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of fire from Thy mouth. Our fears being dispelled we shall then, O Hari, recite to thee what we have heard and seen.'" |
"Vasudeva said, 'The fire that issued from my mouth and that resembles the all-consuming Yuga-fire in splendour, and by |
which this mountain has been crushed and scorched, is nothing else than the energy of Vishnu. Ye Rishis, ye are persons that |
have subjugated wrath, that have brought your senses under complete control, that are endued with wealth of penances, and |
that are very gods in puissance. Yet ye have suffered yourselves to be agitated and distressed! I am now engaged wholly with |
the observances relating to rigid vow. Verily, in consequence of my observing the vows of an ascetic, a fire issued from my |
mouth. It behoves you not to suffer yourselves to be agitated. It is for observing a rigid vow that I came to this delightful and |
auspicious mountain. The object that has brought me here is to acquire by the aid of penances a son that would be my equal in |
energy. In consequence of my penances, the Soul existing in my body became transformed into fire and issued out of my |
mouth. That fire had repaired to behold the boon-giving Grandsire of all the universe. The Grandsire, ye foremost of ascetics, |
told my soul that half the energy of the great god having the bull for his device would take birth as my son. That fire returning |
from its mission, has come back to me and approached my feet like a disciple desirous of serving me dutifully. Indeed, casting |
off its fury it has come back to me to its own proper nature. I have thus told you, in brief, a mystery appertaining to Him who |
has the lotus for his origin and who is endued with great intelligence. Ye Rishis possessed of wealth of penances, ye should not |
give way to fear! Ye are endued with far-reaching vision. Ye can proceed to every place without any impediment. Blazing with |
vows observed by ascetics, ye are adorned with knowledge and science. I now ask you to tell me something that is highly |
wonderful which you have heard of or seen on earth or in heaven. I feel an eager desire to taste the honey of that speech which |
will drop from your lips, the honey that will, I am sure, be as sweet as a jet of nectar itself. If I behold anything on earth or in |
heaven, which is highly delightful and of wonderful aspect but which is unknown to all of you, ye Rishis that look like so many |
gods, I say that that is in consequence of my own Supreme Nature which is incapable of being obstructed by anything. |
Anything wonderful whose knowledge dwelleth in me or is acquired by my own inspiration ceases to appear wonderful to me. |
Anything, however, that is recited by pious persons and that is heard from those that are good, deserves to be accepted with |
respect and faith. Such discourses exist on earth for a long time and are as durable as characters engraved on rocks. I desire, |
therefore, to hear, at this meeting something dropping from the lips of persons that are good and that cannot fail to be |
productive of good to men.' Hearing these words of Krishna all those ascetics became filled with surprise. They began to gaze |
at Janardana with those eyes of theirs that were as beautiful and large as the petals of the lotus. Some of them began to glorify |
him and some began to worship him with reverence. Indeed, all of them then hymned the praises of the slayer of Madhu with |
words whose meanings were adorned with the eternal Riks. All those ascetics then appointed Narada, that foremost of all |
persons conversant with speech, to gratify the request of Vasudeva.' |
"The ascetics said, 'It behoveth thee, O Narada, to describe, in full, from the beginning, unto Hrishikesa, that wonderful and |
inconceivable incident which occurred, O puissant one, on the mountains of Himavat and which, O ascetic, was witnessed by |
those of us that had proceeded thither in course of our pilgrimage to the sacred waters. Verily, for the benefit of all the Rishis |
here assembled, it behoveth thee to recite that incident.' Thus addressed by those ascetics, the celestial Rishi, viz., the divine |
Narada, then recited the following story whose incidents had occurred some time before.'" |
SECTION CXL |
"Bhishma said, 'Then Narada, that holy Rishi, that friend of Narayana, recited the following narrative of the discourse between |
Sankara and his spouse Uma.' |
"Narada said, 'Once on a time the righteous-souled lord of all the deities, viz., Mahadeva with the bull for his device, practised |
severe penances on the sacred mountains of Himavat that are the resort of Siddhas and Charanas. Those delightful mountains |
are overgrown with diverse kinds of herbs and adorned with various species of flowers. At that time they were peopled by the |
different tribes of Apsaras and crowds of ghostly beings. There the great god sat, filled with joy, and surrounded by hundreds |
of ghostly beings who presented diverse aspects to the eye of the beholder. Some of them were ugly and awkward, some were |
of very handsome features, and some presented the most wonderful appearances. Some had faces like the lion's, some like the |
tiger's and some like the elephant's. In fact, the faces of those ghostly creatures presented every variety of animal faces. Some |
had faces resembling that of the jackal, some whose faces resembled the pard's; some like the ape's, some like the bull's. Some |
of them had faces like the owl's; some like the hawk's; some had faces like those of deer of diverse varieties. The great god was |
also surrounded by Kinnaras and Yakshas and Gandharvas and Rakshasas and diverse other created beings. The retreat to |
which Mahadeva had betaken himself also abounded with celestial flowers and blazed with celestial rays of light. It was |
perfumed with celestial sandal, and celestial incense was burnt on every side. And it echoed with the sounds of celestial |
instruments. Indeed, it resounded with the beat of Mridangas and Panavas, the blare of conchs, and the sound of drums. It |
teemed with ghostly beings of diverse tribes that danced in joy and with peacocks also that danced with plumes outspread. |
Forming as it did the resort of the celestial Rishis, the Apsaras danced there in joy. The place was exceedingly agreeable to the |
sight. It was exceedingly beautiful, resembling Heaven itself. Its entire aspect was wonderful and, indeed, it is indescribable in |
respect of its beauty and sweetness. Verily, with the penances of that great deity who sleeps on mountain breasts, that prince of |
mountains shone with great beauty. It resounded with the chant of the Vedas uttered by learned Brahmanas devoted to Vedic |
recitation. Echoing with the hum of bees, O Madhava, the mountain became incomparable in beauty. The ascetics, beholding |
the great deity who is endued with a fierce form and who looks like a great festival, became filled, O Janardana, with great joy. |
All the highly blessed ascetics, the Siddhas who have drawn in their vital seed, the Maruts, the Vasus, the Sadhyas, the |
Viswedevas, Vasava himself, the Yakshas, the Nagas, the Pisachas, the Regents of the world, the several sacred Fires, the |
Winds, and all the great creatures dwelt on that mountain with minds concentrated in Yoga. All the Seasons were present there |
and scattered those regions with all kinds of wonderful flowers. Diverse kinds of blazing herbs illuminated the woods and |
forests on that mountain. Various species of birds, filled with joy, hopped about and sang merrily on the delightful beast of that |
mountain. Those birds were exceedingly lovable in consequence of the notes they uttered. The high-souled Mahadeva sat, |
displayed in beauty, on one of the peaks that was adorned with excellent minerals, as if it served the purposes of a fine |
bedstead. Round his loins was a tiger-skin, and a lion-skin formed his upper garments. His sacred thread consisted of a snake. |
His arms were decked with a pair of red Angadas, His beard was green. He had matted locks on his head. Of terrible features, |
he it is that inspires with fear the hearts of all the enemies of the gods. It is he, again, that assures all creatures by dispelling |
their fears. He is adored by his worshippers as the deity having the bovine bull for his device. The great Rishis, beholding |
Mahadeva, bowed to him by touching the ground with their heads. Endued with forgiving souls, they all became (in |
consequence of the sight they had obtained of the great deity) freed from every sin and thoroughly cleansed. The retreat of that |
lord of all creatures with many terrible forms, shone with a peculiar beauty. Abounding with many large snakes, it became |
unapproachable and unbearable (by ordinary beings). Within the twinkling of the eye. O slayer of Madhu, everything there |
became exceedingly wonderful. Indeed, the abode of that great deity having the bovine bull for his device began to blaze with a |
terrible beauty. Unto Mahadeva seated there, came his spouse, the daughter of Himavat, surrounded by the wives of the ghostly |
beings who are the companions of the great deity. Her attire was like that of her lord and the vows she observed were like those |
of his. She held a jar on her loins that was filled with the waters of every Tirtha, and was accompanied by the presiding deities |
(of her own sex) of all the mountain streams. Those auspicious ladies walked in her train. The goddess approached raining |
flowers on every side and diverse kinds of sweet perfumes. She who loved to reside on the breast of Himavat advanced in this |
guise towards her great lord. The beautiful Uma, with smiling lips and desirous of playing a jest, covered from behind, with her |
two beautiful hands, the eyes of Mahadeva. As soon as Mahadeva's eyes were thus covered, all the regions became dark and |
life seemed to be extinct everywhere in the universe. The Homa rites ceased. The universe became suddenly deprived of the |
sacred Vashat also. All living creatures became cheerless and filled with fear. Indeed, when the eyes of the lord of all creatures |
were thus closed, the universe seemed to become sunless. Soon, however, that overspreading darkness disappeared. A mighty |
and blazing flame of fire emanated from Mahadeva's forehead. A third eye, resembling another sun, appeared (on it). That eye |
began to blaze forth like the Yuga-fire and began to consume that mountain. The large-eyed daughter of Himavat, beholding |
what occurred, bowed her head unto Mahadeva endued with that third eye which resembled a blazing fire. She stood there with |
gaze fixed on her lord. When the mountain forests burned on every side, with their Was and other trees of straight Trunks, and |
their delightful sandals and diverse excellent medicinal herbs, herds of deer and other animals, filled with fright, came with |
great speed to the place where Hara sat and sought his protection. With those creatures almost filling it, the retreat of the great |
deity blazed forth with a kind of peculiar beauty. Meanwhile, that fire, swelling wildly, soared up to the very heavens and |
endued with the splendour and unsteadiness of lightning and looking like a dozen suns in might and effulgence, covered every |
side like the all-destroying Yuga-fire. In a moment, the Himavat mountains were consumed, with their minerals and summits |
and blazing herbs. Beholding Himavat crushed and consumed, the daughter of that prince of mountains sought the protection of |
the great deity and stood before him her hands joined in reverence. Then Sarva, seeing Uma overcome by an accession of |
womanly mildness and finding that she was unwilling to behold her father Himavat reduced to that pitiable plight, cast |
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