मग्नोऽहं दुःखजलधौ मग्नोऽहं पापकर्दमे
I am submerged in the ocean of sorrow; I am sunk in the mire of sin.
नमस्तेऽस्तु महाभाग किं करोमि प्रशाधि माम्
Salutations to you, O greatly fortunate one! What should I do? Guide me.
एवं निगदतस्तस्य पिशाचस्य वरानने 5.2.68.
Thus, as that fiend spoke to the radiant one,
पृथिव्यां यानि तीर्थानि आसमुद्रगतानि वै
All the sacred places on earth, even those reaching the ocean,
महाकालवनं क्षेत्रं प्रलयेऽप्यक्षयं गतम्
The field of Mahākālavana remains imperishable even at the time of dissolution.
ढुंढेश्वरस्य देवस्य दक्षिणे त्रिदशार्चितम् तस्य दर्शनमात्रेण पिशाचत्वात्प्रमोक्ष्यसे
To the south of the god Dhundheśvara, worshipped by the gods, by merely seeing it, you will be freed from being a fiend.
तस्य तद्वचनं श्रुत्वा स पिशाचो वरानने
Hearing those words, the fiend spoke to the radiant one,
महाकालवने पुण्ये समीहितफलप्रदे
In the holy Mahākālavana, which grants the desired fruits,
दर्शनात्तस्य लिंगस्य स पिशाचो वरानने
By seeing that liṅga, the fiend, O radiant one,
दिव्यं विमानमारूढो गतो लोके सनातने
Mounted a divine aerial chariot and went to the eternal world.
दृष्ट्वा तन्महदाश्चर्यं माहात्म्यातिशयं श्रिये
Seeing that great wonder, the supreme glory and majesty,
पिशाचोपि गतः स्वर्गमस्य लिंगस्य दर्शनात्। अतो देवः स विख्यातो भविष्यति महीतले
Even the fiend attained heaven by seeing that liṅga; therefore, that god will become renowned on earth.
ये पश्यंति नरा देवि पिशाचेश्वरसंज्ञकम् । तेषां हि पितरः सद्यो ये चापि निरये स्थिताः 5.2.68.
O Devi, those men who behold the one known as Piśāceśvara, their ancestors, even those dwelling in hell, are immediately uplifted.
अश्वमेधस्य यज्ञस्य सम्यगिष्टस्य यत्फलम्
The fruit gained from properly performing the horse-sacrifice ritual,
गयायां पिंडदानेन यत्पुण्यं समुदाहृतम्
The merit declared to arise from offering oblations at Gayā,
ये पश्यंति चतुर्दश्यां पिशाचेश्वरसंज्ञकम्
Those who behold Piśāceśvara on the fourteenth day,
न वियोनिं नरो याति नरकं च न पश्यति
A man does not enter a womb nor does he see hell.
सर्वैश्वर्यसमायुक्तः सर्वबन्धुसमन्वितः
He is endowed with all prosperity and accompanied by all his relatives.
कीर्तनान्मुच्यते पापाद्दृष्ट्वा स्वर्गं च गच्छति
By reciting, one is freed from sin; having seen, one attains heaven.
तदैव स नरो मुक्तः संसारनिगडादिभिः
At that very moment, the man is released from the fetters of worldly existence.
यज्ञानां तपसां चैव दानानां चैव यत्फलम्
The fruit of sacrifices, austerities, and gifts,
यदि पश्येच्चतुर्दश्यां वैशाखे कार्त्तिके तथा । तस्य पुण्यमसंख्यातं जायते नात्र संशयः
If one sees on the fourteenth day in Vaiśākha or Kārttika, his merit becomes countless; there is no doubt about this.
एष ते कथितो देवि प्रभावः पापनाशनः 5.2.68.
O Devi, this power, destroyer of sin, has been described to you.
इति श्रीस्कांदे महापुराण एकाशीतिसाहस्र्यां संहितायां पञ्चम आवन्त्यखण्डे पिशाचेश्वरमाहात्म्यवर्णनंनामाष्टषष्टितमोऽध्यायः
Thus ends the sixty-eighth chapter, named 'The Description of the Greatness of Piśāceśvara,' in the fifth Avantya section of the eighty-one-thousand-verse Śrī Skanda Mahāpurāṇa.
ईश्वर उवाच। एकोनसप्ततिं देवि शृणु पार्वति यत्नतः
Īśvara said: O Devi, listen carefully to the sixty-ninth chapter, O Pārvatī.
कलिंगविषये देवि सुबाहुर्नाम पार्थिवः
O Devi, in the land of Kaliṅga, there was a king named Subāhu.
तस्य पत्नी विशालाक्षी दुहिता दृढधन्वनः
His wife, Viśālākṣī, was the daughter of Dṛḍhadhanvan.
परस्परानुरागत्वात्परा प्रीतिरभूत्तयोः
Because of mutual affection, there was great love between them.
आयुर्वेदविदां मुख्यैः शरीरस्य चिकित्सकैः
With the foremost physicians skilled in Ayurveda treating his body,
एवं बहुतरे काले गते देवि महीपतिम्
Thus, after much time had passed, O Devi, the king...