Adhyaya 238
This adhyāya conveys Īśvara’s instruction on the Hiraṇyā River, praised as sacred water that purifies and destroys sin (pāpanāśinī), generates merit (puṇyā), fulfills all aims (sarvakāmapradā), and ends poverty (dāridryāntakāriṇī). It sets out a compact pilgrimage discipline: approach the river, bathe according to the prescribed rite (vidhānena snāna), perform piṇḍodaka-related offerings for the ancestors, and then practice regulated generosity and hospitality. Done correctly, it grants the pilgrim imperishable realms (akṣayān lokān) and uplifts the ancestors from sin. A distinctive theme of merit-equivalence appears: feeding even one qualified brāhmaṇa is rhetorically likened to feeding vast numbers of dvija, stressing intention, the recipient’s worthiness, and ritual context. The chapter also enjoins gifting a “golden chariot” (hemaratha-dāna) to a Veda-proficient brāhmaṇa, dedicated to Śiva, with fruit compared to the merit of extensive pilgrimages (yātrā).
Shlokas
Verse 1
ईश्वर उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महादेवि हिरण्यां पापनाशिनीम् । सर्वकामप्रदां पुण्यां दारिद्र्यस्यांतकारिणीम्
Īśvara said: Then, O Great Goddess, one should go to the Hiraṇyā river—the destroyer of sins—holy, the giver of all desired aims, and the remover of poverty.
Verse 2
तत्र स्नात्वा विधानेन कृत्वा पिंडोदक क्रियाम् । प्राप्नुयादक्षयांल्लोकान्पितॄनुद्धृत्य पापतः
Having bathed there according to the prescribed rite, and having performed the piṇḍa-and-water offerings, one attains imperishable worlds—having lifted one’s ancestors from sin.
Verse 3
एकं यो भोजयेत्तत्र ब्राह्मणं शंसितव्रतम् । तेनायुतसहस्रं हि भोजितं स्याद्द्विजन्मनाम्
Whoever feeds even one Brāhmaṇa there—one of praised discipline—by that act it is as though ten thousand twice-born have been fed.
Verse 4
तत्र हेमरथा देयो ब्राह्मणे वेदपारगे । विधिना शिवमुद्दिश्य यात्रायुतफलं लभेत्
There, one should gift a golden chariot to a Brāhmaṇa learned in the Vedas. Performed according to rite and dedicated to Śiva, it yields merit equal to ten thousand pilgrimages.
Verse 238
इति श्रीस्कांदे महापुराण एकाशीतिसाहस्र्यां संहिताया सप्तमे प्रभासखण्डे प्रथमे प्रभासक्षेत्रमाहात्म्ये हिरण्यानदीमाहात्म्यवर्णनंनामाष्टात्रिंशदुत्तरद्विशततमोऽध्यायः
Thus, in the holy Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, in the Saṃhitā of eighty-one thousand verses, within the seventh—Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa—under the first section, the Prabhāsa-kṣetra Māhātmya, concludes the chapter entitled “Description of the Glory of the Hiraṇyā River,” being Chapter 238.