Verse 11.25

Verse 11.25 “And Thine mouths with the gruesome jaws, and resembling the Fires of Doom; the moment I behold them, I cease to know my bearings, and find no solace. Be gracious, O Master Deity, Thou that dwellest within the universe. (375)

Commentary called Jnaneshwari by Jnaneshwar:

I see unceasingly before mine eyes these formidable gaping mouths of thine, which look like vessels of terror that have burst upon my view. And the dense mass of teeth and jaws, too thick to be held between the two lips, are striking out on the lips to form, as it were, the thickest hedge around sharp deadly weapons. These awful mouths of thine overflowing with furious vehemence are indeed raining torrential death on us, as if they are like the Takshaka, the deadliest viper replenished with venom, or the very night of universal Death possessed by Ghosts; or the very fire of lightning that is flourishing fiery weapons. What things should indeed survive that universal holocaust in which the flames of the fire of world-conflagration are fanned by the tempestuous whirl-wind of world annihilation? So horridly destructive are these mouths of thine; at their sight all courage has left me; a grievous delusion has come upon me and I have lost my bearing knowing neither myself nor where and how I stand. No sooner did my eyes catch a glimpse of this all-pervading presence of thine, than is totally dried up the fount of happiness in me.

Now hold thy hand in this topsy-turvy welter of things. Knowing full well as I do, that thou wilt forbear, I am nevertheless asking for this immediate relief; and I pray: Thou save my life from this utter extinction by being swallowed up in thine divine being. As thou art our master, Oh Anant, I pray to thee to overlay my life as with a shield to rescue it from destruction and stop this career of total annihilation. Oh Thou, the supreme Lord of all Gods, by thy divine spirit does the world live; how then should thou, unmindful of all this, take to this wake of destruction? Therefore, Oh God, may thy grace forthwith dawn on me tearing off the veil of illusion (thy Maya) and save me from this perilous plight. All this while piteous have been my repeated prayers to thee; because, terror-stricken I stand at the sight of this all-filling image of divinity. T

hough thrusting myself into the jaws of death itself, single-handed I repelled the attack on the city of Indra. But, Oh God, what I stand fronting is not on a level with those deeds of valour. Here outdoing Death himself, thou hast set about swallowing all of us along with the universe entire. The time was not indeed ripe for world-dissolution; yet all of a sudden, the world strangely enough is running down to its annihilation at thy hands—yourself being the Protector; alas, how cruel for the poor world that has had such a short life? Yearning for blissful peace, I longed to have a vision of the all-pervading image of Divinity; and what a disaster meets my eyes? Alas, the whole world is now going to rack and ruin, and is being swallowed by thee. Do I not see with my eyes that into thine innumerable gaping mouths all these armies are being swallowed swiftly?