The Greatness of Vishvamitreshvara

Verse 1 (skanda.6.44.1)

मेनकोवाच॥ नूनं हि कामधर्मे त्वं न प्रवीणो महाद्युते॥ तेन मामीदृशैर्वाक्यैर्निवारयसि रागिणीम्

menakovāca nūnaṁ hi kāmadharme tvaṁ na pravīṇo mahādyute tena māmīdṛśairvākyairnivārayasi rāgiṇīm

Menaka said: "O radiant one, surely you are inexperienced in the ways of love; that is why you turn me away, filled as I am with passion, with such words."

Verse 2 (skanda.6.44.2)

सूत उवाच॥ एवमुक्तस्ततो भूयो विश्वामित्रोऽब्रवीदिदम्॥ कोपेन महता युक्तो निःस्पृहस्तत्परिग्रहे

sūta uvāca evamuktastato bhūyo viśvāmitro'bravīdidam kopena mahatā yukto niḥspṛhastatparigrahe

Suta said: "Thus addressed, Vishvamitra spoke again, filled now with great anger, and utterly without desire to accept her."

Verse 3 (skanda.6.44.3)

विश्वामित्र उवाच॥ त्वं जीव गच्छ वा मृत्युं नाहं कर्तास्मि ते वचः॥ व्रतनाशात्तु यत्पापमधिकं स्त्रीवधाद्भवेत्

viśvāmitra uvāca tvaṁ jīva gaccha vā mṛtyuṁ nāhaṁ kartāsmi te vacaḥ vratanāśāttu yatpāpamadhikaṁ strīvadhādbhavet

Vishvamitra said: "Whether you live or go to your death, I will not do as you say; for the sin that comes from the ruin of a vow is greater even than that of killing a woman."

Verse 4 (skanda.6.44.4)

प्रायश्चित्तं बुधैरुक्तं व्रतिनां स्त्रीवधे कृते॥ न संगात्तु पुनस्तासां तस्मात्त्वं गन्तुमर्हसि

prāyaścittaṁ budhairuktaṁ vratināṁ strīvadhe kṛte na saṁgāttu punastāsāṁ tasmāttvaṁ gantumarhasi

"The wise have even prescribed a penance for a votary who, by accident, causes a woman's death -- but for the ruin caused by union with them there is none; therefore it is proper that you now depart."

Verse 5 (skanda.6.44.5)

न केवलं व्रतोपेताः स्त्रीसंगात्पापमाप्नुयुः॥ व्रतबाह्या अपि नराः सक्ताः स्त्रीषु पतंत्यधः

na kevalaṁ vratopetāḥ strīsaṁgātpāpamāpnuyuḥ vratabāhyā api narāḥ saktāḥ strīṣu pataṁtyadhaḥ

"Not only those who keep vows incur sin through union with women -- even men outside all vows, if attached to women, fall down into ruin."

Verse 6 (skanda.6.44.6)

संसारभ्रमणं नारी प्रथमेपि समागमे॥ वह्निप्रदक्षिणा व्याजन्यायेनैव प्रदर्शयेत्

saṁsārabhramaṇaṁ nārī prathamepi samāgame vahnipradakṣiṇā vyājanyāyenaiva pradarśayet

"Even at the very first meeting, a woman, under the pretext of a fire-circling ceremony as it were, sets a man on the path of wandering through the round of birth and death."

Verse 7 (skanda.6.44.7)

तस्मात्स्त्रीभिः समं प्राज्ञः संभाषामपि वर्जयेत्॥ आस्तां तावत्समासंगं य इच्छेच्छ्रेय आत्मनः

tasmātstrībhiḥ samaṁ prājñaḥ saṁbhāṣāmapi varjayet āstāṁ tāvatsamāsaṁgaṁ ya icchecchreya ātmanaḥ

"Therefore the wise man who desires his own welfare should avoid even conversation with women -- let alone any union with them at all."

Verse 8 (skanda.6.44.8)

अंगार सदृशा नारी घृतकुंभसमः पुमान्॥ अस्पर्शाद्दृढतामेति तत्संपर्काद्विलीयते

aṁgāra sadṛśā nārī ghṛtakuṁbhasamaḥ pumān asparśāddṛḍhatāmeti tatsaṁparkādvilīyate

"A woman is like a live coal, and a man like a pot filled with ghee -- without contact it remains firm, but through contact with her it melts away."

Verse 9 (skanda.6.44.9)

स्त्रियो मूलमनर्थानां सर्वेषां प्राणिनां भुवि॥ तस्मात्त्याज्या सुदूरेण ताः स्वर्गस्य निरोधकाः

striyo mūlamanarthānāṁ sarveṣāṁ prāṇināṁ bhuvi tasmāttyājyā sudūreṇa tāḥ svargasya nirodhakāḥ

"Women are the root of every misfortune for all living beings on earth; therefore they should be shunned from a great distance, for they are obstacles to heaven."

Verse 10 (skanda.6.44.10)

कुलीना वित्तवत्यश्च नाथवत्योऽपि योषितः॥ एकस्मिन्नंतरे रागं कुर्वंत्येताः सुचञ्चलाः

kulīnā vittavatyaśca nāthavatyo'pi yoṣitaḥ ekasminnaṁtare rāgaṁ kurvaṁtyetāḥ sucañcalāḥ

"Even women of good family, of wealth, and with husbands to protect them, are exceedingly fickle -- in a single unguarded moment they conceive passion for another."

Verse 11 (skanda.6.44.11)

न स्त्रीभ्यः किंचिदन्यद्धि पापाय विद्यते भुवि॥ यासां संगसमासाद्य संसारे भ्रमते जनः॥ नीचोऽपि कुरुते सेवां यस्तासां विजनेष्वथ॥ विरूपं वापि नीचं वा तं सेवन्ते हि ताः स्त्रियः

na strībhyaḥ kiṁcidanyaddhi pāpāya vidyate bhuvi yāsāṁ saṁgasamāsādya saṁsāre bhramate janaḥ nīco'pi kurute sevāṁ yastāsāṁ vijaneṣvatha virūpaṁ vāpi nīcaṁ vā taṁ sevante hi tāḥ striyaḥ

"There is nothing else on earth so conducive to sin as women, through whose company a man wanders on and on in the round of existence. Whoever serves them in private -- however base, however unattractive, however low -- those women will attach themselves to him in turn."

Verse 12 (skanda.6.44.12)

अनर्थत्वान्मनुष्याणां भयात्परिजनस्य च॥ मर्यादायाममर्यादाः स्त्रियस्तिष्ठन्ति भर्तृषु

anarthatvānmanuṣyāṇāṁ bhayātparijanasya ca maryādāyāmamaryādāḥ striyastiṣṭhanti bhartṛṣu

"Only from fear of harm to their men, and fear of their own kinfolk, do women -- who are by nature without any true restraint -- remain, outwardly, within the bounds of restraint toward their husbands."

Verse 13 (skanda.6.44.13)

सूत उवाच॥ एवं संभर्त्सिता तेन मेनका कोपसंयुता॥ शशाप तं मुनिश्रेष्ठं स्फुरमाणोष्ठसंपुटा

sūta uvāca evaṁ saṁbhartsitā tena menakā kopasaṁyutā śaśāpa taṁ muniśreṣṭhaṁ sphuramāṇoṣṭhasaṁpuṭā

Suta said: "Thus rebuked by him, Menaka, filled with fury, her lips trembling, pronounced a curse upon that best of sages."

Verse 14 (skanda.6.44.14)

यस्मात्त्वया परित्यक्ता सकामाहं सुदुर्मते॥ त्यजता कामजं धर्मं तस्माच्छापं गृहाण मे

yasmāttvayā parityaktā sakāmāhaṁ sudurmate tyajatā kāmajaṁ dharmaṁ tasmācchāpaṁ gṛhāṇa me

"Since you, O evil-minded one, rejecting the duty born of love, have cast me aside though I am consumed with longing, receive now this curse of mine."

Verse 15 (skanda.6.44.15)

अद्यैव भव दुबुर्द्धे वलीपलितसंयुतः॥ जराजर्ज्जरितांगश्च तुच्छदृष्टिर्विरंगितः

adyaiva bhava duburddhe valīpalitasaṁyutaḥ jarājarjjaritāṁgaśca tucchadṛṣṭirviraṁgitaḥ

"This very instant, O evil-minded one, become covered with wrinkles and gray hair, your body shattered by old age, your sight dim, your radiance gone."

Verse 16 (skanda.6.44.16)

सूत उवाच॥ उक्तमात्रे तु वचने तत्क्षणान्मुनिसत्तमः॥ बभूव तादृशः सद्यस्तया यादृक्प्रकीर्तितः

sūta uvāca uktamātre tu vacane tatkṣaṇānmunisattamaḥ babhūva tādṛśaḥ sadyastayā yādṛkprakīrtitaḥ

Suta said: "The very moment these words were spoken, that great sage instantly became just as she had declared."

Verse 17 (skanda.6.44.17)

ततः कोपपरीतात्मा सोऽपि तां शप्तुमुद्यतः॥ कमण्डलोर्जलं गृह्य संतापाद्रक्तलोचनः

tataḥ kopaparītātmā so'pi tāṁ śaptumudyataḥ kamaṇḍalorjalaṁ gṛhya saṁtāpādraktalocanaḥ

Then he too, his mind overtaken with anger, made ready to curse her in turn, his eyes red with the heat of his fury, taking up water from his water-pot.

Verse 18 (skanda.6.44.18)

निर्दोषोऽपि त्वया यस्माच्छप्तोऽहं गणिकाधमे॥ तस्माद्भव त्वमप्याशु जराजर्जरितांगिका

nirdoṣo'pi tvayā yasmācchapto'haṁ gaṇikādhame tasmādbhava tvamapyāśu jarājarjaritāṁgikā

"Since you have cursed me though I was without fault, O basest of courtesans, may you too instantly become one whose limbs are shattered by old age."

Verse 19 (skanda.6.44.19)

सापि तद्वचनात्सद्यस्तादृग्रूपा व्यजायत॥ यादृशोऽसौ मुनिश्रेष्ठो वलीपलितगात्रभृत्

sāpi tadvacanātsadyastādṛgrūpā vyajāyata yādṛśo'sau muniśreṣṭho valīpalitagātrabhṛt

By his words she too instantly took on that same form -- wrinkled and gray-haired of limb, just as that great sage himself had become.

Verse 20 (skanda.6.44.20)

अथ तादृक्स्वरूपेण स्नाता तत्र जला शये॥ भूयोऽपि तादृशी जाता यादृशी संस्थिता पुरा

atha tādṛksvarūpeṇa snātā tatra jalā śaye bhūyo'pi tādṛśī jātā yādṛśī saṁsthitā purā

Then, bathing in that same aged form in that lake, she once again became just as she had been before.

Verse 21 (skanda.6.44.21)

तद्दृष्ट्वा परमाश्चर्यमतीव त्वरयान्वितः॥ सोऽपि तत्राकरोत्स्नानं संजातश्च यथा पुरा

taddṛṣṭvā paramāścaryamatīva tvarayānvitaḥ so'pi tatrākarotsnānaṁ saṁjātaśca yathā purā

Seeing this supreme wonder, he too, in great haste, bathed there as well, and became again just as he had been before.

Verse 22 (skanda.6.44.22)

ततस्तौ तीर्थमाहात्म्याद्रूपौदार्यगुणान्वितौ॥ मिथ आमंत्र्य संहृष्टौ गतौ देशं यथेप्सितम्

tatastau tīrthamāhātmyādrūpaudāryaguṇānvitau mitha āmaṁtrya saṁhṛṣṭau gatau deśaṁ yathepsitam

Then, endowed once more, through the greatness of that tirtha, with beauty, nobility, and virtue, the two of them, taking leave of one another, went joyfully, each to the land they desired.

Verse 23 (skanda.6.44.23)

एवं तीर्थस्य माहात्म्यं विज्ञाय भगवानृषिः॥ लिंगं संस्थापयामास देवदेवस्य शूलिनः

evaṁ tīrthasya māhātmyaṁ vijñāya bhagavānṛṣiḥ liṁgaṁ saṁsthāpayāmāsa devadevasya śūlinaḥ

Thus, having come to know the greatness of that tirtha, the blessed sage established there a Linga of the God of gods, the wielder of the trident.

Verse 24 (skanda.6.44.24)

तपश्चकार सुमहत्तस्मिंस्तीर्थवरे तदा॥ कुशस्तम्बेन कृतवांस्तत्सरो विपुलं विभुः

tapaścakāra sumahattasmiṁstīrthavare tadā kuśastambena kṛtavāṁstatsaro vipulaṁ vibhuḥ

There, at that supreme tirtha, he then performed great austerities; and that mighty one shaped that vast lake with nothing more than a tuft of kusha grass.

Verse 25 (skanda.6.44.25)

तत्र स्नात्वा नरो यस्तु पूजयेल्लिंगमुत्तमम्॥ विश्वामित्रेश्वरं ख्यातं स गच्छेच्छिवमंदिरम्

tatra snātvā naro yastu pūjayelliṁgamuttamam viśvāmitreśvaraṁ khyātaṁ sa gacchecchivamaṁdiram

Whoever bathes there and worships that supreme Linga, renowned as Vishvamitreshvara, attains the abode of Shiva.

Verse 26 (skanda.6.44.26)

अद्यापि दृश्यते तत्र गंगोदकसमं जलम्॥ सर्वपापहरं पुण्यं सर्वकामप्रदायकम्

adyāpi dṛśyate tatra gaṁgodakasamaṁ jalam sarvapāpaharaṁ puṇyaṁ sarvakāmapradāyakam

Even today water like that of the Ganga is to be seen there, holy, removing all sins, and granting every desire.

Verse 27 (skanda.6.44.27)

यस्तत्र कुरुते स्नानं श्रद्धापूतेन चेतसा॥ स देवलोकमासाद्य पितृभिः सह मोदते

yastatra kurute snānaṁ śraddhāpūtena cetasā sa devalokamāsādya pitṛbhiḥ saha modate

Whoever bathes there with a mind made pure by faith attains the world of the gods and rejoices there in the company of the ancestors.

Verse 28 (skanda.6.44.28)

ततःप्रभृति तत्तीर्थं ख्यातिं प्राप्तं महीतले॥ पाताले स्वर्गलोके च रूपौदार्यप्रदं नृणाम्

tataḥprabhṛti tattīrthaṁ khyātiṁ prāptaṁ mahītale pātāle svargaloke ca rūpaudāryapradaṁ nṛṇām

From that time on, that tirtha attained renown upon the earth, and became, in the netherworld and in heaven alike, a bestower of beauty and nobility upon men.

Verse 29 (skanda.6.44.29)

एतद्वः सर्वमाख्यातं यत्पृष्टोऽस्मि द्विजोत्तमाः॥ विश्वामित्रेश माहात्म्यं सर्वपातकनाशनम्

etadvaḥ sarvamākhyātaṁ yatpṛṣṭo'smi dvijottamāḥ viśvāmitreśa māhātmyaṁ sarvapātakanāśanam

O best of brahmins, I have related to you all that you asked of me -- this greatness of Vishvamitresha, the destroyer of every sin.