The Greatness of Ayoniprabhava Tirtha

Verse 1 (skanda.5.281.1)

मार्कण्डेय उवाच। ततो गच्छेत्तु राजेन्द्र परं तीर्थमयोनिजम् । स्नातमात्रो नरस्तत्र न पश्येद्योनिसङ्कटम् ।

mārkaṇḍeya uvāca| tato gacchet tu rājendra paraṁ tīrtham ayonijam| snātamātro naras tatra na paśyed yonisaṅkaṭam||

Markandeya said: Thereafter, O king of kings, one should go to the supreme tirtha called Ayonija, not born from a womb. A man who has merely bathed there need not see the distress of the womb.

Verse 2 (skanda.5.281.2)

तत्र तीर्थे नरः स्नात्वा पूजयेद्देवमीश्वरम् । अयोनिजो महादेव यथा त्वं परमेश्वर ।

tatra tīrthe naraḥ snātvā pūjayed devam īśvaram| ayonijo mahādeva yathā tvaṁ parameśvara||

A man who bathes at that tirtha should worship lord Ishvara, saying: 'O Mahadeva, as you, Parameshvara, are unborn from a womb...'

Verse 3 (skanda.5.281.3)

तथा मोचय मां देव सम्भवाद्योनिसङ्कटात् । गन्धपुष्पादिधूपैश्च स मुच्येत्सर्वपातकैः ।

tathā mocaya māṁ deva sambhavād yonisaṅkaṭāt| gandhapuṣpādidhūpaiś ca sa mucyet sarvapātakaiḥ||

'...so, O god, free me from the distress of birth from the womb.' Through fragrances, flowers and incense he is freed from all sins.

Verse 4 (skanda.5.281.4)

तस्य देवस्य यो भक्त्या कुरुते लिङ्गपूरणम् । स वसेद्देवदेवस्य यावत्सिक्थस्य संख्यया ।

tasya devasya yo bhaktyā kurute liṅgapūraṇam| sa vased devadevasya yāvat sikthasya saṅkhyayā||

Whoever devotedly performs the anointing of that god's linga dwells with the god of gods for as many years as there are grains in the offering.

Verse 5 (skanda.5.281.5)

अयोनिजे महादेवं स्नापयेद्गन्धवारिणा । मधुक्षीरेण दध्ना वा स लभेद्विपुलां श्रियम् ।

ayonije mahādevaṁ snāpayed gandhavāriṇā| madhukṣīreṇa dadhnā vā sa labhed vipulāṁ śriyam||

At Ayonija, one who bathes Mahadeva with fragrant water, or with honey, milk, or curd, obtains abundant prosperity.

Verse 6 (skanda.5.281.6)

अष्टभ्यां च सिते पक्षे असितां वा चतुर्दशीम् । पूजयित्वा महादेवं प्रीणयेद्गीतवाद्यकैः ।

aṣṭabhyāṁ ca site pakṣe asitāṁ vā caturdaśīm| pūjayitvā mahādevaṁ prīṇayed gītavādyakaiḥ||

On the eighth day of the bright fortnight, or on the fourteenth of the dark fortnight, having worshipped Mahadeva, one should please him with song and music.

Verse 7 (skanda.5.281.7)

वसेत्स च शिवे लोके ये कुर्वन्ति मनोहरम् । ते वसन्ति शिवे लोके यावदाभूतसम्प्लवम् ।

vaset sa ca śive loke ye kurvanti manoharam| te vasanti śive loke yāvad ābhūtasamplavam||

He then dwells in the world of Shiva; those who perform such delightful worship dwell in the world of Shiva until the dissolution of all beings.

Verse 8 (skanda.5.281.8)

तस्य देवस्य भक्त्या तु यः करोति प्रदक्षिणाम् । विज्ञापयंश्च सततं मन्त्रेणानेन भारत ।

tasya devasya bhaktyā tu yaḥ karoti pradakṣiṇām| vijñāpayaṁś ca satataṁ mantreṇānena bhārata||

O Bharata, whoever devotedly circumambulates that god, constantly petitioning him with this mantra -

Verse 9 (skanda.5.281.9)

तस्य यत्फलमुद्दिष्टं पारम्पर्येण मानवैः । सकाशाद्देवदेवस्य तच्छृणुष्व समाधिना ।

tasya yat phalam uddiṣṭaṁ pāramparyeṇa mānavaiḥ| sakāśād devadevasya tac chṛṇuṣva samādhinā||

Hear with concentration what fruit for him has been declared, handed down by tradition among men, told in the presence of the god of gods.

Verse 10 (skanda.5.281.10)

अयोनिजो महादेव यथा त्वं परमेश्वर । तथा मोचय मां शर्व सम्भवाद्योनिसङ्कटात् ।

ayonijo mahādeva yathā tvaṁ parameśvara| tathā mocaya māṁ śarva sambhavād yonisaṅkaṭāt||

'O Mahadeva, as you, Parameshvara, are unborn from a womb, so, O Sharva, free me from the distress of birth from the womb.'

Verse 11 (skanda.5.281.11)

किं तस्य बहुभिर्मन्त्रैः कंठशोषणतत्परैः । येनौंनमः शिवायेति प्रोक्तं देवस्य संनिधौ ।

kiṁ tasya bahubhir mantraiḥ kaṇṭhaśoṣaṇatatparaiḥ| yenauṁ namaḥ śivāyeti proktaṁ devasya saṁnidhau||

What need has he of many mantras that merely parch the throat, by whom 'Om namaḥ Śivāya' has already been uttered in the presence of the god?

Verse 12 (skanda.5.281.12)

तेनाधीतं श्रुतं तेन तेन सर्वमनुष्ठितम् । येनौंनमः शिवायेति मन्त्राभ्यासः स्थिरीकृतः ।

tenādhītaṁ śrutaṁ tena tena sarvam anuṣṭhitam| yenauṁ namaḥ śivāyeti mantrābhyāsaḥ sthirīkṛtaḥ||

By him has study been done, by him has scripture been heard, by him has everything been accomplished, who has made firm the practice of the mantra 'Om namaḥ Śivāya'.

Verse 13 (skanda.5.281.13)

न तत्फलमवाप्नोति सर्वदेवेषु वै द्विजः । यत्फलं समवाप्नोति षडक्षर उदीरणात् ।

na tat phalam avāpnoti sarvadeveṣu vai dvijaḥ| yat phalaṁ samavāpnoti ṣaḍakṣara udīraṇāt||

A brahmin does not obtain, from worship of all the gods, the fruit that he obtains from the utterance of the six-syllabled mantra.

Verse 14 (skanda.5.281.14)

तत्र तीर्थे तु यः स्नात्वा पूजयेच्छिवयोगिनम् । द्विजानामयुतं साग्रं स लभेत्फलमुत्तमम् ।

tatra tīrthe tu yaḥ snātvā pūjayec chivayoginam| dvijānām ayutaṁ sāgraṁ sa labhet phalam uttamam||

Whoever bathes at that tirtha and worships Shiva the Yogin obtains the excellent fruit equal to that of feeding more than ten thousand brahmins.

Verse 15 (skanda.5.281.15)

अथवा भक्तियुक्तस्तु तेषां दान्ते जितेन्द्रिये । संस्कृत्य ददते भिक्षां फलं तस्य ततोऽधिकम् ।

athavā bhaktiyuktas tu teṣāṁ dānte jitendriye| saṁskṛtya dadate bhikṣāṁ phalaṁ tasya tato 'dhikam||

Or, one devoted, who with proper preparation gives alms to those self-controlled, sense-conquering ascetics, gains fruit even greater than that.

Verse 16 (skanda.5.281.16)

यतिहस्ते जलं दद्याद्भिक्षां दत्त्वा पुनर्जलम् । सा भिक्षा मेरुणा तुल्या तज्जलं सागरोपमम् ।

yatihaste jalaṁ dadyād bhikṣāṁ dattvā punar jalam| sā bhikṣā meruṇā tulyā taj jalaṁ sāgaropamam||

One should give water into the hand of an ascetic, and give alms, then water again; that alms-gift becomes equal to Mount Meru, and that water equal to the ocean.