तस्मान् मातृकृतं सर्वं मम हास्यास्पदं त्व् इति लज्जया परया युक्तो गौतमीम् अगमत् तदा
Therefore, all this, caused by my mother, is now a source of ridicule for me; filled with great shame, he then went to Gautamī.
इयं च मातृरूपा मे शृणोतु मम भाषितम् इतः स्त्रीनामधेयं यन् मम मातृसमं मतम्
And this, in the form of my mother—let her hear my words: from now on, any woman named after my mother shall be regarded as equal to her by me.
एवं ज्ञात्वा लोकनाथः पार्वत्या सह शंकरः पुत्रं निवारयाम् आस वृत्तम् इत्य् अब्रवीद् गुरुः
Knowing thus, the lord of the world, Śaṅkara, together with Pārvatī, restrained his son and said, 'This conduct must cease,' so spoke the teacher.
ततः सुरपतिः प्रीतः किं ददामीति चिन्तयन् कृताञ्जलिपुटः स्कन्दः पितरं पुनर् अब्रवीत्
Then the lord of the gods, pleased, wondered, 'What shall I give?' With hands joined in reverence, Skanda again spoke to his father.
सेनापतिः सुरपतिस् तव पुत्रो ऽहम् इत्य् अपि अलम् एतेन देवेश किं वरैः सुरपूजित
I am already the commander of the gods, O lord of gods, and your son; enough of this, O revered one—what use have I for boons, worshipped by the gods?
अथवा दातुकामो ऽसि लोकानां हितकाम्यया याचे ऽहं नात्मना देव तद् अनुज्ञातुम् अर्हसि
But if you wish to give, desiring the welfare of the worlds, I ask not for myself, O god—may you grant this.
महापातकिनः केचिद् गुरुदाराभिगामिनः अत्राप्लवनमात्रेण धौतपापा भवन्तु ते
Let those who have committed great sins, who have approached their teacher’s wife, by merely bathing here, become cleansed of their sins.
आप्नुवन्तूत्तमां जातिं तिर्यञ्चो ऽपि सुरेश्वर कुरूपो रूपसंपत्तिम् अत्र स्नानाद् अवाप्नुयात्
Let even animals, O lord of gods, attain the highest birth; let the deformed gain beauty by bathing here.
एवम् अस्त्व् इति तं शंभुः प्रत्यनन्दत् सुतेरितम् ततः प्रभृति तत् तीर्थं कार्त्तिकेयम् इति श्रुतम् तत्र स्नानं च दानं च सर्वक्रतुफलप्रदम्
So be it, said Śambhu, delighted with his son’s words; from that time, that sacred place became known as Kārttikeya’s. Bathing and giving there bestow the fruit of all sacrifices.
यत् ख्यातं कृत्तिकातीर्थं कार्त्तिकेयाद् अनन्तरम् तस्य श्रवणमात्रेण सोमपानफलं लभेत्
That which is known as Kṛttikā’s holy place, after Kārttikeya—by merely hearing of it, one obtains the fruit of drinking soma.
पुरा तारकनाशाय भवरेतो ऽपिबत् कविः रेतोगर्भं कविं दृष्ट्वा ऋषिपत्न्यो ऽस्पृहन् मुने
Long ago, for the destruction of Tāraka, the sage drank Śiva's seed; seeing the embryo formed from that seed, the wives of the sages desired the sage.
सप्तर्षीणाम् ऋतुस्नातां वर्जयित्वा त्व् अरुन्धतीम् तासु गर्भः समभवत् षट्सु स्त्रीषु तदाग्नितः
Except for Arundhatī, among the wives of the seven sages who had completed their monthly purification, a pregnancy arose in six women from that fire-born seed.
तप्यमानास् तु शोभिष्ठा ऋतुस्नातास् तु ता मुने किं कुर्मः क्व नु गच्छामः किं कृत्वा सुकृतं भवेत्
Those radiant women, purified by their monthly rites, said to each other, 'What shall we do? Where shall we go? By doing what will we attain merit?'
इत्य् उक्त्वा ता मिथो गङ्गां व्यग्रा गत्वा व्यपीडयन् ताभ्यस् ते निःसृता गर्भाः फेनरूपास् तदाम्भसि
Having spoken thus among themselves, they hurried to the Gaṅgā and, distressed, released their embryos, which took the form of foam in that water.
अम्भसा त्व् एकतां प्राप्ता वायुना सर्व एव हि एकरूपस् तदा ताभ्यः षण्मुखः समजायत
All those embryos, merging together in the water and united by the wind, became one form; from them, Ṣaṇmukha was born.
स्रावयित्वा तु तान् गर्भान् ऋषिपत्न्यो गृहान् ययुः तासां विकृतरूपाणि दृष्ट्वा ते ऋषयो ऽब्रुवन्
After discharging those embryos, the wives of the sages returned to their homes; seeing their altered forms, the sages said,
गम्यतां गम्यतां शीघ्रं स्वैरी वृत्तिर् न युज्यते स्त्रीणाम् इति ततो वत्स निरस्ताः पतिभिस् तु ताः
'Go, go quickly! Independent conduct is not proper for women.' Thus, O child, those women were cast out by their husbands.
ततो दुःखं समाविष्टास् त्यक्ताः स्वपतिभिश् च षट् ता दृष्ट्वा नारदः प्राह कार्त्तिकेयो हरोद्भवः
Then, overwhelmed by sorrow, abandoned by their husbands, those six women were seen by Nārada, who said, 'Kārttikeya is born from Hara.'
गाङ्गेयो ऽग्निभवश् चेति विख्यातस् तारकान्तकः तं यान्तु न चिराद् एव प्रीतो भोगं प्रदास्यति
'He is known as the son of Gaṅgā and as fire-born, the slayer of Tāraka. Go to him without delay; pleased, he will grant you enjoyment.'
देवर्षेर् वचनाद् एव समभ्येत्य च षण्मुखम् कृत्तिकाः स्वयम् एवैतद् यथावृत्तं न्यवेदयत्
At the words of the divine sage, the Kṛttikās approached Ṣaṇmukha and themselves reported all that had happened.
ताभ्यो वाक्यं कृत्तिकाभ्यः कार्त्तिकेयो ऽनुमन्य च गौतमीं यान्तु सर्वाश् च स्नात्वापूज्य महेश्वरम्
Kārttikeya, consenting to the words of the Kṛttikās, said, 'Let all of you go to the Gautamī, bathe, and worship Maheśvara.'
एष्यामि चाहं तत्रैव यास्यामि सुरमन्दिरम् तथेत्य् उक्त्वा कृत्तिकाश् च स्नात्वा गङ्गां च गौतमीम्
'I too will come there and then go to the abode of the gods.' So saying, the Kṛttikās bathed in the Gaṅgā and the Gautamī.
देवेश्वरं च संपूज्य कार्त्तिकेयानुशासनात् देवेश्वरप्रसादेन प्रययुः सुरमन्दिरम्
Having worshipped the Lord of the gods, at Kārttikeya's instruction and by the grace of the Lord of the gods, they proceeded to the abode of the gods.
ततः प्रभृति तत् तीर्थं कृत्तिकातीर्थम् उच्यते कार्त्तिक्यां कृत्तिकायोगे तत्र यः स्नानम् आचरेत्
From that time, that sacred place is called Kṛttikā-tīrtha; whoever bathes there at the conjunction of Kārttikā and Kṛttikā—
सर्वक्रतुफलं प्राप्य राजा भवति धार्मिकः तत्तीर्थस्मरणं वापि यः करोति शृणोति च सर्वपापविनिर्मुक्तो दीर्घम् आयुर् अवाप्नुयात्
Obtains the fruit of all sacrifices and becomes a righteous king; even by remembering or hearing of that tīrtha, one is freed from all sins and attains long life.
दशाश्वमेधिकं तीर्थं तच् छृणुष्व महामुने यस्य श्रवणमात्रेण हयमेधफलं लभेत्
Now hear of the Daśāśvamedhika tīrtha, O great sage, by merely hearing of which one obtains the fruit of a horse sacrifice.
विश्वकर्मसुतः श्रीमान् विश्वरूपो महाबलः तस्यापि प्रथमः पुत्रस् तत्पुत्रो भौवनो विभुः
Viśvarūpa, the illustrious and mighty son of Viśvakarman, was his first son; his son was the powerful Bhauvana.
पुरोधाः कश्यपस् तस्य सर्वज्ञानविशारदः तम् अपृच्छन् महाबाहुर् भौवनः सार्वभौवनः
Kaśyapa, skilled in all knowledge, was his priest; Bhauvana, the mighty sovereign, questioned him.
यक्ष्ये ऽहं हयमेधैश् च युगपद् दशभिर् मुने इत्य् अपृच्छद् गुरुं विप्रं क्व यक्ष्यामि सुरान् इति
Desiring to perform ten horse sacrifices at once, O sage, he asked his revered teacher, the learned Brahmin, 'Where shall I offer sacrifice to the gods?'
सो ऽवदद् देवयजनं तत्र तत्र नृपोत्तम यत्र यत्र द्विजश्रेष्ठाः प्रावर्तन्त महाक्रतून्
He replied, 'O best of kings, establish the sacrificial ground wherever the foremost Brahmins have commenced great rituals.'