Kalika Purana — Chapter 90

KaP 90.90

मार्कण्डेय उवाच वेतालस्य च सन्तानं शृण्वन्तु मुनिसत्तमाः। यच्छ्रुत्वा सर्वपापेभ्यस्तत्क्षणादेव हीयते दक्षस्य तनया चाभूत् सुरभिर्नाम नामतः। गवां माता महाभागा सर्वलोकोपकारिणी तस्यां तु तनया जज्ञे कश्यपात् तु प्रजापतेः। नाम्ना सा रोहिणी शुभ्रा सर्वकामदुघा नृणाम् तस्यां जज्ञे शुनःशेफान्मुनेरतितपोधनात्। कामधेनुरिति ख्याता सर्वलक्षणसंयुता सा सिताभ्रप्रतीकाशा चतुर्वेदचतुष्पदा। स्तनैश्चतुर्भिर्धर्मार्थकामप्रसवकारिणी सा सुवर्णशरीरा तु कालेन महता सती। निर्मलं यौवनं प्राप कामधेनुर्मनोहरम् तां चरन्तीं मेरुपृष्ठे चारुरूपां सुलभणाम्। ददर्श स तु वेतालः कामुकश्चाभ्यपद्यत तं कामुकं च वेतालं विदित्वा कामधेनुका। पशुधर्मात् स्वयं भेजे तं पुत्रं शशभृद्भृतः सोऽवाप तस्यां परममामोदं शङ्करात्मजः। सा चापि परमां तस्मिन् मुदमापातिहर्षिता तयोः प्रवृत्ते सुरते तस्यां गर्भोऽभवत् तदा। काले प्राप्ते तु सुषुवे कामधेनुर्महावृषम् सोऽचिरेणैव कालेन सुमहान् वृषभोऽभवत्। महाककुदसंयुक्तश्चारुशृङ्गसमन्वितः उत्क्षिप्य विचलत्-कर्णयुगलो दीर्घबालधिः। ककुदेन च शृङ्गाभ्यां कर्णाभ्यां स सिताभ्रवत् विचलन् ददृशे देवैः शृङ्गैरिव सिताचलः। वेतालस्त्वकरोत् तस्य नाम शृङ्ग इति द्विजाः स तु शृङ्गो ज्ञानशाली समाराधयदीश्वरम्। सोऽपि तुष्टो वरं तस्मै ददाविष्टं हरः प्रभुः तमेव वाहनं चक्रे कृत्वा देवतनुं वृषम्। सुचिरायुश्च बलवान् पृथिवीधारणे क्षमः शृङ्गो नाम महातेजाः केतुः सोऽप्यभवत् प्रभोः। शृङ्गो भूत्वा मतो यस्माच्छङ्करस्य महात्मनः अतः शृङ्ग इति ख्यातिमथ प्राह महेश्वरः। स तु शृङ्गो महादेवे ध्यानासक्ते क्वचित् क्वचिद् वरुणस्य गृहं गत्वा सुरभेस्तनयास्तु याः। रूपयौवनसम्पन्ना भेजेऽलं सुरतेन ताः वरुणस्य गृहे गावः सर्वलक्षणसंयुताः। तिष्ठन्ति सततं विप्रास्तासु तास सुताः पुनः वह्व्यस्तु च समुत्पन्नास्तेषां सूतिप्रसूतिभिः। सर्वं जगदिदं व्याप्तं तेभ्यो यज्ञं प्रवर्तते आज्येन देवास्तुष्यन्ति यज्ञा आज्ये प्रतिष्ठिताः। यज्ञाघीनमिदं सर्वं जगत् स्थावरजङ्गमम् तदाज्यं तु गवाधीनं ततः सर्वं गवि स्थितम्। तदिदं सकलं विश्वं गवाधीनं द्विजोत्तमाः वेतालस्य च ता गावो वंश्याः सर्वप्रियाः सदा। य इदं शृणुयान्नित्यं वेतालस्य महात्मनः वंशानां जन्म विप्रेन्द्राः स सुखी बलवान् भवेत्। न गावो नापि विभवास्तस्यं नश्यन्ति वै क्वचित् न च भूतपिशाचाद्यास्तं पश्यन्ति कदाचन। वेतालः सततं तस्य रक्षामाचरति स्वयम् इति वः कथितं विप्रा यथा वेतालभैरवौ। जनयामासतुः पुत्रान् विच्छिन्नाः संशयाश्च वः यथा च कालिका देवी मोहयामास शंकरम्। यथोत्पन्ना शरीरार्धं कृतं शम्भोर्यथा तथा कालिकायै नमस्तुभ्यमिति यो भाषते स्वयम्। तस्य हस्ते स्थिता मुक्तिस्त्रिवर्गस्तु वशानुगः इति वः कथितं पुण्यं पुराणं कालिकाह्वयम्। मन्त्रयन्त्रमयं शुद्धं ज्ञानदं कामदं परम् इति गुह्यतमं लोके वेदेषु च तथा द्विजाः। देवगन्धर्वसिद्धाद्यैः स्पृहणीयमिदं सदा अधीतं च श्रुतं मत्तो वसिष्ठेन महात्मना। इदं पुराणममृतं कालिकाह्वयमुत्तमम् तेन गुप्तमिदं सर्वं कामरूपे सुरालये। तमिदानीं समाख्यातं व्यक्तीकत्य महर्षयः युस्माभिरपि नो देय गोप्यं लोकेषु सर्वदा। शठाय चलचिंत्ताय नास्तिकायाजितात्मने भक्तिश्रद्धाविहीनाय न दातव्यं कदाचन। इदं सकृत् पठेद् यस्तु पुराणं कालिकाह्वयम् स कामानखिलान् प्राप्य शेषेऽमृतमवाप्नुयात्। मन्दिरे लिखितं यस्य पुराणमिदमुत्तमम् सदा तिष्ठति नो तस्य विघ्नः संजायते द्विजाः। योऽधीतेऽहन्यहन्येतद् गुह्यं तन्त्रमिदं परम् अधीताः सकला वेदास्तेनेह द्विजसत्तमाः। तस्मान्नैवाधिकोऽन्योऽस्ति कृतकृत्यो विचक्षणः स सुखी बल्लवाँल्लोके दीर्घायुरपि जायते यो लोकमीशःसततं बिभर्ति यः पालयत्यन्तकर स्तथान्ते। इदं समस्तं भ्रममभ्रमं वायदीयरूपं च नमोस्तु तस्मै प्रधानपुरुषो यस्य प्रपञ्चो योगिनां हृदि। यः पुराणाधिपो विष्णुः प्रसीदतु स वः शिवः यो हेतुरुग्रः पुरुषः पुराणः सनातनः शाश्वत ईश्वरः परः। पुराणकृद् वेदपुराणवेद्यः प्रस्तौमि तन्नौमि पुराणशेषे इति सकलजगद् बिभर्ति यासां मधुरिपुमोहकरी रमास्वरूपा। रमयति च हरं शिवास्वरूपा वितरतु वो विभवं शुभानि माया

mārkaṇḍeya uvāca vetālasya ca santānaṃ śṛṇvantu munisattamāḥ| yacchrutvā sarvapāpebhyastatkṣaṇādeva hīyate dakṣasya tanayā cābhūt surabhirnāma nāmataḥ| gavāṃ mātā mahābhāgā sarvalokopakāriṇī tasyāṃ tu tanayā jajñe kaśyapāt tu prajāpateḥ| nāmnā sā rohiṇī śubhrā sarvakāmadughā nṛṇām tasyāṃ jajñe śunaḥśephānmuneratitapodhanāt| kāmadhenuriti khyātā sarvalakṣaṇasaṃyutā sā sitābhrapratīkāśā caturvedacatuṣpadā| stanaiścaturbhirdharmārthakāmaprasavakāriṇī sā suvarṇaśarīrā tu kālena mahatā satī| nirmalaṃ yauvanaṃ prāpa kāmadhenurmanoharam tāṃ carantīṃ merupṛṣṭhe cārurūpāṃ sulabhaṇām| dadarśa sa tu vetālaḥ kāmukaścābhyapadyata taṃ kāmukaṃ ca vetālaṃ viditvā kāmadhenukā| paśudharmāt svayaṃ bheje taṃ putraṃ śaśabhṛdbhṛtaḥ so'vāpa tasyāṃ paramamāmodaṃ śaṅkarātmajaḥ| sā cāpi paramāṃ tasmin mudamāpātiharṣitā tayoḥ pravṛtte surate tasyāṃ garbho'bhavat tadā| kāle prāpte tu suṣuve kāmadhenurmahāvṛṣam so'cireṇaiva kālena sumahān vṛṣabho'bhavat| mahākakudasaṃyuktaścāruśṛṅgasamanvitaḥ utkṣipya vicalat-karṇayugalo dīrghabāladhiḥ| kakudena ca śṛṅgābhyāṃ karṇābhyāṃ sa sitābhravat vicalan dadṛśe devaiḥ śṛṅgairiva sitācalaḥ| vetālastvakarot tasya nāma śṛṅga iti dvijāḥ sa tu śṛṅgo jñānaśālī samārādhayadīśvaram| so'pi tuṣṭo varaṃ tasmai dadāviṣṭaṃ haraḥ prabhuḥ tameva vāhanaṃ cakre kṛtvā devatanuṃ vṛṣam| sucirāyuśca balavān pṛthivīdhāraṇe kṣamaḥ śṛṅgo nāma mahātejāḥ ketuḥ so'pyabhavat prabhoḥ| śṛṅgo bhūtvā mato yasmācchaṅkarasya mahātmanaḥ ataḥ śṛṅga iti khyātimatha prāha maheśvaraḥ| sa tu śṛṅgo mahādeve dhyānāsakte kvacit kvacid varuṇasya gṛhaṃ gatvā surabhestanayāstu yāḥ| rūpayauvanasampannā bheje'laṃ suratena tāḥ varuṇasya gṛhe gāvaḥ sarvalakṣaṇasaṃyutāḥ| tiṣṭhanti satataṃ viprāstāsu tāsa sutāḥ punaḥ vahvyastu ca samutpannāsteṣāṃ sūtiprasūtibhiḥ| sarvaṃ jagadidaṃ vyāptaṃ tebhyo yajñaṃ pravartate ājyena devāstuṣyanti yajñā ājye pratiṣṭhitāḥ| yajñāghīnamidaṃ sarvaṃ jagat sthāvarajaṅgamam tadājyaṃ tu gavādhīnaṃ tataḥ sarvaṃ gavi sthitam| tadidaṃ sakalaṃ viśvaṃ gavādhīnaṃ dvijottamāḥ vetālasya ca tā gāvo vaṃśyāḥ sarvapriyāḥ sadā| ya idaṃ śṛṇuyānnityaṃ vetālasya mahātmanaḥ vaṃśānāṃ janma viprendrāḥ sa sukhī balavān bhavet| na gāvo nāpi vibhavāstasyaṃ naśyanti vai kvacit na ca bhūtapiśācādyāstaṃ paśyanti kadācana| vetālaḥ satataṃ tasya rakṣāmācarati svayam iti vaḥ kathitaṃ viprā yathā vetālabhairavau| janayāmāsatuḥ putrān vicchinnāḥ saṃśayāśca vaḥ yathā ca kālikā devī mohayāmāsa śaṃkaram| yathotpannā śarīrārdhaṃ kṛtaṃ śambhoryathā tathā kālikāyai namastubhyamiti yo bhāṣate svayam| tasya haste sthitā muktistrivargastu vaśānugaḥ iti vaḥ kathitaṃ puṇyaṃ purāṇaṃ kālikāhvayam| mantrayantramayaṃ śuddhaṃ jñānadaṃ kāmadaṃ param iti guhyatamaṃ loke vedeṣu ca tathā dvijāḥ| devagandharvasiddhādyaiḥ spṛhaṇīyamidaṃ sadā adhītaṃ ca śrutaṃ matto vasiṣṭhena mahātmanā| idaṃ purāṇamamṛtaṃ kālikāhvayamuttamam tena guptamidaṃ sarvaṃ kāmarūpe surālaye| tamidānīṃ samākhyātaṃ vyaktīkatya maharṣayaḥ yusmābhirapi no deya gopyaṃ lokeṣu sarvadā| śaṭhāya calaciṃttāya nāstikāyājitātmane bhaktiśraddhāvihīnāya na dātavyaṃ kadācana| idaṃ sakṛt paṭhed yastu purāṇaṃ kālikāhvayam sa kāmānakhilān prāpya śeṣe'mṛtamavāpnuyāt| mandire likhitaṃ yasya purāṇamidamuttamam sadā tiṣṭhati no tasya vighnaḥ saṃjāyate dvijāḥ| yo'dhīte'hanyahanyetad guhyaṃ tantramidaṃ param adhītāḥ sakalā vedāsteneha dvijasattamāḥ| tasmānnaivādhiko'nyo'sti kṛtakṛtyo vicakṣaṇaḥ sa sukhī ballavā~lloke dīrghāyurapi jāyate yo lokamīśaḥsatataṃ bibharti yaḥ pālayatyantakara stathānte| idaṃ samastaṃ bhramamabhramaṃ vāyadīyarūpaṃ ca namostu tasmai pradhānapuruṣo yasya prapañco yogināṃ hṛdi| yaḥ purāṇādhipo viṣṇuḥ prasīdatu sa vaḥ śivaḥ yo heturugraḥ puruṣaḥ purāṇaḥ sanātanaḥ śāśvata īśvaraḥ paraḥ| purāṇakṛd vedapurāṇavedyaḥ prastaumi tannaumi purāṇaśeṣe iti sakalajagad bibharti yāsāṃ madhuripumohakarī ramāsvarūpā| ramayati ca haraṃ śivāsvarūpā vitaratu vo vibhavaṃ śubhāni māyā

Mārkaṇḍeya said: Hear now, best of sages, of Vetāla's progeny, on hearing which one is at once freed from all sins. Dakṣa had a daughter named Surabhi, the mother of cows, greatly blessed, the benefactress of all the worlds. Of her, by Kaśyapa the lord of creatures, was born a daughter named Rohiṇī, radiant, yielding all desires to men. Of her, by the sage Śunaḥśepha of great austerity, was born she who is renowned as Kāmadhenu, endowed with every auspicious mark. She was like a white cloud, four-footed as the Vedas are four, and with her four teats she brought forth dharma, wealth and pleasure. Her body was golden, and in the course of long time that chaste one attained a spotless and lovely youth. As she grazed on the back of Meru, beautiful of form and well-marked, Vetāla saw her and, becoming enamoured, approached her. And Kāmadhenu, knowing that Vetāla desired her, of her own accord took him, that son of the moon-bearer, after the manner of beasts. He, the son of Śaṅkara, obtained the highest delight in her, and she too, greatly rejoicing, obtained the highest joy in him. When their union had taken place, she conceived; and in due time Kāmadhenu gave birth to a great bull. In no long time he became a very great bull, endowed with a great hump and furnished with beautiful horns; lifting and moving his pair of ears, long of tail, with hump and horns and ears he was like a white cloud, and as he moved the gods saw him as a snowy mountain with peaks. And Vetāla gave him the name Śṛṅga, O twice-born. That Śṛṅga, endowed with knowledge, propitiated the Lord; and Hara the master, pleased, gave him the boon he desired. He made him his very vehicle, making the bull a divine body, long-lived, strong, able to bear the earth; and Śṛṅga of great splendour became the Lord's emblem too. Since, having become Śṛṅga, he was esteemed by the great-souled Śaṅkara, therefore Maheśvara declared his fame as 'Śṛṅga'. And that Śṛṅga, whenever Mahādeva was absorbed in meditation, would go now and then to Varuṇa's house and abundantly enjoy in love those daughters of Surabhi who were endowed with beauty and youth. In Varuṇa's house the cows endowed with every auspicious mark abide always, O brahmins; and in them again many offspring arose, and by their births and further births all this world is filled. From them proceeds sacrifice; by ghee the gods are pleased, and sacrifices rest upon ghee. All this world, moving and unmoving, depends upon sacrifice; and that ghee depends upon the cow — hence all rests upon the cow. So all this universe depends upon the cow, O best of the twice-born. And those cows are of Vetāla's lineage, and always dear to all. Whoever hears constantly this birth of the lineages of the great-souled Vetāla, O chief of brahmins, becomes happy and strong; his cows and his wealth never perish anywhere, and spirits, ghouls and the like never look upon him — Vetāla himself always performs his protection. Thus it has been told to you, brahmins, how Vetāla and Bhairava begot sons; and your doubts are cut away — and how the goddess Kālikā bewitched Śaṅkara, and how she was born, and how the half of Śambhu's body was made (hers). Whoever himself says 'Homage to you, O Kālikā', in his hand liberation stands, and the three aims of life follow his will. Thus has been told to you the holy Purāṇa called Kālikā, consisting of mantras and diagrams, pure, giving knowledge, granting desires, supreme. Thus it is the most secret thing in the world and in the Vedas, O twice-born, ever to be longed for by gods, gandharvas, siddhas and the rest. It was studied and heard from me by the great-souled Vasiṣṭha — this nectar-like Purāṇa, the excellent one called Kālikā. By him all this was kept hidden in Kāmarūpa, the abode of the gods; now it has been fully declared and made manifest, O great seers. By you too it is not to be given (to the unworthy); it must always be kept secret in the worlds. To the deceitful, the fickle-minded, the unbeliever, the unsubdued, to one lacking devotion and faith, it must never be given. Whoever recites this Purāṇa called Kālikā even once obtains all his desires and at the last attains immortality. In whose house this excellent Purāṇa stands written, no obstacle ever arises for him, O twice-born. Whoever studies day by day this secret supreme Tantra, by him all the Vedas have here been studied, O best of the twice-born; therefore there is none other superior to him, none who has so fulfilled his purpose, none so wise; he becomes happy in the world, possessed of herds, and long-lived. He who ever sustains the world as its lord, who protects it, and who at the end makes an end; and all this — illusion and non-illusion, and the form of what pertains to Vāyu: homage be to him, in whose expanse the primal Person (dwells) in the hearts of yogins. May Viṣṇu, the lord of the Purāṇa, be gracious to you — he who is Śiva. He who is the cause, the terrible one, the ancient Person, eternal, everlasting, the Lord, the supreme, the maker of the Purāṇa, to be known through the Veda and the Purāṇa: him I praise, to him I bow, at the Purāṇa's end. Thus may that Māyā, who in the form of Ramā bewilders the foe of Madhu and by whose forms this whole world is sustained, and who in the form of Śivā delights Hara, bestow upon you prosperity and blessings.

AI translation rendered from the Sanskrit, not a published edition — the model flagged this verse as uncertain