Chapter 104 - The eulogy of the lord (devastuti)

The sages said:

1. How was the elephant-faced Vināyaka, the leader of the Gaṇas, born? What is his power? O Sūta, it behoves you to narrate this to us.

Sūta said:

2. O brahmins, in the meantime, Devas including Indra and Upendra assembled together in order to create obstacles in the holy rites of Daityas.

3-6. Asuras, Yātudhānas, Rākṣasās of ruthless activities and other beings of Tāmasa and Rājasa nature on the earth worship the lord without impediment, by means of sacrifices and charitable gifts. The brahmins worship Brahmā and Viṣṇu and acquire the desired boons. In the same manner they attain everything. It is due to this, O excellent Devas, that we are able to achieve victory always. It behoves you to eulogise him in order to make him create Vighneśa the leader of Gaṇas for creating obstacles for them and for the destruction of obstacles in the way of the heaven-dwellers, for the sake of granting sons unto the women and for the achievement of holy rites unto men.

7. After saying thus to one another they eulogised the sinless lord Śiva.

“Obeisance to you the Atman of all; to the Pināka-bearing lord, the omniscient one.”

8. Obeisance to the sinless Viriñca,^[1] to the deity who bestows on the goddess everything that is of consequence; to one who has no body; to one whose body is of great substance; to one who removes the physical form of Viṣṇu.

9. Obeisance to you stationed in the zone of the nectarine base in the body; obeisance to the Kala (time) differentiated as Kṛta, etc., obeisance to the force of Kala; obeisance to you.

10. Obeisance to one of the form of Kala, Agni and Rudra. Obeisance to one indicated by the eight words^[2] beginning with Dharma; obeisance to one whose body is sanctified by Kālī; obeisance to you the cause of Kālikā.

11. Obeisance to the great blue-necked lord, obeisance to you having the excellent vehicle; obeisance to you the lord of Ambikā; obeisance to the lord of Hiraṇya.

12. Obeisance to you Hiraṇyaretas; obeisance to the trident-bearing lord identical with all; obeisance to one holding skull, staff, noose, sword, leathern shield and goad.

13. Obeisance to the husband of the daughter of Himavān; obeisance to you whitish and golden^[3] in complexion; obeisance to one whose semen is yellow in colour, obeisance to fire for the protection of Devas.

14. Obeisance to the fifth one;^[4] obeisance to the bestower of boons on the Pañcayajñins;^[5] obeisance to you having the five-hooded serpent for necklace; obeisance to you the five-syllabled mantra itself.

15. Obeisance to the deity whose form is worshipped in five ways by the five Kaivalya Devas; obeisance to you whose vision is on the five syllables;^[6] obeisance to you greater than the greatest.

16. Obeisance to one of inexhaustible form; obeisance to one of adamantine limbs and jaws constituted by the sixteen vowels;^[7] obeisance to you whose right and left hands are constituted by the five letters beginning with ‘k’ and the five letters beginning with ‘c’.

17. Obeisance to you Rudra whose right and left legs are constituted by the five letters beginning with and the five letters beginning with ‘i’. Obeisance to one whose penis is constituted by the five letters beginning with ‘p’; obeisance to one who holds seven limbs and seven constituents, lymph etc. constituted by the letters beginning with ‘y’.^[8]

18. Obeisance to one whose form is the Ātman ending with ‘s’;^[9] obeisance to one whose anger is constituted by the letter ‘h’ ending with ‘kṣa’.^[10] Obeisance to one whose limbs are constituted by the letters ‘1’, ‘v’, ‘r’, ‘h’, and ‘ś’; obeisance to you devoid of limbs.

19. Obeisance to one who causes sounds in the heart of all living beings; obeisance to one who is always seen by devotees in between the eyebrows; obeisance to the excessive-rayed.

20. Obeisance to one whose eyes are constituted by the sun, moon and fire; obeisance to the deity of the form of the supreme soul;obeisance to one who is stationed above the three Guṇas, obeisance to one whose feet constitute the holy centre.^[11]

21. Obeisance to the essential principle of the holy centres; obeisance to you greater than the greatest; obeisance to Ṛk, Yajus and Sāman Vedas; Obeisance to Oṃkāra.

22. Obeisance to one who stays above, after creating threefold form in the Oṃkāra;^[12] obeisance to the yellow one, to one dark in complexion; to the red one; to one of excessive refulgence.

23. Obeisance to one who is situated in five abodes^[13] in five ways^[14] within the Cosmic Egg and without in order; obeisance to Brahmā, Viṣṇu, to you and to Kumāra.

24. Obeisance to the lord of Umā; obeisance to you who move above all; obeisance to you of subtle form at the root; obeisance to you the gross as well as subtle.

25. Obeisance to you devoid of all conceptions; to you protected from all; to you devoid of beginning, middle and end; to you stationed in Cit.

26. Obeisance to you worshipped perpetually by Yama, Agni, Vāyu, Rudra, Varuṇa, Soma, Indra and Nirṛti and the guardians of different quarters.

27-29. Obeisance to you who are worshipped in everything and in all paths and always. Obeisance to Rudra, Rudranīla, Kadrudra Pracetas. Obeisance to the bold Maheśvara; obeisance to Śiva. O lord, O destroyer of sacrifice, of Kama, of Yama, of Agni and of Dakṣayajña, listen. Forgive the deceptive utterances and peculiar activities pursued by the leaders of Devas as well as Asuras and those other leaders Viṣṇu and Indra.

The devotee who devoutly reads the hymn glorified by Devas the chief of whom are Indra and Agni, or who narrates this attains the greatest goal.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Viriñcāya—[viśeṣeṇa recayati brahmāṇḍānyutpādayatīti viriñcas tasmai]—Śivatoṣiṇī. the creator of the universe.

[2]:

dharmādyaṣṭapadāya—the lord of the guardians (Indra, etc.) of the eight quarters.

[3]:

pītaśukla [pīta-śuklāya]—of yellow and white complexion in the form of ardhanarīśvara.

[4]:

pañcamāya—one who is stationed beyond the four stages of consciousness—turīyātītāya Śivatoṣiṇī, or one who can be realized by a system of worship comprising madya (wine), māṃsa (flesh), matsya (fish), mudrā (mystical gesticulation) and maithuna (sexual intercourse). The letter ‘m’ the best among the letters is variously interpreted by the right and left hand worshippers of Śakti.

[5]:

pañca-mahāyajña: The five daily sacrifices to be performed by a house-holder constitute and which are defined as—[adhyāpanaṃ brahmayajñaḥ pitṛyajñastu tarpaṇam | homo daivo balirbhauto nṛyajño'tithipūjanam ||]

[6]:

pañcākṣara-dṛśe—one who sees or favours by the five-syllabled mantra ‘namaś śivāya’.

[7]:

ṣoḍaśa-svara—vide I.17.73-76.

[8]:

yadyaṅga—the seven letters beginning with ‘y’ and ending with ‘s’.

[9]:

sāntātma—N.S. reads śāntātma-rūpiṇe but this reading is not supported by Śivatoṣiṇī.

[10]:

kṣadanta—the letter ending with ‘kṣ’, i.e. ‘kṣ’ inclusive of the preceding letter ‘h’.

[11]:

tīrtha-pādāya—tīrthaṃ saṃsāra-taraṇopāyaḥ pādo yasya sa tīrthapādaḥ Śivatoṣiṇī. the worship of whose feet is the means of crossing the ocean of birth and death.

[12]:

trividhaṃ rūpam—the forms Brahma, Viṣṇu and Rudra.

[13]:

sthāna-pañcaka—i.e. earth, water, fire, wind and ether.

[14]:

aṇḍabahis [aṇḍa-bahiḥ]—as the sheath of the Cosmic Egg.