[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Purāṇas](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana) › [Skandapurāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda) › [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt) › 7.16 # Skandapurana 7.16 English (machine translation) 7.16 - **Language:** English ## Contents - [7.16.11](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.11) — 6 parts - [7.16.24](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24) — 6 parts ### [7.16.p1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p1) Previous page (chapters 141–150) | Next page (chapters 161–170) ### [7.16.p2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p2) Sanatkumāra said: / As the battle with Andhaka was underway and the Gaṇas were fleeing, / the Grandfather \[Brahmā\] said to Śakra, the lord of the thirty \[gods\]: “Look, may you be well, lord of the immortals, at the Pramathas turning away, / driven back in battle by the fierce Dānavas led by Andhaka! As these Dānavas are repeatedly slain in battle by the Pramathas, / Śukra keeps reviving them, as a raincloud revives the crops. With his bow fully drawn, resembling a cloud with a rainbow, / this Andhaka unleashes a shower of arrows, destroying his enemies. ### [7.16.p3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p3) Indeed, this tormenting of the Pramathas is harmful and brings dishonour. / Why do you stand by tolerating this defeat? For having conquered all the Gaṇas, Andhaka, lord of the Dānavas, / will uproot even our roots. Therefore, before he destroys the Pramathas with his arrows, / let us protect the rear of the wearer of animal skins \[Śiva\]. ### [7.16.p4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p4) Thus your purpose will be accomplished, O lord of deities, / and a great service will be rendered to Rudra.” Having heard the words of the Self-manifest \[Brahmā\], the slayer of Bala and Vṛtra, / saying “This is fitting,” addressed the gods: “Taking up armour, weapons, and missiles, quick with swift prowess, / let us now give aid to the Gaṇas fighting in battle!” Then Nārāyaṇa and Ananta, the two best of men, and the Moon, / the Self-manifest \[Brahmā\], Fire, Wind, the Sun, and Kubera, Pūṣan, Aryaman, Bhaga, Mitra, and Yama the son of the Sun, / Aṃśa, Tvaṣṭṛ, Jaya, and Jayanta the son of Śakra, the Maruts, the Vasus, the Sādhyas, and the Aśvins, Garuḍa, and the Uragas, / the Tuṣitas, the Lekhas, the Viśvedevas, and the Guhyakas, ### [7.16.p5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p5) the Gandharvas and the Yakṣas, and whoever else was on the side of the gods, / all of them descended into battle, eager to slay Andhaka. ### [7.16.p6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p6) Then drum-beats and terrible lion-roars / arose among the divine armies, bringing joy to the Pramathas. ### [7.16.p7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p7) Attacked by the descending gods, that army of the Dānavas was churned, / like a lake filled with fish whose waters have diminished is churned by royal swans. Then an exceedingly terrifying clamor arose / in the agitated army of the Dānavas occupied by the gods. As the water of the ocean \[is disturbed\] by whales, as the sky by clouds, / as the body by phlegm and bile, as serpents by garuḍas, so that host of Andhaka was made by the power of the dwellers of heaven / in an instant to have its armor and banners shattered and rendered helpless. On one side by the gods accompanied by Indra, and on the other by the lords of the Gaṇas, / the Dānava army was struck down, like a flock of goats by hundreds of wolves. ### [7.16.p8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p8) The god with the thunderbolt raised in his hand, the bull among the gods, / went before them, like the syllable Om before the Vedas. With the fire of his thunderbolt weapon Indra burned the enemies in battle, / just as the fire of expiation burns all sins. ### [7.16.p9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p9) When his army was being slain by the gods and by the Pramathas, / Andhaka, the lord of the Dānavas, blinded by anger and passion, spoke to the Dānavas: ### [7.16.p10](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p10) "Having engendered enmity with Rudra, the protector of all the worlds, / it is not possible for those who are dispirited to conquer the Pramathas along with the immortals. ### [7.16.p11](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p11) And you must not fear death! Fight, Daityas and Dānavas! / For here stands Bhārgava, who will bring us back to life! ### [7.16.p12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p12) Therefore, having no pity for your lives, / ward off without hesitation the lords of the Gaṇas of the gods according to your strength and enthusiasm! With many secret illusions, you who possess secret forms, / hold back in battle all these assembled gods!" Having been thus addressed, \[…\] / \[…\] made terrible \[sounds\] like clouds at the end of an aeon. ### [7.16.p13](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p13) Making bowstrings twang and uttering roarings like lions, / the Dānavas, incited by Andhaka, rushed toward the gods. ### [7.16.p14](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p14) Drawing his great bow, roaring like an ocean and a raincloud, / the Dānava Andhaka advanced with speed aiming at Rudra. ### [7.16.p15](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p15) That lord of the Dānavas, difficult to restrain, who was rushing \[…\], / Śailādi warded off, as righteous thought wards off evil. / \[…\] ### [7.16.p16](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p16) With three arrows resembling blazing suns, / Andhaka pierced Nandī in fury, striking him between the arms. ### [7.16.p17](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p17) Deeply pierced by that Dānava, the lord of the Gaṇas, / Nandī then swayed, like a tree shaken by the wind. ### [7.16.p18](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p18) Reeling, Nandī, adorned with bright earrings, / shone like an aśoka tree rich with trembling sprouts and flowers. ### [7.16.p19](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p19) Then, recovering after a long time, the highly renowned husband of Suyaśā, / lifting a powerful thunderbolt, hurled it at Andhaka. ### [7.16.p20](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p20) That mighty thunderbolt arriving like fire and the sun, / Andhaka stopped with floods of arrows and laughed aloud. ### [7.16.p21](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p21) As he laughed, from his fine-browed eyes drops of tears / flowed down, like rays from the sun's blazing orb. ### [7.16.p22](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p22) Then the king of spirits, uprooting a tree with agitated foliage, / said, 'You are slain, O Andhaka!' and hurled it and roared. ### [7.16.p23](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p23) Fanned by the wind of the tree rushing through the sky, / bees followed it, like friends following a friend overtaken by misfortune. ### [7.16.p24](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p24) Andhaka also cut down that \[tree\] with his arrows adorned with beautiful gold, / as the slayer of Ahi, the supporter of the worlds, \[cut down\] Diti's embryo. ### [7.16.p25](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p25) When the tree was destroyed, Nandī then tore up the peak of Mandara / filled with deer, wild beasts, and serpents, and ran toward Andhaka in battle. Nandī, whose home is in the forests on mountain peaks, / brought down that mountain peak onto his chariot, like the slayer of Ahi hurling a thunderbolt onto the Vindhya. Struck forcefully by Nandī with that peak, / that chariot, along with its wheels, yoke-pole, and horses, turned to dust. Then, seeing Andhaka's chariot crushed along with its wheels and axles, / the gods with the Gandharvas and the Pramathas with the Guhyakas roared. Then Andhaka, roaring like a storm-cloud of dissolution, struck Nandī / with a trident, as a lord of elephants strikes a tree. Struck with the trident, the favorite of the Trident-bearer, / Nandī, his limbs trembling in distress, shook like the moon reflected in water. As Nandīśvara was reeling, severely afflicted by the blow, / a chorus of lion-roars arose repeatedly in the army of the Asuras. Roused by that lion-roar of the enemies, / Nandī, the kinsman of the spirits, struck Andhaka with an axe. Struck by the axe, the Dānava Andhaka shed blood, / as a sandalwood tree struck by an elephant's tusk sheds red sap. ### [7.16.p26](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p26) Seeing Andhaka deprived of his chariot, the foes of the gods protected him, / just as the gods, stationed in the directions, protect this world. / Then Bāṇa, son of Bali, brilliant as the bāṇa flower, / that Dānava provided Andhaka with chariot transport. / Then Andhaka, lord of the Dānavas, mounted that chariot, / as the blessed sun, with full disc, mounts the mountain of dawn. ### [7.16.p27](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p27) Then battle was joined again by the gods and Dānavas wishing to wage dreadful combat; / fanned by tridents, vajras, thunderbolts, and arrows in the fray, the blazing fire shone exceedingly. ### [7.16.p28](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p28) Thus ends the one hundred and fifty-first chapter in the Skandapurāṇa, in the duel between Andhaka and Nandī. ### [7.16.p29](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p29) Sanatkumāra said: / When Viṣṇu, crusher of Dānavas, was crushing the Dānavas, / the Dānava Jambha rushed forward, roaring like a cloud. / Seeing Jambha rushing forward with a voice like a thundercloud, / the god was not perturbed, like a lion seeing an elephant. / Kujambha and Jambha, the younger mountain-like Dānavas, / checked the endless end of enemies, and roared. / Vṛtra, resembling a mountain of collyrium, looking like the fire of cosmic dissolution, / wishing to seize Indra, advanced, roaring like a rain-cloud. / That Dānava who was running and roaring, the hundred-eyed Purandara / struck in the cavernous cleft, looking like a mountain. / \[…\] a mace-fighter, wishing to fight with Vāyu of a hundred lives in the battle, / rushed forward swiftly, roared, and laughed. / Tuhuṇḍa and Huṇḍa, two great Asuras, fought with the two Aśvins; / Bhaga fought with Prahlāda, and Virocana with Aṃśa; / Vilva and Kelvala fought with Aryaman and Yama; / and those great Asuras who were foremost in Bali's army, headed by Vipracitti, ### [7.16.p30](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p30) \[Variant readings:\] 1 viṣṇuṃ. 2 pinākadhṛk. 3 nardamānaḥ. 4 girisaṃkāśe. 5 rarāsa. 6 aryamantaṃ, ārya. 7 yamañcaiva. 8 yudhyetāmita? kelvalau. grāma. \[…\] ### [7.16.p31](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p31) fought against the lords of Gaṇas and the gods by the thousands. / But Andhaka, the bull among Dānavas, encountering Nandī, / pierced him with calf-toothed arrows loosed from his bow. / He, deeply pierced by Andhaka with arrows tearing the vitals, ### [7.16.p32](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p32) Nandī grew furious, and in wrath advanced against Andhaka in the great battle. / Raising his hand equipped with a vajra, brilliant as the rays of the sun, / Nandī roared, infuriated, like a cloud at the destruction of the world. / With that hundred-edged vajra, the lord of Gaṇas ### [7.16.p33](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p33) crushed the horses, the charioteer, and the chariot of Andhaka. / Then at the base of Andhaka's ear, adorned with earrings and forelocks, ### [7.16.p34](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p34) the boon-giver \[Nandī\], wearing handsome earrings, struck with a deep cloud-like roar. / Turning his arm away, \[an arm\] resembling an elephant's trunk, \[Andhaka\] then ### [7.16.p35](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p35) brought it down upon Nandī's chest, like an elephant in combat. / Struck by that backhand blow of the Dānava, the lord of Gaṇas / stepped back eight paces, and having fallen there, rose again. / 'Well done! Well done!' the Daityas then cried out to Andhaka. ### [7.16.p36](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p36) Infuriated at the Dānava by that violent blow, / summoning intense anger, he rushed forward against him. / Approaching, with his hundred-edged vajra he cut to pieces / his variegated bow and his splendid armor. ### [7.16.p37](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p37) And binding him with the noose of his arms, the lord of spirits himself / sought to crush him on the ground, but Andhaka broke free. / Having freed himself and resorting to illusory magic, / he rushed toward the son of Śilāda \[Nandī\], crying: 'Halt, halt!' ### [7.16.p38](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p38) Seeing him rushing with speed, the elders among the lords of Gaṇas, / all with enraged minds, with various weapons in hand— / Nandiṣeṇa, Somanandī, Śaṅkukarṇa, Mahodara, / Ghaṇṭākarṇa, Vīrabhadra, and the god Prabhāmaya— / guarding their master, the foremost of their attendants / fought Andhaka, like lions against Indra's elephant. ### [7.16.p39](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p39) Nandiṣeṇa with a pike, Somanandī with a fist, / Vīrabhadra with an arrow, and Ghaṇṭākarṇa with a sword, / Śaṅkukarṇa with a mountain peak, Prabhāmaya with a tree— / the gods cut into Andhaka like Dramiḍas into sandalwood. / Nandīśvara, the leader of the Gaṇas, struck Andhaka, the lord of Dānavas, / on the head when he had been turned back by the Gaṇa leaders. / Seeing the lord of Asuras assailed by the gods and Gaṇa leaders, / a cry arose in the army of the Asuras: 'Run! Seize!' / Then the Asuras, led by Prahlāda, rushed forward quickly; / Viṣṇu alone held back all of them who had arrived to fight. / But seeing him thus, holding a discus, valiant in the vanguard of the battle, / Andhaka, overwhelmed with rage, made a mighty rush. / Exerting himself, whether stationary, running, or roaring, / whomever and wherever he saw, him he pierced with arrows. ### [7.16.p40](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p40) Broad, yellow, sharpened, feathered with eagle plumage, / inexhaustible arrows of Andhaka shot fiercely from his bow. / Pierced by Andhaka in their faces, gums, bellies, and trunks, / elephants of immense rut shed their rutting-juice. / Others took refuge with the lord of gods, others with Indra the king of gods, / others with the god Nārāyaṇa, and other retinues with Nandin. ### [7.16.p41](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p41) Others took refuge with Śākha and Viśākha, and others with Kumāra; / taking refuge, the gods stood like birds upon trees. / Just as mortals \[tremble\] in fear of thunderbolts, as deer in fear of a lion, / and as serpents ever \[tremble\] before the serpent-devouring Garuḍa, / so the gods, standing in battle, trembled before Andhaka, the enemy of deities; / afflicted by the shower of arrows, they wandered as if bewildered. / Just as a forest of bandhujīva shines, laden with blossoms, / so that attendant army shone, its limbs bathed in blood from wounds. / Just as trees tremble in forests, stirred by the wind, / so the gods were terrified on the battlefield from fear of Andhaka. / Then the mighty Nārāyaṇa, Ananta, and Indra, / the two Aśvins, the eight Vasus, and the twelve Ādityas, / Nandin, Viśākha, Śākha, Vīrabhadra, Prabhāmaya, / Viṭpati, Śaṅkukarṇa, Somanandin, and Vināyaka— / as their army was being struck down by Andhaka with waves of force, / these gods, taking up their weapons, ran toward that lord of the dānava host. / Surrounding his excellent chariot, which resembled a city of the Gandharvas, / they smashed it and roared like rain-clouds. ### [7.16.p42](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p42) Andhaka's great chariot, being broken by the gods, / was like a desire set upon unrighteousness \[broken\] by obstacles. / The Dānava \[struck\] the Discus-armed one with a discus, Indra with a thunderbolt, / Ananta with a single shaft, and Vināyaka with a trident; ### [7.16.p43](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p43) and Nandin with his fist, Prabhāmaya with a paṭṭiśa, / Pūṣan with a broad-headed arrow, and Yama with a mace. / Having swiftly struck all his enemies in battle, Andhaka / leaped up into the sky and bellowed like a cloud drunk with water. / That deceptive fighter, who resembled a mountain, released mountain-peaks, / filled with trees, bushes, and serpents, and roared aloud. / That terrible rain of mountain-summits, along with trees, bears, and great serpents, / fell upon the armies of the gods, like cold frost upon lotuses. / Without pause, without rest, without breath, bewildered by terror, / \[…\] / with noses, eyes, teeth, and lips severed, legs, hips, and arms broken, / terrified, bewildered, and trembling, the Pramathas and immortals were seen. / Raining palace-peaks, stones, and weapons, repeatedly casting them down, the Asura shone in the sky; / \[…\] / \[…\] sound, / a great lotus covered in smoke, and great fiery dust like fireflies. / With a roar like an overflowing, swollen ocean, situated in the sky, that enemy of the hosts of deities / repeatedly poured down a great torrent of water, just as a rain-cloud pours a fierce shower at the end of time. / Thus ends the one hundred and fifty-second chapter in the Skandapurāṇa, in \[the section of\] the battle with Andhaka. / Sanatkumāra said: / Then Andhaka, standing in the sky like a mass of great clouds, / ceased that rain of stones just as a cloud \[stops\] its rain. ### [7.16.p44](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p44) Seizing once more a bow resembling the great bow of Indra, / he unleashed a storm of arrows, and a deep tempest arose. / Then, \[arrows\] winged with eagle feathers, adorned with eagle plumes, / flying like eagles, with points sharp as an eagle's beak, / a hundred body-piercing arrows, feeding on the marrow of bodies, / the lord of Dānavas discharged, and he roared in pride. ### [7.16.p45](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p45) Sped from the fully drawn bow, encompassing \[the sky\] as they moved in battle, / guiding their own paths, in speed equal to the mind and wind, / those great arrows of Andhaka fell upon the deities, / just as rays cast by the sun fall upon great mountains. / Elephants were struck by the arrows, horses were struck by the arrows, / and deities and leaders of the Gaṇas were struck on all sides. / With entrails and blood protruding, their garlands and ornaments scattered, / their hair-bindings loosed, they fell in deep agony. ### [7.16.p46](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p46) Standing, moving, risen, running, or leaping— / whatever horse, elephant, or god he saw anywhere, / Andhaka forcibly struck down that enemy / with arrows that were the very form of the sun's foe, and bellowed like a cloud at the coming of the rains. ### [7.16.p47](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p47) Filled with the cries of the wounded, its horses wandering astray, / with the sound of musical instruments silenced, the army appeared like a river. ### [7.16.p48](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p48) Scattered, severed, torn, burnt, devoured, and tossed about, / \[it was\] like a forest whose trees were destroyed by an elephant blinded by rut. / Some were struck in the face, and others in the eyes; / others were struck in the chest and belly, and likewise in the back. ### [7.16.p49](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p49) Just as spiked clubs are set closely together, so the hosts of the Maruts were pierced with arrows; / and the gaṇas of terrible valor, when struck, did not reach the ground. ### [7.16.p50](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p50) Then a river carrying the water of wounds was set in motion by the gods and asuras, / crowded with alligator-like lordly elephants, with chariot-wheels for beautiful tortoises, / with severed elephant-trunks for serpents, bows and banner-poles for excellent trees, / crests of diadems for frogs, and bowstrings for its moss. ### [7.16.p51](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p51) With scattered pearl necklaces for gravel, and white garments for immense foam, / set in motion by the gods and asuras, it was exceedingly hard for gods and asuras to cross. ### [7.16.p52](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p52) Then piśācas, yakṣas, and rākṣasas, having the luster of collyrium and grinning with lightning-like smiles, / intensely tormented by thirst, / drank that blood just as gods drink excellent nectar. / Then once more there arose a tumultuous and wondrous battle, / as Nandī was pierced by Andhaka with a great arrow. ### [7.16.p53](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.p53) Thus ends the one hundred and fifty-third chapter in the Skandapurāṇa, in the description of the battlefield. ### [7.16.11.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.11.1) Sanatkumāra said: / When that army was being slain by the gods together with the lords of the Pramathas, / the twenty-four terrible and proud dānavas became enraged: / Prahrāda, Anuhrāda, Saṃhrāda, Śini, Bāṣkala, / Jambha, Virocana, Vṛtra, Bali, Bāṇa, Aviniñjaya, / likewise Tuhuṇḍa, Huṇḍa, Śambhu, Kārtasvana, Kubha, / Śambara, Vipracitti, Ilvaka, Pilvaka, / Maya, Tāra, Tārakākṣa, Vidyunmālī, and Pramohana. / These twenty-four dānavas, overcome with fury, / rushed toward the armed divine Nandī who stood ready. / They, resembling mountains of collyrium, struck Nandī, who resembled a mountain of gold, / with tridents, spears, pikes, and paṭṭiśas. / Thus struck and hemmed in by those enemies with weapons, / Nandī was not shaken then, nor did he experience pain or suffering. / Then the lord, drawing his large drawn bow, / quickly pierced all the foremost dānavas with three arrows each. / Flowing with blood from the wounds made by arrows, those dānavas / shone like lordly mountains pouring forth streams of melted gold. / Then Nandī, puffed up with rage, with terrible arrows dispatched Kārttasvana, / who had been revived by Śukra, to the abode of Yama. / Reaching the end of his life, that great mountain of a dānava / fell down swiftly like a mountain struck by a thunderbolt, its stones shattered. / As he fell to the earth, killed, struck by Nandī's arrows, / Bali, having torn up a mountain peak, hurled it aiming at Nandī. ### [7.16.11.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.11.2) That slope of the mountain, complete with minerals, deer, predatory beasts, bears, and trees, / and filled with whirled-about stones and trees, rushed toward the lord of the gaṇas. / The beasts of prey and others swiftly departed from that peak thrown by Bali, / like relatives departing from a man overcome by misfortune. / That falling mountain peak the valiant Nandī / split with an arrow and roared, like a great wind scattering clouds. / Having split that mountain peak, the dweller on the mountain peak, / powerful, pierced Bali with an arrow as if \[piercing\] an arising obstacle. / Struck by the lord of the gaṇas, that son of Prahlāda, helpless, / fell suddenly to the earth like a tree struck down by the wind. / Then, when Bali fell, struck by Nandī's excellent arrow, / the dānavas, tormented by arrows, abandoned the battle from afar. / Then Andhaka, whose form resembled a rain-cloud, descended from the sky to the earth / toward those \[demons\] who resembled dispersed clouds, and spoke these words to the dānavas: / 'O sons of Diti, listen today to my words, / and carry out what is beneficial as spoken by me, if you approve. / You were born in noble families, heroic, and determined in the use of all weapons; / why do you flee, agitated by sharp iron arrows? / Where is that boasting of yours and what was spoken in the assembly? / Where is that excessive enmity of yours against the deities now? / Defeated by Nandī alone by hundreds and thousands, / how does shame not arise in you who boast in your domestic courtyards? / Turn back, you who know not unrighteousness! Fight! What is the use of fleeing? / There is no place where death does not come to us.' ### [7.16.11.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.11.3) "Stand aside as arbiters, free from enmity and jealousy, and witness now this single combat with Nandī!" Hearing these words of Andhaka, all those Dānavas in battle turned back once more to fight, seizing their excellent weapons. Then mounting another chariot, a full nalva in size and adorned with banners, Andhaka advanced against Nandī along with the foremost Dānavas. Fierce, tipped with sharp gold, broad and fair to behold, great arrows shot from Andhaka’s bow flew forth, like locusts over fields, like bees upon trees, like clouds around mountain lords, or like monsters in the ocean. By the great arrows released, equal in splendor to serpents and the sun, the gods were made by Andhaka like broken \[…\] Just as winds cannot be hindered, as death and old age cannot be stayed, and as the blessings of brahmins, rightly uttered, are ever irresistible, so those sharp, terrible great arrows of Andhaka, like raised staffs of Brahmā, were unstoppable and unfailing. Wherever all the Asuras and Andhaka, their foe in battle, moved, from there the Pramathas fled in pieces along with the gods. With his bow constantly drawn, like the sun encircled with a halo, he poured forth multitudes of arrows as the sun pours down rays. ### [7.16.11.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.11.4) Stricken by the pain of his arrows, like trees upon a riverbank, all the leaders of the Gaṇas sank down, and so did the gods along with Indra. Piercing Viṣṇu with a single arrow, Ananta with two, and Indra with three, and tearing Yama, Soma, the lord of waters, and the Vasus, he roared terribly. Having pierced the two Aśvins with two arrows, as well as Bhaga, Aṃśa, Aryaman, Candra, and Pūṣan, then the doer of terrible deeds also mangled Nandīśvara and the Gaṇa leaders with his arrows. Thus the violent Andhaka burned them, just as the blessed fire burns moths; checked and torn by arrows then by Andhaka, those foremost warriors of the immortals could neither move nor look upon Andhaka in battle, like men looking at the sun in the sky. Then, abandoning their blazing glory, the gods, together with Nārāyaṇa and the guardians of the deities, afflicted by arrows and exhausted from being pierced by the Dānava, fled before the wildfire of Andhaka. Viṣṇu, the Grandfather \[Brahmā\], Ananta, and then Indra were broken in battle by Andhaka with arrows resembling tongues of fire. The Ādityas, Vasus, Sādhyas, and the two Aśvins, best of gods, were broken in battle by Andhaka like birds by thunderbolts. The Tuṣitas, the Viśvedevas, and the gods who partake of the ancestral offering were broken by Andhaka with arrows, like trees by the wind. The blessed Moon, Fire, the lord of wealth \[Kubera\], and the Rākṣasa \[Nirṛti\] were broken in battle by Andhaka with arrows like venomous serpents. Gandharvas, Guhyakas, serpents, Garuḍas, and great Nāgas were broken in battle by Andhaka, pierced with arrows resembling fire. ### [7.16.11.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.11.5) Viṭpati, Śaṅkukarṇa, Somanandī, Prabhāmaya, Piṅgala, Nandiṣeṇa, Ghaṇṭākarṇa, Mahodara, Vidyutkeśa, Sukeśa, and the god Vināyaka, and other heroic Pramathas, headed by Vīrabhadra, were broken in battle by Andhaka by the hundreds and thousands. The entire threefold world, together with all moving and unmoving things, aroused to war with Nārāyaṇa and the lord of gods, was routed in battle by Andhaka. In that army of the gods, leaving aside the one god, the lord of the Gaṇas \[Nandī\], whose crown bore a great crest-jewel, not a single one stood his ground. Then in the Asura army arose a terrible, mighty lion-roar raised by every creature, wondrous with the sound of musical instruments. Thus ends the one hundred and fifty-fourth chapter in the Skandapurāṇa, on the victory of Andhaka. Sanatkumāra said: Meanwhile all the gods, headed by Indra, accompanied by Brahmā, went to the trident-bearing refuge \[Śiva\]. Bowing down to Mahādeva, afflicted with fear, they said: "We have all been utterly conquered! Why do you overlook Andhaka?" The God of gods then replied to the gods headed by Brahmā: "Because a boon was granted by me, therefore you were conquered. And solely for sport was he ignored by me in the battle. Now, for your sake, I shall destroy Andhaka." Then the god, smiling, looked upon the trident standing by his side. Knowing the true intention of the god, the trident blazed up in that very instant; and advancing swiftly upon Andhaka, who vaunted his victory, moving with power in battle, it suddenly pierced him through the chest. ### [7.16.11.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.11.6) Then, having pierced that mighty Andhaka, that trident / brought the huge-bodied lord of the Dānavas near to Śaṅkara. // 7 The drops of blood that flowed from him as he was pierced by the trident, / having fallen, became men who also fought, unbearable \[in battle\]. // 8 Possessing forms equal to his, and prowess equal to his, / wielding various weapons and strikes, they too fought against the lords of the gaṇas. // 9 \[…\] with raised hands, / some struck down the very gaṇas as they fled, those \[demons\] of mighty strength. // 10 None among the lords of the gaṇas stood firm as they fought; / out of fear of the lords of the Dānavas, all fled in battle. // 11 ### [7.16.24.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24.1) Seeing all the gaṇas, along with the lords of the gods, fleeing, / Mahādeva created \[…\] // 12 \[…\] then \[…\], / \[…\] addressed \[him\]: ‘You ought to give us an order.’ // 13 Then the God of gods said to all those \[goddesses\] ready with weapons: / ‘Consume the great asuras born from the drops of blood!’ // 14 Thus addressed, all those Yogeśvarīs of mighty strength, / continually slaying the asuras in battle, ate \[them\] \[…\]. // 15 The God also, the slayer of Andhaka, spoke to the blazing trident: / ‘Cook Andhaka in the fire of the sun for a hundred thousand autumns.’ // 16 Indeed, as Andhaka was being cooked at the tip of the trident by the sun’s radiance, / when a thousand years were completed, he attained a sattvic state. // 17 Having attained a sattvic state, with passion and darkness shaken off, / he understood the God, the cause of the worlds, whose banner bears the bull. // 18 Having recognized him then with devotion, with a purified inner self, / reduced to mere sinews and bones, he praised the God whose crest is the crescent moon. // 19 Andhaka said: / ‘He who is the creator of this entire universe, moving and unmoving, and likewise the dispenser of pleasure and pain for what has been done, / who is also the cause of destruction at the time of the end—to that Śaṅkara, the granter of refuge, I go for refuge. // 20 Whom yogins, free from delusion, darkness, and passion, their minds singularly intent through devotion, their desires vanished, / meditate upon with resolute intellect, whose divine nature is boundless—to that Śaṅkara, the granter of refuge, I go for refuge. // 21 Who lovingly bears upon his head the spotless crescent moon with blossoming beams \[…\] / and who gave half his body to the daughter of the king of mountains—to that Śaṅkara, the granter of refuge, I go for refuge. // 22 //’ ### [7.16.24.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24.2) ‘Who bore upon his head, like a garland of motionless flowers, the Gaṅgā, whose lovely waters are visited by Siddhas and Cāraṇas, / rushing down from the sky with the violent speed of huge waves—to that Śaṅkara, the granter of refuge, I go for refuge. // 23 Who, by pressing down with his lotus-foot, steadied the summit of Kailāsa’s peak / as it was violently shaken by the Ten-faced one, who resembled a peak of Kailāsa—to that Śaṅkara, the granter of refuge, I go for refuge. // 24 By whom the sons of Diti, the sons of Danu, the hosts of Vidyādharas and Uragas, / and the best of munis subsisting on fruits and roots, were repeatedly joined with complete boons—to that Śaṅkara, the granter of refuge, I go for refuge. // 25 Who destroyed the sacrifice of Dakṣa, and likewise the eye of Bhaga, and the row of teeth of Pūṣan, / and paralyzed the thunderbolt-wielding arm of mighty Indra—to that Śaṅkara, the granter of refuge, I go for refuge. // 26 \[…\] having the state of release from the threefold bondage, though not endowed with the qualities of knowledge, lineage, and sacred learning, / people who resort to whom become enjoyers of happiness—to that Śaṅkara, the granter of refuge, I go for refuge. // 27 Who drank the Kālakūṭa poison of surging fury, which had the radiance equal to ten million suns \[…\], / the terror of the best of gods and Dānavas—to that Śaṅkara, the granter of refuge, I go for refuge. // 28 Who, the divine Maheśa, bestowed boons abundantly upon Brahmā, Indra, Viṣṇu, the Maruts, and him with six faces, / and, the Lord, snatched Nandin from the jaws of death—to that Śaṅkara, the granter of refuge, I go for refuge. // 29 And by whom, the Lord, Kāma, holding a bow with five arrows on earth, was then made bodiless through laughter, / who in ancient times destroyed Tripura with a single arrow—to that Śaṅkara, the granter of refuge, I go for refuge. // 30 //’ ### [7.16.24.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24.3) Propitiated by great austerity in an icy mountain bower, through the vow of consuming smoke, by one unreachable even in mind by others, / he who granted the Sañjīvanī \[vidyā\], accessible only through supreme truth—to that benevolent Śiva homage ever be! // 31 By diverse chiefs of gaṇas, having faces resembling elephants and cats, crushers of Dakṣa’s sacrifice, powerful, / and by the hosts of gods accompanied by the guardians of the world, he is worshiped; to that Śaṃkara, grantor of refuge, I go for refuge. // 32 For mere sport the Lord created the seven worlds adorned with varied rivers, birds, and trees, / together with Brahmā, accompanied by auspicious endeavors; to that Śaṃkara, grantor of refuge, I go for refuge. // 33 Under whose mastery this whole universe continually abides, who through his eight bodies alone enjoys the worlds, / who is the cause even of the greatest causes; to that Śaṃkara, grantor of refuge, I go for refuge. // 34 \[…\] attaching me, followed by the daughter of the king of mountains, / \[…\] having ornaments on his limbs, to that Śaṃkara, grantor of refuge, I go for refuge. // 35 When the sage Śveta was being carried away by those fierce, most terrifying attendants devoted to the command of Yama, / having bound \[…\] to that Śaṃkara, grantor of refuge, I go for refuge. // 36 \[…\] // 37 \[…\] being meditated upon, to that Śaṃkara, grantor of refuge, I go for refuge. // 38 \[…\] deluded, they do not know \[him\] who forms the bondage of worldly existence for this world. ### [7.16.24.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24.4) Bound \[…\] in the realm of the faults of sovereignty, they experience destruction and \[delusion\] just as I did. // 39 \[…\] for by the grace \[…\] then. / Having performed auspicious deeds \[…\] you fashioned the realm of Śiva \[…\] // 8.155.40 Sanatkumāra said: While he was thus praising, the God holding the trident in his hand, whose banner is the bull, / Śaṃkara, pleased at the end of a thousand years, spoke: // 41 “O son, I am pleased, welfare unto you; you have now become free of taint. / I bestow divine vision upon you; behold me, O lord of the Dānavas! // 42 \[…\] whatever excellent fruit is desired, / I shall grant all of that; speak, O best of the Dānavas: // 43 Whether the state of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, or Indra, difficult for gods to attain, / or else become the king of all the worlds as of old.” // 44 Andhaka said: “The states of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Indra are characterized by return \[to worldly rebirth\]; / all that is known to me, even in mind \[…\]. // 45 If you are pleased, O Lord of the gods, bestow upon me leadership among the gaṇas, / which is beyond distinction, utterly pure, and forever imperishable.” // 46 Devadeva said: “\[…\] worshiped by all the worlds, // 47 assuming forms at will, a great yogin, endowed with noble courage, possessed of great strength, / endowed with the qualities of lightness and the rest, beloved, the best of persons.” // 48 Sanatkumāra said: Then \[…\] having granted that very rare boon, / Mahādeva \[…\] having become \[…\], vanished right there. // 49 \[…\] // 8.155.50 Approaching the most desirable, boon-granting God, well-disposed to brahmins, of boundless splendor, / and having arrived \[…\] // 51 \[…\] // 52 \[…\] having paralyzed the supreme trident through heroic feats, / \[…\] // 53 \[…\] ### [7.16.24.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24.5) \[…\] // 54 \[…\] with speech and mind. // 55 Those who have their bodies immersed in the impure mud of the Kuśa weapons, even in \[their quest for\] liberation, O Lord, your feet \[…\] / they \[…\] deluded, praise \[…\], like deer in the forest led astray by mirages. // 56 \[…\] on the bank marked with \[…\] memory \[…\] / \[…\] through his wandering the sun makes it spotless with streams of rays. // 57 For a fortnight, through which the moon has only a single digit left, he performs austerity at the base of your excellent feet, O Hara; / at night, however, with the laughter of your trident, his body forming a full disc, he whitens the faces of the quarters. // 58 \[…\] the Vasus, the Maruts, and the two Aśvins, / and the seers headed by Bhṛgu, O God, and the siddhas there attained perfection through the grace of the boon of your lotus feet. // 8.155.60 To the God on Kailāsa \[…\] having a girdle marked with \[…\] / having assumed the supreme posture, possessing an exalted, beautiful form, the Lord of yoga \[…\] for the welfare of the world. // 61 \[…\] you are unprecedented; being unseen before, she arouses great desire in people; / therefore, like the moon in the matted locks, from the union of half the body, you, O God, resort to the Gaṅgā possessing novelty. // 62 \[…\] through the anger of the Lord of boons \[…\] fierce-throated, / so long as the lotus-like faces of the wicked one were offered for your conquest of the worlds, O God. // 63 In Kailāsa, Meru, the interior of Malaya, and Mandara, by Vidyādharas, sages, great serpents, and Kinnaras, / you are worshiped \[…\] with sweet words. // 64 \[…\] who with devotion \[…\] ageless \[…\] to be known by the self. ### [7.16.24.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24.6) The unswerving behold your true nature by the vision of yoga; / they enter into you alone, O Śiva, never to return. Having gathered \[their powers\] … capable in knowledge and age, driven swiftly by the creator of splendor … \[…\] \[…\] \[…\] Dakṣa’s sacrifice, whose every defense was raised by the foremost of gods, whose Vedic songs were chanted by the chief sages led by Bhṛgu, / was playfully destroyed, O God, by a single attendant of yours born of your wrath, bearing a superb trident and a discus. Of whose liṅga, O Hara, Hari \[descended\] below …, / while I, claiming \[to reach\] the top, … \[…\] in the midst of disputants; who else here, being feeble-minded, can speak \[adequately\] of you? You are Śarva; you are all-pervading; you bestow all fruits; / you are yoga; you sustain yoga; you are foremost among knowers of yoga; you are mother and father of the world; you are the imperishable lord; / you are peaceful; you are Śiva; you are the supreme; you are the source of auspiciousness. ### [7.16.24\_54](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_54) \[In the footnote of this verse a line is seen: “cāmīkarotkara-samūhasamānavarṇa…”. Because the letters are damaged and it is hard to read, it has been left as is.\] Whoever, rising constantly at dawn, should recite in an assembly of twice-born \[brahmins\] / this foremost hymn sung by Brahmā, which possesses flawless meaning, / having enjoyed happiness in this world, and hereafter in the presence of that \[lord\], / he takes birth in a lineage rich in wealth and gold. Thus ends the one hundred and fifty-fifth chapter in the Skandapurāṇa, in \[the section on\] the war of the attendants, the crushing of Andhaka, and the recounting of the hymn composed by Brahmā. ### [7.16.24\_55](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_55) Sanatkumāra said: Thus praised by Brahmā, the odd-eyed Lord / then spoke to all those gods together with Brahmā: ### [7.16.24\_56](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_56) “I am pleased, O gods; depart! The thorn in the side of the gods has been destroyed. / What other pleasant thing shall I do for you today, O sinless ones devoted to vows?” Addressed thus by the God of gods, all the gods spoke, / praising the Lord of gods with bowed heads and delighted minds: ### [7.16.24\_57](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_57) “You alone, O God, are the supreme refuge for all of us. / You are the father of all worlds; by you this Andhaka was destroyed.” Having spoken thus, all the gods, bowing down to Śaṃkara, / departed to their proper abodes along with Brahmā, full of joy. ### [7.16.24\_58](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_58) Then the Lord, high-minded, having duly honored / the attendants as well, who had toiled in battle, dismissed them. ### [7.16.24\_59](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_59) Sanatkumāra said: Thus, having conquered that Andhaka, made him a leader of the attendants, / and dismissed the gods, the God, remover of the afflictions of the gods, sported at will. ### [7.16.24\_60](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_60) Whoever recites this slaying of Andhaka in an assembly of twice-born \[brahmins\], / if he is a brahmin, he obtains \[…\] protection without doubt; he finds \[…\] bodily \[health\], yoga, \[…\] beauty, and righteousness; / and having \[…\] he is joined to the leadership of attendants upon the end of his body. Thus ends the one hundred and fifty-sixth chapter in the Skandapurāṇa, in \[the section on\] the war of the attendants, on the proclamation of the boons to the gods. ### [7.16.24\_61](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_61) Vyāsa said: Having shown grace to Andhaka and dismissed the gods with their hosts, / tell me in truth what the Lord of the moving and unmoving then did. Sanatkumāra said: When the gods had gone to heaven, and Andhaka had been made a leader of attendants, / the Lord of gods, together with Andhaka, Nandi, and the Goddess \[…\] After a long time, the crescent-crowned sovereign of the pramathas entered his home / and gladdened it, as if it were the dwellings of Meru. ### [7.16.24\_62](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_62) Hara, whose forehead-mark is the crescent moon, \[beheld\] his consort whose face resembles the moon; she is seen in the midst of her companions like Rohiṇī among the stars. ### [7.16.24\_63](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_63) Seeing the Lord of gods, whose banner bears the bull, having approached, / the Goddess too quickly rose from her seat along with her companions. Placing her folded hands upon her head like a lotus bud, / she bowed to his feet with a delighted heart. The Lord, too, having raised her up, along with her / sat down on a seat yellowish-red with the rays of jewels. ### [7.16.24\_64](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_64) And out of a desire to please the Goddess, Śaṃkara told her / that Andhaka had been conquered in battle and, further, made an exalted attendant: ### [7.16.24\_65](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_65) “This Andhaka is your son, born from my very eyes; / he who had despised you has now been made to renounce his demonic nature.” When the Lord of gods, Śaṃkara, had spoken thus, the dānava Andhaka, / bowing low with folded hands, made his petition to Pārvatī: “O Goddess, I am Andhaka, who has received favor from the God, O auspicious one! / I have become your servant; look upon me with gentle eyes. ### [7.16.24\_66](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_66) O Mother, forgive that transgression of mine against you, born of demonic nature. / I have received grace from the God, and I am your servant \[ready for your\] smile. ### [7.16.24\_67](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_67) Patient, restrained, devoted, intent on taking refuge in you— / know me, O Mother, to be established in pure disposition.” Having spoken thus to the mountain-born Goddess, Andhaka, resembling a mountain peak, / with propitiatory words praised her, bowing down with folded hands. ### [7.16.24\_68](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_68) \[You are\] the night, moving in water, the dark night, beloved of Śarva, steadfastness, intellect, and fame, radiance, attainment, deluder, wisdom, nectar, and the virtuous wife, svadhā, svāhā, of great luster, nourishment, sacrificial offering, contentment, a young cow, sight, a split-second, lightning, memory, love, longing, loss, speech, exhaustion, compassion, action, Lakṣmī, Śrī, deference, faith, Māyā, worshipped by the bearers of māyā, ### [7.16.24\_69](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_69) Aditi, Diti, and Kadrū, Siṃhikā, Surasā, Danu, Rākā, Kuhū, Sinīvālī, watchful, bestowing happiness, ### [7.16.24\_70](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_70) initiation, Dakṣa's daughter, protection, instruction, dwelling in the woods, fragrant, fortunate, auspicious, making the past, future, and present come to be, the earth, the sustainer, blessed, Vīraṇī indeed, fire-stick of Guha, \[...\] and auspicious \[...\], ### [7.16.24\_71](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_71) \[...\] delighting the planets (?), variegated with constellations, heaven, earth, action, memory, free from greed, ### [7.16.24\_72](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_72) \[...\] pure, purity, wise, fame, beloved of the wearer of the hide, bowstring, victorious, worthy of worship, sacrifice, journey, giver of victory, ### [7.16.24\_73](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_73) choice, excellent, giver of boons, excellent woman, source of speech, prosperity, mother of beings and afflictions, good deed, noble-minded, delight, ### [7.16.24\_74](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_74) Bhāratī, endowed with luster, bearing words fit and impassioned, command, insight, and consciousness, meteor born from the nose, mother of the Vedas, and Gāyatrī, Durgā, and Sāvitrī as well, ### [7.16.24\_75](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_75) righteous, mother of righteousness, sharp, best among splendors, night, delighting, steadfast, source, lotus-eyed, ### [7.16.24\_76](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_76) desiring faith, river of Danu, conversant with scripture, highly learned in scripture, wearing armlets and firebrands, girdle, wearer of a girdle. ### [7.16.24\_77](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_77) May the supporter of the world, Śyāmā, clad in dark garments, Umā, be pleased with me!" Thus was the Ruler praised by Andhaka with hundreds of praises. ### [7.16.24\_78](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_78) She was exceedingly pleased with Andhaka, and having been pleased, said to him: "I am pleased, my son, that auspicious leadership of the gaṇas has been obtained by you. A dear boon may now be chosen quickly, O best among the foremost!" ### [7.16.24\_79](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_79) Sanatkumāra said: Seeing Bhavānī granting boons, that Andhaka, best among the leaders of gaṇas, bowed low with folded hands and spoke to Umā, daughter of Himavat: ### [7.16.24\_80](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_80) "O goddess, beloved of Īśāna, by whatever boon you grant me, may my devotion to you remain steadfast through it all!" ### [7.16.24\_81](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_81) Hearing those words of his, the unconquered Blessed Lady then approached Andhaka and spoke, being well pleased: ### [7.16.24\_82](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_82) "I am pleased with this auspicious wisdom of yours, my son, in that you have sought today devotion from me, O foremost lord! ### [7.16.24\_83](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_83) And solely through my will, O sinless one, this leadership of the gaṇas was granted by the God of gods, and on account of that I am well pleased. And because from that burning of the sun and from the great battle, my son, your great sin was exhausted, by that you have been made foremost. ### [7.16.24\_84](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_84) Immortal, freed from old age, mighty even among the mighty, ascetic, imperishable, victorious, you shall be like Nandin. ### [7.16.24\_85](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_85) Dear to me and to the God, and also a servant of mine, become sinless, glorious, a lord of the lords of gaṇas!" ### [7.16.24\_86](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_86) And those who will recite your name by day or by night, unto them shall belong renown, fame, heaven, and righteousness. ### [7.16.24\_87](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_87) Thus addressed by Pārvatī, honoured and revered, Andhaka, having received Pārvatī's permission, rejoiced, standing beside Hara. ### [7.16.24\_88](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_88) Having thus bestowed grace upon Andhaka, the God, whose ornament is made of the moon, sported happily upon that mountain as he pleased. ### [7.16.24\_89](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_89) Thus ends the one hundred fifty-seventh chapter, entitled 'Bestowal of a Boon to Andhaka', in the Skandapurāṇa. ### [7.16.24\_90](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_90) Vyāsa said: Having made Andhaka a leader of the gaṇas, what did Maheśvara do next together with the goddess? Speak, and remove my curiosity! ### [7.16.24\_91](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_91) Sanatkumāra said: Having conquered Andhaka, O Vyāsa, and made him a leader of the gaṇas, the remover of the gods' distress sported with the daughter of the king of mountains. ### [7.16.24\_92](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_92) Then the mother of the Lord of beings, who gave birth to the six-faced one, the best among knowers of questions, asked a question connected with a son: ### [7.16.24\_93](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_93) "For what purpose, O God, is this excellent saying sung by the virtuous: 'Better are five \[trees\] growing from the earth, and not ten \[sons\] born from the womb'? ### [7.16.24\_94](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_94) Breaking through sixteen limbs in this body, a son is born; how is a son born from the earth better than that son born from the womb?" ### [7.16.24\_95](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_95) To Umā, the peerless one, who was thus asking the question, \[embodying\] instruction, initiation, action, and intellect, the God spoke these words: "Subtle is this matter that you ask, O woman with thighs like plantain stems, O fair-faced one; I shall declare it to you, O imperishable daughter of the king of mountains, why a son born from the earth is better than a son born from the womb, in the Śālmali, in the Vaitaraṇī, and in the forests of sword-leaves... ### [7.16.24\_96](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_96) In Kumbhīpāka, in Raurava, and indeed in Mahāraurava, and in other such \[hells\], surrounded by their misdeeds, punished on the order of Mṛtyu by rākṣasas of cruel deeds, thus surrounded by terrifying evils and tormented by rākṣasas— a good son rescues the ancestors, O goddess, not another who is bent on sin. Nor indeed are all sons of a man good sons; only one alone is here who rescues the ancestors from fear. Among them, those who are of wicked conduct do not count as sons, just as a vicious bull, or a eunuch \[counts not as\] king. Suffering is also incurred there, and suffering is known as hell; because he rescues the ancestors from it, a son is therefore called \*putra\*. ### [7.16.24\_97](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_97) \[…\] There is no other bond between the two, O goddess, father and son: the father protects the son; therefore the son rescues \[him\] from fear. ### [7.16.24\_98](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_98) Yet from the strength of the senses, O Pārvatī, even among those sons, they also commit sins—are they truly good sons? For these trees, O goddess, have their senses impaired by the curse of Dakṣa; they commit no sins, their sense-organs being shut off. For this reason, O goddess, rather than a hundred sons born from the womb, a single tree-son is praised, but not one born from the womb. ### [7.16.24\_99](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_99) Cutting, cleaving, as well as terror and tearing by night-roaming demons inflicted \[upon them\]—trees as sons \[…\] of the ancestors. ### [7.16.24\_100](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_100) Umā said: Cutting, cleaving, and terror by rākṣasas gone to hell— how do trees ward \[this\] off for the ancestors in Yama's abode? The god of gods said: Hear, O daughter of the mountain, how these trees are indeed able to ward off the cutting and cleaving of ancestors in Yama's residence. These \[trees\], O goddess, are inert and deprived of sense organs; entreated by the sacrifice of the gods, the trees \[…\] \[…\] 'O venerable one, by the curse of Dakṣa our senses are indeed impaired. ### [7.16.24\_101](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_101) Having attained an abundance of darkness, inactive, devoid of motion, joyless, devoid of organs, covered by great darkness, reduced to this condition, make us joined with righteousness.' Hearing their word, the god born from the waters, the lord of trees, spoke this word to the trees for the sake of sacrificial trees: 'O immovable ones, welcome to you! I am pleased with those seeking refuge. My children, I destroy the darkness made by the curse of Dakṣa for you. ### [7.16.24\_102](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_102) Śāla, bilva, and palāśa trees, varuṇa and likewise kiṃśuka, and rohītaka, and whatever other trees are produced as limbs of the sacrifice— ### [7.16.24\_103](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_103) those possessing bark, leaves, fruits, and branches, employed well in sacrifices, obtaining radiant forms, shall dwell in my world. ### [7.16.24\_104](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_104) You also, followers of these sacrificial trees, employed in the sacrifice, shall go to the same world as theirs. And employed for the sthāṇu-liṅga by people preceded by devotion, purified in body by righteousness, you will attain the desired goal. And going to use in the materials of sacrificial sites, freed from the darkness of Dakṣa's curse, you will roam in my world. ### [7.16.24\_105](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_105) And whatever man without a son shall make you his sons, rescue him from fear, and great merit will belong to you.' ### [7.16.24\_106](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_106) The trees said: 'How do we, adopted as sons, \[rescue\] those ancestors who have gone to hell \[…\]? Those who sell soma, and those who slay the trusting, and those engaged in killing living beings, and those who eat flesh from the back, and those who abuse kings, and those who steal funeral cakes— these, surrounded by their terrible, hair-raising actions, ### [7.16.24\_107](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_107) are cooked in terrible hell, crying out frightful cries, alas, severely assailed by unpropitious tortures, ### [7.16.24\_108](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_108) punished on the order of Mṛtyu by rākṣasas of dread prowess! How shall we lift up those ancestors, plunged in hell, struck and beaten by rākṣasas?' Brahmā said: 'Those ancestors plunged in hell, thus struck and beaten by rākṣasas, you shall deliver. ### [7.16.24\_109](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_109) And how you will deliver these ancestors dwelling in hell, listen to that from me with attentive minds, O trees! Of whomever you shall become adopted sons, remembered by that very person, you will swiftly go to that realm, O sinless ones.' ### [7.16.24\_110](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_110) \[Brahmā said:\] “… how you, \[O trees,\] stationary beings, shall establish in happiness your ancestors who have reached hell and are afflicted by torments, learn that. Whatever man, by rites and with sacred mantras, performs in full your purificatory rites beginning with conception, and takes you as a son, and those who, according to rule, make those previously born and without an owner into adoptive sons—you shall deliver them as well. You shall grant all desires and supreme happiness, the destruction of karma for everyone, and imperishable worlds.” Sanatkumāra said: Then the daughter of the mountain asked again about that excellent rule. To her asking, Mahādeva spoke this word: “O goddess whose thighs are like an elephant-king’s trunk, walking with the gait of a lordly elephant, hear the rule by which a tree is taken as a son. ‘Tomorrow, I shall adopt an earth-born \[tree\],’ O Pārvatī, thinking thus, a woman should fast, possessing pure conduct and pure vows. Then, when the sun of a hundred thousand rays has gone to the mountain of sunset, and the spotless moon has risen, O moon-faced one, in the supreme spirit of distress, O fortunate and supreme-souled lady, she should invite at night pure brahmins who recite the Veda. For they are mines of Vedic scriptures, like the oceans of jewels. Brahmins, O woman whose face resembles the moon, are to be worshipped by the thousands. Where brahmins who know mantras do not partake of the excellent offering, there, O ruler of gods, the gods never eat the offering. It does not spill, it does not suffer, and darkness does not overcome it; this is the most distinguished of gifts: what is offered into the mouth of a brahmin. ### [7.16.24\_111](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_111) In the word \*brāhmaṇa\*, the root \*aṇ\* denotes eating, in the sense of great oblation; because he eats Brahman, he is called a \*brāhmaṇa\*. Those who, born again, are invested with the sacred thread by high-souled men, therefore, O goddess, the designation \*dvija\* (‘twice-born’) is ever applied to them. \*Viyat\* is called the sky, and the letter \*p\* is remembered to mean bringing \[there\]; they cause one to reach heaven; therefore, O goddess, they are called \*vipras\*. ### [7.16.24\_112](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_112) For these brahmins were created by the self-manifest \[Brahmā\] out of the essence of truth; if they are displeased, success cannot be attained even by the gods. ### [7.16.24\_113](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16.24_113) I, Nārāyaṇa, Ananta, Brahmā, Śakra, the Wind, and the Fire— we do not approve of a gift where brahmins are not honored. Through whose grace long life, dharma, strength, happiness, prosperity, fame, and dwelling in heaven are easily gained, those brahmins the wise person should worship. Then, having invited the brahmins, wearing clean clothes and with a pure smile, honoring them with obeisance, she should lie down on the ground covered with darbha grass. _First 125 of 216 passages. [Read on](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16)_ ## Linked texts (1) - [Skandapurāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda.7.16.p1) — Vyāsa, Sanskrit --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16](https://indike.org/pramana/in.purana.skanda~en-mt.7.16) · Pramāṇa