Skandapurana 6.3.99

English (machine translation) 6.3.99

Language: English

6.3.99.1

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Then one should go, O king, to the southern bank of the Narmadā, / to Vāsukīśa, which was consecrated [there] and destroys all hosts of sins. // 99.1

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Yudhiṣṭhira said: / And for what reason, dear sir, was Vāsukīśa consecrated / on the southern bank of the Revā? Tell me in detail, O guru. // 99.2

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Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Undertaking all this, Śambhu performed a dance. // 99.3

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From fatigue, sweat arose, mixed with the waters of the Gaṅgā. / A serpent consumed it as it fell, having issued from Hara's head. // 99.4

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Then Mandākinī, enraged at the serpent, [said], O descendant of Bharata: / ‘Become a python, O serpent, you lowly creature!’ // 99.5

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Vāsuki said: / ‘I am sinful and ill-behaved, worthy of your favor; I have no resort except Hara. / You are the river that purifies the three worlds, auspicious and endowed with good marks; // 99.6

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you cut through transmigration and remove the distress of the afflicted. / Standing at the gate of heaven, O goddess, show compassion to me!’ // 99.7

6.3.99.8

Gaṅgā said: / ‘Go to the vast Vindhya mountain and perform austerity directed to Śaṅkara. / Then, by my command, you shall attain your own abode and status as a serpent.’ // 99.8

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Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Then that snake went swiftly to the auspicious Vindhya mountain / and, intent on propitiating Śaṅkara, began to perform austerity. // 99.9

He constantly meditated on Mahādeva, the three-eyed one holding up a ḍamaru drum. / Then, when a hundred years had elapsed, the guru of the world, having been besought, / came into his presence and spoke smooth words: // 99.10

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‘Choose a boon from me, my child, O serpent, you who have paid reverence.’ // 99.11

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Vāsuki said: / ‘If you are pleased with me, O God, and will grant me a boon, O Śaṅkara, / by your grace, O Lord of gods, may I become sinless! / Tell me of some sacred ford that completely destroys all sins.’ // 99.12

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Īśvara said: / ‘O serpent of mighty arms, go to the auspicious Revā. / On its sacred southern bank, perform a ritual ablution according to rule.’ // 99.13

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Having spoken thus, the god disappeared. Vāsuki, filled with haste, / entered the waters of the Narmadā in the very form of a python. // 99.14

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Along his path arose an excellent stream of the Jāhnavī. / The serpent had his impurities washed away in the water of the Narmadā. // 99.15

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Śaṅkara was consecrated there at the Narmadā, O Yudhiṣṭhira. / Thence the liṅga became renowned as Nāgeśvara, destroying sin. // 99.16

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On the eighth or fourteenth day, one should bathe Śiva with honey. / He instantly becomes freed from impurity; there is no doubt about this. // 99.17

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Childless men who perform ritual ablution at the confluence, O son of Pṛthā, / obtain excellent and auspicious sons resembling Kārttavīrya. // 99.18

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A person devoted to fasting who performs a śrāddha right there, / performing it, releases spirits of the dead from hell, O delight of kings. // 99.19

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No fear of serpents arises in his lineage or kinship group. / His family rejoices free of blemish by the grace of the serpent. // 99.20

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All this has been told to you out of affection for you, O best of kings. // 99.21

6.3.99.21_2

Thus ends the ninety-ninth chapter, titled “Description of the Māhātmya of Nāgeśvaratīrtha,” in the Revākhaṇḍa of the Āvantyakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skandapurāṇa, a collection of eighty-one thousand verses.

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit