trembled; / the oceans were agitated, O Pārtha, and rivers ran off their courses.

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Then the gods showered blossoms upon Keśava: / "He who was unslayable by the hosts of gods has been slain, O Keśava, by you!"

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The gods were relieved once Tālamegha was brought down; / and Janārdana, too, O son of Kuntī, took resort on the bank of the Narmadā.

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Considering the Narmadā as the Milk Ocean, Kṛṣṇa, accompanied by Lakṣmī, / reclined upon the serpent Ananta on the northern bank.

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His terrifying discus, blazing with wreaths of flames, / fell into the waters of the Narmadā near the Lord sleeping on the water.

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Through contact with the waters of the Narmadā, it became cleansed of stain; / whatever sin had arisen from the slaying of Tālamegha, O son of the king,

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that effusion was instantly washed away in the water of the Narmadā, O descendant of Bharata. / Since that time, O king, in this world [He has been known as] Jalaśāyin.

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Others call it Cakratīrtha, and some [call it] Kālāghanāśana, / famous in the realm of Bhārata on the Narmadā, O king.

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Hear now the power of that sacred ford, O lord of the earth: / Just as Ananta is supreme among the serpents, and Janārdana among the gods,

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just as Mārgaśīrṣa is among the months, and the Narmadā among the rivers, / [so it is with this tīrtha]. In the month of Mārgaśīrṣa, O son of Pṛthā, on the eleventh day of the bright fortnight,

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whichever human goes there with devotion, free from desire and anger, / adopting a Vaiṣṇava disposition, and approaches the Lord of the Waters,

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and observes eating only once a day, or eating only at night, or living on unbegged food, O king, / or fasting, and makes gifts and feeds brahmins,

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he does so, O best of the Kurus, and does not go to the abode of Yama. / Those people who are terrified of the realm of Yama, O joy of the Pāṇḍus,

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let them behold the beloved of Śrī lying on the serpent-couch, / surrounded by the cowherd women, resting in yogic sleep, / the Lord of the Universe, universal in form, the destroyer of the fear of worldly existence.

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With supreme devotion one should bathe Janārdana, the source of the universe, / with honey, milk, and clarified butter, and with candy mixed with water.

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And those people, free from malice, who behold him being bathed, / go to the supreme realm, venerated by gods and asuras.

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One should kindle a lamp with clarified butter, or filled with oil, / and having kept a night vigil before the deity, free from envy,

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those who listen with devotion to the Vaiṣṇava narrative, O best of kings, / their sins such as the murder of a brahmin are destroyed; of this there is no doubt.

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Those mortals who circumambulate Jalaśāyin, the teacher of the universe, / have indeed circumambulated the earth with its seven continents.

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Then, at clear dawn, one should offer libations of water to the ancestors; / and there, O descendant of Pāṇḍu, men [should perform] a śrāddha through worthy brahmins:

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those devoted to their own wives, tranquil, avoiding other men's wives, / habituated to the recitation of the Veda, devoted to their own duties, auspicious,

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always prone to sacrifice, observing the three twilight prayers— / with faith one should have a śrāddha performed [by them] if one desires one's own welfare.

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Blessed are those in the world of men, praiseworthy indeed are mortals on earth, / who dwell at all times taking refuge at the lotus feet of Hari,

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and behold Jalaśāya, the leader of the gods, visibly manifest. / A fast for a fortnight, the Parāka penance, the auspicious Cāndrāyaṇa vow,

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a severe fast for a month, or the vow of eating only at the sixth mealtime— / whoever performs these at that sacred ford attains an imperishable destiny.

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The venerable Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Hereafter I shall declare the fruit of the sesamum-cow: / how, to whom, and when it should be given, and the auspicious fruit of gifting it.

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This holy narrative was formerly heard in various ways / from the seer Dvaipāyana by Nārada and others in the holy Naimiṣa [forest].

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This [narrative] yields supreme longevity, is auspicious, and enhances fame; / a wise man who recites it to brahmins obtains endless fruit.

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A cow, a house, a bed, and women must not be given to many [recipients]; / for when divided, these sacrificial gifts do not benefit the giver.

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This [gift] should be given to one, not to many, O Yudhiṣṭhira; / if she is sold, she burns the family up to the seventh generation.

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According to one's means, a cow is traditionally made of four droṇas [of sesamum]; / the calf should be made of one droṇa, or [of more] according to desire.

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Whatever measure is considered authoritative in a particular land or region, / by fashioning her according to that measure, one enjoys an imperishable fruit.

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Comfortably on clean ground, with flowers, incense, and unhusked rice grains, / two jewels are to be placed for the ears, and two lamps for the pair of eyes;

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sandalwood paste is to be placed on the chest, and gold for the two [horns]; / honey and clarified butter should be placed above; one should make the body hairs out of mustard seeds.

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One should place a woollen blanket upon the blanket; similarly, honey and clarified butter on the hips; / one should offer fodder, milk-rice, and clarified butter combined with honey.

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With gold horns, silver hooves, furnished with a gold tail, / having a jewelled back, and a bronze vessel for milking, she should be given.

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Whatever sin was committed in childhood, or committed through ignorance, / committed by speech, committed by deed, or conceived in the mind;

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spitting into water, or stepping across a pestle, / having relations with an outcaste woman, intercourse with the teacher's wife,

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intercourse with an unmarried maiden, the theft of gold, / and the drinking of liquor, as well as other [sins]—the sesamum-cow purifies indeed.

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Fasting for a day and night, one should ritualistically dedicate her. / That which is known as the dreadful river Vaitaraṇī in the city of Yama,

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where the evil-doer is boiled on fiery sands and rocks, / where is the hell Avīci, and where are the Twin Mountains,

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where there are iron-beaked crows, where there are terrifying dogs, / and the forest of sword-like leaves, and where the Kūṭaśālmalī tree stands—

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having crossed beyond those with ease, he goes to the abode of the King of Dharma; / and the King of Dharma, seeing him, speaks gentle and truthful words, O descendant of Bharata:

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"An excellent, worthy aerial chariot adorned with gems and jewels [awaits]; / mount this, O best of men, and go to the supreme state!"

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Do not give it to a flatterer or a soldier, nor give it to a domestic priest; / nor to a one-eyed man, an ugly man, one with deficient limbs, or a temple priest.

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Never to a brahmin ignorant of the Veda, nor to one who sells everything, / nor to a betrayer of friends, an ungrateful person, or one devoid of mantras.

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It should be given to one versed in Vedānta, a learned Vedic scholar with a family; / it should be given to the son of one versed in Vedānta, a learned Vedic scholar who maintains a household;

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to a brahmin handsome in all limbs, of good conduct, and speaking pleasant words, / on the full moon of Māgha or on Kārttikī, O Bhārata,

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or on Vaiśākhī, Mārgaśīrṣī, Āṣāḍhī, or Caitrī, / or on a solstice, an equinox, and always at a vyatīpāta;

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at the auspicious saḍaśītimukha, or during the shadow of an elephant. / This ritual procedure for the sesamum-cow has been told to you by me, O sinless one.

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Setting their foot upon Yama, they go to the world of Viṣṇu; / after casting off their life-breaths they attain the supreme world of Viṣṇu, without doubt; / piercing through the sun, they go straightaway; no doubt should be entertained here.

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This whole fruit of Cakratīrtha has been related to you, O king, / hearing which with devotion, a mortal is freed from all sins.

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Thus ends the ninetieth chapter, entitled 'Description of the Māhātmya of Jalaśāyitīrtha', in the Revākhaṇḍa of the fifth section, the Āvantyakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, a compendium of eighty-one thousand verses.

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit