The Tiger's Devotion

Verse 1 (shiva.vayaviya.26.1)

वायुरुवाच । उत्पाद्य कौशिकीं गौरी ब्रह्मणे प्रतिपाद्य ताम् । तस्य प्रत्युपकाराय पितामहमथाब्रवीत्

vāyuruvāca | utpādya kauśikīṁ gaurī brahmaṇe pratipādya tām | tasya pratyupakārāya pitāmahamathābravīt

Vayu said: Having brought forth Kaushiki and given her over to Brahma, Gauri then, in return for his favour, spoke to the Grandsire.

Verse 2 (shiva.vayaviya.26.2)

देव्युवाच । दृष्टः किमेष भवता शार्दूलो मदुपाश्रयः । अनेन दुष्टसत्त्वेभ्यो रक्षितं मत्तपोवनम्

devyuvāca | dṛṣṭaḥ kimeṣa bhavatā śārdūlo madupāśrayaḥ | anena duṣṭasattvebhyo rakṣitaṁ mattapovanam

The Goddess said: Have you seen this tiger, who takes refuge with me? By him my penance-grove has been kept safe from wicked creatures.

Verse 3 (shiva.vayaviya.26.3)

मय्यर्पितमना एष भजते मामनन्यधीः । अस्य संरक्षणादन्यत्प्रियं मम न विद्यते

mayyarpitamanā eṣa bhajate māmananyadhīḥ | asya saṁrakṣaṇādanyatpriyaṁ mama na vidyate

With his mind surrendered to me, he worships me with undivided thought. There is nothing dearer to me than his protection.

Verse 4 (shiva.vayaviya.26.4)

भवितव्यमनेनातो ममान्तःपुरचारिणा । गणेश्वरपदं चास्मै प्रीत्या दास्यति शङ्करः

bhavitavyamanenāto mamāntaḥpuracāriṇā | gaṇeśvarapadaṁ cāsmai prītyā dāsyati śaṅkaraḥ

Therefore this one is fit to move within my own inner apartments, and Shankara too will lovingly grant him the rank of a lord of the ganas.

Verse 5 (shiva.vayaviya.26.5)

एनमग्रेसरं कृत्वा सखीभिर्गन्तुमुत्सहे । प्रदीयतामनुज्ञा मे प्रजानां पतिना त्वया

enamagresaraṁ kṛtvā sakhībhirgantumutsahe | pradīyatāmanujñā me prajānāṁ patinā tvayā

Making him go before me, I am eager to depart with my companions. O lord of creatures, grant me your permission for this.

Verse 6 (shiva.vayaviya.26.6)

इत्युक्तः प्रहसन्ब्रह्मा देवीं मुग्धामिव स्मयन् । तस्य तीव्रैः पुरावृत्तैर्दौरात्म्यं समवर्णयत्

ityuktaḥ prahasanbrahmā devīṁ mugdhāmiva smayan | tasya tīvraiḥ purāvṛttairdaurātmyaṁ samavarṇayat

Thus addressed, Brahma laughed, smiling as if at her innocence, and described to her the tiger's fierce and wicked past deeds.

Verse 7 (shiva.vayaviya.26.7)

ब्रह्मोवाच । पशौ देवि मृगाः क्रूराः क्व च तेऽनुग्रहः शुभः । आशीविषमुखे साक्षादमृतं किं निषिच्यते

brahmovāca | paśau devi mṛgāḥ krūrāḥ kva ca te'nugrahaḥ śubhaḥ | āśīviṣamukhe sākṣādamṛtaṁ kiṁ niṣicyate

Brahma said: O Goddess, beasts are cruel creatures by nature — what place is there for auspicious grace toward them? Is nectar itself ever truly poured into the mouth of a venomous serpent?

Verse 8 (shiva.vayaviya.26.8)

व्याघ्रमात्रेण सन्नेष दुष्टः कोऽपि निशाचरः । अनेन भक्षिता गावो ब्राह्मणाश्च तपोधनाः

vyāghramātreṇa sanneṣa duṣṭaḥ ko'pi niśācaraḥ | anena bhakṣitā gāvo brāhmaṇāśca tapodhanāḥ

This is no mere tiger — he is some wicked night-roaming demon. By him cows and brahmins rich in austerity have been devoured.

Verse 9 (shiva.vayaviya.26.9)

तर्पयंस्तान् यथाकामं कामरूपी चरत्यसौ । अवश्यं खलु भोक्तव्यं फलं पापस्य कर्मणः

tarpayaṁstān yathākāmaṁ kāmarūpī caratyasau | avaśyaṁ khalu bhoktavyaṁ phalaṁ pāpasya karmaṇaḥ

This shape-shifter roams about, sating himself upon them at will. The fruit of sinful deeds must surely and inevitably be reaped.

Verse 10 (shiva.vayaviya.26.10)

अतः किं कृपया कृत्यमीदृशेषु दुरात्मसु । अनेन देव्याः किं कृत्यं प्रकृत्या कलुषात्मना

ataḥ kiṁ kṛpayā kṛtyamīdṛśeṣu durātmasu | anena devyāḥ kiṁ kṛtyaṁ prakṛtyā kaluṣātmanā

So of what use is compassion toward such wicked beings? What business has the Goddess with one who is by his very nature so tainted?

Verse 11 (shiva.vayaviya.26.11)

देव्युवाच । यदुक्तं भवता सर्वं तथ्यमस्त्वयमीदृशः । तथापि मां प्रपन्नोऽभून्न त्याज्यो मामुपाश्रितः

devyuvāca | yaduktaṁ bhavatā sarvaṁ tathyamastvayamīdṛśaḥ | tathāpi māṁ prapanno'bhūnna tyājyo māmupāśritaḥ

The Goddess said: Let all you have said be true, let him be just as you describe — even so, he has taken refuge in me, and one who has sought my shelter I cannot abandon.

Verse 12 (shiva.vayaviya.26.12)

ब्रह्मोवाच । अस्य भक्तिमविज्ञाय प्राग्वृत्तं ते निवेदितम् । भक्तिश्चेदस्य किं पापैर्न ते भक्तः प्रणश्यति

brahmovāca | asya bhaktimavijñāya prāgvṛttaṁ te niveditam | bhaktiścedasya kiṁ pāpairna te bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati

Brahma said: Not knowing of his devotion, I only related to you his past conduct. If devotion is truly in him, what can his sins do — your devotee never perishes.

Verse 13 (shiva.vayaviya.26.13)

पुण्यकर्मापि किं कुर्य्यात्त्वदीयाज्ञानपेक्षया । अजा प्रज्ञा पुराणी च त्वमेव परमेश्वरी

puṇyakarmāpi kiṁ kuryyāttvadīyājñānapekṣayā | ajā prajñā purāṇī ca tvameva parameśvarī

What indeed can even meritorious deeds accomplish against your own will? You alone are the unborn, the primordial wisdom, the Supreme Goddess.

Verse 14 (shiva.vayaviya.26.14)

त्वदधीना हि सर्वेषां बन्धमोक्षव्यवस्थितिः । त्वदृते परमा शक्तिः संसिद्धिः कस्य कर्मणा

tvadadhīnā hi sarveṣāṁ bandhamokṣavyavasthitiḥ | tvadṛte paramā śaktiḥ saṁsiddhiḥ kasya karmaṇā

For the entire arrangement of bondage and liberation for all beings rests with you alone. Without you, O supreme power, whose action could ever attain accomplishment?

Verse 15 (shiva.vayaviya.26.15)

त्वमेव विविधा शक्तिः भवानामथ वा स्वयम् । अशक्तः कर्मकरणे कर्ता वा किं करिष्यति

tvameva vividhā śaktiḥ bhavānāmatha vā svayam | aśaktaḥ karmakaraṇe kartā vā kiṁ kariṣyati

You alone are the manifold power behind all beings, or indeed their very self. What could a doer bereft of power accomplish in any action?

Verse 16 (shiva.vayaviya.26.16)

विष्णोश्च मम चान्येषां देवदानवरक्षसाम् । तत्तदैश्वर्यसम्प्राप्त्यै तवैवाज्ञा हि कारणम्

viṣṇośca mama cānyeṣāṁ devadānavarakṣasām | tattadaiśvaryasamprāptyai tavaivājñā hi kāraṇam

For Vishnu, for me, and for all the other gods, danavas, and rakshasas — the attainment of each one's own sovereign power has your command alone as its cause.

Verse 17 (shiva.vayaviya.26.17)

अतीताः खल्वसङ्ख्याता ब्रह्माणो हरयो भवाः । अनागतास्त्वसङ्ख्यातास्त्वदाज्ञानुविधायिनः

atītāḥ khalvasaṅkhyātā brahmāṇo harayo bhavāḥ | anāgatāstvasaṅkhyātāstvadājñānuvidhāyinaḥ

Past Brahmas, Vishnus, and Shivas have truly been countless, and countless more are yet to come — all of them followers of your command alone.

Verse 18 (shiva.vayaviya.26.18)

त्वामनाराध्य देवेशि पुरुषार्थचतुष्टयम् । लब्धुं न शक्यमस्माभिरपि सर्वैः सुरोत्तमैः

tvāmanārādhya deveśi puruṣārthacatuṣṭayam | labdhuṁ na śakyamasmābhirapi sarvaiḥ surottamaiḥ

O Goddess of the gods, without worshipping you, even all of us, the foremost among the gods, cannot attain the four aims of human life.

Verse 19 (shiva.vayaviya.26.19)

व्यत्यासोऽपि भवेत्सद्यो ब्रह्मत्वस्थावरत्वयोः । सुकृतं दुष्कृतं चापि त्वयैव स्थापितं यतः

vyatyāso'pi bhavetsadyo brahmatvasthāvaratvayoḥ | sukṛtaṁ duṣkṛtaṁ cāpi tvayaiva sthāpitaṁ yataḥ

Even the reversal of Brahma-hood into mere inert existence could occur in an instant — for it is you alone who have established what is virtue and what is vice.

Verse 20 (shiva.vayaviya.26.20)

त्वं हि सर्वजगद्भर्तुः शिवस्य परमात्मनः । अनादिमध्यनिधना शक्तिराद्या सनातनी

tvaṁ hi sarvajagadbhartuḥ śivasya paramātmanaḥ | anādimadhyanidhanā śaktirādyā sanātanī

You are the power of Shiva, the supreme self, the sustainer of the entire universe — a power without beginning, middle, or end, primordial and eternal.

Verse 21 (shiva.vayaviya.26.21)

समस्तलोकयात्रार्थं मूर्तिमाविश्य कामपि । क्रीडसे विविधैर्भावैः कस्त्वां जानाति तत्त्वतः

samastalokayātrārthaṁ mūrtimāviśya kāmapi | krīḍase vividhairbhāvaiḥ kastvāṁ jānāti tattvataḥ

For the sake of the whole world's ordering, entering some form or other, you play through manifold guises. Who indeed can know you as you truly are?

Verse 22 (shiva.vayaviya.26.22)

अतो दुष्कृतकर्मापि व्याघ्रोऽयं त्वदनुग्रहात् । प्राप्नोतु परमां सिद्धिमत्र कः प्रतिबन्धकः

ato duṣkṛtakarmāpi vyāghro'yaṁ tvadanugrahāt | prāpnotu paramāṁ siddhimatra kaḥ pratibandhakaḥ

Therefore let this tiger, though he has committed evil deeds, attain the supreme perfection through your grace — who could possibly stand in the way of this?

Verse 23 (shiva.vayaviya.26.23)

इत्यात्मनः परं भावं स्मारयित्वानुरूपतः । ब्रह्मणाभ्यर्थिता गौरी तपसोऽपि न्यवर्तत

ityātmanaḥ paraṁ bhāvaṁ smārayitvānurūpataḥ | brahmaṇābhyarthitā gaurī tapaso'pi nyavartata

Having thus, fittingly, been reminded of her own supreme nature, Gauri, entreated by Brahma in this way, at last brought even her austerity to an end.

Verse 24 (shiva.vayaviya.26.24)

ततो देवीमनुज्ञाप्य ब्रह्मण्यन्तर्हिते सति । देवीं च मातरं दृष्ट्वा मेनां हिमवता सह

tato devīmanujñāpya brahmaṇyantarhite sati | devīṁ ca mātaraṁ dṛṣṭvā menāṁ himavatā saha

Then, taking leave of the Goddess, Brahma vanished from sight. And the Goddess, seeing her mother Mena there together with Himavan —

Verse 25 (shiva.vayaviya.26.25)

प्रणम्याश्वास्य बहुधा पितरौ विरहासहौ । तपः प्रणयिनो देवी तपोवनमहीरुहान्

praṇamyāśvāsya bahudhā pitarau virahāsahau | tapaḥ praṇayino devī tapovanamahīruhān

having bowed to and consoled in many ways her parents, who could not bear this new parting, the Goddess then turned to the trees of the penance-grove that had shared in her tapas.

Verse 26 (shiva.vayaviya.26.26)

विप्रयोगशुचेवाग्रे पुष्पबाष्पं विमुञ्चतः । तत्तच्छाखासमारूढविहगोदीरितै रुतैः

viprayogaśucevāgre puṣpabāṣpaṁ vimuñcataḥ | tattacchākhāsamārūḍhavihagodīritai rutaiḥ

Those trees seemed, as if grieving in advance at the coming separation, to shed blossoms like tears, while the cries of the birds perched upon their various branches —

Verse 27 (shiva.vayaviya.26.27)

व्याकुलं बहुधा दीनं विलापमिव कुर्वतः । सखीभ्यः कथयन्त्वेवं सत्त्वरा भर्तृदर्शने

vyākulaṁ bahudhā dīnaṁ vilāpamiva kurvataḥ | sakhībhyaḥ kathayantvevaṁ sattvarā bhartṛdarśane

seemed, in their agitation, to raise a piteous lament of many kinds — even as, speaking thus to her companions, the Goddess hastened, eager for the sight of her husband.

Verse 28 (shiva.vayaviya.26.28)

पुरस्कृत्य च तं व्याघ्रं स्नेहात्पुत्रमिवौरसम् । देहस्य प्रभया चैव दीपयन्ती दिशो दश

puraskṛtya ca taṁ vyāghraṁ snehātputramivaurasam | dehasya prabhayā caiva dīpayantī diśo daśa

Setting that tiger before her with affection, as though he were her own true-born son, and illumining the ten directions with the very radiance of her body —

Verse 29 (shiva.vayaviya.26.29)

प्रययौ मन्दरं गौरी यत्र भर्ता महेश्वरः । सर्वेषां जगतां धाता कर्ता पाता विनाशकृत्

prayayau mandaraṁ gaurī yatra bhartā maheśvaraḥ | sarveṣāṁ jagatāṁ dhātā kartā pātā vināśakṛt

Gauri set out for Mount Mandara, where her husband Maheshvara dwelt — the ordainer, maker, sustainer, and destroyer of all the worlds.