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Matsyapurana 154

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154.1

Sūta said: / The door-keeper appeared, clad in a garment of white and blue lotuses; / he fell upon his knees to the earth, covering his face with his hand,

154.2

and spoke clear words, concise and distinct, / to the lord of the Daityas, who bore a body radiant as a host of suns:

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“Kālanemi stands at the door, bringing the captured Suras, / and he asks, O lord: ‘Where should these captives stay?’”

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Hearing this utterance of the door-keeper, the Daitya said: / “Let them stay wherever they wish; my house is the three worlds,

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provided only that they are released from their fetters without delay.” / This being done, the gods, with grieving minds,

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went to see the Lotus-born [Brahmā], the refuge and guru of the universe. / Having been announced, those gods headed by Śakra bowed their heads to the earth / and praised Kamalāsana with words clear in sound and sense.

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The gods said: / “You are the Praṇava (Oṃkāra), born formerly as the sprout of the Self of the universe with its endless divisions; / to you of pure-sattva form, arisen next, and then possessing the desire to destroy in the form of Rudra, obeisance!

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Having brought your form into manifestation by your own greatness from that named Egg, O inconceivable one, / you made the division of heaven and earth by the upper and lower halves of that Egg.

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Clearly, the lifetime of beings that arose on Meru shines as established by you, as we know; / clearly, O eternal origin of the gods, the sky is your head, and the sun and moon are your eyes.

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Serpents are your hair, the directions the cavities of your ears, the earth your feet, and the oceans the hollow of your navel; / you are celebrated by the Vedas as the creator of māyā and the ultimate cause, peaceful and free from material light.

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Knowing you, they reveal you in the meanings of the Vedas as the ancient one seated within the lotus of the heart; / those who have attained yoga proclaim you as the Self, as those seven subtle principles expounded by the Sāṃkhyas,

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and the eighth which is sung as their cause; in each of them you are celebrated as the supreme limit. / Seeing that form, both gross and subtle, the manifested states were proclaimed by certain reasons by the gods.

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They arose from you alone in the primal creation, and again they assumed their respective residual impressions; / by your resolve, Time—measurable, with its countless divisions destroyed—is hidden under the reach of the supreme māyā.

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You are the cause of existence, non-existence, manifestation, and destruction, the endless maker of it, O Self! / You are praised beyond those subtle principles, and beyond their gross states and their coverings.

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Understood through those gross, ancient [principles], you are the past and the future of those who attain manifestation; / in every state of being, you connect the concentrated mind, casting aside one after another through your manifest being; / thus, O God, refuge of the devoted, be our protector and preserver, O endless-formed one!”

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Having praised the changeless Brahmā, the immortals fell silent; / they stood with their minds praying for the attainment of their desired purpose.

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Praised in this way, Viriñci attained supreme graciousness; / pointing with his left hand that granted boons, he said to the immortals:

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Brahmā said: / “Like a woman suddenly deprived of her husband, your body has discarded its ornaments; / it does not shine, O Śakra, and your face and hair are withered.

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O Consumer of Oblations, though free from smoke you do not shine, / as if covered in ashes, like a burnt forest that has stood for long.

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O Yama, in a body filled with affliction you do not shine at all, / taking support on your staff as if burdened at every step.

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Even as the lord of the night-wanderers, why do you speak as if afraid? / O lord of the rākṣasas, who have destroyed your enemies, you look as though wounded by a foe!

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O Varuṇa, your body is withered as if surrounded by fire, / beholding your noose shed of blood by the serpents.

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O Vāyu, you are bewildered, as though conquered by friends. / Why do you fear, O Dhanada, as if having cast aside your status as Kubera?

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O Rudras, though bearing tridents, speak: why this abundant distress? / By whom has the splendor of you all been struck down?

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Your hand, reduced to doing nothing, does not shine; / enough of your discus resembling a blue lotus, O Madhusūdana!

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Why are you gazing at the worlds clinging within your belly / with motionless eyes, O all-facing one?”

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Addressed thus by Brahmā, the embodiment of Brahman, / the Suras impelled Māruta, because he was supreme in eloquence.

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Then the Wind, prompted by the gods headed by Viṣṇu, / spoke to the Four-faced one, the all-pervading lord and guru of the moving and unmoving:

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“Do you not know the condition of existence abiding in moving and unmoving beings, O exalted supreme source, / that you again act with curious interest, as if extending your ears to the words of petitioners?

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O endless one, you make the worlds that hold moving and unmoving beings, differentiated by their gunas; / all this, both immortals and asuras, is equal to you, since you are their father.

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Yet a father has fluctuations of mind, whether one has virtues or lacks them, is strong or weak; / freed from fear by obtaining a boon from you, this son of Diti with thunderbolt limbs has become exceedingly powerful.

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Why have you made a rogue to churn all moving and unmoving beings? / Indeed, O God, for the maintenance of the worlds, the waves of qualities were made wonderful and diverse by you.

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O lord of the twice-born, the hosts of gods were created to grant satisfaction and the desired fruits heard in scripture; / and heaven indeed existed for the receivers of sacrifices, always by virtue of your appointment.

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Having stolen the host of flying chariots, that son of Diti has made it like a great desert land; / and that mountain, which you endowed with the excellence of all virtues to be the king of all mountains,

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that mountain, which matched the motions of the sky and always attained its height, / fit for residence and pleasure, has its peaks and slopes broken by the thunderbolt by that son of Diti.

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Its multitude of jewel caves plundered, it has been turned into a resort for numerous Daitya assemblies; / O king of the gods, fearing him, he has rendered the departed formless here in vain.

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Opened for long through usefulness, filling the face of the directions with pure brilliance, / this unrivaled assembly of divine weapons was fashioned by you alone in the primal age.”

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Having entered the body of that son of Diti, as if the petty-minded one's intellect were split into a hundred ways, / our limbs covered with torrents of dust, we stand distressed at his gate; / with great difficulty have we gained entrance to that enemy of the gods.

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In his assembly, O god, the gods are seated in the lowest places; / remaining silent, they are then mocked by the cane-bearers:

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“You great lords who have accomplished all aims, who speak so little! / Now perform flatteries; speak much, O gods!”

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“Attend to the royal audience of the lion among Daityas, together with Śakra!” / Thus are we loudly ridiculed by the Daitya's servants.

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The seasons in bodily form attend upon him day and night; / terrified by any offense they might commit, they never depart.

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Accompanied by the rhythm of three-stringed lutes, by the Siddhas, Gandharvas, and Kinnaras, / the song of the Suras is constantly sung in his mansions under deceitful pretexts.

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Alas, treating his friends with contempt through unhelpful measures, / he abandons those who seek refuge and has forsaken reliance on the truth.

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Thus, or rather, it is impossible to recount his insolence in full; / the Creator is the only refuge in this matter.

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Thus addressed by the gods concerning the deeds of the Daitya, the self-born god, / the Blessed Lord, with a lotus-face smiling, said to the gods:

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Brahmā said: / The Daitya Tāraka cannot be slain by all the Suras and Asuras alike; / no man has yet been born in the three worlds by whom he can be killed.

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He was dissuaded by me with the grant of a boon, enticing him, / from an austerity that would have burned the three worlds.

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And that Daitya chose death from a child seven days old; / and that seven-day-old boy who will be born from Śaṃkara,

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resembling the sun in radiance, will become the slayer of Tāraka. / And at present the blessed lord Śaṃkara has no wife.

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As for what I said regarding that [goddess] whose hands are always extended: / this hand of the goddess is indeed always raised to grant boons.

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She, the goddess, will become the daughter of the Himālaya. / He who [will come] from her presence, as fire [comes] from kindling-sticks for Śarva,

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having reached him whom he will beget, Tāraka will be vanquished. / The means has already been arranged by me so that it will certainly happen thus.

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The rest of his sovereign power too shall perish immediately thereafter. / Wait for a short time with minds free from doubt.

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Thus addressed by him, the visibly lotus-born lord, / the thirty gods bowed down to the ruler and departed as was fitting.

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Then, when the gods had gone, Brahmā, the grandfather of the worlds, / the Blessed Lord, remembered Night, who had formerly arisen from his own body.

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Then the blessed goddess Night presented herself before the Grandfather. / Beholding her in solitude, Brahmā spoke to the Night:

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Brahmā said: / O Night, a great task for the gods has arisen; / that must be carried out by you, O goddess. Hear the decision of the task.

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There is a lord of Daityas named Tāraka, the banner of the Suras' [distress], unconquered. / For his destruction, the blessed Lord will beget

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a son; he will become the causer of that Tāraka's end. / She who was Śaṃkara's wife, Satī, the daughter of Dakṣa,

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having become angry, that goddess died for another reason. / She will become the daughter of the snow mountain, bringing welfare to the worlds.

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Through separation from her, Hara, considering the three worlds empty, / performing austerities in a cave of the snow mountain frequented by Siddhas,

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awaiting her birth, will dwell there for some time. / The one of great strength who will be born of those two whose austerities are thoroughly performed,

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he will be the destroyer of the Daitya Tāraka. / But as soon as she is born, that goddess, a maiden of little discernment,

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intensely longing through separation, eager for union with Hara— / of those two whose austerities are thoroughly performed, union must occur, O fair-faced one.

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Then, however, a slight quarrel of words might be generated between them; / even after that, doubt is seen once again regarding Tāraka.

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Therefore, when they are united, on the occasion of their amorous pleasure, / an obstacle must be created by you between them; hear how [to do so].

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Color [her] in the womb of her mother with your own form; / then, leaving her after resting, Śarva, by way of teasing,

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will reprove that goddess; then she, being angered, / will go away to perform austerities, for the sake of austerities once again.

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The [son] whom Śarva will beget, adorned with a luster beloved [to all], / he will indeed become the slayer of the enemies of the gods, without doubt.

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By you also, O goddess, the Dānavas difficult for the world to conquer must be slain; / but as long as Satī does not transfer to you her collection of virtues,

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by union with her, so long you will not be able to slay the Daityas. / When this is done, having performed austerities, the goddess who causes the creation and dissolution of the universe,

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when Umā has completed her religious vow, / then the daughter of the mountain will regain her own true form.

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Your own innate form too will become Ekānaṃśā; / endowed with a portion of [her] beauty, you will abide in Umā.

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The world will worship you as Ekānaṃśā, O bestower of boons, / through manifold forms, omnipresent, fulfiller of desires.

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You are praised as the Gāyatrī whose face is the syllable Oṃ by the expositors of the Veda; / as victorious power with radiant form by mighty-armed kings;

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as Earth, the mother of the Vaiśyas; as Śaivī by the Śūdras; / as the unshakeable patience of sages; as compassion by the self-restrained;

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you are the multitude of great remedies, the statecraft of those who practice policy; / you are the precise discernment of things, the desire in the hearts of living beings;

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you are the liberation of all beings, the refuge of all embodied ones; / you are the fame of the famous, the physical form of all embodied beings;

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you are passion in the impassioned, pleasure in the joyful of gaze; / you are beauty in the adorned, peace in sorrowful actions;

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you are error in all cognitions, the path of sacrifice-performers; / the high surge of the oceans, and the sportive charm of lovers;

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you are the origination of entities, the endurance that protects the worlds; / you are the Night of Time that destroys the entire array of worlds;

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you are the night that bestows the bliss of embracing the lover's neck. / Thus in manifold forms are you worshipped in the world, O goddess.

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Those who praise you, O bestower of boons, or who worship you, / they will attain all desires, being self-controlled, without doubt.

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Thus addressed, the goddess Night, saying “So be it” with folded hands, / went swiftly and quickly to the supreme abode of the snow mountain.

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There, seated in a great palace, leaning against a jeweled wall, / she saw Menā, whose lotus face had a pale complexion,

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bent down by the heavy burden of breasts with slightly dark nipples, / served by the sovereign of mantras bound with a host of potent herbs,

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wearing great serpents for the protection of life bound with gold, / illuminated by a great light from the radiance of clusters of jewel lamps,

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strewn with abundant white mustard seeds, attended by charming companions, / radiant with a bed-covering on the ground covered with clean cloth,

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delightful with the fragrance of incense, supplied with the scent of sal resin. / Then, when day had gradually receded into the distance, night

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spread forth, leading to joyful result; then, in the great palace of Menā, / while people were mostly asleep, when night-roaming spirits were wandering about,

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when the hare-bearer [moon] shone with clear light, when nocturnal birds flew around, / when the courtyard was covered by multitudes of night-stalking spirits,

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when dear lovers were clinging tightly in an embrace around the neck, / then, as Menā’s two lotus eyes grew somewhat languid,

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Night entered her mouth, uniting clearly after a very long time, / entering gradually into the womb of the mother of the universe, bringing about birth.

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Indeed, Night, thinking of entering another birth, / colored the goddess's complexion, Night who was the kindling stick for Guha.

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Then, at the auspicious hour of Brahmā, the beloved of the Snow Mountain, the cause of life for the Lord of the Universe, / gave birth to the fire-stick of Guha.

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When she was born, all creatures, both immobile and mobile, / all dwellers in every world, became happy.

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Even for the denizens of hell there was great happiness equal to heaven, / and the hearts of embodied beings of cruel nature became peaceful.

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Even the radiance of heavenly bodies became heightened with delight; / the medicinal herbs growing in the forests bore sweet fruits;

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garlands became fragrant, and the sky became spotless; / the breeze had a pleasant touch, and the directions were captivatingly lovely.

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And through her, the goddess Earth became radiant with the qualities of emerging fruits and ripening grains, / and covered with rows of paddy crops.

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The austerities practiced for a long time by sages of purified self / and spotless mind bore fruit at that moment.

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Forgotten sacred texts were recalled into manifestation, / and the power of the foremost sacred ford-sanctuaries became most holy then.

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In the intermediate space were gods by thousands in their aerial chariots, / led by Mahendra, Hari, Brahmā, Vāyu, and Agni.

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They showered a rain of flowers upon that Snow Mountain; / the foremost Gandharvas sang, and hosts of Apsarases danced.

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Meru and the other [mountains] too, embodied and possessed of great power, / when that great festival arrived, with divine offerings in their hands,

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and rivers and oceans came together from all sides. / The Snow Mountain thus became, in this world, to all mobile and immobile beings,

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to be served and approached, the most excellent of mountains, possessing supreme fortune. / Having enjoyed the festival, the gods joyfully returned to their own abodes.

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Through the virtues of gods, Gandharvas, lords of snakes, mountains, right conduct, and the earth, / competing with one another, the divine daughter of the Snow Mountain,

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was gradually nurtured by wise men who were fortunate and tireless; / and gradually, with the awakening of her beauty and good fortune, she conquered

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the three worlds and adorned them with peerless [splendor], the daughter of the mountain. / In the meantime, Śakra remembered Nārada, who is esteemed by the gods,

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the divine sage who is swift in accomplishing tasks. / Understanding the thought that arose in Śakra, the blessed [sage] then

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came, filled with joy, to the residence of Mahendra. / Seeing him, the thousand-eyed Vāsava stood up from his great seat

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and honored him with foot-water as was proper. / Accepting according to rule the worship offered by Śakra,

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Nārada asked the god, the chastiser of Pāka, after his welfare. / And when his welfare was asked, the lord Śakra spoke these words:

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“Indra said: / ‘When the shoot of welfare has already sprung up in the three worlds, / you must not be negligent, O sage, regarding the attainment of its fruit!

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And you know all this; nevertheless, one who prompts another / attains supreme contentment by communicating his purpose to a friend.

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Therefore, that the mountain-born goddess may be joined in union with Pinākin, / let an effort be swiftly made by all on our side!’”

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Having understood the entire purpose, the blessed Nārada, having taken leave / of Śakra, went to the dwelling of the Snow Mountain.

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There at the gate, crowded with multicolored cane rods, that best of brāhmaṇas, / the sage, was greeted by the Snow Mountain who had come out before him.

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Entering together into the palace that was the ornament of the earth, / on a large, golden, wide seat personally offered by the Snow Mountain,

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the foremost sage of matchless splendor sat down, / and the mountain offered him guest-water and foot-water as was appropriate.

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The sage then accepted the guest-water according to rule. / When the guest-water had been accepted, the mountain, with a slowly blooming lotus face,

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asked that foremost of sages in a gentle voice after the welfare of his austerities; / and the sage too asked the king of mountains after his welfare then.

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“Nārada said: / ‘Ah, everything has been brought down into your residence, O great mountain! / The vastness of your caves is equal to the mind, O immovable one!

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The weight of the host of your virtues exceeds that of an immobile object, / and the purity of your waters is greater even than that of the mind.

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We do not observe, O lord of mountains, anything lacking within your caves; / nor does splendor reside anywhere in heaven in greater measure!

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You are perpetually purified by the purifying sages of varied austerities, / of radiance equal to fire and the sun, who take refuge in your caves.

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Disdaining aerial chariots and free from longing for dwelling in heaven, / gods, Gandharvas, and Kiṃnaras reside here as in a father's house.

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Ah, fortunate are you, O lord of mountains, in whose cave / Hara, though Lord of the Universe, resides, intent upon meditation!’”

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When the divine sage Nārada had spoken thus with affectionate speech, / Menā, the queen of the Snow Mountain, desiring to see the sage,

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followed by her daughter and accompanied by a small retinue of female attendants, / her body bowed with modesty and affection, entered the dwelling.

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There stood that self-controlled, foremost of sages together with the mountain; / and seeing that sage, a mass of blazing splendor, the beloved of the mountain then,

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with veiled face and with folded hands made with her lotus palms, paid homage. / Seeing her, the fortunate, great sage of boundless luster

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fostered her with blessings that were like outpourings of nectar. / Then the daughter of the Snow Mountain, her heart filled with wonder,

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The goddess looked upon Nārada, the sage of wondrous form; / and addressed by the sage in an affectionate voice: “Come, child,”

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clasping her father by the neck, she sat down upon his lap. / The mother spoke to that goddess: “Bow down [before him], my little daughter.”

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to the venerable one; then you shall obtain an agreeable and fortunate husband.” / But spoken to thus by her mother, with her face covered by the hem of her garment,

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With her head slightly shaking, she said nothing at all. / Then the mother spoke these words again to her daughter:

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“Child, salute the divine sage; then I will give you a lovely, / beautiful jewel-toy that I have kept for a long time.”

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Addressed thus, she then quickly stood upon her feet, / placed the buds of her lotus hands to her head, and made obeisance.

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When her obeisance was made, the mother, through the mouth of a friend, / gently prompted [the sage] to declare her auspicious fortune,

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out of curiosity to know the bodily marks, / carrying in her heart the anxiety natural to women regarding a daughter.

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Knowing that intention of his queen with his heart, / the unperturbed Mountain, with intact [composure], considered this impending matter pleasant.

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Prompted then by the friend of the Mountain's queen, the foremost among sages, / the illustrious Nārada, spoke these words with a smiling face:

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“No husband has been born for her, auspicious lady, and she is devoid of marks; / her hands are constantly turned upward, her feet are wandering, / and she will follow her own shadow. Why say much else?”

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Hearing this, seized with agitation, his composure shattered, / the mighty, great mountain, with tears in his throat, then answered Nārada:

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Himavat said: / “Since the course of worldly existence, with its exceeding faults, is hard to fathom, / and creation is inevitable, by some supreme Soul,

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a boundary was ordained by the Creator and established for embodied beings: / for he who is born from someone’s seed is meaningless to his begetter.

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And it is clear that no one is truly the begetter of the one born; / the various classes of beings are born solely through their own deeds.

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Indeed, an egg-born being born from an egg-born might be born again as a human; / and from a human [born] into a reptilian form, one is born as a human again.

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Even there, in the highest birth, through the excellence of righteousness, / the remaining creatures abide without the birth of sons.

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Men are born therein who do not practice householder duties, / attain stages of life in sequence following the vow of a student of the Veda,

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by the command of that Creator, by whom worldly existence has been multiplied. / How could there be growth of worldly existence if all were to renounce?

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Therefore the acquisition of a son has been praised by the Creator in the scriptures, / to confound living beings, through reliance on rescue from hell.

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Without woman, the creation of living beings cannot take place; / but womankind is miserable by very nature, speaking piteously; / the capacity to investigate scripture was omitted in them by the Creator.

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In the scriptures it has been stated undoubtedly, many times with great fruit, / that a daughter who is not devoid of good character is equal to ten sons.

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This statement is bereft of fruit and produces supreme dejection in a man; / for a daughter is wretched, pitiable, and an increaser of her father's grief.

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Even one who is completely endowed with husband, sons, wealth, and the rest; / how much more so one who is unfortunate, bereft of husband, sons, wealth, and the rest!

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And you have spoken of an assemblage of defects in my daughter's body. / Alas, I am confounded, I dry up, I languish, I collapse, O Nārada!

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Though it be improper to utter, and currently unattainable, / cut away my sorrow based upon this daughter, O sage, by your grace.

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Even in an ascertained and undoubted matter, the mind is an abode of defeat; / experienced, inauspicious craving, relying on greed for results, robs it.

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For women, the highest birth, for the happiness of both families / here and hereafter, is declared to be the attainment of a good husband.

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A good husband is hard to find for women; indeed, even a husband devoid of virtues / is never obtained by a woman without merits.

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For in a husband is established a woman's righteousness without external means, / boundless pleasure, and wealth sufficient for a lifetime.

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Be he poor, unfortunate, foolish, or devoid of all auspicious marks, / a husband is said to be always the supreme deity of a woman.

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And you have said, O divine sage: ‘No husband has been born for her.’ / This misfortune is incomparable, immeasurable, heavy, and unbearable.

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In the creation of mobile and immobile beings, that even today, O sage, / you say he is not born—by that my mind is bewildered.

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For the classes of humans and gods, the bodily marks on hands, feet, and so forth, / indicate good and bad fortune through ordained bodily signs.

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You said, O best of sages, that she has her hands turned upward; / the state of having hands turned upward is declared only for those who perpetually beg,

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never for the fortunate of auspicious rise who give. / You said that her feet wander according to her own shadow;

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even in that, O sage, no hope for blessings appears to us. / And other bodily marks indicate individual results,

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announcing good fortune, wealth, sons, long life, and the gaining of a husband; / and she is bereft of all these, O best of sages, as you say.

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You know everything concerning me, and you speak the truth; / therefore, O tiger among sages, I am bewildered; my heart seems to split asunder.”

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Having spoken thus, the Mountain ceased, out of reflection on his great sorrow. / Having heard all this from the lotus mouth of the king of mountains, / Nārada, impelled by the gods, said this with a smile:

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Nārada said: / “Even in an occasion of great joy, sorrow is perceived by you; / having not discerned the meaning of my words, you fall into delusion, O great mountain.

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Hear these words of mine, established in deep mystery, / being attentive, O great mountain, to the examination of what was spoken by me.

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That which was spoken by me, O Himācala, that no husband has been born for this goddess: / Mahādeva, the origin of the past, future, and present, is unborn; / he is the refuge, eternal, the ruler, Śaṃkara, the Supreme Lord.

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Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Indra, and the sages are afflicted by birth, death, and old age; / all these are playthings of that Supreme Lord, O mountain.

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Brahmā abides, born by his will, the lord of the world; / Viṣṇu is born from age to age in diverse births, possessing a great body.

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You may consider Viṣṇu also born through illusory power from age to age; / there is no destruction of the Self, even down to the immobile, O mountain.

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Of the embodied soul being born and dying in worldly existence, / it is only the body that perishes here; no destruction of the Self is spoken of.

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This worldly existence, which is described as extending from Brahmā down to the immobile, / revolves helplessly, afflicted with the pain of birth and death.

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Mahādeva is unmoving, steadfast, unborn, the creator, unaging; / he will be her husband, the lord of the universe, free of disease.

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And as to what I said—that your daughter is devoid of bodily marks— / hear also the correct explanation of that statement.

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A bodily mark is indeed a divine sign residing upon limbs of the body, / revealing the full measure of life, wealth, and good fortune.

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For good fortune that is endless and immeasurable, O mountain, / no sign in the form of a bodily mark can be set upon the body.

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Therefore, O wise mountain, there is no bodily mark on her limbs. / As for my saying that her hands are always upturned:

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This goddess’s hand is upturned, always bestowing boons; / she will be the giver of boons to hosts of gods, Asuras, and sages.

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And as it was said that her two feet deviate from their own shadow, / hear my reasoned meaning in that regard as well, O best of mountains.

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Her two lotus-like feet shine with clean nails, / illuminated by the lustres of the crest-jewels of bowing gods and Asuras,

154.192

shining with diverse colours and reflecting their own shadows. / Indeed, O mountain, she is the wife of the world's teacher, the Bull-bannered Lord.

154.193

The mother of worldly dharma, she has arisen as the fosterer of beings; / she is Śivā, blazing like fire, for the purification of your domain.

154.194

Therefore, O best of mountain kings, you should duly act in such a way / that she may quickly be united with the Wielder of the Pināka; / for an exceedingly great task of the gods awaits, O snow-mountain."

154.195

Sūta said: / Having heard everything from Nārada, the king of mountains, / Menā's husband, considered himself reborn then.

154.196

Bowing to the wise, bull-bannered god, / the overjoyed Himācala spoke to Nārada:

154.197

Himavat said: / "I have been rescued by you, O sage, from a dreadful, impassable hell; / having raised me from the netherworld, you have made me the ruler of the seven worlds.

154.198

O best of sages, now I am renowned by you as Himācala; / in the Himācala, I have been brought to an unshakeable height of mountain virtues.

154.199

My heart, having spent its days in bliss, O sage, / cannot resolve upon the discernment of what is to be done, / even if I were the master of words in appraising your virtues.

154.200

The sight of persons like you, O sage, is certainly unfailing; / your affection toward us is evident to me, O great sage.

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