Vishnu Searches for the Base of the Linga

Verse 1 (skanda.1.125.1)

नंदिकेश्वर उवाच । अथ हंसाकृतिं व्योमपदवीलंघनक्षमाम् । भेजे विरंचिस्तस्याग्रं द्रक्ष्यामीति कृतोद्यमः

naṁdikeśvara uvāca atha haṁsākṛtiṁ vyomapadavīlaṁghanakṣamām bheje viraṁcistasyāgraṁ drakṣyāmīti kṛtodyamaḥ

Nandikeshvara said: Then Brahma, resolved to behold its summit, assumed the form of a swan capable of traversing the pathway of the sky.

Verse 2 (skanda.1.125.2)

जग्राह विष्णुर्वाराहं विग्रहं दृढविग्रहः । विश्वंभराविनिर्भेद क्रीडासुलभवैभवम्

jagrāha viṣṇurvārāhaṁ vigrahaṁ dṛḍhavigrahaḥ viśvaṁbharāvinirbheda krīḍāsulabhavaibhavam

The mighty-bodied Vishnu took on the form of a Boar, whose might could rend asunder the earth-bearer as easily as sport.

Verse 3 (skanda.1.125.3)

मूलं तस्य परिज्ञाय प्रत्यावर्तितुमुत्सुकः । कृत्रिमस्तब्धरोमैष दंष्ट्राभ्यामभिनन्महीम्

mūlaṁ tasya parijñāya pratyāvartitumutsukaḥ kṛtrimastabdharomaiṣa daṁṣṭrābhyāmabhinanmahīm

Eager to learn its root and return, this Boar, its artificial bristles standing on end, tore into the earth with its tusks.

Verse 4 (skanda.1.125.4)

विदारयन्स पोत्रेण भूतधात्रीमवाङ्मुखः । महावराहो ददृशे तेजस्तंभं नमन्निव

vidārayansa potreṇa bhūtadhātrīmavāṅmukhaḥ mahāvarāho dadṛśe tejastaṁbhaṁ namanniva

Facing downward, the great Boar, tearing the earth-bearer apart with his snout, beheld the pillar of light, which seemed to bow before him.

Verse 5 (skanda.1.125.5)

क्रीडाक्रोडकठोरेण कंठघोषेण पूरयन् । पातालं बहुलोत्साहः प्रवेष्टुमुपचक्रमे

krīḍākroḍakaṭhoreṇa kaṁṭhaghoṣeṇa pūrayan pātālaṁ bahulotsāhaḥ praveṣṭumupacakrame

Filling the netherworld with the harsh grunting bellow of a boar at sport, he set about entering the depths with immense enthusiasm.

Verse 6 (skanda.1.125.6)

विवेश यत्रयत्रासौ तत्रतत्र तथास्थितम् । अवैक्षिष्टानलस्तंभं तमेव कुहनाकिटिः

viveśa yatrayatrāsau tatratatra tathāsthitam avaikṣiṣṭānalastaṁbhaṁ tameva kuhanākiṭiḥ

Wherever that deceptive Boar entered, there again he beheld that same fiery pillar standing just as before.

Verse 7 (skanda.1.125.7)

विदारितान्महीरंधात्प्रत्यदृश्यंत भोगिनः । प्ररोहा इव शेषाद्यास्तेजःस्तंभस्य केचन

vidāritānmahīraṁdhātpratyadṛśyaṁta bhoginaḥ prarohā iva śeṣādyāstejaḥstaṁbhasya kecana

Through the earth's torn openings, serpents such as Shesha appeared, seeming like so many sprouting shoots of that very pillar of light.

Verse 8 (skanda.1.125.8)

प्रत्यदृश्यत हेमाद्रेर्मूल कन्द इव स्थितः । आधारतां गतो दृष्टो ह्यच्युतेनादिकच्छपः

pratyadṛśyata hemādrermūla kanda iva sthitaḥ ādhāratāṁ gato dṛṣṭo hyacyutenādikacchapaḥ

Achyuta beheld there the primal Tortoise, lying like the very rhizome at the root of the golden mountain, standing as the ultimate support.

Verse 9 (skanda.1.125.9)

आराद्वसुन्धरागुल्फे धुरंधरतया स्थिताः । दिक्सिंधुराश्च दृश्यंते मदमंथरबंधुराः

ārādvasundharāgulphe dhuraṁdharatayā sthitāḥ diksiṁdhurāśca dṛśyaṁte madamaṁtharabaṁdhurāḥ

Near the very ankle of the earth-goddess, standing steadfastly as her bearers, the elephants of the quarters too appeared, graceful and slow with the intoxication of rut.

Verse 10 (skanda.1.125.10)

मधुद्विषा च स महान्मंडूकोऽपि विलोकितः । अखंडमंडलं भूमेर्यस्य पृष्ठे प्रतिष्ठितम्

madhudviṣā ca sa mahānmaṁḍūko'pi vilokitaḥ akhaṁḍamaṁḍalaṁ bhūmeryasya pṛṣṭhe pratiṣṭhitam

The Slayer of Madhu also beheld that great Frog, upon whose back the unbroken orb of the earth rests firmly established.

Verse 11 (skanda.1.125.11)

आधारशक्तिमपि तामभ्यपश्यदधोक्षजः । यदनुग्रहतः शेषकूर्माद्या अपि धूर्वहाः

ādhāraśaktimapi tāmabhyapaśyadadhokṣajaḥ yadanugrahataḥ śeṣakūrmādyā api dhūrvahāḥ

Adhokshaja beheld also that very Power of Support, by whose grace even Shesha, the Tortoise, and the others are enabled to bear the world's burden.

Verse 12 (skanda.1.125.12)

अतलं वितलं चैष सुतलं नितलं तथा । तलातलं च प्रतलं महातलमिति क्रमात्

atalaṁ vitalaṁ caiṣa sutalaṁ nitalaṁ tathā talātalaṁ ca pratalaṁ mahātalamiti kramāt

He beheld, in due order, Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Nitala, Talatala, Pratala, and Mahatala.

Verse 13 (skanda.1.125.13)

ददर्श सप्त पातालानपि वारिजलोचनः । तत्रत्यान्विविधाकारान्सर्वानपि सविस्मयः

dadarśa sapta pātālānapi vārijalocanaḥ tatratyānvividhākārānsarvānapi savismayaḥ

The lotus-eyed Vishnu also beheld all seven netherworlds, and, with wonder, all the diverse forms of the beings dwelling there.

Verse 14 (skanda.1.125.14)

अत्यगाद्भोगवत्याख्यां पुरीं वैरोचनीमपि । जगाहेन्यांश्च दैत्यानामावासानतिगह्वरान्

atyagādbhogavatyākhyāṁ purīṁ vairocanīmapi jagāhenyāṁśca daityānāmāvāsānatigahvarān

He passed beyond the city named Bhogavati and the city of Virochana's son, and plunged into the deeply hidden dwellings of the demons.

Verse 15 (skanda.1.125.15)

इदं दृष्टमिदं दृष्टमित्युपारूढकौतुकः । मूलं मुग्धाशयस्तस्य विचिनोति स्म माधवः

idaṁ dṛṣṭamidaṁ dṛṣṭamityupārūḍhakautukaḥ mūlaṁ mugdhāśayastasya vicinoti sma mādhavaḥ

Saying to himself again and again, "This I have seen, this too I have seen," Madhava, filled with wonder yet bewildered in mind, continued his search for the root of that pillar.

Verse 16 (skanda.1.125.16)

अधस्तादपि गाढेन पयोधेस्तेन पोत्रिणा । तथैव तेजःस्तंभः स निर्विकारमवैक्ष्यत

adhastādapi gāḍhena payodhestena potriṇā tathaiva tejaḥstaṁbhaḥ sa nirvikāramavaikṣyata

Even deep beneath the fathomless ocean, that Boar-formed Vishnu still beheld the pillar of light standing utterly unchanged, exactly as before.

Verse 17 (skanda.1.125.17)

दलिता केवलं पृष्वी पाथोराशिर्विलोलितः । नैवालोक्यत तन्मूलं कोलरूपेन विष्णुना

dalitā kevalaṁ pṛṣvī pāthorāśirvilolitaḥ naivālokyata tanmūlaṁ kolarūpena viṣṇunā

Only the earth was rent apart, and the ocean was churned into turmoil, yet Vishnu, in his Boar form, could never behold its root at all.

Verse 18 (skanda.1.125.18)

इत्थं वर्षसहस्राणि भ्रांत्या संभ्रांतमानसः । नालं बभूव तन्मूलं लीलाक्रोडो विलोकितुम्

itthaṁ varṣasahasrāṇi bhrāṁtyā saṁbhrāṁtamānasaḥ nālaṁ babhūva tanmūlaṁ līlākroḍo vilokitum

Wandering thus for thousands of years, his mind bewildered by confusion, the sportive Boar remained unable to see that root.

Verse 19 (skanda.1.125.19)

अवरुग्णखुरः क्षुण्णदंष्ट्रो विध्वस्तविग्रहः । भग्नपोत्रः स भूदारो जगाहे बहलं श्रमम्

avarugṇakhuraḥ kṣuṇṇadaṁṣṭro vidhvastavigrahaḥ bhagnapotraḥ sa bhūdāro jagāhe bahalaṁ śramam

That earth-rending Boar, his hooves shattered, his tusks broken, his body battered, and his snout crushed, sank into utter exhaustion.

Verse 20 (skanda.1.125.20)

श्रांत्या निश्वसतस्तस्य तादृग्दर्पो विशृंखलः । ननाश तत्क्षणात्साकं तन्मूलावेक्षणेच्छया

śrāṁtyā niśvasatastasya tādṛgdarpo viśṛṁkhalaḥ nanāśa tatkṣaṇātsākaṁ tanmūlāvekṣaṇecchayā

As he panted in exhaustion, that unbridled pride of his, together with his very desire to behold the root, vanished in that same instant.

Verse 21 (skanda.1.125.21)

अनिर्व्यूढप्रतिज्ञोऽपि प्रत्यावर्तितुमुत्सकः । न चक्षमे सरोजाक्षश्चलितुं च पदात्पदम्

anirvyūḍhapratijño'pi pratyāvartitumutsakaḥ na cakṣame sarojākṣaścalituṁ ca padātpadam

Though his vow remained unfulfilled, the lotus-eyed Vishnu, eager now only to turn back, found himself unable to move even a single step further.

Verse 22 (skanda.1.125.22)

श्रमांधचक्षुषस्तस्य पातालांतरवर्त्तिनः । तत्तेज एव पंथानं पुनरप्युदभावयत्

śramāṁdhacakṣuṣastasya pātālāṁtaravarttinaḥ tatteja eva paṁthānaṁ punarapyudabhāvayat

For him, deep within the netherworld, his eyes dimmed by weariness, that very radiance once again made manifest a path for him to follow.

Verse 23 (skanda.1.125.23)

कथंकथंचिदुत्तीर्णो ऽप्यकूपारादपारतः । स्वेदांभःसागरस्रावे मग्नोऽभूच्छद्मशूकरः

kathaṁkathaṁciduttīrṇo 'pyakūpārādapārataḥ svedāṁbhaḥsāgarasrāve magno'bhūcchadmaśūkaraḥ

Though he somehow at last emerged from that shoreless deep, that disguised Boar found himself sunk instead in a flood of his own sweat, become a sea.

Verse 24 (skanda.1.125.24)

रज्ज्वेव तेजःस्तंभस्य प्रभया सानुबद्धया । लब्ध्वाचलं वनं कष्टं न्यवर्त्तिष्ट जनार्दनः

rajjveva tejaḥstaṁbhasya prabhayā sānubaddhayā labdhvācalaṁ vanaṁ kaṣṭaṁ nyavarttiṣṭa janārdanaḥ

Grasping, as if it were a rope, the unbroken thread of that pillar's light, Janardana at last, with great difficulty, regained the mountain and its forest and turned back.

Verse 25 (skanda.1.125.25)

नावैक्षि यन्मया मूलममुष्य महसां निधेः । ततः स्रष्ट्रापि नो दृष्टः शिरोभागः कथंचन

nāvaikṣi yanmayā mūlamamuṣya mahasāṁ nidheḥ tataḥ sraṣṭrāpi no dṛṣṭaḥ śirobhāgaḥ kathaṁcana

Since I have not beheld the root of this treasury of light, surely the Creator too can in no way have beheld its topmost point.

Verse 26 (skanda.1.125.26)

अमुष्य महसां राशेः प्रागभूद्यत्र संभवः । ततो निवृत्त्य यास्यामि शरणं शिवमीश्वरम्

amuṣya mahasāṁ rāśeḥ prāgabhūdyatra saṁbhavaḥ tato nivṛttya yāsyāmi śaraṇaṁ śivamīśvaram

Turning back from the very place where this mass of splendour first had its origin, I shall now go for refuge to the Lord Shiva.

Verse 27 (skanda.1.125.27)

स हि विश्वाधिको देवश्चिरं मोहांधचक्षुषा । यद्विस्मृतो मया तस्माद्दुर्विपाकोऽजनीदृशः

sa hi viśvādhiko devaściraṁ mohāṁdhacakṣuṣā yadvismṛto mayā tasmāddurvipāko'janīdṛśaḥ

He indeed is the God supreme over all the universe; because, with my sight blinded by delusion, I forgot him for so long, this bitter consequence has now befallen me.

Verse 28 (skanda.1.125.28)

एवं विनिर्धार्य विमुक्तदर्पो निवृत्तवानाशु सरोरुहाक्षः । तमेव देशं प्रबभूव यत्र स्तंभः स तेजोमयतां दधानः

evaṁ vinirdhārya vimuktadarpo nivṛttavānāśu saroruhākṣaḥ tameva deśaṁ prababhūva yatra staṁbhaḥ sa tejomayatāṁ dadhānaḥ

Having thus resolved, and now freed of his pride, the lotus-eyed Vishnu swiftly turned back and arrived once more at that very spot where the pillar, radiant with splendour, stood.