The Mohini-murti Incarnation Bewilders Lord Shiva

Verse 1 (bhagavata.8.12.1)

श्रीबादरायणिरुवाच वृषध्वजो निशम्येदं योषिद्रूपेण दानवान् । मोहयित्वा सुरगणान्हरिः सोममपाययत् ॥ 12.1 ॥

śrī-bādarāyaṇir uvāca vṛṣa-dhvajo niśamyedaṁ yoṣid-rūpeṇa dānavān mohayitvā sura-gaṇān hariḥ somam apāyayat

Sri Sukadeva said: When Vrishadhvaja, Lord Shiva, heard that Hari, taking the form of a woman, had bewildered the demons and thereby given the demigods the soma to drink,

Verse 2 (bhagavata.8.12.2)

वृषमारुह्य गिरिशः सर्वभूतगणैर्वृतः । सह देव्या ययौ द्रष्टुं यत्रास्ते मधुसूदनः ॥ 12.2 ॥

vṛṣam āruhya giriśaḥ sarva-bhūta-gaṇair vṛtaḥ saha devyā yayau draṣṭuṁ yatrāste madhusūdanaḥ

Girisha, mounted on his bull and surrounded by all his hosts of ghostly attendants, set out with the goddess to see for himself, to the place where Madhusudana was staying.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.8.12.3)

सभाजितो भगवता सादरं सोमया भवः । सूपविष्ट उवाचेदं प्रतिपूज्य स्मयन्हरिम् ॥ 12.3 ॥

sabhājito bhagavatā sādaraṁ somayā bhavaḥ sūpaviṣṭa uvācedaṁ pratipūjya smayan harim

The Lord welcomed Shiva, together with Somā (Parvati), with great respect; and once comfortably seated, Bhava, having duly worshiped Hari, spoke these words with a smile.

Verse 4 (bhagavata.8.12.4)

श्रीमहादेव उवाच देवदेव जगद्वयापिञ्जगदीश जगन्मय । सर्वेषामपि भावानां त्वमात्मा हेतुरीश्वरः ॥ 12.4 ॥

śrī-mahādeva uvāca deva-deva jagad-vyāpiñ jagad-īśa jagan-maya sarveṣām api bhāvānāṁ tvam ātmā hetur īśvaraḥ

Sri Mahadeva said: O god of gods, O you who pervade the entire universe, O lord of the world, O you who are the world itself — you are the self, the cause and the controller of every existing thing.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.8.12.5)

आद्यन्तावस्य यन्मध्यमिदमन्यदहं बहिः । यतोऽव्ययस्य नैतानि तत् सत्यं ब्रह्म चिद्भवान् ॥ 12.5 ॥

ādy-antāv asya yan madhyam idam anyad ahaṁ bahiḥ yato ’vyayasya naitāni tat satyaṁ brahma cid bhavān

This world's beginning, end and middle, this 'it' and this 'I', the outer and the inner — none of these truly belong to you, the imperishable one. You alone are that Truth, that conscious Brahman.

Verse 6 (bhagavata.8.12.6)

तवैव चरणाम्भोजं श्रेयस्कामा निराशिषः । विसृज्योभयतः सङ्गं मुनयः समुपासते ॥ 12.6 ॥

tavaiva caraṇāmbhojaṁ śreyas-kāmā nirāśiṣaḥ visṛjyobhayataḥ saṅgaṁ munayaḥ samupāsate

Sages who long only for the highest good, free of all desire, renounce their attachment to both this world and the next, and worship your lotus feet alone.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.8.12.7)

त्वं ब्रह्म पूर्णममृतं विगुणं विशोक- मानन्दमात्रमविकारमनन्यदन्यत् । विश्वस्य हेतुरुदयस्थितिसंयमाना- मात्मेश्वरश्च तदपेक्षतयानपेक्षः ॥ 12.7 ॥

tvaṁ brahma pūrṇam amṛtaṁ viguṇaṁ viśokam ānanda-mātram avikāram ananyad anyat viśvasya hetur udaya-sthiti-saṁyamānām ātmeśvaraś ca tad-apekṣatayānapekṣaḥ

You are Brahman — full, immortal, beyond the modes, free of sorrow, pure bliss itself, unchanging, at once identical with and distinct from all else. You are the cause of the universe's rise, its continuance and its dissolution, and the lord of the self, on whom all things depend even as you depend on none.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.8.12.8)

एकस्त्वमेव सदसद्द्वयमद्वयं च स्वर्णं कृताकृतमिवेह न वस्तुभेदः । अज्ञानतस्त्वयि जनैर्विहितो विकल्पो यस्माद् गुणव्यतिकरो निरुपाधिकस्य ॥ 12.8 ॥

ekas tvam eva sad asad dvayam advayaṁ ca svarṇaṁ kṛtākṛtam iveha na vastu-bhedaḥ ajñānatas tvayi janair vihito vikalpo yasmād guṇa-vyatikaro nirupādhikasya

You alone are the existent and the non-existent, the dual and the non-dual — as there is no essential difference between wrought gold and gold in its raw state. It is only from ignorance that people impose distinctions upon you, for the intermingling of the modes appears in one who is, in truth, beyond all such conditioning.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.8.12.9)

त्वां ब्रह्म केचिदवयन्त्युत धर्ममेकेएके परं सदसतोः पुरुषं परेशम् । अन्येऽवयन्ति नवशक्तियुतं परं त्वांकेचिन्महापुरुषमव्ययमात्मतन्त्रम् ॥ 12.9 ॥

tvāṁ brahma kecid avayanty uta dharmam eke eke paraṁ sad-asatoḥ puruṣaṁ pareśam anye ’vayanti nava-śakti-yutaṁ paraṁ tvāṁ kecin mahā-puruṣam avyayam ātma-tantram

Some know you as Brahman, others as dharma; some know you as the Supreme Person, beyond both being and non-being, the lord of all lords; others know you as the Supreme endowed with nine potencies; and still others know you as the imperishable, self-sufficient Supreme Person.

Verse 10 (bhagavata.8.12.10)

नाहं परायुर्ऋषयो न मरीचिमुख्याजानन्ति यद्विरचितं खलु सत्त्वसर्गाः । यन्मायया मुषितचेतस ईश दैत्य-मर्त्यादयः किमुत शश्वदभद्रवृत्ताः ॥ 12.10 ॥

nāhaṁ parāyur ṛṣayo na marīci-mukhyā jānanti yad-viracitaṁ khalu sattva-sargāḥ yan-māyayā muṣita-cetasa īśa daitya- martyādayaḥ kim uta śaśvad-abhadra-vṛttāḥ

O Lord, neither I, nor Brahma, nor the great sages headed by Marichi, born though we are of the mode of goodness, can truly comprehend this creation, for even our minds are bewildered by your illusory power. What then of demons and men, forever caught in unwholesome conduct?

Verse 11 (bhagavata.8.12.11)

स त्वं समीहितमदः स्थितिजन्मनाशंभूतेहितं च जगतो भवबन्धमोक्षौ । वायुर्यथा विशति खं च चराचराख्यंसर्वं तदात्मकतयावगमोऽवरुन्त्से ॥ 12.11 ॥

sa tvaṁ samīhitam adaḥ sthiti-janma-nāśaṁ bhūtehitaṁ ca jagato bhava-bandha-mokṣau vāyur yathā viśati khaṁ ca carācarākhyaṁ sarvaṁ tad-ātmakatayāvagamo ’varuntse

You know this world's arising, its continuance and its dissolution, all the strivings of living beings, and both bondage and liberation. Just as air pervades the sky and enters into all that moves and does not move, you, being all-knowing, pervade everything by being its very self.

Verse 12 (bhagavata.8.12.12)

अवतारा मया दृष्टा रममाणस्य ते गुणैः । सोऽहं तद्द्रष्टुमिच्छामि यत् ते योषिद्वपुर्धृतम् ॥ 12.12 ॥

avatārā mayā dṛṣṭā ramamāṇasya te guṇaiḥ so ’haṁ tad draṣṭum icchāmi yat te yoṣid-vapur dhṛtam

I have seen the many incarnations you have taken while sporting through your own qualities. Now I long to see that form of yours which you assumed as a woman.

Verse 13 (bhagavata.8.12.13)

येन सम्मोहिता दैत्याः पायिताश्चामृतं सुराः । तद् दिदृक्षव आयाताः परं कौतूहलं हि नः ॥ 12.13 ॥

yena sammohitā daityāḥ pāyitāś cāmṛtaṁ surāḥ tad didṛkṣava āyātāḥ paraṁ kautūhalaṁ hi naḥ

We have come here longing to see that very form by which the demons were utterly bewildered and the demigods given the nectar to drink — our curiosity about it is very great.

Verse 14 (bhagavata.8.12.14)

श्रीशुक उवाच एवमभ्यर्थितो विष्णुर्भगवान् शूलपाणिना । प्रहस्य भावगम्भीरं गिरिशं प्रत्यभाषत ॥ 12.14 ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca evam abhyarthito viṣṇur bhagavān śūla-pāṇinā prahasya bhāva-gambhīraṁ giriśaṁ pratyabhāṣata

Sri Sukadeva said: Thus entreated by Shiva, the wielder of the trident, Lord Vishnu smiled and replied to Girisha with grave composure.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.8.12.15)

श्रीभगवानुवाच कौतूहलाय दैत्यानां योषिद्वेषो मया धृतः । पश्यता सुरकार्याणि गते पीयूषभाजने ॥ 12.15 ॥

śrī-bhagavān uvāca kautūhalāya daityānāṁ yoṣid-veṣo mayā dhṛtaḥ paśyatā sura-kāryāṇi gate pīyūṣa-bhājane

The Supreme Lord said: When the vessel of nectar had passed into the demons' hands, I took on the guise of a woman to fill them with fascination, seeking thereby to accomplish the demigods' purpose.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.8.12.16)

तत्तेऽहं दर्शयिष्यामि दिदृक्षोः सुरसत्तम । कामिनां बहु मन्तव्यं सङ्कल्पप्रभवोदयम् ॥ 12.16 ॥

tat te ’haṁ darśayiṣyāmi didṛkṣoḥ sura-sattama kāmināṁ bahu mantavyaṁ saṅkalpa-prabhavodayam

O best of the gods, since you wish to see it, I shall show you that form, so greatly esteemed by those given to desire, and which arises purely at my own will.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.8.12.17)

श्रीशुक उवाच इति ब्रुवाणो भगवांस्तत्रैवान्तरधीयत । सर्वतश्चारयंश्चक्षुर्भव आस्ते सहोमया ॥ 12.17 ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca iti bruvāṇo bhagavāṁs tatraivāntaradhīyata sarvataś cārayaṁś cakṣur bhava āste sahomayā

Sri Sukadeva said: Saying this, the Lord vanished then and there, and Shiva remained where he was with Uma, casting his eyes about on every side in search of him.

Verse 18 (bhagavata.8.12.18)

ततो ददर्शोपवने वरस्त्रियंविचित्रपुष्पारुणपल्लवद्रुमे । विक्रीडतीं कन्दुकलीलया लसद्-दुकूलपर्यस्तनितम्बमेखलाम् ॥ 12.18 ॥

tato dadarśopavane vara-striyaṁ vicitra-puṣpāruṇa-pallava-drume vikrīḍatīṁ kanduka-līlayā lasad- dukūla-paryasta-nitamba-mekhalām

Then, in a nearby grove where the trees glowed reddish with strange and colorful blossoms, he saw a most beautiful woman at play with a ball, a shining silk cloth and girdle swaying about her hips.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.8.12.19)

आवर्तनोद्वर्तनकम्पितस्तन-प्रकृष्टहारोरुभरैः पदे पदे । प्रभज्यमानामिव मध्यतश्चलत्-पदप्रवालं नयतीं ततस्ततः ॥ 12.19 ॥

āvartanodvartana-kampita-stana- prakṛṣṭa-hāroru-bharaiḥ pade pade prabhajyamānām iva madhyataś calat- pada-pravālaṁ nayatīṁ tatas tataḥ

With every turn and sway as the ball rose and fell, her breasts trembled, and beneath the weight of her heavy garland her waist seemed almost to break at every step, as her coral-red feet carried her this way and that.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.8.12.20)

दिक्षु भ्रमत्कन्दुकचापलैर्भृशंप्रोद्विग्नतारायतलोललोचनाम् । स्वकर्णविभ्राजितकुण्डलोल्लसत्-कपोलनीलालकमण्डिताननाम् ॥ 12.20 ॥

dikṣu bhramat-kanduka-cāpalair bhṛśaṁ prodvigna-tārāyata-lola-locanām sva-karṇa-vibhrājita-kuṇḍalollasat- kapola-nīlālaka-maṇḍitānanām

Her large, restless eyes darted about, unsettled by the ball's leaping in every direction; her cheeks, lit by the earrings shining at her ears, and her face, framed by loose dark curling locks, made her all the more lovely.

Verse 21 (bhagavata.8.12.21)

श्लथद् दुकूलं कबरीं च विच्युतांसन्नह्यतीं वामकरेण वल्गुना । विनिघ्नतीमन्यकरेण कन्दुकंविमोहयन्तीं जगदात्ममायया ॥ 12.21 ॥

ślathad dukūlaṁ kabarīṁ ca vicyutāṁ sannahyatīṁ vāma-kareṇa valgunā vinighnatīm anya-kareṇa kandukaṁ vimohayantīṁ jagad-ātma-māyayā

Her garment slipping loose and her braid coming undone, she tried with her lovely left hand to bind it, even as her right hand kept striking the ball — thus did the Lord, through his own intrinsic power of illusion, bewilder the whole world.

Verse 22 (bhagavata.8.12.22)

तां वीक्ष्य देव इति कन्दुकलीलयेषद्-व्रीडास्फुटस्मितविसृष्टकटाक्षमुष्टः । स्त्रीप्रेक्षणप्रतिसमीक्षणविह्वलात्मानात्मानमन्तिक उमां स्वगणांश्च वेद ॥ 12.22 ॥

tāṁ vīkṣya deva iti kanduka-līlayeṣad- vrīḍāsphuṭa-smita-visṛṣṭa-kaṭākṣa-muṣṭaḥ strī-prekṣaṇa-pratisamīkṣaṇa-vihvalātmā nātmānam antika umāṁ sva-gaṇāṁś ca veda

Watching her thus at play with the ball, Shiva was captivated by her glances, half-shy and touched with a faint smile. So bewildered was he, gazing upon her while she gazed back, that he lost all awareness of himself, of Uma standing beside him, and of his own attendants.

Verse 23 (bhagavata.8.12.23)

तस्याः कराग्रात् स तु कन्दुको यदागतो विदूरं तमनुव्रजत्स्त्रियाः । वासः ससूत्रं लघु मारुतोऽहरद्भवस्य देवस्य किलानुपश्यतः ॥ 12.23 ॥

tasyāḥ karāgrāt sa tu kanduko yadā gato vidūraṁ tam anuvrajat-striyāḥ vāsaḥ sasūtraṁ laghu māruto ’harad bhavasya devasya kilānupaśyataḥ

When the ball slipped from her hand and rolled far off, she ran after it — and just then, in full view of Lord Shiva, a gust of wind swept away her light garment and girdle.

Verse 24 (bhagavata.8.12.24)

एवं तां रुचिरापाङ्गीं दर्शनीयां मनोरमाम् । दृष्ट्वा तस्यां मनश्चक्रे विषज्जन्त्यां भवः किल ॥ 12.24 ॥

evaṁ tāṁ rucirāpāṅgīṁ darśanīyāṁ manoramām dṛṣṭvā tasyāṁ manaś cakre viṣajjantyāṁ bhavaḥ kila

Beholding her thus, so lovely to look upon, so charming in every glance, and taking her to be drawn to him in turn, Shiva's own mind, indeed, became entangled with her.

Verse 25 (bhagavata.8.12.25)

तयापहृतविज्ञानस्तत्कृतस्मरविह्वलः । भवान्या अपि पश्यन्त्या गतह्रीस्तत्पदं ययौ ॥ 12.25 ॥

tayāpahṛta-vijñānas tat-kṛta-smara-vihvalaḥ bhavānyā api paśyantyā gata-hrīs tat-padaṁ yayau

Robbed of his judgment by her, overwhelmed with desire she had stirred in him, he went to where she stood, feeling no shame even though Bhavani herself was watching.

Verse 26 (bhagavata.8.12.26)

सा तमायान्तमालोक्य विवस्त्रा व्रीडिता भृशम् । निलीयमाना वृक्षेषु हसन्ती नान्वतिष्ठत ॥ 12.26 ॥

sā tam āyāntam ālokya vivastrā vrīḍitā bhṛśam nilīyamānā vṛkṣeṣu hasantī nānvatiṣṭhata

Seeing him approach, that unclad woman grew deeply bashful and, laughing, kept slipping behind the trees, never staying in one place long enough to be caught.

Verse 27 (bhagavata.8.12.27)

तामन्वगच्छद् भगवान् भवः प्रमुषितेन्द्रियः । कामस्य च वशं नीतः करेणुमिव यूथपः ॥ 12.27 ॥

tām anvagacchad bhagavān bhavaḥ pramuṣitendriyaḥ kāmasya ca vaśaṁ nītaḥ kareṇum iva yūthapaḥ

His senses now stolen from him and himself brought under the sway of desire, Bhagavan Bhava followed after her, just as the lord of a herd follows a female elephant.

Verse 28 (bhagavata.8.12.28)

सोऽनुव्रज्यातिवेगेन गृहीत्वानिच्छतीं स्त्रियम् । केशबन्ध उपानीय बाहुभ्यां परिषस्वजे ॥ 12.28 ॥

so ’nuvrajyātivegena gṛhītvānicchatīṁ striyam keśa-bandha upānīya bāhubhyāṁ pariṣasvaje

Racing after her with great speed, he seized the unwilling woman by her braid, drew her close, and clasped her in his arms.

Verse 29 (bhagavata.8.12.29)

सोपगूढा भगवता करिणा करिणी यथा । इतस्ततः प्रसर्पन्ती विप्रकीर्णशिरोरुहा ॥ 12.29 ॥

sopagūḍhā bhagavatā kariṇā kariṇī yathā itas tataḥ prasarpantī viprakīrṇa-śiroruhā

Held thus in his embrace as a female elephant is held by a male, she writhed this way and that, her hair scattering loose.

Verse 30 (bhagavata.8.12.30)

आत्मानं मोचयित्वाङ्ग सुरर्षभभुजान्तरात् । प्राद्रवत्सा पृथुश्रोणी माया देवविनिर्मिता ॥ 12.30 ॥

ātmānaṁ mocayitvāṅga surarṣabha-bhujāntarāt prādravat sā pṛthu-śroṇī māyā deva-vinirmitā

O King, that broad-hipped woman — who was in truth the Lord's own creative power, Maya — somehow freed herself from the arms of the foremost of gods and fled.

Verse 31 (bhagavata.8.12.31)

तस्यासौ पदवीं रुद्रो विष्णोरद्भुतकर्मणः । प्रत्यपद्यत कामेन वैरिणेव विनिर्जितः ॥ 12.31 ॥

tasyāsau padavīṁ rudro viṣṇor adbhuta-karmaṇaḥ pratyapadyata kāmena vairiṇeva vinirjitaḥ

As though vanquished by desire as by an enemy, Rudra kept following in the path of Vishnu, who acts in such wondrous ways.

Verse 32 (bhagavata.8.12.32)

तस्यानुधावतो रेतश्चस्कन्दामोघरेतसः । शुष्मिणो यूथपस्येव वासितामनुधावतः ॥ 12.32 ॥

tasyānudhāvato retaś caskandāmogha-retasaḥ śuṣmiṇo yūthapasyeva vāsitām anudhāvataḥ

As he ran after her, the seed of Shiva — seed that never falls in vain — spilled forth, just as a musth-maddened bull elephant discharges his seed while chasing a female in heat.

Verse 33 (bhagavata.8.12.33)

यत्र यत्रापतन्मह्यां रेतस्तस्य महात्मनः । तानि रूप्यस्य हेम्नश्च क्षेत्राण्यासन्महीपते ॥ 12.33 ॥

yatra yatrāpatan mahyāṁ retas tasya mahātmanaḥ tāni rūpyasya hemnaś ca kṣetrāṇy āsan mahī-pate

O lord of the earth, wherever that great one's seed fell upon the ground, those places later became mines of silver and gold.

Verse 34 (bhagavata.8.12.34)

सरित्सरःसु शैलेषु वनेषूपवनेषु च । यत्र क्व चासन्नृषयस्तत्र सन्निहितो हरः ॥ 12.34 ॥

sarit-saraḥsu śaileṣu vaneṣūpavaneṣu ca yatra kva cāsann ṛṣayas tatra sannihito haraḥ

Hara pursued her by rivers and lakes, in the mountains, through forests and groves, and even wherever the sages themselves happened to dwell.

Verse 35 (bhagavata.8.12.35)

स्कन्ने रेतसि सोऽपश्यदात्मानं देवमायया । जडीकृतं नृपश्रेष्ठ सन्न्यवर्तत कश्मलात् ॥ 12.35 ॥

skanne retasi so ’paśyad ātmānaṁ deva-māyayā jaḍīkṛtaṁ nṛpa-śreṣṭha sannyavartata kaśmalāt

O best of kings, once his seed had fallen, Shiva saw how he had been reduced to a mere stupor by the Lord's power of illusion, and he came back to himself, free of that bewilderment.

Verse 36 (bhagavata.8.12.36)

अथावगतमाहात्म्य आत्मनो जगदात्मनः । अपरिज्ञेयवीर्यस्य न मेने तदुहाद्भुतम् ॥ 12.36 ॥

athāvagata-māhātmya ātmano jagad-ātmanaḥ aparijñeya-vīryasya na mene tad u hādbhutam

Then, having come to understand his own true stature and that of the Lord, the self of the universe, whose power none can fully fathom, he no longer regarded what had happened as anything extraordinary.

Verse 37 (bhagavata.8.12.37)

तमविक्लवमव्रीडमालक्ष्य मधुसूदनः । उवाच परमप्रीतो बिभ्रत्स्वां पौरुषीं तनुम् ॥ 12.37 ॥

tam aviklavam avrīḍam ālakṣya madhusūdanaḥ uvāca parama-prīto bibhrat svāṁ pauruṣīṁ tanum

Seeing him thus unshaken and unashamed, Madhusudana was greatly pleased; resuming his own masculine form, he spoke to him.

Verse 38 (bhagavata.8.12.38)

श्रीभगवानुवाच दिष्टया त्वं विबुधश्रेष्ठ स्वां निष्ठामात्मना स्थितः । यन्मे स्त्रीरूपया स्वैरं मोहितोऽप्यङ्ग मायया ॥ 12.38 ॥

śrī-bhagavān uvāca diṣṭyā tvaṁ vibudha-śreṣṭha svāṁ niṣṭhām ātmanā sthitaḥ yan me strī-rūpayā svairaṁ mohito ’py aṅga māyayā

The Supreme Lord said: O best of the demigods, it is your great good fortune that, even though wholly bewildered by my illusory power in the guise of a woman, you have remained established in your own true nature.

Verse 39 (bhagavata.8.12.39)

को नु मेऽतितरेन्मायां विषक्तस्त्वदृते पुमान् । तांस्तान्विसृजतीं भावान्दुस्तरामकृतात्मभिः ॥ 12.39 ॥

ko nu me ’titaren māyāṁ viṣaktas tvad-ṛte pumān tāṁs tān visṛjatīṁ bhāvān dustarām akṛtātmabhiḥ

Who else but you, caught as men are in worldly attachment, could ever surmount this illusory power of mine, which continually gives rise to one state after another and is so hard for the undisciplined mind to cross?

Verse 40 (bhagavata.8.12.40)

सेयं गुणमयी माया न त्वामभिभविष्यति । मया समेता कालेन कालरूपेण भागशः ॥ 12.40 ॥

seyaṁ guṇa-mayī māyā na tvām abhibhaviṣyati mayā sametā kālena kāla-rūpeṇa bhāgaśaḥ

This illusory power, woven of the three modes and united with me in the form of time itself, working part by part, shall never overpower you again.

Verse 41 (bhagavata.8.12.41)

श्रीशुक उवाच एवं भगवता राजन् श्रीवत्साङ्केन सत्कृतः । आमन्त्र्य तं परिक्रम्य सगणः स्वालयं ययौ ॥ 12.41 ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca evaṁ bhagavatā rājan śrīvatsāṅkena sat-kṛtaḥ āmantrya taṁ parikramya sagaṇaḥ svālayaṁ yayau

Sri Sukadeva said: O King, thus honored by the Lord who bears the mark of Shrivatsa, Shiva circled him in reverence, took his leave, and returned with his attendants to his own abode.

Verse 42 (bhagavata.8.12.42)

आत्मांशभूतां तां मायां भवानीं भगवान्भवः । सम्मतामृषिमुख्यानां प्रीत्याचष्टाथ भारत ॥ 12.42 ॥

ātmāṁśa-bhūtāṁ tāṁ māyāṁ bhavānīṁ bhagavān bhavaḥ sammatām ṛṣi-mukhyānāṁ prītyācaṣṭātha bhārata

O descendant of Bharata, Lord Bhava then lovingly related all of this to Bhavani, his own wife, who, as the great sages agree, is herself a portion of the Lord's own power.

Verse 43 (bhagavata.8.12.43)

अयि व्यपश्यस्त्वमजस्य मायांपरस्य पुंसः परदेवतायाः । अहं कलानामृषभोऽपि मुह्येययावशोऽन्ये किमुतास्वतन्त्राः ॥ 12.43 ॥

ayi vyapaśyas tvam ajasya māyāṁ parasya puṁsaḥ para-devatāyāḥ ahaṁ kalānām ṛṣabho ’pi muhye yayāvaśo ’nye kim utāsvatantrāḥ

Shiva said: O Goddess, you have now witnessed for yourself the illusory power of the unborn Supreme Person, the deity above all deities. If even I, foremost among his own partial expansions, was overcome and bewildered by it, what then of others, wholly dependent as they are?

Verse 44 (bhagavata.8.12.44)

यं मामपृच्छस्त्वमुपेत्य योगात्समासहस्रान्त उपारतं वै । स एष साक्षात् पुरुषः पुराणोन यत्र कालो विशते न वेदः ॥ 12.44 ॥

yaṁ mām apṛcchas tvam upetya yogāt samā-sahasrānta upārataṁ vai sa eṣa sākṣāt puruṣaḥ purāṇo na yatra kālo viśate na vedaḥ

That Person you asked me about, when I emerged from my meditation at the end of a thousand years of yoga — this is he, the eternal Supreme Person in person, whom neither time nor the Vedas can ever reach.

Verse 45 (bhagavata.8.12.45)

श्रीशुक उवाच इति तेऽभिहितस्तात विक्रमः शार्ङ्गधन्वनः । सिन्धोर्निर्मथने येन धृतः पृष्ठे महाचलः ॥ 12.45 ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca iti te ’bhihitas tāta vikramaḥ śārṅga-dhanvanaḥ sindhor nirmathane yena dhṛtaḥ pṛṣṭhe mahācalaḥ

Sri Sukadeva said: My dear King, thus have I told you of the might of Sharngadhanva, who bore that great mountain on his back during the churning of the ocean.

Verse 46 (bhagavata.8.12.46)

एतन्मुहुः कीर्तयतोऽनुशृण्वतो न रिष्यते जातु समुद्यमः क्वचित् । यदुत्तमश्लोकगुणानुवर्णनं समस्तसंसारपरिश्रमापहम् ॥ 12.46 ॥

etan muhuḥ kīrtayato ’nuśṛṇvato na riṣyate jātu samudyamaḥ kvacit yad uttamaśloka-guṇānuvarṇanaṁ samasta-saṁsāra-pariśramāpaham

For one who repeatedly recounts or attentively hears this narrative, all effort proves fruitful in the end; for this recitation of the glories of the Lord, Uttamashloka, dispels every weariness of worldly existence.

Verse 47 (bhagavata.8.12.47)

असदविषयमङ्घ्रिं भावगम्यं प्रपन्ना- नमृतममरवर्यानाशयत् सिन्धुमथ्यम् । कपटयुवतिवेषो मोहयन्यः सुरारीं- स्तमहमुपसृतानां कामपूरं नतोऽस्मि ॥ 12.47 ॥

asad-aviṣayam aṅghriṁ bhāva-gamyaṁ prapannān amṛtam amara-varyān āśayat sindhu-mathyam kapaṭa-yuvati-veṣo mohayan yaḥ surārīṁs tam aham upasṛtānāṁ kāma-pūraṁ nato ’smi

Unto him whose feet lie beyond the reach of the impure and are attained only through devotion, who gave the surrendered demigods the nectar churned from the ocean, and who, wearing the disguise of a young woman, bewildered the very enemies of the gods — unto that Lord, who fulfills every desire of those who take refuge in him, I offer my obeisances.