sarbani sarkar

Om Namo Bhagavate Väsudeväya 

Skanda Puräëam

Viñëukhaëòa

 Purushottama-Mahätmyaà

Chapter 1

 Once, the sages gathered around maharshi Jaimini and addressed him, “ O great one! You have the knowledge of the entire shastras and you know the greatness of all the pilgrimages. Earlier you had mentioned the name of the most sacred and great pilgrimage called Purushottama kshetra (region), where paramapuruça Çré-Iça Lord Näräyaëa Himself has assumed the form of a wooden body by emerging from a glow of light. Such is the greatness of the place that anyone having a glimpse of the lord is liberated instantaneously. Please describe to us in detail as to who constructed this great kshetra and how it came into being. Tell us, how is it possible for Näräyaëa to exist in a wooden form ”. Jaimini replied, that he had heard the details of this kshetra from Kartikeya, when he had narrated it atop Mandar Parvat (mountain) in a gathering of gods and learned men.  Those who hear this narration are freed from the evils of tamo guna but those who are not inclined towards Viñëu, will remain indifferent upon hearing such descriptions. Jagannath, who is the cause of all creation and destroyer of sins, exists in many pilgrimages, but this kshetra is the most superior, as the Lord Himself exists here in His own body. The great God Himself assumed a wooden form and established himself in this temple. Those who visit the place have their sins destroyed and those who view the Lord are fortunate beyond description.

This miraculous region extends for 10 yojanas, stretching from the sea to the sands; amidst which is located, the immense blue mountain, ennobling and beautifying the place. Viewed from afar, it appears as if it is a breast of this earth.  During pralaya, when Viñëu in the form of Varaha rescued the world from obliteration, Brahma decorated the resurrected earth by surrounding it with mountains and beautifying it, and divided it by creating regions and pilgrimages; but the labour of creation burdened him. He worried as to how he could relieve himself from this enormous task and at the same time was concerned how the reborn souls would obtain liberation or moksha.  Desirous of a solution, he worshipped Viñëu: “ O Shankha-Chakra-Gadadhari (the one who holds the shankha, chakra and gada), you are the world and I am the creator; despite it, I was born in your naval-lotus. I salute you. O Soul of the World, I know you as the Paramätma.  It is your illusionary power, which created this eternal, immense universe.  The shabda brahma, divided in three as Om Tat Sat, emerged from the inhalation and exhalation of your breath. Taking shelter in this Om Tat Sat, I created this world. You are undifferentiated from that, which is gross, and that which is fine; that which is long and that which is short. The way gold transforms into alloys when contaminated, similarly, you have assumed the form of this huge universe in the various forms of the three gunas, satva, rajas and tamas. O Lord of the Universe, you are the creator as well as the created, you are the protector and the protected, you are the form as well as the beholder and the beheld. All living beings perform their actions, good and bad, under your control and as directed by you, and reap the fruits of these actions. O Great Lord, you are the way (gati) for the world, you are the protector, and you are the witness. O Merciful One, you are the guru of this universe and its seed. O Jagannath, I am eternally at your mercy, please be happy with me.”

 Jaimini told the sages, that Viñëu then appeared before Brahma, blue as a water-filled cloud, marked by the shankha, chakra and gada, His face aglow like a lotus and astride Garuòa.  Viñëu told Brahma that since the Eternal was now bound to mayä and karma, birth and death were unavoidable. As Brahma’s desire to know was deep, Viñëu told him how to escape this cycle and remain unborn and undying. He said that in this universe, both He and Brahma were undifferentiated; what Brahma desired, so did Viñëu. 

Viñëu said, “The country, which is located north of the seacoast and south of the Mahänadi river, will yield the fruits of all the pilgrimages of this world. The residents of this place are blessed with good thoughts and intelligence and are enjoying the fruits of their good work from past births.  Those who have not done at least a little good karma and is not devoted to Me cannot be born in this land. The region extending between the one-mango garden (Ekämrakänan) Bhubaneshwar and the coasts of the southern sea is even more sacred than the region mentioned earlier. The blue mountain that is situated on the seacoast is the most secretive spot on earth and is even beyond your reach. It is unknown to the gods and demons and shrouded by an illusion. When I leave everybody around me, discarding even the company of the gods and the enmity of the demons, I assume a body and dwell permanently in this Purusùottama kshetra. This region lies beyond the cycle of creation and destruction. O Pitämaha, if you go there you will get a vision of me similar to the one you are beholding now, marked with the cakras etc. In the middle of the blue mountain, there is an akshay vata, in the northeast of which is a tank called Rouhin.  Those who bathe in this tank and view me on its banks with their naked eyes will be purified having washed off their sins and blessed by my presence. O Brahma, please travel to this region. Upon seeing me there, meditate upon my form and you will be stunned by the magnitude of this region’s majesty. I created an illusion by which the knowledge of this region remained hidden and beyond the grasp of the srutis, smritis, history and puräëas. As I am pleased with your invocation, the secret of this place will be revealed to all. Spending a day and a night in this place yields the combined fruits of performing vratas (fasts), tirthas (pilgrimages), yajnas (sacrifices) and danas (charity). Spending even a moment in this area, the fruits of the asvamedha yajna are received”. So speaking, Viñëu departed.

Chapter 2

Jaimini said, Brahma, following Viñëu, then proceeded to the region thus described, and saw the same sankha-cakra-gada holding Lord Näräyaëa, who had appeared before him earlier. Flooded with pleasure, Brahma started singing His eulogy, when a thirsty crow appeared. The crow took a dip in the water of the Rouhin and threw itself repeatedly on the ground in front of Lord Viñëu. Soon the soul of the crow left its bird body and assuming the form of a sankha-cakra-gada holding idol, took its place on Viñëu’s side. Brahma, the sages and the ascetics present marveled at the crow’s divine form and thought that in this manner gradually, the entire creation would dissolve and be reduced to the One. Even in the vedänta, there are doubts regarding the concept of man’s liberation from this birth, but nothing is beyond the understanding of the devotees of Viñëu, who hail from this region.

Brahma, thus viewing the Absolute, and engulfed in a wave of ecstasy, received the strangest and most rare knowledge. He witnessed in person all that he had heard from the Lord on previous occasions. If repeating His name destroys all sins, then seeing Him in person with one’s naked eyes, will surely grant liberation. Those who die meditating upon Viñëu, are liberated, then it is not surprising that seeing Him directly will lead to moksha (liberation).  The glory of this region called Purushottama is exceedingly strange and marvelous, a place where even birds and crows get a sight of Viñëu. This region is that rare place where even unrealized souls get liberation, let alone those who are tranquil, unattached and knowledgeable.

The sages wanted to know what Brahma did upon seeing Nélamädhava and the event of the crow’s liberation.  Jaimini continued, that while Brahma was meditating on Mädhava on witnessing these strange events, Yama, agitated and in fear of loosing his authority, appeared on the scene panting heavily. He gazed upon Mädhava in the blue mountain and prostrating himself before the Lord, started singing His praises with the intention of firmly consolidating his position:

nmSte devdevez s&iòiSwTyNtkar[, Tviy àaetmIdm! sv¡ suÇe mi[g[a ywa.

Tvya x&t< Tvya s&ò< Tvya cPyaiyt< jgt!, cNÔsUyaRidêpe[ inTy< Éasyseiol<.

ivñeñr< jgTyaein< ivñavas< jgTgué<, ivñsai][ma*aNtbi¾Rt< à[maMyh<.

nm> prmkaé{y-jlsMÉutisNxve, praprpratItivÉve ivñsMÉve.

ÉbsNtapnIharÉanve idnbNxve, Svmayarictaze;-ivze;gu[r¾ve.

nm> kmlikNjLk-pIt-inmRlvasse, mhahv-irpuSkNx-"&òc³ay ci³[e.

d<ò+aex&ti]itÉUte ÇiymUitRmte nm>, nmae y}vrahay cNÔsUyaRi¶c]u;e.

n&is<hay mhad<ò+mUitRÔaivtzÇve, ydpaÁgivlasEk-s&iòiSwTyupsiMÿte.

%½avcaTmkae ýe; Év sMÉvte mu÷>, tmmu< nIlme"aÉ< nIlaZmmi[iv¢h<.

nIlaclguhabas< à[maim k«painix<, zŒc³gdapÒxair[< zuÉkair[<.

à[taze;papaE"-dair[< murvEir[<, nmSte kmlapa¼-inTysMSkairc]u;e.

ïIvTskaEStÉaeÑais mnae|gS)…qbúse, yTpadp»jÖNd-sMöyEíyRÉaignI.

ïI svRsiMïtanekp&wgEíRyRdaiynI, ya prapr siMÉÚa àk«itSte iss&]y.

inibRkarm! pr< äü ivkar<s&jcc sa, jglúm[s<pU[a¡ lúmIta< zuÉlúm[E.

lúmIzaeris inTySwa< lúmI— ta< ànmaMyh<.

 “O Lord of All Gods,  you are  the cause of creation, sustenance and destruction. The way jewels are strung in a string of necklace, in a similar manner you string the universe together. You are holding, creating and uniting this world. O Lord, you are illuminating this world as the sun and the moon. You are the lord of the universe, the fount of its life, its ultimate home ,the guru of this world, its only witness and beyond its beginning and end; I salute you. You are an ocean of ultimate mercy. You are the supreme, the ultimate, above whom there is nothing; and you are beyond this too.  You are like the sun which removes the darkness of the night which arises from the suffering of this existence. You are the friend of the poor and the weak. You are a self-created wondrous and special form of  a rope. I salute that great lord who is draped in a cloth which is yellow like the pollen of the lotus flower, who carries a cakra, which breaks the shoulders of the enemies in great wars, who rescues the world with his teeth and protects it, who assumes the form of the Rig, Yajur and Sama vedas, who is the form of the yagnavaraha and whose eyes are the sun, moon and fire. I salute the One who is the Nrisimha avatar, whose terrible teeth tear apart the enemies, and in whose glance, this existence in its cycle of creation-sustenance-destruction is created and re-created constantly—the Lord Murabairi, blue as a cloud, glowing like a blue jewel, residing in a cave in Nélächala, an abode of mercy, sankha-cakra-gada-padma holder  and the destroyer of accumulated sins of those who bow before him.

I worship Her whose eyes are beautiful like the lotus, in whose chest is the Kaustubh jewel marked by the Srivatsya, whose lotus feet gives shelter and wealth to millions of people, whose creative force brings into existence the purusha and the prakriti-the prakriti which gives form to the non-form Brahman, who is marked by the signs of goodness and well-being, and who sits in the heart of Narayan, I salute that Lakshmi.”

 Jaimini said, Lord Srikanta, pleased at Dharmaraj’ s worship, signalled to the veena holding Lakshmi by his side.  Lakshmi told Yama, that this rare and precious region, Purushottama, was lorded by none, not even Brahma and was Viñëu and Lakshmi’s domain. The Divine Couple would never leave this place, not even when the kalpa ended. At the end of the kalpa, Brahma would establish them. The sins of the evil souls get burned in an instant upon entering this place, the way cotton wool dissolves in fire. Gazing upon Lord Näräyana, the sinned souls are released instantaneously from the bondage of their karma. “You, Yama, have no hold over them here; so search for other places where you can lord over those who have sinned. Those who live here, will never fall under your sway”.

 Yama departed, he requested Goddess Lakshmi to divulge the secrets of this place, the various pilgrimages, the presiding deity and the fruits of living here. “Why is it”, Yama queried, “that Visnu creates bondages in other places but grants liberation only in this area”?

Chapter Three

     Märkandeya Khät

Lakshmi narrated the story of rishi Märkandeya, who at the end of the pralaya, was alive for seven kalpas, but could not find peace of mind or an appropriate dwelling place. Wandering through the waters of pralaya, he landed up at Purushottama kshetra. This kshetra does not erode in water, nor burns in the fire of käla, nor dries or is perturbed. In the midst of the great upheaval of pralaya, it remains like a lifeboat. Märkandeya saw a big Vata tree, which was in reality the body of Narayan, and heard a child’s voice repeatedly asking him to approach it. During mahäpralaya, not even a leaf on this tree twitches. Märkandeya approached this great tree and upon doing so, viewed Lord Näräyana and Devi Lakshmi. He fell upon the Lord’s feet and singing his praise and forgiveness, sought his protection and shelter.

On top of the canopy of leaves of this Vata tree, lay a child. Lord Näräyana told Märkandeya that this child represented the Kälätma, and if the rishi entered his mouth he would get a shelter to reside.

                                                                                                                       To be continued