The king saw Īśvara manifested before him, five-faced, three-eyed, holding the Pināka bow, adorned with the crescent moon, / with a mass of reddish matted locks hanging down, standing in the middle, possessing the splendor of ten million suns,

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having hanging masses of reddish-brown matted locks, arrived in their midst, possessed of the splendour of ten million suns,

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fair as a lotus fiber, wearing an elephant skin as clothing, his crest sprinkled by the waves of the Gaṅgā, / radiant with necklaces of serpent kings, bracelets, signet rings, crowns, armlets, and earrings,

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resplendent with rows of necklaces, bracelets, and rings made of lordly serpents, and with ten million diadems, armlets, and earrings,

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his hands holding the trident, the skull-topped staff, the axe, the shield, the deer, the gesture granting fearlessness, the wish-granting gesture, and the Pināka bow, / seated upon a bull, dark-necked, the Lord.

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seated upon a bull, dark-throated, the lord manifested before him—the king beheld him.

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Then divine showers of flowers fell swiftly from the sky;

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the musical instruments of the gods sounded, and the gods danced and sang.

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There came celestial seers, Nārada and others, Sanaka and others,

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and the lords of the world, Indra and others, as well as the stainless brahmin-seers.

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Seated in their midst, Mahādeva along with Umā

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showered a stream of compassion upon the king bowed in devotion.

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His heart expanded with the joy of seeing Him, his limbs drenched with an overflowing flood of tears, / his hair standing on end, he praised [Him] with words in faltering syllables from his throat, his hands clasped in reverence:

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With hair standing on end, his voice faltering in his throat, he praised him with words, having folded his hands in reverence:

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The king said:

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"I bow to the God, who has no master, imperishable, the primal material cause, whose qualities are unmanifest, the Great One, / uncaused, the cause of causes, the supreme, Śiva, composed of consciousness and bliss, the tranquil;

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"He who is causeless, the supreme cause of causes, Śiva, consisting of consciousness and bliss, tranquil,

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You are the witness of the universe, the creator of this world, whose abode is widespread, seated within the heart; / therefore, the wise search for You in ritual by numerous yogas with restrained minds.

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therefore the wise search for him according to rule, through manifold disciplines of yoga with minds restrained.

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To those contemplating oneness of the Self, You are one; to those with diverse intellects, You assume diverse forms. / Beyond the senses, the witness of rising and setting, Your realm is withdrawn from the path of the mind.

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Beyond the senses, the witness of the play of rising and setting, your state is withdrawn from the path of the mind.

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How can my words be sufficient to praise the form of You who are difficult to attain by speech and intellect, free from delusion, whose nature is the supreme Self, / [when my words are] bound solely to the qualities and dissolved in material nature?

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Devoted solely to the qualities, dissolved in material nature, how are my words able to praise your form?

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Nevertheless, let them take refuge in devotion at Your lotus feet, which crush the affliction of those who bow down! / Afflicted by the dreadful forest fire of saṃsāra, I constantly revere [them] for the appeasement of the fear of worldly existence.

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Afflicted by the forest fire of terrible worldly existence, I worship you constantly for the pacification of fear of transmigration."

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Obeisance to You, the God of gods, Mahādeva, Śambhu!"

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Homage to the one whose form is the threefold deity, the maker of creation, preservation, and dissolution. (53)

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Homage to the primeval form of the universe, the first witness of all,

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homage to the reality of pure being, the mass of consciousness and bliss. (54)

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To the dweller in all fields, whose inherent power is differentiated by each field,

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to you without power, yet appearing as powerful, the immense one, homage. (55)

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To the unmanifest, eternal inner self of truth and knowledge,

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to the completely pure, the far-distant, who has cast off all action. (56)

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Homage to the one known through Vedānta, who dwells at the root of the Vedas;

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homage to the one whose deeds are distinct, whose operation of the guṇas has ceased. (57)

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Homage to the one of auspicious valour, the giver of auspicious fruit;

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homage to the endless, the great, the peaceful, whose form is Śiva. (58)

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To the non-terrific, to the very terrific, the tearer of the terrible flood of sins,

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to the splendour, the crusher of the seeds of worldly existence, the most venerable,

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homage to the dispeller of delusion, whose self-attributes are radiant. (59)

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Protect me, lord of worlds! Protect me, eternal Śaṃkara!

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Protect me, Rudra, odd-eyed one! Protect me, imperishable conqueror of death! (3.3.14.60)

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O Śambhu, whose crest is made of the hare-marked moon, whose form is calm, lord of Gaurī, whose eyes are the sun, moon, and fire!

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O bearer of the Gaṅgā, tearer of Andhaka, of holy renown, lord of beings, dweller on the mountain, homage always to you! (61)

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Sūta said:

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Praised in this way by the king, the blessed god, the great lord,

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pleased together with Pārvatī, that treasury of compassion replied: (62)

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Īśvara said:

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"O king, I am well pleased with your devotion and your holy hymn of praise,

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who, single-minded, have continually and always worshipped me. (63)

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In order to test your disposition, I arrived having become a twice-born.

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She who was seized by the tiger was this divine daughter of the mountain king. (64)

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The tiger, whose body was uninjured by your arrows, was made of illusion.

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Desiring to see your steadfastness, I begged for your wife. (65)

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And by her devotion, that of Kīrtimālinī, and by yours, O giver of honor,

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I am pleased: I grant a boon; choose a boon hard to obtain." (66)

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The king said:

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"This indeed is the boon, O god, that you, the supreme lord,

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have become visible to me, who am overwhelmed by the torment of worldly existence. (67)

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I choose no other boon, O god, from you, the best among granters of boons.

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I, this queen, my mother, and my father,

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the vaiśya named Padmākara, and his son named Sunaya—

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make all of these always remain at your side, O Mahādeva." (69)

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Sūta said:

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Then the illustrious queen, bowing down, Kīrtimālinī,

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having propitiated Giriśa with devotion, begged for an excellent boon. (3.3.14.70)

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The queen said:

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"Candrāṅgada is my father, and Sīmantinī is my mother;

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for the two of them, O Mahādeva, I ask for perpetual presence at your side." (71)

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"So be it," said the lord of Gaurī, pleased and affectionate toward his devotees;

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granting them the desired boon, he disappeared in an instant. (72)

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That king too, together with the gods having obtained the grace of the wielder of the trident,

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enjoyed beloved pleasures together with Kīrtimālinī. (73)

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Having ruled the kingdom for ten thousand years with unimpeded increase of strength,

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having entrusted the kingdom to his sons, he attained the supreme abode of Śambhu. (74)

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Candrāṅgada too, that best of kings, and that queen Sīmantinī,

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having worshipped Giriśa with devotion, went to the realm of Śambhu. (75)

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This holy, sin-destroying, wondrous recounting of the qualities of Śambhu is the supreme secret;

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whoever recites it to wise people or reads it with restrained mind, having attained the abundance of worldly pleasures, reaches Śiva in the end. (76)

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Thus ends the fourteenth chapter, named "The Recital of the Grace of Śiva upon Bhadrāyu," in the third Brahmottarakhanda of the glorious Skandapurāṇa, a compendium of eighty-one thousand [verses]. (14)

Linked texts (1)

Skandapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit