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benignant looks upon the mountain. In a moment the whole of Himavat was restored to his former condition and became as |
beautiful to look at as ever. Indeed, the mountain put forth a cheerful aspect. All its trees became adorned with flowers. |
Beholding Himavat to his natural condition, the goddess Uma, divested of every fault, addressed her lord, that master of all |
creatures, the divine Maheswara, in these words.' |
"Uma said, 'O holy one, O lord of all creatures, O deity that art armed with the trident, O thou of high vows, a great doubt has |
filled my mind. It behoveth thee to resolve that doubt for me. For what reason has this third eye appeared in thy forehead? Why |
also was the mountain consumed with the woods and all that belonged to it? Why also, O illustrious deity, hast thou restored |
the mountain to its former condition? Indeed, having burnt it once, why hast thou again caused it to be covered with trees?' |
"Maheswara said, 'O goddess without any fault, in consequence of thy having covered my eyes through an act of indiscretion |
the universe became in a moment devoid of light. When the universe became sunless and, therefore, all became dark, O |
daughter of the prince of mountains, I created the third eye desirous of protecting all creatures. The high energy of that eye |
crushed and consumed this 'mountain. For pleasing thee, however, O goddess, I once more made Himavat what he was by |
repairing the injury.' |
"Uma said, 'O holy one, why are those faces of thine which are on the east, the north, and the west, so handsome and so |
agreeable to look at like the very moon? And why is that face of thine which is on the south so terrible? Why are thy matted |
locks tawny in hue and so erect? Why is thy throat blue after the manner of the peacock's plumes? Why, O illustrious deity, is |
the Pinaka always in thy hand? Why art thou always a Brahmacharin with matted locks? O lord, it behoves thee to explain all |
these to me. I am thy spouse who seeks to follow the same duties with thee. Further, I am thy devoted worshipper, O deity, |
having the bull for thy mark!' |
"Narada continued, 'Thus addressed by the daughter of the prince of mountains, the illustrious wielder of Pinaka, the puissant |
Mahadeva, became highly gratified with her. The great god then addressed her saying, 'O blessed lady, listen to me as I |
explain, with the reasons thereof, why my forms are so.'" |
SECTION CXLI |
"The blessed and holy one said, 'In days of yore, a blessed woman was created by Brahman, called Tilottama, by culling grains |
of beauty from every beautiful object in the universe. One day, that lady of beautiful face, unrivalled in the universe for beauty |
of form, came to me, O goddess, for circumambulating me but really impelled by the desire of tempting me. In whatever |
direction that lady of beautiful teeth turned, a new face of mine instantly appeared (so eager did I become to see her). All those |
faces of mine became agreeable to look at. Thus, in consequence of the desire of beholding her, I became four-faced, through |
Yoga-puissance, Thus, I showed my high Yoga-power in becoming four-faced. With that face of mine which is turned towards |
the east, I exercise the sovereignty of the universe, With that face of mine which is turned towards the north, I sport with thee, |
O thou of faultless features! That face of mine which is turned towards the west is agreeable and auspicious. With it I ordain |
the happiness of all creatures. That face of mine which is turned towards the south is terrible. With it I destroy all creatures. I |
live as a Brahmacharin with matted locks on my head, impelled by the desire of doing good to all creatures. The bow Pinaka is |
always in my hand for accomplishing the purposes of the deities. In days of yore, Indra, desirous of acquiring my prosperity, |
had hurled his thunderbolt at me. With that weapon my throat was scorched. For this reason I have become blue-throated.' |
"Uma said, 'When, O foremost of all creatures, there are so many excellent vehicles endued with great beauty, why is it that |
thou hast selected a bovine bull for thy vehicle?' |
"Maheswara said, 'In the days of yore, the Grandsire Brahma created the celestial cow Surabhi yielding abundant milk. After |
her creation there sprang from her a large number of kine all of which yielded copious quantities of milk sweet as nectar. Once |
on a time a quantity of froth fell from the mouth of one of her calves on my body. I was enraged at this and my wrath scorched |
all the kine which thereupon became diversified in hue. I was then pacified by the Master of all the worlds, viz., Brahma, |
conversant with all topics. It was he who gave me this bull both as a vehicle for bearing me and as a device on my banner.' |
"Uma said, 'Thou hast many abodes in heaven, of diverse forms and possessed of every comfort and luxury. Why, O holy one, |
dost thou reside in the crematorium, abandoning all those delightful mansions? The crematorium is full of the hair and bones |
(of the dead), abounds with vulture and jackals, and is strewn with hundreds of funeral pyres. Full of carrion and muddy with |
fat and blood, with entrails and bones strewn all over it, and always echoing with the howls of jackals, it is certainly an unclean |
place.' |
"Maheswara said, 'I always wander over the whole earth in search of a sacred spot. I do not, however, see any spot that is more |
sacred than the crematorium. Hence, of all abodes, the crematorium pleases my heart most, shaded that it generally is by |
branches of the banian and adorned with torn garlands of flowers. O thou of sweet smiles, the multitudes of ghostly beings that |
are my companions love to reside in such spots. I do not like, O goddess, to reside anywhere without those ghostly creatures |
being by my side. Hence, the crematorium is a sacred abode to me. Indeed, O auspicious lady, it seems to me to be the very |
heaven. Highly sacred and possessed of great merit, the crematorium is much applauded by persons desirous of having holy |
abodes.' |
"Uma said, 'O holy one, O lord of all creatures, O foremost of all observers of duties and religious rites, I have a great doubt, O |
wielder of Pinaka, O giver of boons. These ascetics, O puissant lord, have undergone diverse kinds of austerities. In the world |
are seen ascetics wandering everywhere under diverse forms and clad in diverse kinds of attire. For benefiting this large |
assemblage of Rishis, as also myself, do thou kindly resolve, O chastiser of all foes, this doubt of mine. What indications has |
Religion or Duty been said to possess? How, indeed, do men become unacquainted with the details of Religion or Duty to |
succeed in observing them? O puissant lord, O thou that art conversant with Religion, do thou tell me this.' |
"Narada continued, 'When the daughter of Himavat put this question, conclave of Rishis there present worshipped the goddess |
and adored her with words adorned with Riks and with hymns fraught with deep import.' |
"Maheswara said, 'Abstention from injury, truthfulness of speech, compassion towards all beings, tranquillity of soul, and the |
making of gifts to the best of one's power, are the foremost duties of the householder. Abstention from sexual congress with the |
spouses of other men, protection of the wealth and the woman committed to one's charge, unwillingness to appropriate what is |
not given to one, and avoidance of honey and meat,--these are the five chief duties. Indeed, Religion or Duty has many |
branches all of which are fraught with happiness. Even these are the duties which these embodied creatures who regard duty as |
superior should observe and practise. Even these are the sources of merit.' |
"Uma said, O holy one, I wish to ask thee another question about which I have great doubts. It behoveth thee to answer it and |
dispel my doubts. What are the meritorious duties of the four several orders? What duties appertain to the Brahmana? What to |
the Kshatriya? What are the indications of those duties that appertain to the Vaisya? And what kind of duties appertain to the |
Sudra?' |
"The holy one said, 'O highly blessed lady, the question thou hast asked is a very proper one. Those persons that belong to the |
regenerate order are regarded as highly blessed, and are, indeed, gods on earth. Without doubt, the observance of fasts (i.e., |
subjugation of the senses) is always the duty of the Brahmana. When the Brahmana succeeds in properly observing all his |
duties, he attains to identity with Brahma.[560] The proper observance of the duties of Brahmacharya, O goddess, are his ritual. |
The observance of vows and the investiture with the sacred thread are his other duties. It is by these that he becomes truly |
regenerate. He becomes a Brahmana for worshipping his preceptors and other seniors as also the deities. Verily, that religion |
which has for its soul the study of the Vedas is the source of all piety. Even that is the religion which those embodied creatures |
who are devoted to piety and duty should observe and practise.' |
"Uma said, 'O holy one, my doubts have not been dispelled. It behoveth thee to explain in detail what the duties are of the four |
respective orders of men.' |
"Maheswara said, 'Listening to the mysteries of religion and duty, observance of the vows indicated in the Vedas, attention to |
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