The Skanda Purana
by G. V. Tagare | 1950 | 2,545,880 words
This page describes Greatness of Dasharatheshvara (Dasharatha-ishvara) which is chapter 171 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 one hundred seventy-first chapter of the Prabhasa-kshetra-mahatmya of the Prabhasa Khanda of the Skanda Purana.
Chapter 171 - Greatness of Daśaratheśvara (Daśaratha-īśvara)
[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]
Īśvara said:
1-4. Thereafter, O great goddess, a pilgrim should go to the great goddess Ekallavīrikā. To the south of Ekallavīrā, not very far off, there is another well-established shrine. Formerly Daśaratha, the ornament of the Solar dynasty, came to Prabhāsa Kṣetra and performed a very difficult penance.
He installed a Liṅga there and propitiated Śaṅkara. He requested the Lord for a son of unmeasured virility. The Lord worshipped by all the three worlds granted him a son. His fame spread in all the three worlds and his name was Rāma.
5-6. Even today, the residents of the worlds Bhūḥ, Bhuvaḥ, and Svaḥ, all the Devas, Daityas and Asuras and great sages beginning with Vālmīki sing his glory.
By the power of that Liṅga great fame was attained by the king. A devotee should worship the deity on the Full-Moon day in the month of Kārttika duly by the offerings of lamps and adorations. He becomes renowned.