Thou art the bearer of matted locks on Thy head,
Thou wearest animal skins for Thy vestments,
Thou wearest a crest of matted air on Thy head like the peacock,
Thou art he that is the whole universe for Thy limbs,
The word Virat signifies infinitude.
Thou art the Creator of all things,
Thou art Hara in consequence of Thy being the destroyer of all things,
Thou art he that has eyes resembling those of the gazelle,
Thou art the destroyer of all creatures,
Thou art the supreme enjoyer of all things,
Thou art Pravritti whence all actions flow,
Thou art Nivritti or abstention from acts,
Thou art observant of fasts and vows,
Thou art Eternal,
Thou art Unchangeable,
Thou art he that resides in crematoria,
Thou art the possessor of the six well-known attributes of Lordship and the rest,
The six attributes are infinite treasures, strength, glory, splendour, knowledge and renunciation. These attributes relate to Bhagavan, an epithet of the God-head. Bhagavan is also the Personal God of the devotee.
Thou residest in the heart of every creature,
Thou art he that enjoys all things with senses,
Thou art the grinder of all sinful creatures,
The task of rendering these names into English is very difficult. In the original, many of these names are such that they are capable of more than one interpretation. Each name would require a separate note for explaining different bearings. For example, the word niyata literally means one who observes fasts and vows, restraining one’s
senses. Hence it means an ascetic. Mahadeva is an ascetic. Smasana is either a crematorium where the dead are buried or burned, or it may mean Varanasi, the sacred city of Siva, where creatures dying need not have to take rebirth. Siva is both a resident of crematoria and of Varanasi.
Thou art he that deserves the salutations of all,
Thou art of great feats,
Thou art he that has penances for his wealth,
Thou createst all the elements at Thy will,
Thou concealest Thy real nature by putting on the guise of a lunatic,
Thou art the Master of all the worlds and of all living creatures,
Thou art of immeasurable form,
Thou art of vast body,
Thou art of the form of Righteousness,
Thou art of great fame,
Thou art of high Soul,
Thou art the Soul of all creatures,
Thou hast the universe for Thy form,
Thou art of vast jaws (for Thou swallowest the universe when the time comes for the dissolution of all things),
Thou art the protector of all the lokas (the worlds),
Thou art the Soul residing in the inner heart and as such devoid of ahamkara originating from ignorance, and is one and undivided,
The allegory is to Mahadeva being the Pratyag Soul free from ignorance.
Thou art anandam (bliss),
Thou art he whose car (vehicle) is borne by mules,
Thou art he that protects Jiva from the thunderbolt of rebirth,
Thou art adorable,
Thou art obtained by purity, self-restraint and vows,
Thou art again the refuge of all kinds of vows and observances including purity and self-restraint,
The word niyama in the text refers to purity, both internal and external, contentedness with whatever is had, penances, Vedic studies, meditation on the Deity, etc.
Thou art the celestial artificer that is conversant with every art,
Thou art self-created (for no one has created Thee),
Thou art the beginning of all creatures and things,
Thou art Hiranyagarbha, the Creator of all things,
Thou art inexhaustible puissance and felicity,
The word nidhi implies the largest number that can be named in arithmetical notation. Hence it implies the possessor of inexhaustible felicity and gladness.
Thou hast a hundred eyes,
The word sahasraksha connotes either Indra or possessor of innumerable eyes in consequence of Mahadeva being identical with the universe.
Thou hast eyes of vast power,
The word visalaksha connotes one whose eyes are of vast power, because the past as well as the future are seen by them even as the present.
Thou art Soma,Soma implies either the Moon or the libations poured into the sacrificial fire.
Thou art he that causes all righteous creatures to assume shapes of glory for shining in the firmament,
All righteous persons become luminaries in the firmament. It is Mahadeva that makes them so for the reason that He is the giver of glorious forms to those that deserve them.