Thou art he that protects the universe by assuming diverse incarnations,
Thou art worthy of adoration,
Thou art that primeval Being with the equine head that recited the Veda with a thundering voice,
Thou art he, whose grace is very great,
Thou art the great subjugator,
Thou art he that has slain all his foes (in the form of passions),
Thou art both white and tawny (Thou being half male and half female),
This form is called Hara-Gauri or Ardhanaariswara,
Thou art possessed of a body, whose complexion is like that of gold,
Thou art he that is of the form of pure joy (being beyond the five sheaths),
Thou art of a restrained soul,
Thou art the foundation upon which rests that Ignorance (which is called Pradhana and which, consisting of the three attributes of sattva, rajas and tamas, is the cause
whence the universe has sprung),
Thou art he whose faces are turned to every direction,
Mahadeva is represented as possessed of five heads, four on four sides and one above.
Thou art he that has three eyes (the Sun, the Moon and Fire),
Thou art he that is superior to all creatures,
Thou art the soul of all mobile beings,
Thou art of the form of the subtle soul, incapable of being perceived,
Thou art the giver of immortality (in the form of Emancipation as the fruit of all acts of righteousness, achieved by living beings without the desire thereof),
Thou art the preceptor (of even those that are the gods of the gods),
Thou art Vasu, the son of Aditi,
Thou art he that is endued with innumerable rays of light (who brings forth the universe and who is of the form of Soma which is consumed in sacrifices),
Thou art Vyasa (the author of the Puranas and other sacred scriptures),
Thou art the creations of Vyasa’s brain (both abridged and unabridged, because of Thy being identical with the Puranas and other sacred scriptures),
Thou art the sum-total of all Jivas,
Thou art the Season,
Thou art the Year,
Thou art the Month,
Thou art the Fortnight,
Thou art those sacred days that end these periods,
Thou art the Kalas,
Thou art the Kashthas,
Thou art the Lavas,
Thou art the Matras,
Thou art the Muhurtas, days and nights,
Thou art the Kshanas,
These are all names for different portions of time.
Thou art the soil, upon which the tree of the universe stands,
Thou art the seed of all creatures,
Thou art Mahatattva,
Thou art the sprout of Jiva,
Thou art Sat or Effect,
Thou art Asat or Cause,
Thou art manifest (being perceivable by the senses),
Thou art the Father,
Thou art the Mother,
Thou art the Grandfather,
Thou art the door to Heaven (because of Thy identity with penances),
Thou art the door of the generation of all creatures (because of Thy identity with desire),
Thou art the door of Emancipation (because of Thy identity with the absence of desire which alone can lead to the merging into the Brahman),
Thou art those acts of righteousness which lead to the felicity of heaven,
Thou art Nirvana (or that cessation of individual or separate existence which is Emancipation),
Thou art the gladdener (who gives all kinds of joy to every creature),
Thou art that region of Truth (to which they that are the foremost in righteousness attain),
Thou art superior to even that region of Truth which is attainable by the righteous,
Thou art he that is the creator of both the deities and the asuras,
Thou art he that is the refuge of both the deities and the asuras,
Thou art the preceptor of both the deities and the asuras, or
Thou art of the form of both Brihaspati and Sukra,
Thou art he that is ever victorious,
Thou art he that is ever worshipped by the deities and the asuras,
Thou art he that guides the deities and the asuras even as the Mahamatra guides the elephant,
Thou art the refuge of all the deities and the asuras,
Thou art he that is the chief of both the deities and the asuras, or Thou art of the form of both Indra and Virochana,
Thou art he that is the leader in the battle of the deities and the asuras, or
Thou art of the form of Kartikeya and Kesi (the leaders of the celestial and the daitya armies),
Thou art he that transcends the senses and shines by himself,
Thou art of the form of the celestial Rishis like Narada and others,
Thou art the grantor of boons unto the deities and asuras (in the form of Brahma and Rudra),
Thou art he that rules the hearts of the deities and the asuras,
Thou art he into whom the universe enters (when it is dissolved),
Thou art the refuge of even him, who is the ruler of the hearts of both the deities and the asuras,
Thou art he, whose body is made up of all the deities,
The Srutis declare that Fire is the head; the Sun and the Moon are the eyes, etc of Mahadeva.
Thou art he that has no being superior to Thee, of whom to think,
Thou art he that is the inner soul of the deities,
Thou art he that has sprung form his own self,
Thou art of the form of immobile things,
Thou art he that covers the three worlds with three steps of his,
Thou art possessed of great learning,
Thou art stainless,
Thou art he that is freed from the quality of rajas,
Thou art he that transcends destruction,
Thou art he in whose honour hymns should be sung,
Thou art the master of the irresistible elephant represented by Time,
Thou art of the form of that lord of tigers, worshipped in the country of the Kalingas,
In the country of the Kalingas (Orissa), Mahadeva has an image called Vyaghreswara.
Thou art he that is called the lion among the deities (in consequence of the pre-eminence of Thy prowess),
