The Skanda Purana
by G. V. Tagare | 1950 | 2,545,880 words
This page describes Greatness of Matri Deities which is chapter 182 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 eighty-second chapter of the Prabhasa-kshetra-mahatmya of the Prabhasa Khanda of the Skanda Purana.
Chapter 182 - Greatness of Mātṛ Deities
[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]
Īśvara said:
1-5. Thereafter, a pilgrim should visit the Mātṛgaṇas named Vasunandā etc. They are situated to the south in the vicinity of Arkasthala not very far from it. On the ninth day in the bright half of Aśvayuk, a devotee should control himself. With a purified soul, he should worship the Mātṛs in accordance with the injunctions. He will obtain prosperity, very difficult for people having no control over themselves.
Further a devotee should visit Śrīmukha fond of his Vivara (crevasse). On the same day itself, the deity should be worshipped always by men desirous of Siddhi. O my beloved, I have narrated this in detail to you already. In the course of the pilgrimage, the deity should be worshipped on that day itself.