Skandapurana 7.18

English (machine translation) 7.18

Language: English

7.18.p1

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Vyāsa said: / “Lord, this burning of Tripura has been heard by me, / wondrous in meaning, just as it occurred. Who could narrate it in such a way?
Why did Guha, becoming enraged, split that Krauñca, the king of mountains? / And why did Vāsava sever the wings of all the monarchs of mountains?”

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Sanatkumāra said: / “Listen, O Vyāsa of great intellect, to what you ask me: / how Mount Krauñca, son of Maināka, was split by Kumāra.
Then Vāsava, having approached Mount Meru, the king of mountains and the abode of all gods, / beheld Skanda as if a mass of fires.
Seeing Kumāra in a grove of reeds, shining like fire, / Śakra, overwhelmed with pride in his sovereignty over the gods, questioned the six-faced one:
‘Who are you, a child of divine form dwelling on Mount Meru, / that seeing me, the king of gods, arrived here, you do not worship me?’
To Śakra speaking thus, the son of the spear-wielder said: / ‘Brahmā and the others know me, as do the Siddhas and those who know the Vedas.
What need is there of knowing me or being worshipped by you, O Śakra, / whose kingdom, gained by austerity, will before long come to an end?’
Then Śakra spoke again to that divine son of Fire: / ‘None is superior to me, except Śarva and the Grandfather.
How can you speak thus to the sovereign of the gods who has arrived? / If you consider yourself greater than me, sinless one—
this is Krauñca, son of Maināka, frequented by Siddhas, / a vast great mountain flowing with many torrents.
Come, come, make a quick pradakṣiṇa [around it] along with me. / Whichever one of us traverses it first—

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he shall be the greater of us two through his might and fiery energy.’ / Saying, ‘So be it,’ Kumāra, the six-faced one, then,
having joined with Śakra, mounted on the excellent peacock, / went ahead of Mahendra and circumambulated Krauñca.
Then Mahendra, realising that he was inferior to the son of Fire, / wishing to deceive Kumāra, made a circumambulation only in his mind, / and remained quite at ease, seated on a stone slab.

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Then Kumāra, swiftly circumambulating that Krauñca, / quickly spoke upon seeing Indra, ‘I am the victor!’ / ‘I alone am the victor!’ Śakra said to Guha.
As they were speaking thus repeatedly, Śakra and Kumāra, / Krauñca, that earth-dweller, approached and said words: ‘What is this?’
Then Śakra addressed this speech to Kumāra at that time: / ‘This Krauñca of great strength is the witness of our victory.
For he, the noble grandson of the snow-mountain, will not speak an untruth.’

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‘Let him be asked, Śakra; what harm is there?’ said the son of Fire.
Śakra said to him respectfully: ‘O mountain, by whom was the circumambulation performed first? / Speak, for you are our authority.’
Then the mountain Krauñca, confused in mind, having reflected for a long time [said]: / ‘This lord of Śacī made the circumambulation around me here first.’
[…] laughing at the gods, the king of mountains spoke thus. / Then, as that mountain was speaking this untruth,
its peak swiftly fell, as if struck by a thunderbolt.

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Whatever beings, starting with the gods, were present upon that lord of mountains, / leaving him quickly, fled in all directions. // 24

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Vāsava too rejoiced, honoring the mountain in his mind. / Then the six-faced [Skanda], whose nature is Rudra, grew enraged at Mount Krauñca. // 25 // / […] then Vāsava [saw] Guha enraged, / like the full splendors of fire and the sun standing together in one place. // 26

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Then, raising his spear, which blazed like the fire of Yama, / the blessed Skanda, enraged, hurled it to slay Krauñca. // 27

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Swiftly that spear fell upon the summit of Mount Krauñca, / just as the noose of death falls upon a man whose life-span is exhausted. […] // 28

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With his vital parts pierced by that spear, Krauñca, the best of mountains, / all his limbs severed on every side, with torrents of blood flowing forth, // 29 // / fell embodied to the earth, deprived of consciousness and breath. / Seeing their husband struck down, his wives were deeply aggrieved. // 30

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Lamenting wretchedly, they then fell upon Mount Krauñca. / Meru, Himācala, Vindhya, Kailāsa, Gandhamādana, // 31 // / Pāriyātra, Sahya, Niṣadha, Udaya, and Vāmana, / and Krauñca's father, Maināka, the best of mountains, // 32

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all the kings of mountains, afflicted with grief, arrived. / Surrounding Mount Krauñca, they wept in intense sorrow. // 33

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Knowing her brother's son to be killed, the goddess of gods, the daughter of the king of mountains, / of great vows, came to Krauñca together with Śarva. // 34 // / Seeing Krauñca, her own kinsman, slain by Kumāra, / the goddess was then tormented, seeing her father afflicted. // 35

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Seeing the great mountain Himavat grieving over the slaying of his grandson, / the daughter of the mountain grieved, gazing repeatedly at the lord of the gods. // 36

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Then, as the blessed wielder of Pināka arrived along with the goddess, / those mighty ones, though deeply scorched by sorrow, made obeisance. // 37

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Then, having bowed to the lord of gods, Himavat, the best of mountains, / downcast and flooded with pain and grief, submitted: // 38

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“O Blessed One, by this Śakra, who considers himself so great, / this grandson of mine, Mount Krauñca, has been brought to destruction! // 39 // / What rivalry could he have with Kumāra, indeed your son, O Lord? / Out of pride, he truly saw no difference between Kumāra and himself! // 40

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Having engaged in rivalry with Kumāra, now that my grandson is killed, / let this Vāsava dwell happily, untroubled and freed of his pride! // 41 // / With my grandson killed, O Mahādeva, I am plunged into an ocean of sorrow. / I cannot go on living; I shall follow the path of my grandson!” // 42

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As he was thus lamenting, [the mountains] led by Meru and Vindhya, / tormented with sorrow and pained by the loss of their kinsman, cried aloud. // 43

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Seeing her father aggrieved, and likewise the other kinsmen mountains, / the mountain-born goddess who upholds the world also became consumed with grief. // 44

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Then, seeing them all sorrowful, he whose mount is the bull / said, “Do not grieve!” and spoke to his son, the six-faced [Skanda]: // 45 // / “Great beings like you, my son, even when a kinsman is at fault, / do no harm. Why did you slay Krauñca? // 46

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This great mountain Krauñca is your mother's brother's son. / Why did you strike down your own brother, O six-faced one? // 47

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This action does not befit you, my son, who are composed of myself. / Or tell me now: what action do you value so much in this?” // 48 // / When the god had spoken thus to him, the six-faced one then / addressed this shy and truly astonishing word to his father: // 49

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“O Lord, by Śakra's misconduct this Krauñca was slain by me, / because he gave false counsel. Hear my further petition! // 50

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By your grace, I shall revive Krauñca, the best of mountains; / for nothing is difficult for me, indeed your son, O Lord!” // 51 // / The six-faced one then said to his brother Krauñca, “Arise!” / Assuming his former body in an instant, Krauñca, the lord of mountains, // 52

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stood up free from sickness, O Vyāsa; that was a wonder then! / When the mountain was thus revived, the six-faced one, radiant as fire, // 53

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remembering the reproof from Rudra, his eyes reddened with rage, / in the presence of all the gods, of Śakra, and of the mighty // 54 // / Vāyu, Viṣṇu, and Yama, and the great-souled Brahmā, / bowing to the god of gods, the Lord, his father, along with Umā, // 55

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the god who bears the form of the foremost youth spoke these words: / “O lord of gods, it was spoken by this Śakra in my presence, // 56 // / ‘I am greater than you!’ Thus anger entered into me. / Therefore, this great spear has been driven by me into the surface of the earth. // 57 // / Whichever immortal is capable of lifting it—apart from the god, the wielder of Pināka— / let him pull it out! For then he is greater than I!” // 58 // / Having spoken thus, the god, radiant as the morning sun, / became silent, glad at heart, and stood at his father's side. // 59 // / Then Indra, among the deities, filled with the pride of sovereignty, that immortal / strove to pull out that spear that had penetrated the earth. // 60

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And even with effort, the lord of the gods could not move it;
then, exceedingly abashed, he withdrew from that place.

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Then the other foremost gods, led by Yama and Anila,
resolved to lift it up and made effort, clad in armor [with all their] might.

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Yet the best among immortals could not move that spear.
Then Viṣṇu of immeasurable soul, seeing the gods deprived of their vigor,

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- - - - - - - - -- - -
36 nirujo - ka. . 37 devī - ka. . 38 so hyetā - ka. . 39 rājadarpānvitomaraḥ - ka. . 40 devateṣṭhāḥ - ka. .
- - - - - - - - -- - -

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attempted to lift the spear before the eyes of the heaven-dwellers.
Even when moved by him, because that spear in the earth / did not stir, exceedingly heroic and endowed with Skanda's fiery energy and strength, / then Viṣṇu of immeasurable soul, respectfully acknowledging the real truth,

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worshiping Kumāra with devotion, ceased from lifting the spear.
Then all the immortals, O Vyāsa, and Viṣṇu, the best of the gods, / of great splendor, having praised the six-faced god, spoke thus:
'[…] of the gods, the Lord, son of Mahādeva, / protector, guardian, creator, remover of distress, preeminent, great!
With you as our lord, O Lord of gods, we all remain / completely content together; protect us on all sides!
And the transgression of Śakra, caused by foolish delusion— / since we implore you with affection, please forgive it forever.'
Thus praised by all the immortals, the blessed Kumāra

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relinquished his anger against Śakra and was pleased with the heaven-dwellers.
Then all those mountains, the goddess daughter of Himavat, / and Śakra the king of gods, rejoiced and worshiped Guha.
The Blessed One too was delighted and granted boons to his son, / and the leader of the host of Mothers went with Guha and the goddess / to the divine, auspicious peak of Mount Himavat.
And the mountains, Meru, Vindhya, and the others, along with Krauñca, / and Śakra the king of gods, the god, repaired to their own abodes.
Thus it was that Krauñca, who dwelt in the Krauñcasārasa, / was split with the spear by Guha and was afterwards made immortal.
And that cleft made by the spear is still seen in Krauñca, the foremost of mountains, / which became wide and vast, an abode of many deities.

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- - - - - - - - -- - -
41. māditaḥ (?) . 42 tathāsmān - ka . 43 etasminnantare - gha . 44 paścādubhābhyāṃ ca - gha. . 45 dṛśyatedyāpi (?) . 46 tadabhūdvistṛtaṃ - ka. .
- - - - - - - - -- - -

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All this marvelous splitting of Krauñca has been recounted to you;
any mortal who hears this is freed from all sins.
Vyāsa said:
O blessed one, how is the Supreme Lord the leader of the Mothers?
And who are these Mothers? Tell this to me who am asking:

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How were the hosts of Mothers born, and for what purpose?
Of what prowess and of what power are those hosts that came into being, O Lord?

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And what is their support by which those auspicious hosts abide?
By whom were they sustained or produced? I wish to know this.
Sanatkumāra said:
Here I shall relate to you the auspicious origin of the Mothers.
Long ago indeed, the blessed Brahmā, having created these diverse creatures,

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the lord of the wise ones, wandered about observing them, O Kāleya.
Once that overseer of creatures, when the evening twilight arrived, / reaching a delightful place on the shore of the eastern ocean, / unweariedly performed his twilight devotion for ten million years.

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Having performed his twilight devotion, the god seated upon the lotus seat / pondered: 'This delightful place is pleasing to the sight;
here I shall make a delightful city endowed with all desires.'
Reflecting thus, O Vyāsa, the blessed Lord, creator of all,

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built an unsurpassed city in that charming region,
of boundless splendor, with red, dark, and golden stones,

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furnished with towers, palaces, and moats,
standing as though on four feet with its crossroads.

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- - - - - - - - -- - -
47 pramucyate -ka, atrāntaredhyāyasamāptipuṣpikāvākyaṃ dṛśyate gha pustake . 48 bhagavān - ka kha. . 49 hanta(?) . 50 itihāsaṃ purātanaṃ - gha. . 51 ākrāmyātra - gha, .
- - - - - - - - -- - -

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with houses endowed with ramparts and moats, rich in wealth;
in its center was the Mandākinī, a pond, a divine and enchanting river, / covered with clusters of lotuses and resounding with joyful birds.
Having created that golden city adorned with jewels, Brahmā,

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spoke, O Vyāsa, a most wondrous and meaningful statement:
'In this delightful, best of cities, those who live eating the fruits of good deeds / shall be invulnerable, free from old age, endowed with fiery energy and strength,
and fortunate, by my grace, without doubt.'

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Then that blessed god spoke once again:
'Here, the best of the gods always showers a myriad of desired wishes; / therefore people are happy in it.'
Having spoken thus, the blessed Brahmā, the grandfather of the worlds, / went to his divine assembly hall frequented by many siddhas.
When he had gone, O Vyāsa, that city was occupied / by asuras, called Daityas, who were thorns to all brahmins, / whose leader was Asukrodha, the best of all wielders of weapons, / a slayer of brahmins, a destroyer of sacrifices, O brahmin, a slayer of gods and asuras,

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along with Siṃhanāda, Bhīmanāda, Mada, and others.
Then the Daityas, led by Haimakuṇḍa, assembled together, / and staying in that foremost of cities, inflicted multiple harassments.
Hating the world, they slaughtered brahmins by the thousands;
the rites of sacrifice, oblation, and the like were interrupted by those vilest of asuras.

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Learning that they were doing this, all the gods
went to Brahmaloka and related everything to the Lord.
Hearing the words of the gods and learning the demon's deeds,
saying "I cannot do this," Brahmā, along with the foremost gods,

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went to see Bhava in the delightful forest of the Himalaya mountain,
where Gaurī performed austerity in order to bear half her husband's body.
Entering there, all those gods, Brahmā and the others,
immediately became women by the power of Pārvatī's austerity.

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Then the trident-bearing Lord of the gods of gods
asked those foremost of gods turned into women, "For what purpose have you come?"
Then, gathered together, they first reported the devastation by the demons
to Śambhu, and then their own miserable condition as women.

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They said, "May we become men again as we were before."
Then the Lord of gods spoke to the gods who had become women:

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"Go, all you gods, having become women, into the presence of the demons.
For those Dānavas, arrogant with strength, are to be slain only by women.

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Having produced embodied forms, auspicious Mothers, from yourselves,
you shall afterward become just as you were before, O best of gods."

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Then, having bowed again to the Lord, the deities said this:
"O God, make an embodied woman from your own body as well,
with whom we shall forcefully slay the demons, O Supreme Lord!"
Then the God created an auspicious Mother, the goddess Rudrāṇī,
and, assuming a deformed appearance, created a second Mother as well,
named Bahumāṃsā, who embodies the destruction of the universe.
Then, by the command of the God of gods, Lord Viṣṇu as well
created two Mothers: Vārāhī and Vaiṣṇavī.
Brāhmī emerged from the Grandfather, and Śarvāṇī from Śaṅkara;
Kaumārī from the six-faced [god], and Vaiṣṇavī from Viṣṇu;
Vārāhī the goddess from Mādhava, and Māhendrī from Purandara.

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Consisting of all light, the auspicious foremost of Mothers,
Bahumāṃsā the Great Knowledge, arose from the bull-bannered [god].
And from the bodies of all the deities emerged auspicious Mothers,
bearing their own forms and powers, destroyers of the demons:
Vāyavyā, Vāruṇī, Yāmyā, and Kauberī, full of great might,
as well as Mahākālī, Āgneyī, and thousands of others.
Having gone to that delightful city, the goddesses

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slew the demons of terrible prowess in many ways with terrible, frightful roars,
and made that foremost city adorned with gold destitute of demons.
Then, all the demons being slain, the God of gods, Umā's lord,
came to that place, wishing to grant a boon to the Mothers.
Seeing all those demons, enemies of the immortals, slain,
the bull-bannered [god], thoroughly delighted, then granted boons to them:
"You shall be the Mothers of the world, become Mother-goddesses.
Those who shall be your devotees, whether foremost of men

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or women, O fortunate ones, no harmful beings shall harm them.
And when dead, they shall become my attendants, free from old age and death.
This place of yours, known as Koṭīvarṣa,
shall become renowned in the world, freeing from all sins.
Since I am indeed your cause, and you were created by me alone,
I shall abide here under the name Hetukeśvara, granting boons.
I will dwell together with you, established as your leader.
And whoever worships you along with me according to rule,

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his soul freed from all sins, shall attain the supreme state.
Since the Dānavas were slain with a trident by Bahumāṃsā,
this sacred ford shall become known by the name Śūlakuṇḍa.

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Drinking the water of the Śūla [tīrtha] here and bowing to Bahumāṃsā,
the best of men will become unassailable by all harmful beings.

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The lovely Mandākinī river, famous as the Pratikūlā,
flowing with floods of blood, shall belong to you here.

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I, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and the seers rich in austerity
shall compose divine Mother-tantras, the supreme rite of the Mother-sacrifice,

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meritorious rituals by which you will receive worship:
the Brāhma, Svāyambhuva, Kaumāra, and Yāmala;

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the Sārasvata, with the Gāndhāra, the Aiśāna, and the Nandiyāmala—
these tantras of yours, as well as thousands of others,
shall exist, by means of which men will worship you with devotion;
and you shall grant boons to men who offer sacrifice."

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"Bestowing celestial perfections, O goddesses, endowed with celestial yoga you shall be. / And the women who shall constantly worship you according to the secret rites,
charming women endowed with celestial valor, shall become mistresses of yoga. / Chagala and Kumbhakarṇa, my two leaders of the gaṇas,
shall stand as your doorkeepers by my command. / This place, Koṭīvarṣa, the best and beloved of the Mothers,
shall be an eminent celestial cremation ground, bringing happiness." / Having thus obtained these boons, the Mothers, the Mothers of the World,
having bowed down to the lord of gods with devotion, rejoiced, [though] severely tormented. / Thenceforth they all, along with the moon-crested [Śiva],
dwelt in Koṭīvarṣa, granting fearlessness to all the worlds. / In this way the blessed god, the leader of the gaṇas of the Mothers,
was Śaṅkara, O Vyāsa, about which you asked me.

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Whoever should recite or constantly hear this origin of the mistresses of the world, / praised by Brahmā, Indra, Śakra, and the Wind, he, on dying, obtains the realm of heaven.
Thus ends the one hundred and seventy-first chapter in the Skandapurāṇa.

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Sanatkumāra said: / How the mountains previously had their wings severed by Śakra, / that I shall tell you, O Vyāsa; listen to it all in full.
Formerly, when Hiraṇyakaśipu, the lord of the Daityas and Dānavas, / had been slain by Viṣṇu of supreme splendor, who had assumed the body of a lion,
his son, the Daitya Prahrāda, became enraged against Viṣṇu. / His father being killed, that glorious sovereign lord of the great Daityas
performed fierce, great austerity for many thousands of years. / Then the four-faced god [Brahmā], pleased, approached that sovereign of the asuras himself
and said with respect, "I am the granter of boons." / Having bowed, Prahlāda, his limbs burning with rage, remembering the murder of his father,
spoke this to Brahmā who had arrived to grant a boon: / "Lord, if you are pleased and have come granting a boon:
Viṣṇu killed my father, the king, through delusion. / Act so that I may kill that Viṣṇu in battle."
Then Brahmā said to him, Prahlāda, the foremost of asuras: / "Viṣṇu is unconquerable in battle, and immune to being killed by gods and asuras,
by the grace of the god of gods, the creator of the world, Umā's lord [Śiva]. / This boon cannot be granted by me to you, O great asura.

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Choose another boon as you wish, so that I may give it to you." / Having reflected then again, the great asura of great intelligence
spoke a word to the god seated on the lotus: / "If that Viṣṇu, the best of the gods, is unconquerable and unslayable,
then, O god, by your command, may I be unslayable and unconquerable / by that Viṣṇu, or by Śakra, or by any other enemy."

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Saying to him, "So be it," O best of Dānavas, / the god seated on the divine lotus vanished right there.
Prahlāda too, having obtained the exceedingly wonderful boon from Brahmā, / stood on the shore of the western ocean, his senses bewildered with care.

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"How shall I kill Viṣṇu, and Śakra, the performer of a hundred sacrifices?" / As he, Prahlāda, the enemy of the gods, was pondering thus,

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the glorious mountain Himavat, sovereign of all mountains, strode out; / flying up on his two wings, moving through the sky, he arrived.
For in ancient times, O Vyāsa, mountains were endowed with wings, / celestial, all traveling in the sky, and roaming in all worlds.

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Then, seeing that mountain Himavat arrive, / Prahrāda, pleased, having first offered a welcome, spoke this word:

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"We Daityas are grandsons of Kaśyapa, O lordly best of mountains; / you too are his sons, and the gods as well, O great mountain.
Our origin and yours, O mountain, is from the single one. / The deities, being our brothers, and our deities indeed,

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having despised us asuras, rule in arrogance. / Let us and you, joining together, having completely conquered the gods, / and having overrun the entire three worlds, rule, O great mountain.

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Those lands in which worship of the gods takes place, in which fires are offered into, / and in which the deities are pleased, O lord of mountains,

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together with all the mountains, overrunning them quickly, destroy them! / Then, deprived of offerings, we shall kill the gods easily and at peace." / Thus addressed by the king of the Daityas, Himavat, the best of mountains, / apprehensive, said to the lord of the Dānavas: "This is not proper."
Then again the great asura said to Himavant: / "If you consider something else more proper than what I say, O sovereign of mountains,

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then I shall bring you, together with the mountains, to total destruction! / Therefore stand vigilant while I strike you, O mountain!" / Then, seeing the king of the Daityas enraged, the best of mountains / said, "I shall do it," and thereupon that Daitya was satisfied.

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Then, together with the mountains, Himavat, the best of mountains, / having heard the command of Prahlāda, undertook the devastation of the lands.
In whichever lands all the rites consisting of offerings to the ancestors and gods, / such as sacrifices and oblations, take place, the mountains overran them.

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Then, when the lands were laid waste, Nārada, best among sages, / informed Śakra of the whole transgression committed by the mountains.
Hearing that, the king of the gods, Śatakratu, inflamed with anger, / approached the mountains and said in wrath, "What is this?"
Then the mountains said, O Vyāsa, to the enraged lord of the hosts of gods: / "O god, out of fear of Prahlāda, the lord of the great Daityas,
we have fallen into this transgression; there is no fault in us in any way. / If you nonetheless consider it our fault, O lord of the immortals,

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[Apparatus readings]

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come to Prahrāda; let us go quickly together. / By him, that mighty king of the Daityas, wishing to cause you displeasure, / was all this destruction of the sacrificial regions brought about.
This is not our offence; know it to be so, O protector of the gods!" / While those mountains were still speaking, Śakra, utterly enraged,
stripped them of their wings, hurling his thunderbolt again and again. / Deprived of their wings, all those lords of mountains,
fell upon the earth's surface, O Vyāsa, like birds with clipped wings. / Then the king of the Daityas, Prahrāda, foremost of the Asuras, hearing

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of the clipping of the wings of the noble mountains, was deeply distressed and enraged. / Pondering for a long time, "What shall I do?", that lord of the Daitya host
went to Badaryāśrama and saw Viṣṇu situated there. / A tremendous and wondrous battle ensued between him and Viṣṇu.

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And Viṣṇu could not defeat that Prahlāda by his might. / A terrible battle took place between them in ancient times, lasting for a hundred divine years.

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And Viṣṇu found himself inferior to the Dānava Prahlāda. / Engaged in battle then, Viṣṇu, knower of highest righteousness,

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unable to conquer the Dānava, the lord became filled with distress. / Then, meditating upon Mahādeva and bowing down again and again,
he remembered the supreme […] / […] of the wielder of the Pināka:
invulnerability and unconquerability by all the inhabitants of the worlds. / Remembering that grace of Śiva, Viṣṇu, best of the gods,

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became full of great strength and courage, and the mighty one charged at the Daitya. / Then, realizing himself to be losing strength, the son of Hiraṇyakaśipu,
[Apparatus readings]

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and knowing Viṣṇu to be powerful, withdrew from the battlefield. / Bewildered by the radiance of Śiva, Prahrāda, lord of the Dānavas,
believed himself to be conquered, though he was not conquered by Viṣṇu. / Even after obtaining a boon from Brahmā granting invincibility to himself,

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the great Asura then considered himself truly defeated. / The battle between Prahrāda and the Asuras, dreadful and terrifying to the gods, / with Viṣṇu was an astonishing affair lasting a hundred divine years. / Neither in sacred learning, nor in prowess, nor in valor, nor in brilliance,

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nor in intellect, nor in righteousness was there any Asura equal to Prahrāda. / Even King Hiraṇyakaśipu was not equal to him in greatness;
neither Andhaka nor Hiraṇyākṣa was equal to Prahlāda in strength. / Indeed, it is said that it was Viṣṇu himself who became a Daitya due to the curse of Bhṛgu.
Even the perfected sky-dwellers envied the valor, / sacred learning, and modesty of the great-souled Prahrāda.
During his reign the subjects were never afflicted with misery or grief. / Thus that best of Dānavas, having fought with Viṣṇu,

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with his body consumed by remorse, lost all longing for sensual pleasures. / Recognizing the bestowal of boons to be transient, as well as the fruit of austerity,
indifferent toward all undertakings, freed from the craving for objects of sense, / having renounced all actions, he became devoted to the practice of meditation.

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Desiring tranquility for the attainment of liberation, the great Daitya renounced worldly life, / understanding that rebirth brings sorrow and that supreme impermanence rules all.
Realizing kingship to be painful, Prahrāda, knower of the highest reality, / consecrated his son Virocana to the kingship of the Daityas.

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Making him the king of the Daityas and Dānavas, the lord of the Asuras, / desiring the supreme attainment of liberation, resolved to become a renunciant.
[Apparatus readings]

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Then, in order to seek the supreme reality—the unborn, auspicious Śiva beyond the qualities— / he approached as a disciple the sage Āsuri, the direct disciple of the blessed Kapila,
and obtained from him the wisdom of liberation. / Realizing the supreme principle beyond primal matters and modifications,
and the conscious soul, the knower of the field, the experiencer who is detached from experiencing, / knowing the ultimate goal of the wisdom of liberation and mastering the doctrines of Sāṃkhya,
he became a perfected sage, best of munis, named Pañcaśikha. / Attaining supreme yoga, that great sage, a master of Sāṃkhya, / freed from the threefold suffering, attained the imperishable abode.
Thus the glorious, great-souled king of the Daityas, an enemy of the three worlds, / after long hostility with Viṣṇu, the preceptor of the gods, / subsequently became a perfected being, granter of fearlessness to the universe, and attained yoga; / freed at last, he reached the immortal state, the primordial Brahman.
Knowing the soul, detached from the gunas, freed from sorrows and the bondages of worldly existence, / liberated from the obstruction of darkness and delusion, that lord of the Daityas became a master of yoga.
In this manner Purandara cut the wings of all those mountains, / O best of sages, as you had previously asked me."
Thus ends the one hundred and seventy-second chapter, entitled "The Severing of the Mountains' Wings" in the story of Prahrāda, in the Skandapurāṇa.

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Vyāsa said:
When Krauñca, the king of mountains, was restored to life and Guha was gratified by the gods, / Hara went to the peak of the Himālaya accompanied by Pārvatī. // 1
What else did the god do, and what did Pārvatī say to him? / Tell this, O foremost of vipras, for I am never sated with listening. // 2

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Sūta said:
Addressed thus by the chief of sages, the imperishable son of Brahmā, / the seer, the supreme lord of yoga, related it in truth: // 3
When the god of gods had gone to the peak of the Himālaya together with Umā, / the mountain-born goddess bowed to the supreme lord and spoke to the god: // 4
"I went in person to accept the worship of the twice-born Hiraṇya, / who dwells in Naimiṣāraṇya, lives by gleaning grains, and is endowed with purity, austerity, devotion, and tranquility. // 5
Having seen that māhātmya of that ascetic brāhmaṇa, // 6

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I fell into wonder, O god, [thinking] that the twice-born are the foremost of all. / 'The brāhmaṇas are weightier even than the gods'—such is my conviction. / Therefore I wish to hear from you the supreme māhātmya of the twice-born." // 7

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The god of gods said:
"It is even so, O sustainer of the world, O you who are bowed to by gods and asuras! / Ascetic vipras are the foremost; they are weightier even than the gods. // 8
Those creatures which are mine were created first, for I am their source; / the Rudras, the twice-born endowed with great splendour, were created by me long ago. // 9
Having observed my creation, Brahmā too, wishing to create, / created brāhmaṇas of great splendour from his head at the very beginning. // 10
I was their leader then, the foremost of the twice-born; / from then on, all the best of vipras became my companions. // 11

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This other creation, the brāhmaṇas of the Supreme Lord, is supreme; / dharma and the rest, and the four varṇas—all are founded upon them. // 12
By the oblation which the vipras offer, the deities are gratified. / The entire world is indeed founded upon the splendour of brāhmaṇas. // 13

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That Pāśupata observance of mine, which destroys death and rebirth— / other castes do not accomplish it, leaving aside the foremost of brāhmaṇas. // 14
I shall declare the characteristic mark of the twice-born; listen to this: / the rules of purity and straightforwardness, their power, and indeed their rites. // 15
One is a brāhmaṇa by birth; by sacramental rite one is called twice-born; / by learning one attains the status of a vipra; the state of a brāhmaṇa is declared to be threefold. // 16

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He who is a vipra by birth and he who has mastered the Veda— / in protecting them and in slaying them, the merit and sin are declared to be equal. // 17
And the vipra who is one by birth, proficient in all the āgamas, / endowed with austerity and purity, is called 'thrice-pure.' // 18
Whoever feeds such a one in an ancestral rite or in a rite for the gods— / that becomes inexhaustible for him through the satiation of that purified one. // 19

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The vipra who knows the Veda and is constantly dedicated to the fire-offering— / he too is declared the foremost, O goddess; when honoured, he saves his family. // 20

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He who is a brāhmaṇa in every way by mere birth, anywhere— / he too is a teacher of the world, O goddess; honoured, he bestows heaven. // 21
The agnihotra, austerity, sacrifice, purity, straightforwardness, / truth, and dedication to the Veda are declared to be the supreme duty of the twice-born. // 22

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A brāhmaṇa does not speak untruth; a twice-born does not kill a living being; / a vipra does not render menial service; a twice-born does not become a committer of sins. // 23

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A brāhmaṇa who is an ascetic does not obtain rebirth again. / Having attained the status of a learned brāhmaṇa, what indeed has an embodied soul not attained? // 24
Those eight forms of mine which are known, beginning with the sun and moon— / all of them dwell in a brāhmaṇa enhanced by austerity. // 25

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Supported by the splendour of the twice-born, nectar and cattle / are always produced, O goddess; therefore, the vipras are the foremost of all. // 26

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Nothing is impossible for those twice-born of supreme splendour; / angered or pleased, they bestow good and ill. // 27

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Those twice-born who are ascetics, proficient in the knowledge of the Vedas— / they are the givers of liberation, gods even unto the gods. // 28
I and the Grandfather are declared to be their two wombs: / they were born from me first, O goddess, and then from the Grandfather. // 29

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We two are the causes of the twice-born, and you too, by virtue of being nature. / You are declared to be nature (prakṛti), and I am the supreme person (puruṣa). // 30
Those two who are celebrated as Brahmā and Viṣṇu, consisting of the qualities of rajas and sattva— / from us two those two lords of creatures are born at the time of creation. // 31

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I am fire; darkness (tamas) is Viṣṇu; goodness (sattva) resides in Brahmā; / know passion (rajas) to be pervasive in the secondary actions. // 32

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These two, tamas and passion, are known to consist of delusion; / sattva destroys those two, and it is born from fire. // 33

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For these great-souled twice-born are known to have the fiery splendor of fire; / they prevail everywhere, and there is no checking them.
Know straightforwardness and equanimity to be the fiery energy in twice-born men; / straightforwardness is indeed superior to being endowed with austerity and learning.
Freedom from deceit destroys sins, while equanimity destroys the bondage of delusion; / both of these, practiced by the twice-born as straightforwardness, destroy [sins and delusion].

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Long ago, on the bank of the Bhāgīrathī, there was a twice-born man, supreme knower of dharma, / named Dānaruci, who lived by gleaning ears of grain.
His mind was disciplined through all sciences, he granted safety to all beings, / and together with his wife he was devoted to me, intent upon offerings in the fire.

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[…]

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936 / And after first feeding any guest who had arrived, O goddess, / he would eat at the sixth mealtime; such was his excellent vow.
Now as he lived in this manner, a great amount of time passed; / when a guest arrived, no hesitation arose in him.

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Endowed with austerity and purity, the twice-born man, devoted solely to straightforwardness, / became exceedingly radiant in fiery splendor, like the sun and fire.

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Pleased with his austerity in this way, Fire experienced the highest satisfaction; / he desired to bestow good upon him, granting the fruits he sought.
Then once, in the course of time, when the sixth mealtime had arrived / on a foul day, cold and thick with frosty clouds, the twice-born wandered about;

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afflicted by the fatigue of hunger, he did not see any guest. / When even at day’s end no guest was found by him anywhere,

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without consuming anything at all, intent upon fasting, / that foremost twice-born did not give thought to his own distress.

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His highly fortunate wife also, devoted to the vow of devotion to her husband, / did then just as her husband did.
With his limbs tormented by cold and hunger, overwhelmed by many pairs of opposites, / that twice-born man, O goddess, was sorely exhausted by the great hardship.

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Now when the second sixth mealtime arrived, that twice-born / saw no guest at all on account of the foul weather and cold.
Then Fire, having recognized his ultimate, great resolve, / assumed a disfigured and repulsive form resembling an outcaste dog-cooker;

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having stationed himself at the foot of a tree, he revealed himself to him. / Then that prince among brahmins, pained with hunger, wandering in desire of a guest, // […]

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937 / saw an outcaste dog-cooker standing at the foot of a tree, of dreadful and deformed appearance, / distressed with cold, and marked by hundreds of various sores,

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foul to behold, aged and afflicted, oozing worms and blood, / and crying out, “O father!”; thus that best of the twice-born saw him.
Seeing that wretched outcaste dog-cooker, that best of the twice-born / spoke sweet words: “Take heart, good sir!”
And to dispel the cold, the twice-born brought fire for him. / Then, when he was comforted by contact with the fire, he said to him:

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“Come, eat; become my guest, good sir,” he said with respect. / Then the wretched outcaste dog-cooker said to that treasury of austerities:
“I am an outcaste dog-cooker, O best of the twice-born; give food right here / to me, a despised person, just as [one would] to beasts and birds.
I am not worthy to receive consecrated food,” he said. / Knowing through meditation that it was Fire present there who spoke thus,
that tiger among the twice-born, skilled in speech, spoke this: / “I neither revile nor worship caste, O sinless one.
For this Self is all-pervading, stationed in all living beings; / with devotion I worship that Self, the supreme Śiva.
Believing the Supreme Lord, the Puruṣa, to be stationed everywhere, / I hold no contempt for animals, especially not for those like you.
Intent on austerity and purity, believing ‘all is indeed He,’ / I worship without agitation; be free of doubt regarding this.
When the Self is all-pervading in worms, insects, rats, snakes, / outcaste dog-cookers, gods, and twice-born, then how could we have contempt?

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[…]

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938 / You are not contemptible to me, good sir; come, you are not despised by me. / Eat the consecrated food, and bestow your grace upon us.”
Addressed thus by the prince of the twice-born, the outcaste dog-cooker was pleased; / then, desiring to bestow grace upon him, he went to the brahmin’s house.

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Then Dānaruci, with a mind purified by devotion, / performed the hospitality properly for him, as for an honored guest.

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Having been fed, the Fire manifested in personal form, delighted, / and granted him his desired, unexcelled yogic sovereignty.

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Having attained supreme yoga, that best of the twice-born living by gleaning grain / was liberated together with his wife, and attained the immortal state.

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Just like Kapila, the perfected one, the supreme sage who knows the truth, / so a brahmin endowed with straightforwardness and possessed of auspicious marks / will attain, O goddess, an ever-higher state from one that is good.

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This supreme, foremost māhātmya of the vipras, who shine like gods,
which abundantly brings merit and longevity, has been told to you, O daughter of the king of mountains.
A learned and pure person who hears this daily or recites it according to rule
shall attain merit, happiness, longevity, the desired fruit, splendor, and strength.

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Thus has this māhātmya of the twice-born been told properly,
O daughter of the supreme lord of mountains.
Originating from my creation, those foremost twice-born
truly attained such supreme greatness.
Sanatkumāra said:
Setting forth the māhātmya of the twice-born, such was the auspicious,
sin-destroying dialogue that took place between Pārvatī and the supreme Lord.
[…], O son of Parāśara rich in austerity,
ask with a concentrated mind whatever you consider worth hearing from me.
Thus ends the hundred and seventy-third chapter, entitled “Description of the Māhātmya of the Twice-born,” in the Skandapurāṇa.

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939
Vyāsa said:
O venerable one, at the time of the destruction of Dakṣa's sacrifice, it was said by you
that the celestials, headed by Brahmā, obtained the Pāśupata yoga,

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and by that knowledge, O great sage, they attained the supreme reality.
Tell that to me, your devoted disciple, who am asking.

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Of what kind is that supreme yoga, the auspicious Pāśupata knowledge,
knowing which the accomplished brahmins may attain the highest liberation?
Having been thus asked by his disciple, the best of sages spoke:
Sanatkumāra said:
Well done, O Vyāsa of great intellect! You desire liberation, my son,
since you ask me about that knowledge, the supreme Māheśvara yoga.
That reality which is proclaimed the essence of all yoga traditions,
endowed with the teachings of Sāṃkhya and Yoga, skilled in all internal knowledge,
even having attained the lordly powers of yoga, they did not reach that reality,
not having understood, O fortunate one, the knowledge taught by Śaṅkara.
As it was told by Tryambaka to those dwellers of heaven,
I shall tell you that ascertainment of reality in brief.
It is impossible to describe it in detail even in hundreds of years;
its steady side, destroying the origin of saṃsāra,

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which grants liberation and perfection, I shall declare in brief as the supreme doctrine.
Having bowed to Maheśāna, the Puruṣa, the cause of all beings,

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who is beyond Prakṛti, secret, the Person, the supreme Lord,
whom the followers of Sāṃkhya call the twenty-fifth Puruṣa, unborn and all-pervading,
and the followers of Yoga [call] the twenty-sixth, omnipresent, consisting of the three guṇas,
who at the time of creation brought forth the two gods, creators of the entire universe,

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940
meditating upon the two great-souled Prajāpatis, Viṣṇu and Pitāmaha [Brahmā],
and having bowed down to that Mahādeva, the three-eyed boon-granting Īśvara,
I shall declare his doctrine, the certainty of the conclusion of yoga.
Know this definition of yoga as it is being spoken by me,
by the practice of which, O great sage, the bonds of the bound souls are severed.
When the mind is firmly established in the Self, the external cessation of conceptual thought occurs,
and there is the unification of the soul with the supreme Īśvara.

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This, O Vyāsa, is called yoga, as proclaimed by Śambhu in the past,
subtle and destroying worldly birth for the surrendered celestials.
When the mind of a person dwelling in the body rests within the Self,
free from discursive thought, directed away from the exterior, subtle, applied through practice,
there is the complete cessation of created things marked by subtle conceptions
such as pleasure and pain, for the practitioner who engages in union.
The supreme lord Maheśvara is that intended goal, the unifier,
since there is then union between Īśvara and the individual self.

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Attainment of happiness through oneness, from the application of contemplation […],
[…] of the practitioner who is firmly established,
this perfected result would always arise […].
Now the substratum therein is proclaimed in order:
retraction of the senses, then knowledge, likewise control of breath,
meditation, and concentration—this is declared to be the practice of yoga.
Transcending death, these three operations of fourfold nature
exist, and […] death does not have power, O sage.

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For his bodily elements indeed become subdued; of this there is no doubt.
Then that practitioner becomes […] [conqueror of] death […].

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941
These operations of contemplation, O Vyāsa, in the head, in the heart,
and in the intermediate space—all are declared without a doubt.
Bound to the three places, established in the four characteristics,
these operations can never be accomplished by a negligent person.

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These three [activities] always lead to death, characterized by delusion. / There can be no separation in them, in these activities, each one […].
Ignorance wavers in them, even when operating externally and internally. / The practitioner, engaged in these activities, as well as in those situated in the middle,
[achieves] through power the cessation of the elements, the senses, the mind, time, and the directions. / The directions are indeed ten, the divisions of time are three, [along with] the elements and the range of the senses.
Accompanied by the movement of the mind, characterized by the absence of sense-objects— / this was spoken of as pratyāhāra (withdrawal) in the past by the Lord himself.
Because there is no wandering into other directions, when the mind remains motionless, / the emergence of withdrawal arises once in the emergence of yoga.
Knowledge concerning the three times, and supreme mastery: / these two cannot arise when the mind is wavering; they arise together when it is steadfast.

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Because this mind is the entire means for the practice of yoga, / one should therefore make an effort towards the mind's single place [of rest].
Meditation during the restraint of the vital breath is remembered as prāṇāyāma. / For the prāṇa breath alone always acts as the charioteer of the [other] winds.
A yogin should constantly practice the restraint of breath; / by progressive attainment, [holding] the wind in the sphere of […].
One should know the sparking of light to be constantly joined with practice: / twice in the apāna, once in the prāṇa, and in the samāna […]
[…] / […]

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This third is the kumbha [retention], which kindles the fire of yoga.
By these [breaths], the subtle path of meditation is caused by the restraint of the breath; / through which the yogin progresses and envelopes the supreme Puruṣa.

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From drawing in [the breath] just once, and from releasing it repeatedly, / this is designated as kumbhaka, from the holding of prāṇāyāma and the rest.
This vital breath (prāṇa) is the wind, the self in the body, the living […] / One should know its two forms: coarse and subtle everywhere.

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The subtle form is unmanifest, while the coarse is characterized by shape. / Beginning from the coarse, one should discern the subtle through the practice of meditation.
From the fixation upon the subtle, a radiant light arises, O sage. / But for one meditating on a coarse target, the mind wanders in all directions;
when it arises radiant, he should immediately steady it once more. / On a mountain, on a tree, on the path of the wind, in a chasm, in a row of palaces,
on the ocean, or on the earth, he should practice union of the mind.

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That mind, once fixed there, should again undergo withdrawal. / Through delusion, the wind might cause senselessness, unless observed otherwise.
And having withdrawn that all-pervading [mind], he should again pursue the course of meditation. / For one who meditates continually through practice, the mind and the wind […].
For one whose yoga of knowledge has commenced, upon the destruction of attachment to sense-objects, / intuitive obstacles born from the qualities (guṇas) such as sattva—
arising as obstacles to yoga—verily spring forth for the practitioner.

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The wise person, free from desire for sense-objects, having conquered them with effort, / established on the path to nirvāṇa, becomes free from the three qualities.
Divine flight through the air, [pleasures] born of the company of celestial apsarases, / consecration by the gods, the composing of extraordinary poetry,

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attachment to the pleasure of sovereignty, and the arrival of much gold and gems: / one should recognize these intuitive obstacles as arising from sattva.

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Those accompanied by arrogance of origin, characterized by deviations from proper conduct— / one should know without doubt these intuitive obstacles to be born of rajas.
Consumption, colic, fever, madness, leprosy, snakebite, and planetary afflictions— / preceded by the rise of torment—these one should designate as tāmasic.
A sage, while practicing, should always quickly observe these intuitive [obstacles] / arising from the three qualities, and should immediately remedy them.

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Fixing [the attention] on prāṇa and the other [winds], and indeed withdrawing the mind, / he should completely destroy the obstacles through prāṇāyāma and kumbhaka.

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Rajas, sattva, and tamas are the three qualities of primal nature (pradhāna); / they belong to that very Great Lord (Maheśa) as the causes for the union with creatures.

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These arise through delusion in yoga for a practitioner who possesses egotism. / When the yogin, free from longing, tranquil, and attentive, exerts himself,
then these intuitive obstacles go to destruction equally. / The emergence of these qualities is therefore the cause of delusion.

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One should know tamas to belong to Rudra, sattva to abide in Brahmā, / and rajas to belong to Viṣṇu; the destroyer of them is Maheśvara.
Knowing Mahādeva to be supreme, the twice-born devoted to the practice of yoga, / freed from the three qualities, attains dissolution in Śaṅkara.

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First, one should purify one's own body through the restraints (yamas) and observances (niyamas); / then, by what is taught in the scriptures, free from merit and demerit,

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gradually, in accordance with instruction, one should practice meditation, / having conquered the sense-objects such as sound, which fall within the range of the ear and other senses.

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Impartial towards gods and animals, free from the sense of "mine" in all things, / released from all undertakings, free from merit and sin,
free from duality, in a secluded place, he should practice yoga directed towards Īśvara. / Having abandoned egoism along with rules, having ascertained the Sāṃkhya conclusion,
he should constantly practice in the supreme yoga of Maheśvara. / Eight are the eternal material principles, and sixteen are the modifications;
and the twenty-fifth is Puruṣa, the subject of the Sāṃkhya doctrine. / This indeed is the supreme secret in the ascertainment of the reality of the Sāṃkhyas:
having known the difference between Prakṛti and Puruṣa, one is liberated.
Thus ends the hundred and seventy-fourth chapter, the first on the method of meditation, entitled 'The Description of Pāśupata Yoga', in the Skandapurāṇa.

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Sanatkumāra said:
Yoga and Sāṃkhya are everywhere declared to be twofold knowledge. / There, some are devoted to Sāṃkhya, while others have resorted to the path of Yoga.
The unmanifest and Prakṛti, and likewise the ego-sense: / these are indeed eight material principles, together with the five subtle elements.
Five are called the sense faculties of cognition, and five the sense faculties of action; / the mind and the five gross elements are remembered as the sixteen modifications.
And Puruṣa is the twenty-fifth, free from all undertakings, / eternal, omnipresent, subtle, conscious, devoid of the three guṇas,
pure, stainless, the experiencer, a non-doer, standing like a witness. / Knowing him, they do not enter again into this cage of worldly existence.
These twenty-five principles have been declared by the Sāṃkhya yogins, / knowing which indeed one is freed from rebirth.

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