Thy observances and thy penances are not known to others. Thou art Pranava; thou art the firmament bespangled with myriads of stars. Thou art Dhatri, and Vidhatri, and Sandhatri, Vidhatri, and the Refuge of all things in the form of the Supreme cause, and thou art independent of all Refuge. Thou art conversant with Brahma, thou art Penance, thou art Truth, thou art the soul of Brahmacharya, and thou art Simplicity.[1428] Thou art the soul of creatures, thou art the Creator of all creatures, thou art absolute Existence, and thou art the Cause whence the Past, the Present, and the Future, have sprung. Thou art Earth, thou art Firmament, and thou art Heaven. Thou art Eternal, thou art Self-restrained, and thou art the great god. Thou art initiated, and thou art not initiated. Thou art forgiving; thou art unforgiving; and thou art the chastiser of all who are rebellious. Thou art the lunar month, thou art the cycle of the Yugas (i.e., Kalpa), thou art Destruction, and thou art Creation. Thou art Lust, thou art the vital seed, thou art subtile, thou art gross, and thou art fond of garlands made of Karnikara flowers. Thou hast a face like that of Nandi, thou hast a face that is terrible, thou hast a handsome face, thou hast an ugly face, and thou art without a face. Thou hast four faces, thou hast many faces, and thou hast a fiery face when engaged in battles. Thou art gold-stomached (i.e., Narayana), thou art (unattached to all things like) a bird (unattached to the earth whence it derives its food and to which it belongs), thou art Ananta (the lord of mighty snakes), and thou art Virat (hugest of the huge).
Thou art the destroyer of Unrighteousness, thou art called Mahaparswa, thou art Chandradhara, and thou art the chief of the spirit-clans. Thou lowedst like a cow, thou wert the protector of kine, and thou hast the lord of bulls for thy attendant.[1429] Thou art the protector of the three worlds, thou art Govinda, thou art the director of the senses, and thou art incapable of being apprehended by the senses. Thou art the foremost of all creatures, thou art fixed, thou art immobile, thou tremblest not, and thou art of the form of trembling![1430] Thou art incapable of being resisted, thou art the destroyer of all poisons, thou art incapable of being borne (in battle), and thou art incapable of being transcended, thou canst not be made to tremble, thou canst not be measured, thou canst not be vanquished, and thou art victory.[1431] Thou art of swift speed, thou art the Moon, thou art Yama (the universal destroyer), thou bearest (without flinching) cold and heat and hunger and weakness and disease. Thou art all mental agonies, thou art all physical diseases, thou art the curer of all diseases, and thou art those diseases themselves which thou curest. Thou art the destroyer of my Sacrifice which had endeavoured to escape in the form of deer. Thou art the advent and the departure of all diseases. Thou hast a high crest. Thou hast eyes like lotus-petals. Thy habitation is in the midst of a forest of lotuses. Thou bearest the ascetic’s staff in thy hands. Thou hast the three Vedas for thy three eyes. Thy chastisements are fierce and severe.
Thou art the destroyer of the egg (whence the universe springs). Thou art the drinker of both poison and fire, thou art the foremost of all deities, thou art the drinker of Soma, thou art the lord of the Maruts.[1432] Thou art the drinker of Nectar. Thou art the Master of the universe. Thou shinest in glory, and thou art the lord of all the shining ones. Thou protectest from poison and death, and thou drinkest milk and Soma. Thou art the foremost of the protectors of those that have fallen off from heaven, and thou protectest him who is the first of the deities.[1433] Gold is thy vital seed. Thou art male, thou art female, thou art neuter. Thou art an infant, thou art a youth, thou art old in years with thy teeth worn out, thou art the foremost of Nagas, thou art Sakra, thou art the Destroyer of the universe, and thou art its Creator. Thou art Prajapati, and thou art adored by the Prajapatis, thou art the supporter of the universe, thou hast the universe for thy form, thou art endued with great energy, and thou hast faces turned towards all directions. The Sun and the Moon are thy two eyes, and the Grandsire is thy heart. Thou art the Ocean. The goddess Saraswati is thy speech and Fire and Wind are thy might. Thou art Day and Night. Thou art all acts including the opening and the shutting of the eye. Neither Brahman, nor Govinda, nor the ancient Rishis, are competent to understand thy greatness, O auspicious deity, truly.
Those subtile forms which thou hast are invisible to us. Rescue me and, O, protect me as the sire protects the son of his loins. O, protect one! I deserve thy protection. I bow to thee, O sinless one! Thou, O illustrious one, art full of compassion for thy devotees. I am always devoted to thee. Let him be always my protector who stayeth alone on the other side of the ocean, in a form that is difficult to be apprehended, and overwhelming many thousands of persons![1434] I bow to that Soul of Yoga who is beheld in the form of an effulgent Light by persons that have their senses under control, that are possessed of the attribute of Sattwa, that have regulated their breaths, and that have conquered sleep.[1435] I bow to him who is endued with matted locks, who bears the ascetic’s staff in his hand, who is possessed of a body having a long abdomen, who has a kamandalu tied to his back, and who is the Soul of Brahman. I bow to Him who is the soul of water, in whose hair are the clouds, in the joints of whose body are the rivers, and in whose stomach are the four oceans. I seek the protection to Him who, when the end of the Yuga comes, devours all creatures and stretches himself (for sleep) on the wide expanse of water that covers the universe. Let him who entering Rahu’s mouth drinketh Soma in the night and who becoming Swarbhanu devoureth Surya also, protect me![1436]
The deities, who are mere infants and who have all sprung from thee after Brahman’s creation, enjoy their respective shares (in sacrificial offerings). Let them (peacefully) enjoy those offerings made with Swaha and Swadha, and let them derive pleasure from those presents. I bow to them.[1437] Let those Beings that are of the stature of the thumb and that dwell in all bodies, always protect and gratify me.[1438] I always bow to those Beings who dwelling within embodied creatures make the latter cry in grief without themselves crying in grief, and who gladden them without themselves being glad. I always bow to those Rudras who dwell in rivers, in oceans, in hills and mountains, in mountain-caves, in the roots of trees, in cow-pens, in inaccessible forests, in the intersections of roads, in roads, in open squares, in banks (of rivers and lakes and oceans), in elephant-sheds, in stables, in car-sheds, in deserted gardens and houses, in the five primal elements, and in the cardinal and subsidiary directions. I bow repeatedly unto them that dwell in the space amidst the Sun and the Moon, as also in rays of the Sun and the Moon, and them that dwell in the nether regions, and them that have betaken themselves to Renunciation and other superior practices for the sake of the Supreme.[1439] I bow always unto them that are unnumbered, that are unmeasured, and that have no form, unto those Rudras, that is, that are endued with infinite attributes. Since thou, O Rudra, art the Creator of all creatures, since, O Hara, thou art the Master of all creatures, and since thou art the indwelling Soul of all creatures, therefore wert thou not invited by me (to my Sacrifices). Since thou art He who is adored in all sacrifices with plentiful gifts, and since it is Thou that art the Creator of all things, therefore I did not invite thee. Or, perhaps, O god, stupefied by thy subtile illusion I failed to invite thee. Be gratified with me, blessed by thyself, O Bhava, with me possessed by the quality of Rajas. My Mind, my Understanding, and my Chitta all dwell in thee, O god!
“Hearing these adorations, that Lord of all creatures, viz., Mahadeva, ceased (to think of inflicting further injuries on Daksha). Indeed, highly gratified, the illustrious deity addressed Daksha, saying, ‘O Daksha of excellent vows, pleased have I been with these adorations of thine. Thou needst not praise me more. Thou shalt attain to my companionship. Through my grace, O progenitor of creatures, thou shalt earn the fruit of a thousand horse-sacrifices, and a hundred Vajapeyas (in consequence of this one incomplete sacrifice of thine).
“Once more, Mahadeva, that thorough master of words, addressed Daksha and said unto him these words fraught with high consolation, ‘Be thou the foremost of all creatures in the world. Thou shouldst not, O Daksha, entertain any feelings of grief for these injuries inflicted on thy Sacrifice. It has been seen that in former Kalpas too I had to destroy thy Sacrifice.[1440] O thou of excellent vows, I shall grant thee again some more boons. Take them from me. Dispelling this cheerlessness that overspreads thy face, listen to me with undivided attention. With the aid of arguments addressed to reason the deities and the Danavas have extracted from the Vedas consisting of six branches and from the system of Sankhya and Yoga a creed in consequence of which they have practised the austerest penances for many long years. The religion, however, which I have extracted, is unparalleled, and productive of benefits on every side.