The Skanda Purana
by G. V. Tagare | 1950 | 2,545,880 words
This page describes The Story of Kaladhara and Kantishali which is chapter 23 of the English translation of the Skanda Purana, the largest of the eighteen Mahapuranas, preserving the ancient Indian society and Hindu traditions in an encyclopedic format, detailling on topics such as dharma (virtous lifestyle), cosmogony (creation of the universe), mythology (itihasa), genealogy (vamsha) etc. This is the twenty-third chapter of the Arunacala-khanda (Uttarardha) of the Maheshvara-khanda of the Skanda Purana.
Chapter 23 - The Story of Kalādhara and Kāntiśālī
[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]
Kalādhara narrated:
1. Kāntiśālī, my friend, was born as a horse in Kāṃboja. O great King; he attained the state of being your vehicle.
2. I attained the state of a sweet-scented deer. I moved about here and there over this mountain being very proud on account of this fragrance issuing from my body.
3. Now both of us have been given the chance of circumambulating the Lord of Śoṇādri, O virtuous one, by you who had come there under the pretext of hunting.
4. On account of the fault of riding a vehicle (while circumambulating Śoṇādri) your condition has become like this. Thanks to the meritorious deed of walking (i.e. circumambulating) on foot, our previous position has been retrieved by us.
5. O great King, it is because of your association that we two have been liberated from the bondage of being animals and we have regained our own abṇḍe. Hail unto thee forever!
6. The King with his palms folded in reverence requested Kalādhara and Kāntiśālī who were desirous of going to their abodes after saying this:
7. “Thus you have crossed the ocean of the curse, thanks to the power of Śaṅkara in the form of Śoṇaśaila. But what about my redemption?
8. My mind is whirling as it were, taking the eyes with it. My vital airs appear to come out. There it is fate that is more powerful.”
Kalādhara and Kāntiśālī repliea:
9. Listen, we shall suggest the remedy for your redemption. Listen to it with attentive mind that has got rid of all anxieties and agonies.
10. Fix your mind on the Lord of Aruṇādri, the storehouse of mercy, the Lord who is competent to create, sustain, annihilate, arrange (conceal?) and bless the universe.
11. It has been directly noticed by you now how powerful the Lord is. This has been the condition of both of us who have (now) done like this despite being animals.
12. Perform circumambulation on foot. Worship Īśāna, the Lord who is fond of musk, by means of Kalhāra flowers rendered fragrant by means of musk.
13. Utilise whatever property and wealth you have in renovating the temples, the ramparts and ornamented gateways etc. (of Śiva).
14. Ere long you will have the full Siddhi to a very great extent, surpassing that of Manu, Māndhātṛ, Nābhāga and Bhagīratha.
Nandikeśvara said:
15. On hearing these (words) of those two Vidyādharas who immediately resorted to their own abodes the King became devoted to the Lord of Aruṇādri with a mind free from all doubts.