The Shiva Purana

by J. L. Shastri | 1950 | 616,585 words

This page relates “devas eulogise shiva” as found in the Shiva-purana, which, in Hinduism, represents one of the eighteen Mahapuranas. This work eulogizes Lord Shiva as the supreme deity, besides topics such as cosmology and philosophy. It is written in Sanskrit and claims to be a redaction of an original text consisting of 100,000 metrical verses.

Disclaimer: These are translations of Sanskrit texts and are not necessarily approved by everyone associated with the traditions connected to these texts. Consult the source and original scripture in case of doubt.

Chapter 41 - Devas eulogise Śiva

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

Viṣṇu and others said:—

1. O great lord, the lord of the gods and the prescriber of worldly conventions, we know you to be Śiva and Brahman, thanks to your favour.

2. O lord Śiva, why do you delude us by your illusion which is inscrutable and which deludes people always.

3. You are the supreme Brahman, greater than Prakṛti and Puruṣa, the material and activating cause of the universe. You are incomprehensible and inexpressible.

4. You alone create, sustain and annihilate the universe under your control like a spider (weaving its web). You sport about with Śivaśakti—your own manifestation.

5. O Śiva, merciful that you are, you alone created the sacrifice through Dakṣa for the fulfilment of the Vedas.

6. The delimitations which brahmins, experts in the Vedic path and rituals, believe in, end with you in the world.

7. O lord, the activities of auspicious nature result in happiness to the doer whereas inauspicious activities end in adverse, or in partially good and bad results.

8. You alone are the bestower of the fruits of all actions. You are the lord of glorious things according to the Vedas.

9. Vulgar persons who observe sacrificial rites alone are acrimonious and wicked. With harsh words and jealousy these deluded persons inflict pain on others.

10. O lord, let not the destruction of these gods be carried out by you. O lord, great god, be merciful.

11. Obeisance to Śiva who is calm, the supreme and the highest soul, of matted hair, great lord and the bright one.

12. You are the creator of the creators of the universe. You are the sustainer and the forefather, possessed of three attributes and attributeless. You are greater than primordial nature and the supreme Being.

13. Obeisance to Thee the blue-necked, the creator, the supreme soul, the universe, the speed [seed?] of the universe and the cause of the bliss of the universe.

14. You are Oṃkāra, Vaṣaṭkāra,[1] the initiator of enterprises, Hantakāra, Svadhākāra[2] and the partaker of Havya and Kavya offerings always.

15. O righteous one, how is it that the sacrifice has been broken by you? O great God, you are a benefactor of brahmins. O lord, how can you be a destroyer of sacrificers?

16. You are the protector of virtue, brahmins and cows. O lord, you are the shelter for all living beings and worthy of being bowed to.

17. Obeisance to you, O lord, having the splendour of innumerable suns. Obeisance to you, the Bhava, the lord in the form of flavour and fluid.

18. Obeisance to you who are every thing, who are in the form of fragrant earth. Obeisance to Him of great splendour, Him in the form of fire.

19. Obeisance to Śiva who is wind in the subtle form of the principal of touch. Obeisance to you, the lord of individual souls, the priest presiding over sacrifice; and Vedhas (the creator).

20. Obeisance to you the terrible in the form of Ether with the principle of sound[3] Obeisance to the great lord Moon, or, one accompanied by Umā; obeisance to the Active.

21. Obeisance to Ugra in the form of Sun; obeisance to you the detached performer of actions, the slayer of Kāla, and the furious Rudra.

22. Obeisance to Śiva, Bhīma, Ugra, the controller of living beings; you are Śiva to us.

23. Obeisance to the giver of pleasure to all-pervasive universal soul, the destroyer of distress; the consort of Umā.

24. Obeisance to the annihilator, the supreme Being in the form of all objects, the great soul who is indistinguishable from the existent and the non-existent, and is the cause of intellect.

25. Obeisance, obeisance to one who is omniformed and the plentiful; obeisance to Nīla, Nīlarudra, Kadrudra and Pracetas.

26. Obeisance to the most bounteous lord who is pervaded by rays, who is the greatest, and the destroyer of the enemies of the gods.

27. Obeisance to Tāra (star), Sutāra (one that enables others to cross), Taruṇa (the ever young), and the brilliant.

28. Obeisance to Śiva who is beneficent to the gods, the lord, the great soul, Obeisance to you the great; obeisance to you, the dark-necked God.

29. Obeisance to the golden one, the great lord, of golden body; obeisance to Bhīma, Bhīmarūpa, obeisance to one engaged in terrible deeds.

30. Obeisance to one who has smeared his body with ashes, decorated himself with Rudrākṣa; and is of short long dwarfish height.

31. Obeisance to you, O lord, who can kill at a distance, in front, to one who has a bow, a trident, a mace and a ploughshare.

32. Obeisance to the wielder of many weapons, to the destroyer of Daityas and Dānavas, to Sadya, Sadyarūpa and Sadyojāta.

33. Obeisance to Vāma, Vāmarūpa, Vāmanetra, Aghora, the great lord and the Vikaṭa.

34. Obeisance to Tatpuruṣa, to Nātha, the ancient Puruṣa, the bestower of the four aims of life, Vratin, and Parameṣṭhin.

35. Obeisance to you, Īśānas, Īśvara, Brahman, of the form of Brahman, the Supreme Soul.

36. You are fierce towards all wicked persons; to us you are Śiva the controller. Obeisance to you the swallower of Kālakūṭa poison, the cause of protection of the Gods and others. ([4]?)

37. Obeisance to Vīra, Vīrabhadra, the protector of heroes, the trident-holder, the great lord of mankind.

38. Obeisance to Him of the heroic soul of perfect learning, Śrīkaṇṭha, Pinākin, the endless, the subtle, the one whose anger is the cause of death.

39. Obeisance to the great lord, greater than the greatest, the greatest of the great, the all-pervading omniformed lord.

40. Obeisance to Viṣṇukalatra, Viṣṇukṣetra, the sun, Bhairava, the refuge of the refugees, the three-eyed and the sportive.

41. Obeisance to Mṛtyuñjaya, the cause of sorrow, of the form of three attributes, one with the moon, sun and fire as eyes, to the bridge of each and every cause.

42. The entire universe is pervaded by you with your own splendour; you are the great Brahman, the unchanging consciousness, bliss and light.

43. O lord Śiva, all the Gods headed by Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Indra, the moon, the sages and others are born of you.

44. Since you hold everything by dividing your cosmic body into eight you are known as Aṣṭamūrti[5], you are the primordial Śiva, the merciful.

45. Afraid of you the wind blows, the fire blazes, the sun shines and death runs all round.

46. O Great Lord, the ocean of mercy, be pleased. Save us for ever, for we are otherwise doomed as we lack in fortitude.

47. O merciful lord, we have been protected always by you alone from different miseries. Similaly protect us now.

48. O lord the blesser, O lord of Durgā, revive the incomplete sacrifice of Dakṣa Prajāpati immediately.

49. Let Bhaga regain his sight, let the initiated Dakṣa be restored to life, let the teeth of Pūṣan grow, let the moustaches of Bhṛgu appear as before.

50. O Śiva, let the Gods and others whose bodies have been mutilated by weapons and stones, regain their previous normal health under your blessing.

51-52. O lord, the entire share of yours will be allotted to you. Vasiṣṭha will officiate in the sacrifice, the sacrifice will have the share of Rudra, not otherwise. Saying so, Viṣṇu, the lord of Lakṣmī, along with Brahmā craved Śiva’s forgiveness by prostrating on the ground.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Vaṣaṭ or Vauṣat is an exclamation uttered by the Hotṛ priest at the end of the sacrificial verse on hearing which the Adhvaryu priest casts the oblation offered to the deity into the fire.

[2]:

Hantakāra and Svadhākāra are particular formulas of benediction. In the present context the three—Vaṣaṭkāra, Hantakāra and Svadhākāra are personified and described as identical with Śiva.

[3]:

Śiva symbolises the five elements viz. earth, water, fire, wind and ether.

[4]:

This refers to Śiva’s swallowing of poison at the churning of the ocean.

[5]:

See Note No. 89 P. 132.

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