अकार्यं कारितो येन बलादहमनिंदिते
By whom I was compelled to do this improper act, O blameless one.
महाकालवने पुण्ये लिंगं रूपप्रदायकम्
In the sacred Mahakala forest is a linga that bestows beauty.
तत्त्वं गच्छ त्वरा युक्ता सह भर्त्रा नृपेण हि
Go there quickly, together with your husband, the king.
इत्युक्ता सा तदा कन्या सह भर्त्रा गता प्रिये
Thus addressed, that maiden then went with her husband, dear one.
ददर्श परया भक्त्या स च राजा नरोत्तमः दिव्यवस्त्रपरीधाना दिव्यालंकारभूषिता ।। 5.2.62.
And that best of kings saw her, adorned with divine garments and ornaments, with supreme devotion.
स च राजा तथा जातः कंदर्पसदृशाकृतिः
And that king became one whose form was like that of Kama, the god of love.
अतो लोकेषु विख्यातो देवो रूपेश्वरः प्रिये
Therefore, beloved, in the worlds the god known as Rūpeśvara is renowned.
स च राजा स्वकं प्राप्तो राष्ट्रं सस्यादिसंयुतम्
And that king regained his own kingdom, abundant with crops and the like.
राज्यं कृत्वा गतः स्वर्गं भार्यया सह पार्वति
Having ruled the kingdom, he went to heaven together with his wife, O Pārvatī.
विमानेन सुदीप्तेन वंद्यमानो दिवालये
Honored in the celestial abode, he departed in a splendid, radiant chariot.
ये पश्यंति विशालाक्षि देवं रूपेश्वरं शिवम्
Those who see the god Rūpeśvara Śiva, O wide-eyed one,
सदा रूपकरं लिंगं भुक्तिमुक्तिफलप्रदम्
The liṅga that always manifests forms, bestowing the fruits of enjoyment and liberation,
येऽर्चयंति नरा नित्यं देवं रूपेश्वरं परम्
Those men who worship daily the supreme god Rūpeśvara,
स एव सुकृती लोके कुलं तेनाप्यलंकृतम्
He alone is virtuous in the world, and his lineage is adorned by him.
यः पूजयति देवेशं प्रसंगादपि पार्वति 5.2.62.
Whoever worships the Lord of gods, even incidentally, O Pārvatī,
एष ते कथितो देवि प्रभावः पापनाशनः ।। रूपेश्वरस्य देवस्य धनुःसाहस्रकं ७ब्
This, O goddess, I have told you—the power of the god Rūpeśvara, destroyer of sins, equal to a thousand bows.
इति श्रीस्कांदे महापुराण एकाशीति साहस्र्यां संहितायां पंचम आवन्त्यखण्डे चतुरशीतिलिंगमाहात्म्ये रूपेश्वरमाहात्म्यवर्णनंनाम द्विषष्टितमोऽध्यायः
Thus ends the sixty-second chapter, called 'The Greatness of Rūpeśvara,' in the section on the eighty-four liṅgas, in the fifth Avantya Khaṇḍa of the glorious Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, comprising eighty-one thousand verses.
त्रिषष्टिसंख्यकं दिव्यं दर्शनात्पापनाशनम्
The divine liṅga, numbering sixty-three, by being seen destroys sins.
विदूरथोनाम नृपः ख्यातकीर्त्तिरभूद्भुवि
There was a king named Vidūratha, renowned for his fame on earth.
एकदा तु वनं यातो मृगयां स विदूरथः
Once, Vidūratha went to the forest for hunting.
तं दृष्ट्वा चिंतयामास किमेतदिति पार्थिवः
Seeing that, the king pondered, 'What is this?'
चिंतयन्निव तत्रासौ ददर्श विजने वने
While pondering thus, he saw in that lonely forest—
स तं पप्रच्छ नृपतिः किमेतदिति भो द्विज
The king asked him, 'O brāhmaṇa, what is this?'
कुजंभोनाम विख्यातो भिनत्ति वसुधामिमाम्
'Kujaṃbha by name, renowned, is breaking this earth apart.'
तमजित्वा कथं राज्यं भोक्ष्यसे वसुधाधिप
How will you rule the kingdom, O lord of the earth, without defeating him?
उपद्रुतास्तथा देशा ध्वस्ताश्चैव तथाश्रमाः
The lands have thus been afflicted, and the hermitages likewise destroyed.
यदि त्वं घातयस्येनं पातालांतरगोचरम् 5.2.63.
If you kill him, who moves within the depths of the underworld—
इति विप्र वचः श्रुत्वा मंत्रयामास पार्थिवः
Hearing these words of the Brahmin, the king deliberated.
तं मंत्रं क्रियमाणं तु सूनुभ्यां सह मंत्रिभिः
That counsel was undertaken together with his sons and ministers.
ततः कतिपयाहे तु तां कन्यां जलजेक्षणाम्
Then, after a few days, that lotus-eyed maiden—