Adhyaya 182
Adhyāya 182 of the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa gives a highly localized guide to sacred places within Prabhāsa-kṣetra. The pilgrim is directed to behold a group of Mothers (mātṛgaṇa), led by “Vasunandā,” situated near an Arka-sthala on the southern side, not far away. It then lays down a precise observance: on the bright-fortnight Navamī of the month Āśvayuja, a disciplined devotee should worship these Mothers according to proper rite (vidhi), with a calm and purposeful mind. The fruit is declared to be samṛddhi—prosperity and flourishing—hard to attain for the undisciplined. The chapter next points to a nearby micro-site, the sacred cleft or opening (vivara) associated with “Śrīmukha,” said to delight in such a cleft. Those seeking siddhi should worship it on the same day as well. The closing identifies this as the māhātmya of the Vasunandā Mothers and the Śrīmukha Vivara within the Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya.
Shlokas
Verse 1
ततो मातृगणान्पश्येद्वसुनन्दादिनामतः । अर्क स्थलसमीपस्थान्दक्षिणे नातिदूरतः
Then one should behold the groups of Mother-goddesses, known by names beginning with Vasunandā, located near Arka-sthala, not far to the south.
Verse 2
आश्वयुक्छुक्लपक्षे तु नवम्यां नियतात्मवान् । यस्ताः पूजयते मातॄर्विधिना भावितात्मवान्
But in the bright fortnight of Āśvayuja, on the ninth lunar day, a self-controlled person who worships those Mothers according to rite, with a purified and focused mind—
Verse 3
स समृद्धिमवाप्नोति दुरापामकृतात्मभिः । तत्रैव संस्थितं पश्येच्छ्रीमुखं विवरप्रियम्
He attains prosperity—hard to obtain for the undisciplined. There itself, one should behold Śrīmukha, the deity fond of the sacred cave (vivara).
Verse 4
तस्मिन्नेव दिने पूज्यं सिद्धिकामैर्नरैः सदा । एतत्पूर्वं मयाख्यातं तव विस्तरतः प्रिये
On that very day it should always be worshipped by those who desire success and attainment. This has already been explained by me to you in detail, O beloved.
Verse 5
तस्मिन्नेव दिने पूज्यं तीर्थयात्राप्रसंगतः
On that very day it should be reverently worshipped, in connection with the pilgrimage to the sacred tīrthas.
Verse 182
इति श्रीस्कान्दे महापुराण एकाशीतिसाहस्र्यां संहितायां सप्तमे प्रभासखंडे प्रथमे प्रभासक्षेत्रमाहात्म्ये वसुनन्दामातृगणश्रीमुखविवर माहात्म्यवर्णनंनाम द्व्यशीत्युत्तरशततमोऽध्यायः
Thus ends the one-hundred-and-eighty-second chapter, called “The Description of the Glory of the Vasunandā Mātṛgaṇa and Śrīmukha-vivara,” in the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa—within the Prabhāsa-kṣetra Māhātmya—of the Śrī Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, in the Saṃhitā of eighty-one thousand verses.