Skandapurana 7.2

English (machine translation) 7.2

Language: English

7.2.p1

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Once Himavān asked a question of Kaśyapa, the best of two-footed beings, who had arrived at his house: / "What, pray, brings renown in the world? / By what, O sage, do worlds become imperishable and renown supreme, / and likewise venerability among the good? Tell me that!"

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Kaśyapa said:

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"All this is obtained through offspring, O fortunate one! / My renown is through offspring, and so is Brahmā's together with the seers. / Do you not see it, O king of mountains, that you question me? / I shall also relate what was seen by me long ago, O mountain.

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Going to Vārāṇasī, I saw standing in the sky / an aerial chariot, resounding, divine, matchless, and unblemished. / Beneath it, I heard a cry of distress in a pit: / […]

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Having known them by austerity, I stood right there, concealed. / Then, O king of mountains, a brahmin arrived there, restrained in vows, pure, / his soul purified by bathing in sacred fords, devoted to supreme austerity.

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Then, as he was walking, the twice-born, terrified by a tiger, / entered that place where that pit was, O mountain. / In the pit, he then saw sages hanging from a clump of vīraṇa grass; / afflicted, he saw them afflicted with sorrow, and that twice-born questioned them:

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'Who are you, hanging head downwards from a clump of vīraṇa grass, / distressed? By what will your release come to pass, O sinless ones?'"

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[Apparatus readings]

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[Apparatus readings]

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The ancestors said:

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"We are the fathers, along with grandfathers / and great-grandfathers, of you who have not performed merit, suffering because of your wicked deed.

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This is a hell, O fortunate one, in the form of a pit; / and you are the clump of vīraṇa grass, and we hang upon you."

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"As long as you live, O brahmin, for that long only do we stay [here]. / When you die, we, sinners in mind, shall go to hell.13

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If you take a wife and produce an offspring / endowed with superior virtues, we might be freed from this, one by one.14

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Not by any other austerity, my son, nor by the fruit of sacred fords [can we be freed]. / Therefore do this, O wise one; deliver your ancestors from fear."15

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Having agreed with "So be it," and having worshipped the Bull-bannered [Śiva], / he raised his ancestors from the pit and made them leaders of the gaṇas.16

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And he himself, dear to Rudra, named Sukeśa by name, / honoured and mighty, became a leader of Rudra's gaṇas.17

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"Therefore, performing fierce austerity, produce an offspring / exceptionally endowed with virtues, O king of mountains; then you will obtain renown."18

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Sanatkumāra said:

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Thus addressed by the seer, the king of mountains, steadfast in his vow, / performed vast austerity by which Brahmā was pleased.19

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Then Brahmā came to him and spoke, saying, "I am the granter of boons. / Speak; I am pleased with you, O mountain, by this austerity, O one of noble vows."20

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[Apparatus readings: 19–28]

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Himavat said:

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"O Lord, I desire a son adorned with all virtues. / Grant this boon if you are pleased with us, O Lord."21

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Brahmā said:

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"A maiden shall be your daughter, O king of mountains, a fair-complexioned one, / through whose power you will obtain abundant renown everywhere;22 / worshipped by all the gods, surrounded by crores of sacred fords, / purifying and holy, everywhere even for the gods.

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And she shall be your eldest [daughter], and after her two other auspicious ones."23

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Sanatkumāra said:

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Having spoken thus, Brahmā vanished right there. / And in course of time, that king of mountains begot upon Menā24

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Aparṇā, Ekaparṇā, and also Ekapāṭalā. / Ekaparṇā took recourse to a banyan tree, and Ekapāṭalā to a trumpet-flower tree.25

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The two took shelter [there], but Aparṇā, homeless, performed austerity / difficult to be performed by gods and demons, for a hundred thousand years.26

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That Ekaparṇā lived on a diet of a single leaf; / and Ekapāṭalā sustained herself on a single trumpet-flower.27

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Every full thousand [years], the two took food; / but Aparṇā was without food. Her mother spoke to her,28

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Forbidding her, saying: "O mā" (Oh, do not!), afflicted by motherly affection. / Addressed thus by her mother at that time, the goddess, practising severe [austerities], / became celebrated in the worlds and worshipped by the gods by that very name [Umā].29

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[Apparatus readings: 29–40]

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[Apparatus readings: 41–44]

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This world of moving and unmoving beings is guarded by the three maidens. / By the austerity of these [maidens], as long as the earth endures, [she] will sustain the worlds.30

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All three had bodies made of austerity, endowed with the power of yoga; / and all were great yoginīs, all of constant youth.31

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They are the mothers of the worlds and celibates as well; / and they constantly bless the worlds with their own austerity.32

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Among them, Umā is the most excellent and the eldest, fair-complexioned, / possessed of the power of great yoga, who attended upon Mahādeva. / And Uśanas, that son of Bhṛgu, became her adopted son. / Ekaparṇā, however, gave birth to a son, Devala, [begotten] by Asita.33-34

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The third of those maidens, Ekapāṭalā, / approached Jaigīṣavya, the son of Śataśalāka.35

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His sons Śaṅkha and Likhita are known to have not been born of a womb. / But that fair-complexioned Umā whom I mentioned to you—36

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Then, perceiving the entire triple world scorched / by the power of her austerity, Brahmā spoke [these] words:37 / Brahmā said:

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"O goddess, why will you scorch the worlds with your austerity, O fair one? / This universe was created by you; having made it, do not destroy it.38

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For you sustain all these worlds with your own splendour. / Speak, O mother of the world, what is sought by you? Be gracious to us."39

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[Apparatus readings: 45–58]

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The goddess said:

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"The purpose for which this practice of austerity is undertaken by me, O grandfather, / you know truly; why then do you ask me again?"40

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Brahmā said:

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"The purpose for which, O goddess, you wear yourself out with austerity, O creator of worlds, / he himself, having come, will choose you as bride right here.41

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The lord of all gods, the highest, the ruler of rulers of all worlds, / under whose control we, along with the gods, speak as servants, O ruler.42

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That God of gods, ruler of the supreme lords, protector of the worlds, will himself come to you: / noble in form, deformed, handsome, resembling any ordinary man;43

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Maheśvara, dwelling in the mountain-world, the lord of moving and unmoving beings, the first, immeasurable; / with a face like the moon even without the moon, assuming a dreadful, fierce form here."44

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Thus ends the eleventh chapter, named "The Granting of the Boon to the Goddess," in the Skandapurāṇa.

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Then that blessed god Brahmā said to her in a gentle voice:
“O goddess, by whom indeed you were created, and who is not without you, O auspicious lady,
he, the lord of gods, shall be your husband; do not perform tapas.”
Then, having circumambulated the daughter of the mountain, O Vyāsa, Brahmā

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[...] Umā said: [...] this truth to me [...] Grandfather said [...] O noble lady [...]

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[...] Hara himself [...] whose form [...] facing in front [...] Brahmā's words in Umā's tapas [...]

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[...] which you mentally [...] vow [...] likewise [...] 46

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vanished from her sight, and she too desisted.
That goddess, saying “It is proper,” indeed went to her own hermitage,

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and stood leaning on an aśoka tree that grew by the door.
Then Hara, who has the moon as his forehead-mark and removes the affliction of the thirty [gods], arrived

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assuming a deformed body, short and with [stunted] arms,
with a crooked nose, hunchbacked, and with reddish-brown hair-tips.

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With a deformed face, he said: “O goddess, I choose you [as bride].”
Then Umā, perfected in yoga, realizing that Śaṅkara had arrived,

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with her inner heart completely pure, desiring to perform the ritual duties,
said to him after honoring the brahmin with water for the feet, argha offering, and madhuparka—she of beautiful eyes, dear to brahmins:

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The goddess said:

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“O lord, I am not independent; my father and mother are [my authorities].
They are the masters regarding my giving away; I am a maiden, O best of the twice-born.

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Go and ask my father, the imperishable king of mountains.
If he gives me to you, O vipra, that is pleasing to me.”

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Sanatkumāra said:

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Then that blessed god, the lord, deformed just in that way,
said to that king of mountains: “O protector of the mountain, give me Umā.”

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Recognizing him in deformed form to be the imperishable Rudra,
and afraid of a curse, dejected in mind, he spoke this word:

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“O lord, I do not disregard brahmins, the deities on earth.
Yet hear what was previously resolved, O you of great tapas:

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[...]

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[...]

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[...]

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‘A svayaṃvara, honored [by all], shall be held for my daughter, O vipra;
whomsoever she chooses there herself, he shall be her husband.’ ”

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Sanatkumāra said:

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Hearing the words of the mountain, the blessed one whose emblem is the bull,
having approached the goddess, the high-minded one said this:

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“O goddess, I have heard that a svayaṃvara has been ordered by your father.
Whomsoever you choose there, he shall indeed be your husband, O sinless lady.

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Therefore, taking my leave, I shall go; you are difficult to attain, O fair-faced one.
Discarding a handsome man, how would you choose one like me?”

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Sanatkumāra said:

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Addressed by him then in that place, she, understanding what he meant with sincerity,
and seeing his affection fixed on Rudra as well as the grace of his mind,

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attained it and said to the lord of gods: “Let your mind not think otherwise.
I shall choose you; there is no other being whatsoever.

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Or if you have any doubt concerning me, O vipra,
here itself, O highly fortunate one, I choose you in accordance with my desire.”

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Sanatkumāra said:

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Taking with both hands a cluster [of blossoms] that was there,
and placing it on the shoulder of Śambhu, the goddess said: “You are chosen by me.”

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Then that blessed god, having thus been chosen by the goddess then,
spoke indeed to that aśoka tree, as if reviving it with his voice:

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[...]

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[...] 48

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“Because I have been chosen by a bunch of your beautiful flowers,
therefore you shall be freed from old age and become immortal.

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Assuming forms at will, blossoming at will, moving at will, dear to me,
filled with flowers [adorned like] all ornaments, bearing the fruits of all trees,

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bestowing all kinds of food, flowing with nectar,
and possessing all fragrances, you shall be exceedingly dear to the goddess.

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Without fear among all worlds you shall wander, well contented.
And this hermitage, famed as Citrakūṭa,

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whoever approaches seeking merit, shall obtain [the fruit of] an Aśvamedha;
and dying anywhere [here], he shall go to the world of Brahmā.

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And whoever, observing restrictions here, properly casts off his life-breaths,
endowed with the tapas of the goddess, shall become a great leader of the Gaṇas.”

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Sanatkumāra said:

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Having spoken thus, the god, the creator of the universe, the lord and master of all beings,
took leave of the daughter of the Himavat and vanished.

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And that goddess, when that blessed one of boundless soul had gone,
sat down upon a rock, gazing upward in that very direction.

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Gazing upward when that great archer, the lord of creatures, had departed,
she then became sorrowful, like a night deprived of the moon.

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Then the mountain-born goddess heard the cry of a distressed child
in a lake filled with water near her own hermitage.

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Assuming the form of a child for the purpose of sport, the god of gods, Śiva himself,
was then seized by a crocodile in the midst of the lake. / [...]

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[...] 49

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Then, having assumed his yogamāyā, he who is the cause of the cosmos's manifestation, / having taken that form in the middle of the lake, cried out: // 33

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"Let someone come here and rescue me, whose wits are lost to a crocodile! / Alas, what sorrow! I am only a child, my desires unfulfilled; // 34 // / I shall meet destruction in the maw of this wicked crocodile. / Seized by the crocodile, though suffering, I do not grieve for my own body // 35

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as I grieve for my father and my ascetic mother. / Hearing that I have met destruction in the crocodile's jaws, anxious, // 36 // / loving their son, their only son, they will surely abandon their lives.

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Alas, what great sorrow that I, a boy who has not performed his vows,

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without having performed austerity itself, slain, shall meet destruction!" // 37 // / Sanatkumāra said:

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Hearing that cry of the distressed brahmin, the lovely Goddess / arose and ran to where that twice-born stood. // 38 // / The moon-faced [Goddess] saw the child of charming form / being devoured by the crocodile, standing trembling. // 39

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That splendid, noble crocodile, seeing the Goddess approach, / seized him and went swiftly into the very middle of the lake. // 40

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Being dragged along, the radiant boy then made a cry of distress. / Then the Goddess, afflicted with grief upon seeing the boy, she of great vows, said: // 41

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"O king of crocodiles, creature of great might, this boy is an only son! / Release him quickly, O great-fanged one of terrible valor!" // 42

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The crocodile said:

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"Whoever, O Goddess, on the sixth or the first day comes to me, / he was ordained of old as my food by the creators of the world. // 43

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33 kṛtvaiva(vaṃ) - gha. . 34

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maprāptātma.. - gha, maprāpyātha? . 35... no - ka. . 36 śca jvālī. - gha. . 37 sroto - ka. . 38 ha - pha. . 39 ptathā? - gha. . 80... tmañca? - ka .

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This one, O fortunate one, daughter of the mountain king, on the sixth day / was surely sent by Brahmā; I will not release him by any means." // 44 // / The Goddess said:

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"By whatever supreme austerity was practiced by me on the peak of the Himālaya, / by that, release this child, O king of crocodiles! Homage to you!" // 45

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The crocodile said:

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"Do not waste your austerity, O Goddess, daughter of the mountain king! / Even the king of gods himself is not able to release him. // 46

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To me, pleased Īśa, Śarva, the fierce trident-bearer, / gave immortality, invulnerability, and imperishable strength, // 47

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as well as seizing and releasing by my own will, and imperishable knowledge besides. / Therefore I tell you: he will not attain release. // 48

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Or if, O fair-faced Goddess, you have great pity for the child, / do as I say; then he will obtain release." // 49

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The Goddess said:

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"O lord of crocodiles, speak quickly! Whatever is not blameworthy to the virtuous, / that is done, no doubt of this; brahmins are firmly revered by me." // 50

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The crocodile said:

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"Whatever austerity has been performed by you, even the least amount, / give all of that to me; then he will obtain release." // 51

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The Goddess said:

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"Whatever merit has been performed by me from birth onward, O great crocodile, / all that has been given by me to you; release the child before me!" // 52

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41 vihito - ka- gha. . 42 na mokṣyehaṃ - gha., . kṣe - ka. . 43 sattva - gha. . 44 cikīrṣīrvyarthameva hi - gha. . 45 sa - ka. . 46

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tvā - ka . 47 hatā... - gha . 48

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vadāmyā... - gha. . 49 mano me brāhmaṇe - gha. . .75

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0... lpamanantaśaḥ - gha. . 51 mayā kṛtam - gha. . 51

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Sanatkumāra said:

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Then the crocodile blazed, magnified by that austerity; / like the sun at midday, he then became difficult to look upon. // 53

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And joyful at heart, he spoke this to the Goddess, the supporter of the world: / "O Goddess of great vows, what is this you have done without deliberation? // 54

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For the acquisition of austerity is difficult; its abandonment is not praised. / Take back this austerity, and this boy as well, O lady of pure smile! // 55

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I am pleased by your devotion to brahmins; therefore I give you a boon." / But addressed thus by the crocodile, she of great vows said this: // 56

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"Having deliberated well, O great crocodile, the release of the boy was done. / No austerity is superior to brahmins; brahmins are held supreme by me. // 57

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And having given, I do not take back, O lord of crocodiles, as is known to you; / for no person, O crocodile, takes back what has been bestowed. // 58

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This has been given by me to you; I certainly will not take it back. / Let this delight in you alone, and let this boy be released!" // 59

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Addressed thus, praising her, releasing the boy and bowing to the Goddess / who had the genuine radiance of the sun, he vanished right there. // 60

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The boy too, released by the crocodile upon the bank of the lake, / like wealth gained in a dream, vanished right there. // 61 // / Considering the loss of her austerity, the Goddess, daughter of the mountain king, / taking up exertion, began once more to perform austerity. // 62

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Knowing her desirous of performing austerity again, Śaṃkara himself / spoke a word, O Vyāsa: "Do not perform austerity!" // 63

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52 anivāhya - gha.,.. .ntya - ka . 53 evainaṃ - gha. . 54.. .vṛte gha. . 55 viprabhaktyā varaṃ tasmād dadāmi suvrate tava - gha. . 56 suniścitya - . 57 haṃ nahi - gha. . 58... ni - ka., .. mīha - gha . 59 tvayaiva varamāhātmyaṃ - gha. . 60 prasanno - gha. . 61 tyaktvā - gha . 62... vajvālaṃ - gha . 63 bhūyo - gha. .

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64 ityume - gha. . 52

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"This austerity, O Goddess of great vows, was given by you to me; / therefore, it will become thousandfold and imperishable for you." // 64

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Having thus obtained the supreme boon of imperishable austerity, the Goddess, / the virtuous Satī, awaiting her svayaṃvara, remained filled with joy. // 65

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Whatever man reads this deed of Śambhu's childhood manifestation always, / he, having met the dissolution of his body, purified, will become his gaṇa, equal to Kumāra. // 66

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Thus ends the twelfth chapter in the Skandapurāṇa.

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Sanatkumāra said:

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On the vast back of the Himālaya, crowded with hundreds of aerial chariots, / the svayaṃvara of the Mountain's daughter took place in course of time.

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Then Himavān, king of mountains, skilled in meditation, / having learned through that counsel that his daughter was sought by the God of gods,

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though knowing [this], the great mountain, desiring to follow traditional custom, / proclaimed the svayaṃvara of the goddess throughout all the worlds:

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“So that before gods, dānavas, and siddhas who inhabit all worlds, / my daughter may choose the Supreme Lord,

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that will be a praiseworthy good deed, approved for my prosperity.” / Thinking thus, the lord of mountains, holding Maheśvara in his heart,

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making the place strewn with jewels, for the goddess, / throughout worlds reaching up to Brahmā, that best of mountain lords held the svayaṃvara.

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[Critical apparatus]

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Then, as soon as the svayaṃvara of the Mountain's daughter was thus proclaimed, O Vyāsa, / the gods and other inhabitants of the whole universe arrived, clad in divine attire. / Seated upon an expanded lotus seat, surrounded by siddhas and immeasurable yogins,

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solicited by that king of mountains, the Grandfather [Brahmā] arrived there.

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Bearing a thousand eyes, the king of gods, noble in appearance with divine gestures and garlands, / [mounted] Airāvata, foremost among all lordly elephants, who created a flowing stream of rut-juice;

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having mounted him, bearing his thunderbolt, that king of all immortals arrived before the gods. / Vivasvān, divine in form, supreme in fiery brilliance and majesty, illuminating all directions,

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having mounted a golden aerial chariot with fluttering banners, arrived swiftly with great speed. / Wearing brilliant ear-rings blazing with gems, upon an aerial chariot resembling the brilliance of fire and sun,

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the son of the sage Kaśyapa, the āditya bearing the name Bhaga, approached near, / his staff-like limbs plump, his movements graceful, endowed with power equal to his brilliance, strength, and command.

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Taking his staff, the End-Maker [Yama] arrived swiftly, mounted upon a dreadful buffalo, / his stout body resembling the height of a great mountain, his beautiful attire adorned with gold and other gems.

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Mounted upon an aerial chariot, the Wind, sustainer of the whole universe, indeed arrived, / scorching all the lords of gods and asuras, entering into brilliance as one possessing supreme brilliance.

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Fire, having arrived in the midst of the gods' lords, stood blazing, dressed in splendid garments, / his staff-like limbs flaming with various jewels; wandering the universe, mounting a supreme divine aerial chariot,

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that king of kings, the lord of all lords of wealth, arrived swiftly, / delighting all lords of gods and asuras with his radiance and dress, handsome in appearance. / Mounting an aerial chariot made diverse with blazing great gems, the Moon arrived,

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his staff-like limbs dark, his dress most variegated, bound with every fragrant wreath and garland.

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[Critical apparatus]

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Mounted upon Tārkṣya, who was like a mountain, that Bearer of the Mace [Viṣṇu] arrived swiftly. / Likewise the two Aśvins, those excellent physicians to the gods, mounting a single aerial chariot in haste, / handsome, dressed in brilliant, charming attire, those two heroes came to the assembly of gods. / Śeṣa, possessing the brilliance of a blazing sun, bearing a thousand hoods resembling flashing fire,

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit