Skandapurana 8

English (machine translation) 8

Language: English

8.9 — 1,854 parts

8.1

7.1 In the Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, the Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya

8.2

7.2 In the Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, the Vastrāpathakṣetramāhātmya

8.3

7.3 In the Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, the Arbudakhaṇḍa

8.4

7.4 In the Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, the Dvārakāmāhātmyam

8.6

Single file source of the Prabhāsakhaṇḍa

8.9.p4

Then, at a certain time, O dear one, the two divine Aśvins / saw that Sukanyā, who had performed her ablutions and was unclothed. 1

8.9.p5

Seeing her of handsome limbs, like the daughter of the king of gods, / the two Nāsatya-Aśvins then ran toward her and said: 2

8.9.p6

"Whose [daughter] are you, O fair-thighed one? What do you wish to do in this forest? / We two wish to know you; tell us the truth, O fair lady!" 3

8.9.p7

Then Sukanyā, having covered herself, said to those two best of gods: / "Know me to be the daughter of Śaryāti and the wife of Cyavana." 4

8.9.p8

Then the two Aśvins laughed and spoke to her yet again: / "How is it that, having understood, you were given away by your father and came into the forest? 5

8.9.p9

You shine in the region of the sky like a flash of lightning; / indeed, we see no one equal to you even among the gods, O radiant woman! 6"

8.9.p10

"Endowed with all ornaments, wearing splendid garments, / do not [act] thus, O faultless-limbed woman! Abandon this senseless one! / 7

8.9.p11

Why, being such a woman, do you serve on earth / one worn out by old age, O auspicious one, devoid of erotic passion, / 8

8.9.p12

incapable of protection or nourishment, O sweet-smiling one? / Therefore, leaving Cyavana aside, choose one of us two! / 9

8.9.p13

Do not waste your youth for the sake of a husband, O woman shining like a divine child!" / Thus addressed, that Sukanyā said this to the two gods: / 10

8.9.p14

"I am devoted to my husband Cyavana; do not doubt thus!" / The two spoke to her again: "We both are the best physicians of the gods. / 11

8.9.p16

We will make your husband young and endowed with beauty. / Then choose one of him and us two as your husband. / 12

8.9.p17

On this condition bring calm to us two, O slender-waisted lady!" / At their words, O goddess, she approached the descendant of Bhṛgu,

8.9.p18

and spoke to the son of Bhṛgu the words that were spoken by the two. / 13

8.9.p19

Cyavana said that statement to his wife: "Let it be respected!" / Thus addressed by Cyavana, Sukanyā then indeed said to the two: / 14

8.9.p20

"O gods, what has been spoken by you two, let that be done quickly!" / Addressed thus there by that Sukanyā, the two physicians

8.9.p21

spoke to that princess: "Let your husband enter the waters!" / 15

8.9.p22

Then Cyavana quickly entered the water, desirous of beauty; / the Aśvins also, O goddess, then entered the water. / 16

8.9.p23

Then, after a moment, they all emerged from that lake, / all bearing divine forms, youthful, wearing polished earrings, / 17

8.9.p24

and wearing divine attire, increasing the delight of the mind. / They all together said: "Choose any one of us, O auspicious one! / 18

8.9.p25

You are desired by us, O blessed one, since you are a fair-complexioned woman; / or whomever you desire, choose him, O very beautiful lady!" / 19

8.9.p26

Having observed all of them standing with identical forms, / and having resolved in her mind by her intellect, O goddess, she chose her own husband. / 20

8.9.p27

Having obtained his wife and established in youth and beauty, / Cyavana of great splendour, delighted, spoke this word to the two Nāsatyas: / 21

8.9.p28

"Since, though old, I have been made endowed with beauty and youth by you two, / and have regained my own wife,

8.9.p29

therefore speak: I shall accomplish whatever is desired by you two." / 22

8.9.p31

"We two are physicians of the gods, and Indra does not make us / worthy of drinking soma. Therefore make us two soma-drinkers." / 23

8.9.p33

"I will make you two worthy of a sacrificial share, drinkers of soma." / 24

8.9.p35

Then, with delighted minds, the two Nāsatyas went to heaven. / Cyavana and Sukanyā also sported like two gods. / 25

Thus ends the two hundred and eighty-first chapter, entitled 'The Description of the Greatness of Cyavaneśvara,' in the first [part], the Greatness of the Sacred Field of Prabhāsa, in the seventh section, the Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, a collection of eighty-one thousand [verses].

8.9.p37

Īśvara said:

8.9.p38

Then, having heard—Śaryāti, stationed in the Valabhī region, / having heard that Cyavana was endowed with youth, his mind overwhelmed with joy, / 1

8.9.p39

greatly delighted, went with his army to the hermitage of the descendant of Bhṛgu; / and [he saw] Cyavana and Sukanyā, delighted like a daughter of the gods. / 2

8.9.p40

King Śaryāti, a great ocean of complete bliss, having arrived, / that ruler of the earth, along with his wife, was honoured by the seer.

8.9.p41

Seated there, the noble-minded one engaged in auspicious conversations. / 3

8.9.p42

Then the descendant of Bhṛgu, O goddess, spoke to him consolingly: / "O king, I will officiate at a sacrifice for you; prepare the materials!" / 4

8.9.p43

Then, extremely delighted, king Śaryāti, the ruler of the earth, / worshipped that word of Cyavana, O great goddess. / 5

8.9.p44

On an auspicious day fit for sacrifice, full of abundance of all desires, / Śaryāti caused an excellent sacrificial hall to be built. / 6

8.9.p45

There indeed, O goddess, Cyavana, the descendant of Bhṛgu, officiated at the sacrifice; / and wonders occurred there, whatever they were, O great goddess. / 7

8.9.p46

167a

8.9.p47

Then Cyavana took the soma for the two divine Aśvins. / Indra stopped him: "Do not take the libation-cup for the two!" / 8

8.9.p48

Indra said:

8.9.p49

"These two Nāsatyas are not worthy of soma—such is my opinion. / For they are physicians of the gods, condemned because of that profession." / 9

8.9.p50

Cyavana said:

8.9.p51

"Do not despise the two great-souled ones, endowed with beauty, wealth, and splendour, / who today made me ageless like a god! / 10

8.9.p52

Why do you not look upon them as equal to the other gods? / Know the two Aśvins also to be gods, O lord of the gods, O scorcher of foes!" / 11

8.9.p53

Indra said:

8.9.12

"Healers, manual labourers, able to assume any form at will, / wandering in the world of mortals—how are they worthy of soma here?" / 12

8.9.12_54

8.9.12_55

Īśvara said:

8.9.13

When Indra repeated this very same statement, / disregarding Indra, the descendant of Bhṛgu took the libation-cup. / 13

8.9.13_56

8.9.13_57

Seeing that best of beings then about to take the soma for the Aśvins, / the god Indra, slayer of Bala, said this word: / 14

8.9.13_58

"If you yourself will take the soma for the sake of these two, / I will strike you with the thunderbolt, terrible and unsurpassed." / 15

8.9.13_59

Being thus addressed, that descendant of Bhṛgu, looking directly at Indra, / took the excellent soma libation-cup for the two Aśvins according to rule. / 16

8.9.13_60

Then in anger Indra, lord of Śacī, hurled his thunderbolt at him; / as he was hurling it, the descendant of Bhṛgu paralysed his arm. / 17

8.9.13_61

Having paralysed it, Cyavana of great splendour then offered into the fire with mantras, / seeking to create an evil spirit, intent on destroying the god. / 18

8.9.13_62

Then from the power of that sage's austerity in the sacrifice, a spirit arose, / a great Asura named Mada, of mighty valour and gigantic body, / 19

8.9.13_63

whose body could not be described by gods or Asuras; / no equal to the measure of his body exists here. / 20

8.9.13_64

And his mouth was terrible, dreadful to behold with tusks, and huge: / one jaw rested on the earth, and one reached the sky. / 21

8.9.13_65

And his four curved tusks measured a hundred yojanas each; / but his other teeth were ten yojanas long.

8.9.23

Resembling ramparts in appearance, look identical from root to tip, / like mountains by repute, and ten thousand yojanas [in extent].

8.9.23_66

8.9.23_67

His two eyes resembled the sun and moon; his eyebrows resembled the god of death; / he repeatedly licked his mouth with a tongue fluttering like lightning,

8.9.23_68

mouth agape, terrible in gaze, as though forcefully swallowing the world.

8.9.23_69

Intending to devour him, enraged, he rushed against Śatakratu, / covering the worlds with his sound through a terrible roar.

8.9.23_70

Thus ends the two hundred and eighty-second chapter, titled 'The Account of the Creation of the Great Asura Named Mada through Kṛtyā for the Destruction of Śakra Ready to Hurl the Thunderbolt Obstructing the Sacrificial Share of the Nāsatyas by Cyavana,' in the Cyavaneśvara-māhātmya, in the first Prabhāsa-kṣetra-māhātmya, in the seventh Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, in the Skandapurāṇa containing eighty-one thousand verses.

8.9.23_71

Īśvara said:

8.9.23_72

Seeing that terrible-faced Mada, the god Śatakratu, / [seeing him] coming, about to devour him, with mouth agape like Antaka,

8.9.23_73

paralysed in form with fear, repeatedly licking his lips, / bowed down, O great goddess, and afflicted with terror, said to Cyavana:

8.9.23_74

'From this day forward, O descendant of Bhṛgu, these two Aśvins shall be worthy of soma; / all this will come to pass; I tell you true words.

8.9.23_75

[167b]

8.9.23_76

Let your undertaking not be in vain, O rich in austerity; / and I know, O brahmin-seer, that you will not act in vain.

8.9.23_77

Just as these two Aśvins have today been made worthy of soma by you, / so indeed may your prowess be revealed yet further, O descendant of Bhṛgu,

8.9.23_78

and may there be fame in the world for the father of Sukanyā. / Therefore, this revelation of your prowess was brought about by me.

8.9.23_79

Therefore, show me grace; let this be as you desire.'

8.9.23_80

When addressed thus by Śakra, the wrath of high-souled Cyavana / quickly subsided, as did the pride of the lord of the gods.

8.9.23_81

And the mighty [Cyavana], O goddess, divided Mada, who was previously created, again and again / into drink, women, dice, and hunting.

8.9.23_82

Having thus distributed Mada and satisfied Śakra with soma,

8.9.23_83

and having caused that king to sacrifice together with all accompanied by the two Aśvins, / having proclaimed his power in all worlds, O lady of fair complexion,

8.9.23_84

he sported with Sukanyā in this sacred field in the great forest. / Linked with him, O goddess, bearing the name Cyavaneśvara,

8.9.23_85

is the liṅga installed by Cyavana, which removes great sins. / Whoever worships it according to rule obtains the fruit of an Aśvamedha.

8.9.23_86

Therefore seers wait upon Candramasastīrtha, / seers named Vaikhānasa and likewise Vālakhilyas.

8.9.23_87

A man who performs a śrāddha here according to rule, particularly on the full moon in the month of Āśvina, / and feeds brahmins separately,

8.9.23_88

shall obtain the fruit of ten million tīrthas; of this there is no doubt.

8.9.23_89

A person who listens to this story which destroys sins, O goddess, / will be liberated from sin generated in all births.

8.9.23_90

Thus ends the two hundred and eighty-third chapter, titled 'Description of the Glory of Cyavaneśvara,' in the first Prabhāsa-kṣetra-māhātmya, in the seventh Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, in the Skandapurāṇa containing eighty-one thousand verses.

8.9.23_91

Īśvara said:

8.9.23_92

Then, O great goddess, one should go to the excellent pool of Sukanyā, / where the two Aśvins submerged themselves along with Cyavana, O Ambikā,

8.9.23_93

where Cyavana became equal in form to the Aśvins.

8.9.23_94

Where Sukanyā of fair complexion obtained her desire / through the power of bathing in the pool; hence it is called Kanyāsaras.

8.9.23_95

An auspicious woman who bathes there, especially on the third lunar day,

8.9.23_96

shall not suffer the ruin of her household for seven thousand births, / nor will her husband become poor, deformed, miserable, or blind.

8.9.23_97

Thus ends the two hundred and eighty-fourth chapter, titled 'Description of the Glory of Sukanyāsaras,' in the Cyavaneśvara-māhātmya, in the first Prabhāsa-kṣetra-māhātmya, in the seventh Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, in the Skandapurāṇa containing eighty-one thousand verses.

8.9.23_98

Īśvara said:

8.9.23_99

Then, O great goddess, one should go again to the Nyaṅkumatī river; / having performed the Gayā-śrāddha there at the excellent Goṣpada tīrtha,

8.9.23_100

one should then view Varāha, and from there go to the abode of Hari. / Having worshipped the Mothers there and bathed at the confluence with the ocean,

8.9.23_101

where the Nyaṅkumatī meets the sea, one should then proceed towards the east / to the divine hermitage of Agastya, known as that which removes hunger,

8.9.23_102

where the venerable sage, having slain Ilvala and Vātāpi, / and having freed the brahmins from dangers, then gave them that place.

8.9.23_103

[168a]

8.9.23_104

This is indeed the hermitage of Agastya, beloved of Agasti and most excellent, / on the delightful bank of the Nyaṅkumatī, destroying all sins.

8.9.23_105

The goddess said:

8.9.23_106

Why was Vātāpi destroyed here by Agastya? / What was the power of that Daitya who was the destroyer of brahmins here?

8.9.23_107

And for what reason did the anger of high-souled Agasti arise?

8.9.23_108

Īśvara said:

8.9.23_109

Formerly, in the city of Maṇimatī, O lady of fair complexion, there was a lord of Daityas named Ilvala, / and Vātāpi was his younger brother.

8.9.23_110

That son of Diti said to a brahmin endowed with austerity: / 'O venerable one, grant me a son equal to Indra.'

8.9.23_111

When that brahmin did not wish to give such a son to him, / the son of Diti became intensely angry with that brahmin.

8.9.23_112

Having arrived at Prabhāsa-kṣetra, that evil-minded Daitya— / and Vātāpi took the form of a ram, capable of assuming any form at will in an instant—

8.9.23_113

wishing to kill brahmins there, he would cook [him] and feed them; / and then he would summon by speech the one who had met destruction.

8.9.23_114

Assuming his body again, he would appear alive. / Then Vātāpi, having turned himself into a well-cooked goat,

8.9.23_115

after feeding the brahmin, [Ilvala] would summon him again.

8.9.23_116

Tearing open the side of that great-souled brahmin, / laughing aloud, Vātāpi came forth there from the twice-born's belly.

8.9.23_117

Thus feeding the brahmins again and again, O goddess, / and bursting open their bellies, he would slay many twice-borns.

8.9.23_118

Then indeed, terrified with fear, all the brahmins fled. / They went to the hermitage of Agastya and spoke before [him]:

8.9.23_119

“O lord, hear our words, bringing terror to us! / We have all been invited, O master, by Ilvala.

8.9.23_120

That meal is the form of death for us; there is no doubt. / Therefore protect us, O lord, whose minds are dejected and despairing!”

8.9.23_121

Then having arrived at Prabhāsa, where those two foremost daityas were, / killers of brahmins and delighting in sin, that great sage beheld them.

8.9.23_122

Having seen that great asura Vātāpi prepared in the form of a ram, / he said: “Give me food; hunger has come upon me.”

8.9.23_123

Being thus spoken to, the two then bid welcome to the sage there: / “O lord, I shall give you food in great abundance.

8.9.23_124

Of what measure is your food? So much measure shall I cook.”

8.9.23_125

Agastya said:

8.9.23_126

“Cook the food, O king of daityas; there will be some satisfaction.” / Saying “So be it,” the king of daityas said it was cooked, O great sage.

8.9.23_127

“Let this seat be taken; eat according to your wish, O sage!” / Being thus spoken to, muttering the Aghora mantra that brings about the end of an aeon,

8.9.23_128

and then taking a prominent seat, the great sage sat down.

8.9.23_129

Ilvala, the king of daityas, served him as if laughing. / He made a heap of food a hundred cubits in measure.

8.9.23_130

Then, delighted in mind, Agastya swallowed two mouthfuls, / having assumed a vast form just as in the drying up of the ocean.

8.9.23_131

Then he consumed the whole of that food, [namely] Vātāpi. / When he had eaten, the asura Ilvala called out to him.

8.9.23_132

Then he who had given the food to the great-souled Agastya— / he reduced to ashes all that food together with the dānava.

8.9.23_133

With a fist of wrath, the great sage reduced Ilvala to ashes. / Then, raising a cry of lamentation, all the daityas perished.

8.9.23_134

[Folio] 168b

8.9.23_135

Then Agastya of great splendor summoned the foremost of the twice-born / and gave them that place, filled with the wealth of the daityas.

8.9.23_136

Because the hunger of Agastya was removed there by the dānavas, O goddess, / therefore there arose the place of the twice-born named Kṣudhāhara.

8.9.23_137

On the western side of it, situated not very far away, / is that known as Gaṅgeśvara, which was established by Gaṅgā. / Formerly, at the eating of Vātāpi, by the great-souled Agastya, / for the purification of all sin born of consuming the daitya,

8.9.23_138

Gaṅgā, the destroyer of sin, was summoned, O great goddess.

8.9.23_139

Then, O goddess, Gaṅgā, the destroyer of sin, arrived. / She effected the purification of that ṛṣi and remained standing in that place,

8.9.23_140

in the charming hermitage of Agastya, which removes the fear of sin for men. / Having seen Gaṅgeśvara there, from the sin arising from eating the uneatable

8.9.23_141

one is freed through ritual ablution, giving of gifts, muttering of mantras, and the like; there is no doubt in this.

8.9.23_142

Thus ends the two hundred and eighty-fifth chapter, titled “Description of the Māhātmya of Agastya's Hermitage and Gaṅgeśvara,” in the Māhātmya of Nyaṅkumatī, in the first [part], the Māhātmya of the Prabhāsakṣetra, in the seventh [book], the Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skandapurāṇa, the collection of eighty-one thousand [verses].

8.9.23_143

Īśvara said:

8.9.23_144

Then one should go, O great goddess, to Bālārka, which destroys sins, / not very far to the north from the hermitage of Agastya, O goddess,

8.9.23_145

where the sun, while still a boy, formerly performed austerity, O dear one; / therefore this name “Bālārka” became famous on the earth.

8.9.23_146

Beholding him on a Sunday, a man does not become afflicted with leprosy; / the suffering born of disease among children shall never occur.

8.9.23_147

Thus ends the two hundred and eighty-sixth chapter, titled “Description of the Māhātmya of Bālārka,” in the first [part], the Māhātmya of the Prabhāsakṣetra, in the seventh [book], the Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skandapurāṇa, the collection of eighty-one thousand [verses].

8.9.23_148

Īśvara said:

8.9.23_149

Then one should go, O great goddess, to auspicious Ajāpāleśvarī, / situated not very far to the east of the site of Agastya.

8.9.23_150

Ajāpāla, the best of kings, was born in the lineage of Raghu; / he, having worshipped the goddess there, who subjugates sins and diseases,

8.9.23_152

the king indeed grazed the diseases that had assumed the form of goats. / There he installed that destroyer of sin under his own name.

8.9.23_153

A man who worships her with devotion according to the rite on the third lunar day / shall attain strength, intellect, fame, learning, and good fortune.

8.9.23_154

Thus ends the two hundred and eighty-seventh chapter, titled “Description of the Māhātmya of Ajāpāleśvarī,” in the first [part], the Māhātmya of the Prabhāsakṣetra, in the seventh [book], the Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skandapurāṇa, the collection of eighty-one thousand [verses].

8.9.23_155

Īśvara said:

8.9.23_156

Then one should go, O great goddess, to that known as Bālāditya, / two gavyūtis to the east of the site of Agastya.

8.9.23_157

To the south of that place named Sapāṭikā is situated, / at a distance of a single gavyūti, O ruler of the gods, the one well known as Bālārka,

8.9.23_158

where learning was worshipped by the wise Viśvāmitra; / having set up a triad of liṅgas and having likewise installed the sun,

8.9.23_159

he performed the accomplishment of the lore and attained perfection from the sun. / Therefore that lord attained renown as “Bālāditya” from that time on.

8.9.23_160

[Folio] 169a

8.9.23_161

Beholding him, O goddess, the sun that steals away sins, / a man does not suffer poverty as long as he lives.

8.9.23_162

Thus ends the two hundred and eighty-eighth chapter, titled “Description of the Māhātmya of Bālārka,” in the first [part], the Māhātmya of the Prabhāsakṣetra, in the seventh [book], the Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skandapurāṇa, the collection of eighty-one thousand [verses].

8.9.23_163

Īśvara said:

8.9.23_164

To the south of that very place, O goddess, just a gavyūti away from it, / the Gaṅgā flowing to Pātāla is situated, destroying sins.

8.9.23_165

And it was invoked by Viśvāmitra for bathing, O lady of fair complexion! / Having bathed there, O great goddess, one is freed from all sins. // 2

8.9.23_166

Seeing Gaṅgeśvara there, and likewise Viśvāmitreśvara, / and beholding Bāleśvara, one obtains all desires. // 3

8.9.23_167

Thus ends the two hundred and eighty-ninth chapter, entitled "Description of the Greatness of the Three Liṅgas Named Pātālagaṅgeśvara, Viśvāmitreśvara, and Bāleśvara" in the Greatness of Bālārka in the Greatness of Prabhāsakṣetra, the first [part] in the Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, the seventh [book] in the Śrī Skanda Mahāpurāṇa of eighty-one thousand verses. // 289

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit

Skandapurana 8

Contents