तावत्पतंति संसारे घोरे दुःखशताकुले
So long do they fall in the dreadful, pain-filled ocean of worldly existence.
यदा पापक्षयः पुंसां तदा ते दर्शनं भवेत्
When the sins of men are destroyed, then they attain your vision.
एवं भविष्यतीत्युक्त्वा तेन लिंगेन पार्वति 5.2.66.
Having thus spoken, Parvati, with that linga, declared, 'So it shall be.'
तस्मिँल्लिंगे लयं प्राप्ते नृपे जल्पे वरानने भुक्तिदो मुक्तिदश्चैव सदाभीष्टकरः स्मृतः
When the king Jalpa attained dissolution in that linga, O beautiful-faced one, it is remembered as always granting enjoyment, liberation, and fulfillment of all desires.
एष ते कथितो देवि प्रभावः पापनाशनः
O Goddess, thus I have told you of this power, which destroys sin.
इति श्रीस्कांदे महापुराण एकाशीतिसाहस्र्यां संहितायां पञ्चम आवन्त्यखण्डे चतुरशीतिलिङ्गमाहात्म्ये जल्पेश्वरमाहात्म्यवर्णनंनाम षदषष्टितमोऽध्यायः
Thus ends the sixty-sixth chapter, called 'The Description of the Greatness of Jalpeśvara,' in the section on the eighty-four liṅgas, in the Avantya division of the eighty-one-thousand-verse Śrī Skanda Mahāpurāṇa.
सप्तषष्टिकसंख्याकं केदारेश्वरसंज्ञकम्
There is one called Kedāreśvara, counted as the sixty-seventh.
सृष्टिकाले पुरा देवि देवा व्याप्ता हिमेन हि
At the time of creation, O Goddess, the gods were indeed enveloped by snow.
हिमाद्रिणार्दिताः सर्वे वयं देव जगत्पते
All of us were afflicted by the Himālaya, O Lord of the world.
देवानां वचनं श्रुत्वा प्रोक्तं वै ब्रह्मणा प्रिये
Hearing the words of the gods, Brahmā spoke, O beloved.
नाहं यातुं समर्थोऽस्मि सत्यमेतन्मयोदितम् महादेव मृते देवा गतिरन्या न विद्यते
I am not able to go—this is the truth I have spoken. Without Mahādeva, O gods, there is no other refuge.
स एव शरणं देवः सर्वेषां नो भविष्यति
That very god will be the refuge for all of us.
कृता बुद्धिर्विचित्रा च हिमाद्रिश्च मया कृतः
A wondrous resolve was made, and the Himālaya was created by me.
हिमाचलस्य तस्यैव शास्ता देवो महेश्वरः
The lord Maheśvara himself is the ruler of that very Himālaya.
यत्र तिष्ठति विश्वात्मा देवदेवो महेश्वरः दृष्टोहं पूजितस्तैस्तु स्तुतोऽहं विविधैः स्तवैः
Where the Soul of the Universe, the god of gods, Maheśvara, abides—there I was seen, worshipped by them, praised with various hymns.
मया संमानिता देवाश्चतुवक्त्रः प्रपूजितः 5.2.67.१
The gods were honored by me, and the Four-faced One was duly worshipped.
किं कार्यं त्रिदशैः सार्द्धमागतोऽसि पितामह
For what purpose have you come here, O Grandfather, together with the gods?
हिमाचलं समाहूय मर्यादा च कृता मया
Having summoned Himācala, I have also established its boundaries.
देवानां विषयाश्चैव गंधर्वाणां तथैव च
The domains of the gods, and likewise of the Gandharvas, have been assigned.
विद्याधराणां क्रीडार्थं पृथक्पृथङ्निवेशिताः
For the pleasure of the Vidyādharas, separate areas have been allotted.
जाह्नवीनिर्झरोष्णीषः शर्वाणीजनकस्तथा
The Jāhnavī river, the waterfall, the crest, and the father of Śarvāṇī as well.
सर्वदेवमयो दिव्यः सर्वतीर्थमयः कृतः
He has been made divine, composed of all the gods, and embodying all sacred fords.
एवं संस्थाप्य शैलेंद्रं लिंगमूर्त्तिरहं स्थितः
Thus, having established the lord of mountains, I remained there in the form of the liṅga.
उदकं निर्मितं तत्र मंत्रपूर्णं मया प्रिये
There, beloved, I created water filled with mantras.
योत्रागत्य नरो भक्त्या सम्यङ्मां पूजयिष्यति तस्योदरे भविष्यामि लिंगरूपी न संशयः
Wherever a man comes there and worships me with devotion and proper conduct, I will dwell in his heart in the form of the liṅga—of this there is no doubt.
इत्युक्ते वचने देवि सदेवासुरपन्नगाः 5.2.67.
When these words were spoken, O Goddess, all the gods, asuras, and serpents—
विद्याधरगणाश्चैव मम दर्शनलालसाः
And the hosts of Vidyādharas, longing for my vision—
दृष्टोऽहं विधिना तैस्तु लिंगमूर्त्तिगतः प्रिये जनलोकगतैः सिद्धैः पूज्यमाना वरानने
I was seen by them, beloved, in the form of the liṅga, and by the perfected beings dwelling in the world of men, being worshipped, O beautiful-faced one.
अथ कालेन बहुना श्रुत्वा माहात्म्यमुत्तमम्
Then, after a long time, having heard of the supreme greatness—
मनुष्याः समुपायातास्ते रजोबहुला यतः
People came there, since they were full of passion.