The Glory of Kardamala (with the tale of the Varaha Avatara)

Verse 1 (skanda.7.353.1)

ईश्वर उवाच। ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि कर्दमालमनुत्तमम्। तीर्थं त्रैलोक्यविख्यातं सर्वपातकनाशनम्

īśvara uvāca| tato gacchenmahādevi kardamālam anuttamam| tīrthaṁ trailokyavikhyātaṁ sarvapātakanāśanam

Ishvara said: O Great Goddess, one should then go to the unrivalled Kardamala — a tirtha renowned throughout the three worlds, the destroyer of all sins.

Verse 2 (skanda.7.353.2)

तस्मिन्नेकार्णवे घोरे नष्टे स्थावरजंगमे। चन्द्रार्कतपने नष्टे ज्योतिषि प्रलयं गते

tasminnekārṇave ghore naṣṭe sthāvarajaṅgame| candrārkatapane naṣṭe jyotiṣi pralayaṁ gate

When, in that terrible single ocean, all that moves and moves not had perished; when moon, sun, and fire had perished, and the heavenly lights had gone to dissolution —

Verse 3 (skanda.7.353.3)

रसातलगतामुर्वीं दृष्ट्वा देवो जनार्दनः। वाराहं रूपमास्थाय दंष्ट्राग्रेण वरानने। उत्क्षिप्य धरणीं मूर्ध्ना स्वस्थाने संन्यवेशयत्

rasātalagatāmurvīṁ dṛṣṭvā devo janārdanaḥ| vārāhaṁ rūpamāsthāya daṁṣṭrāgreṇa varānane| utkṣipya dharaṇīṁ mūrdhnā svasthāne saṁnyaveśayat

Seeing the earth sunk into the netherworld, O fair-faced one, the god Janardana assumed the form of a boar and, lifting the earth on the tip of his tusk, set it back in its own place with his head.

Verse 4 (skanda.7.353.4)

उद्धृत्य भगवान्विष्णुर्वाक्यमेतदुवाच ह

uddhṛtya bhagavānviṣṇurvākyametaduvāca ha

Having lifted her up, the Lord Vishnu spoke these words.

Verse 5 (skanda.7.353.5)

अत्र स्थाने स्थितेनैव मया त्वं देवि चोद्धृता। ममात्र नियतं वासः सदैवायं भविष्यति

atra sthāne sthitenaiva mayā tvaṁ devi coddhṛtā| mamātra niyataṁ vāsaḥ sadaivāyaṁ bhaviṣyati

'Standing in this very place, O Goddess, I have lifted you up. My fixed abode here shall remain forever.'

Verse 6 (skanda.7.353.6)

ये पितॄंस्तर्पयिष्यंति कर्दमाले वरानने। आकल्पं तर्पितास्तेन भविष्यंति न संशयः

ye pitṝṁstarpayiṣyanti kardamāle varānane| ākalpaṁ tarpitāstena bhaviṣyanti na saṁśayaḥ

'Whoever shall offer libations to the ancestors at Kardamala, O fair-faced one — by that, they shall remain satisfied until the end of the kalpa, without doubt.'

Verse 7 (skanda.7.353.7)

तत्र श्राद्धं करिष्यंति शाकैर्मूलफलेन वा। भविष्यति कृतं श्राद्धं सर्वतीर्थेषु वै शुभे

tatra śrāddhaṁ kariṣyanti śākairmūlaphalena vā| bhaviṣyati kṛtaṁ śrāddhaṁ sarvatīrtheṣu vai śubhe

'Should they perform the shraddha there with vegetables, or with roots and fruits — O auspicious one, that shraddha shall equal one performed at all the sacred tirthas.'

Verse 8 (skanda.7.353.8)

अत्र तीर्थे नरः स्नात्वा यो मां पश्यति मानवः। अपि कीटपतंगा ये निधनं यांति मानवाः। ते मृतास्त्रिदिवं यान्ति सुकृतेन यथा द्विजाः

atra tīrthe naraḥ snātvā yo māṁ paśyati mānavaḥ| api kīṭapataṅgā ye nidhanaṁ yānti mānavāḥ| te mṛtāstridivaṁ yānti sukṛtena yathā dvijāḥ

'A man who bathes at this tirtha and beholds me — even the worms and insects that meet their death here, having died, go to heaven by that merit, just like twice-born men.'

Verse 9 (skanda.7.353.9)

ततो द्वीपेषु जायन्ते धनाढ्याश्चोत्तमे कुले। दंष्ट्राभेदेन यत्तोयं निर्गतं ते शरीरतः

tato dvīpeṣu jāyante dhanāḍhyāścottame kule| daṁṣṭrābhedena yattoyaṁ nirgataṁ te śarīrataḥ

'They are then born on continents, wealthy, in an excellent family — purified by that water which issued from their bodies through the piercing of the tusk.'

Verse 10 (skanda.7.353.10)

तत्र स्नात्वा नरो देवि तिर्यग्योनौ न जायते

tatra snātvā naro devi tiryagyonau na jāyate

'A man who bathes there, O Goddess, is not born into an animal womb.'

Verse 11 (skanda.7.353.11)

ईश्वर उवाच। शृणु देवि यथावृत्तमाश्चर्यं तत्र वै पुरा। मृगयूथं सुसन्त्रस्तं लुब्धकैः परिपीडितम्। प्रविष्टं कर्दमाले तु सद्यो मानुषतां गतम्

īśvara uvāca| śṛṇu devi yathāvṛttamāścaryaṁ tatra vai purā| mṛgayūthaṁ susantrastaṁ lubdhakaiḥ paripīḍitam| praviṣṭaṁ kardamāle tu sadyo mānuṣatāṁ gatam

Ishvara said: Hear, O Goddess, a wondrous thing that happened there of old, exactly as it occurred. A herd of deer, greatly terrified and harried by hunters, entered Kardamala and instantly attained human form.

Verse 12 (skanda.7.353.12)

अथ ते लुब्धका दृष्ट्वा विस्मयोत्फुल्ललोचनाः। अपृच्छंत च संभ्रातास्तान्मर्त्यान्वरवर्णिनि

atha te lubdhakā dṛṣṭvā vismayotphullalocanāḥ| apṛcchanta ca sambhrātāstānmartyānvaravarṇini

Then those hunters, seeing this, their eyes wide with astonishment, agitated, questioned those men, O fair one.

Verse 13 (skanda.7.353.13)

मृगयूथमनुप्राप्तं केन मार्गेण निर्गतम्। अथोचुस्ते वयं प्राप्ता मानुषं मृगरूपिणः

mṛgayūthamanuprāptaṁ kena mārgeṇa nirgatam| athocuste vayaṁ prāptā mānuṣaṁ mṛgarūpiṇaḥ

'By what path has the herd of deer we were tracking disappeared?' Then they replied: 'We, who bore the form of deer, have attained human form.'

Verse 14 (skanda.7.353.14)

एतत्तीर्थप्रभावोऽयं न विद्मो ह्यात्मकारणम्। ततस्ते लुब्धकास्त्यक्त्वा धनूंषि सशराणि च। तत्र स्नात्वा महाभागे मुक्ताश्च सर्वपातकैः

etattīrthaprabhāvo'yaṁ na vidmo hyātmakāraṇam| tataste lubdhakāstyaktvā dhanūṁṣi saśarāṇi ca| tatra snātvā mahābhāge muktāśca sarvapātakaiḥ

'This is the power of this tirtha; we ourselves do not know its cause.' Then those hunters, casting aside their bows together with their arrows, bathed there, O greatly blessed one, and were released from all sins.

Verse 15 (skanda.7.353.15)

पार्वत्युवाच। भगवन्विस्तरं ब्रूहि कर्दमालमहोदयम्। उत्पत्तिं च विधानं च क्षेत्रसीमादिकं क्रमात्

pārvatyuvāca| bhagavanvistaraṁ brūhi kardamālamahodayam| utpattiṁ ca vidhānaṁ ca kṣetrasīmādikaṁ kramāt

Parvati said: O Lord, tell me in detail of the great glory of Kardamala — its origin, its rite, and the boundary of the field and so forth, in due order.

Verse 16 (skanda.7.353.16)

ईश्वर उवाच। शृणु देवि रहस्यं तु कर्दमालसमुद्भवम्। गूढं ब्रह्मर्षिसर्वस्वं न देयं कस्यचित्त्वया

īśvara uvāca| śṛṇu devi rahasyaṁ tu kardamālasamudbhavam| gūḍhaṁ brahmarṣisarvasvaṁ na deyaṁ kasyacittvayā

Ishvara said: Hear, O Goddess, the secret of Kardamala's origin — it is a hidden treasure belonging wholly to the Brahmarshis; it should not be given by you to anyone.

Verse 17 (skanda.7.353.17)

पूर्वमेकार्णवे घोरे नष्टे स्थावरजंगमे। चन्द्रार्कपवने नष्टे ज्योतिषि प्रलयं गते

pūrvamekārṇave ghore naṣṭe sthāvarajaṅgame| candrārkapavane naṣṭe jyotiṣi pralayaṁ gate

Formerly, in that terrible single ocean, all that moves and moves not had perished; moon, sun, and wind had perished, and the heavenly lights had gone to dissolution.

Verse 18 (skanda.7.353.18)

एकार्णवं जगदिदं ब्रह्मापश्यदशेषतः। तस्मिन्वसुमती मग्ना पातालतलमागता

ekārṇavaṁ jagadidaṁ brahmāpaśyadaśeṣataḥ| tasminvasumatī magnā pātālatalamāgatā

Brahma beheld this entire world, in its totality, as a single ocean; in it the earth lay submerged, having sunk to the surface of the netherworld.

Verse 19 (skanda.7.353.19)

ततो यज्ञवराहोऽसौ कृत्वा यज्ञमयं वपुः। उद्दधार महीं कृत्स्नां दंष्ट्राग्रेण वरानने

tato yajñavarāho'sau kṛtvā yajñamayaṁ vapuḥ| uddadhāra mahīṁ kṛtsnāṁ daṁṣṭrāgreṇa varānane

Then the Sacrificial Boar (Yajna-Varaha), having assumed a body made of the sacrifice itself, lifted up the entire earth, O fair-faced one, on the tip of his tusk.

Verse 20 (skanda.7.353.20)

ईश्वर उवाच। वेदपादो यूपदंष्ट्रः क्रतुदंतःस्रुचीमुखः। अग्निजिह्वो दर्भरोमा ब्रह्मशीर्षा महातपाः

īśvara uvāca| vedapādo yūpadaṁṣṭraḥ kratudantaḥsrucīmukhaḥ| agnijihvo darbharomā brahmaśīrṣā mahātapāḥ

Ishvara said: His feet were the Vedas, his tusks the sacrificial post, his teeth the sacrificial rites, his mouth the ladle; his tongue was fire, his hairs the sacred kusha grass, his head was Brahma [the Veda] — he was of great austerity.

Verse 21 (skanda.7.353.21)

ईश्वर उवाच। अहोरात्रेक्षणपरो वेदांगश्रुतिभूषणः। आज्यनासः स्रुवतुण्डः सामघोषस्वनो महान्

īśvara uvāca| ahorātrekṣaṇaparo vedāṅgaśrutibhūṣaṇaḥ| ājyanāsaḥ sruvatuṇḍaḥ sāmaghoṣasvano mahān

Ishvara said: Ever watchful through day and night, adorned with the Vedangas and the Shruti (scripture); his nostrils were clarified butter, his snout the sacrificial ladle, his mighty roar the resonance of the Sama chant.

Verse 22 (skanda.7.353.22)

प्राग्वंशकायो द्युतिमान्मात्रादीक्षाभिरावृतः। दक्षिणा हृदयो योगी महासत्रमहो महान्

prāgvaṁśakāyo dyutimānmātrādīkṣābhirāvṛtaḥ| dakṣiṇā hṛdayo yogī mahāsatramaho mahān

His body had the form of the eastern sacrificial hall, radiant and clothed round with the rites of initiation; his heart was the sacrificial fee, he was a yogin — the great and wondrous embodiment of the Mahasattra (the great sacrificial session).

Verse 23 (skanda.7.353.23)

उपाकर्मोष्ठरुचकः प्रवर्ग्यावर्तभूषणः। नानाच्छन्दोगतिपथो ब्रह्मोक्तक्रमविक्रमः

upākarmoṣṭharucakaḥ pravargyāvartabhūṣaṇaḥ| nānācchandogatipatho brahmoktakramavikramaḥ

His lips bore the beauty of the upakarma (opening rite), adorned with the revolutions of the pravargya; his path lay through the various Vedic metres, his might was the order proclaimed by the Veda.

Verse 24 (skanda.7.353.24)

भूत्वा यज्ञवराहोऽसावुद्दधार महीं ततः। तस्योद्धृतवतः पृथ्वीं दंष्ट्राग्रं निर्गतं बहिः

bhūtvā yajñavarāho'sāvuddadhāra mahīṁ tataḥ| tasyoddhṛtavataḥ pṛthvīṁ daṁṣṭrāgraṁ nirgataṁ bahiḥ

Having thus become the Sacrificial Boar, he lifted up the earth. As he raised the earth, the tip of his tusk emerged outward.

Verse 25 (skanda.7.353.25)

तस्मिन्प्राभासिके क्षेत्रे कर्द्दमेन विलेपितम्। तद्दंष्ट्राग्रं यतो देवि कर्द्दमालं ततः स्मृतम्

tasminprābhāsike kṣetre karddamena vilepitam| taddaṁṣṭrāgraṁ yato devi karddamālaṁ tataḥ smṛtam

In that Prabhasa field, that tip of the tusk became smeared with mud (kardama). Since then, O Goddess, it is remembered by the name Kardamala.

Verse 26 (skanda.7.353.26)

दण्डोद्भेदं महाकुण्डं यत्र दंष्ट्रा सुसंस्थिता। तद्दंष्ट्रयोद्धृतं तोयं कोटिगंगाभिषेकवत्

daṇḍodbhedaṁ mahākuṇḍaṁ yatra daṁṣṭrā susaṁsthitā| taddaṁṣṭrayoddhṛtaṁ toyaṁ koṭigaṅgābhiṣekavat

There is the great tank named Dandodbheda, where that tusk stands firmly established; the water drawn forth by that tusk equals a crore of Ganga ablutions.

Verse 27 (skanda.7.353.27)

तत्र गव्यूतिमात्रं तु विष्णुक्षेत्रं सनातनम्। देशांतरं गता ये च दण्डोद्भेदे म्रियंति वै। यावत्कल्पसहस्राणि विष्णुलोकं व्रजंति ते

tatra gavyūtimātraṁ tu viṣṇukṣetraṁ sanātanam| deśāntaraṁ gatā ye ca daṇḍodbhede mriyanti vai| yāvatkalpasahasrāṇi viṣṇulokaṁ vrajanti te

There, an area of one gavyuti's extent [about two miles] is the eternal field of Vishnu. Whoever, though having gone to another land, dies at Dandodbheda — they go to the world of Vishnu for a thousand kalpas.

Verse 28 (skanda.7.353.28)

यस्तु पश्येन्महादेवि कर्दमाले तु सूकरम्। कोटिहिंसायुतो वापि स प्राप्स्यति परां गतिम्

yastu paśyenmahādevi kardamāle tu sūkaram| koṭihiṁsāyuto vāpi sa prāpsyati parāṁ gatim

O Great Goddess, whoever beholds the Boar at Kardamala — even one burdened with a crore acts of violence — shall attain the supreme state.

Verse 29 (skanda.7.353.29)

दशजन्मकृतं पापं नश्येत्तद्दर्शनात्प्रिये। जन्मान्तरसहस्रेषु यत्कृतं पापसंचयम्

daśajanmakṛtaṁ pāpaṁ naśyettaddarśanātpriye| janmāntarasahasreṣu yatkṛtaṁ pāpasaṁcayam

The sin committed over ten births is destroyed by that sight, O beloved; whatever accumulation of sin has been committed across thousands of other births —

Verse 30 (skanda.7.353.30)

कर्दमाले तु वाराहं दृष्ट्वा तन्नाशमेष्यति। हेमकोटिसहस्राणि गवां कोटिशतानि च

kardamāle tu varāhaṁ dṛṣṭvā tannāśameṣyati| hemakoṭisahasrāṇi gavāṁ koṭiśatāni ca

— having beheld the Boar at Kardamala, that shall be destroyed. The merit gained by giving thousands of crores of gold and hundreds of crores of cows —

Verse 31 (skanda.7.353.31)

दत्त्वा यल्लभते पुण्यं सकृद्वाराहदर्शनात्। कलौ युगे महारौद्रे प्राणिनां च भयावहे। नान्यत्र जायते मुक्तिर्मुक्त्वा क्षेत्रं तु सौकरम्

dattvā yallabhate puṇyaṁ sakṛdvārāhadarśanāt| kalau yuge mahāraudre prāṇināṁ ca bhayāvahe| nānyatra jāyate muktirmuktvā kṣetraṁ tu saukaram

The merit gained by such giving is obtained by a single sight of the Boar. In this terrible Kali age, fearsome to living beings, liberation is not attained anywhere else except by resort to the field of the Boar (Saukara-kshetra).

Verse 32 (skanda.7.353.32)

एतत्सारतरं देवि प्रोक्तमुद्देशतस्तव। कर्द्दमालस्य माहात्म्यं सर्वपातकनाशनम्

etatsārataraṁ devi proktamuddeśatastava| karddamālasya māhātmyaṁ sarvapātakanāśanam

This, O Goddess, has been told to you in brief, its very essence — the glory of Kardamala, the destroyer of all sins.