Thou art he, whose head is bald,
Thou art he, whose form is exceedingly ugly and fierce,
Thou art he that has undergone infinite modifications and become all things in the universe,
Thou art he that wears the well-known insignia of an ascetic, the stick,
Thou art he that has a kunda,
Thou art he that is incapable of being attained to by means of acts,
Thou art he that is identical with the lion,
Thou art of the form of all the points of the compass,
Thou art he that is armed with the thunder,
Thou art he that has a hundred tongues,
Thou art he that has a ‘thousand feet and thousand heads’,
Thou art the lord and the chief of the celestials,
Thou art he that is made up of all the gods,
Thou art the great Master or preceptor,
Thou art he that has thousand arms,
Thou art he that is competent to obtain the fruition of every wish,
Thou art he, whose protection is sought by everyone,
Thou art he that is the creator of all the worlds,
Thou art he that is the great cleanser of all from every kind of sin (in the form of shrines and sacred waters),
Thou art he that has three great mantras (Vija, Sakti and Kilakani),
Thou art the youngest son of Aditi and Kasyapa,
The youngest son of Aditi and Kasyapa was Upendra who, in the form of the dwarf, beguiled the asura Bali of his lordship of the three worlds, and restored it to the chief of
the celestials.
Thou art both black and tawny,
This refers to the form of Mahadeva known as Hari-Hara.
Thou art the maker of the Brahmana’s rod,
The thin bamboo rod in the hand of the Brahmana symbolizes the Brahmana’s might in the form of his curse. It is mightier than the thunderbolt of Indra. The thunderbolt
scorches only the exiting objects on which it falls. The Brahmana’s rod blasts even unborn generations. The might of the rod is derived from Mahadeva.
Thou art armed with the hundred-killer, the noose and the dart,
Thou art he that took his birth within the primeval lotus,
Thou art he that is endued with a vast womb (abdomen),
Thou art he that has the Veda in his womb (abdomen),
Thou art he that takes his rise from that infinite waste of water which succeeds the dissolution of the universe,
Thou art he that is endued with rays of effulgent light,
Thou art the creator of the Veda,
Thou art he that studies the Veda,
Thou art he that is conversant with the meaning of the Veda,
Thou art devoted to the Brahman,
Thou art the refuge of all persons devoted to the Brahman,
Thou art of infinite forms,
Thou art the bearer of innumerable bodies,
Thou art endued with irresistible prowess,
Thou art the soul or nature that transcends the three universal attributes of sattva, rajas and tamas,
Thou art the lord of all Jivas,
Thou art endued with the speed of the wind,
Thou art possessed of the fleetness of the mind,
Thou art always smeared of sandal-paste,
Thou art the end of the stalk of the primeval lotus,
Mythology says that Brahma, after his birth within the primeval lotus, became desirous of seeing the end of the stalk of that lotus. He went on and on, without succeeding to
find what he sought. The meaning, therefore, by implication, is that Mahadeva is infinite.
Thou art he that brought the celestial cow Surabhi down (from a superior station to an inferior one by denouncing a curse upon her),
Mythology records that once Brahma asked Surabhi to bear evidence before Visnu to the statement that Brahma had seen the foremost part of Siva. Surabhi, having given
false evidence out of fear for Brahma, was cursed by Siva that her offspring would eat unholy substances.
Thou art that Brahma, who was unable to see Thy end,
Thou art adorned with a large wreath of karnikara flowers,
Thou art adorned with a diadem of blue gems,
Thou art the wielder of the bow called Pinaka,
Thou art the master of that knowledge, which treats of the Brahman,
Thou art he that has subjugated his senses with the aid of his knowledge of the Brahman,
Thou art he that bears Ganga on his head,
Falling from the celestial regions, the river Ganga (the Ganges) was considered held by Mahadeva on his head, among his matted locks. At the earnest solicitation of King
Bhagiratha, he gave her out so that, flowing along the surface of the earth, she met the ocean, first passing over the spot where the ashes of Bhagiratha’s ancestors, the
sixty thousand sons of king Sagara of the solar race, lay.
Thou art the husband of Uma, the daughter of Himavat,
Thou art mighty (because of Thy having assumed the form of the vast Boar for raising the submerged Earth),
Thou art he that protects the universe by assuming diverse incarnations,
