Praise of Shiva

Vyasa said

The lord of daityas, his brothers and the citizens were deluded. Sanatkumara, lord, what happened then? Tell me everything.

Sanatkumara replied

In Tripura the daityas gave up worshipping Shiva. The whole dharma of women was ruined and evil conduct took hold. Lakshmi's lord had succeeded. With the gods, Hari went to Kailasa and told Umapati what had happened. Rama's consort and Brahma, with the gods, came and stood there, meditating on the supreme one. In their minds Brahma and Hari praised omniscient Shankara Purushottama in eloquent words. Vishnu bowed to the divinity Maheshvara, the paramatman, brahman, who takes the forms of Narayana, Rudra and Brahma, and fell flat before Mahadeva like a rod. He did japa of the mantra of Dakshinamurti Rudra, standing in water with a steady mind, a crore and a half times. In his mind he remembered his own lord, Shambhu Parameshvara.

All the gods too fixed their minds on Maheshvara, and praised him as the one in all atmans, remover of afflictions, Nilakantha Rudra, Prachetas, of consciousness as form. He was the goal of all of them, the one who counters every calamity, slayer of the gods' enemies, always to be worshipped by them, primordial, without origin, finding bliss in himself, imperishable, creator of Purusha and Prakriti and direct maker of the whole universe, alone creator, preserver and destroyer, who through sattva, rajas and tamas becomes Brahma, Vishnu and Hara. In the world he enables all to cross over and grants boons. He is spoken about by speech yet is tied to neither speech nor speaker. For liberation, they said, the best yogis entreat him; he is established in the lotus hearts of yogis, and the Vedas and the virtuous call the supreme brahman his own form. In truth he is a mass of energy, greater than the greatest, called the paramatman, Sharva in all atmans, Bhava lord of the three worlds, the guru of the universe who is all that is seen, heard, praised and known. He is spoken of as smaller than an atom and greater than the greatest, with hands and feet everywhere, eyes, heads, mouths, ears and noses everywhere. They bowed to him on every side as omniscient, all-pervading, unveiled Sarveshvara, whose form is the universe, Virupaksha, controller, truth, supreme Shiva with the radiance of a crore suns, divinity of the universe without beginning or end, Ishvara of the thirty-six principles who sets everything in motion, who moves Prakriti, great-grandfather of all and lord in every body. The shrutis, those who know their essence and even those who do not, speak of him as Svayambhu, refuge of everything, giver of boons. The many beings he has made and will make cannot be seen by us, they said; gods, asuras, brahmanas and all that moves and stands are nothing but him. Then they begged him: "Shambhu, beloved of the gods, save us. The gods have no other refuge. We have almost been destroyed by Tripura. Kill the asuras at once. Parameshvara, they have been deluded by your maya. Lord, because of what Vishnu told them, they have strayed from dharma. Kind to devotees, by our good luck the daityas have given up every dharma; they went and took refuge with the followers of Buddha and came under their sway. Giver of refuge, you have always done the gods' tasks. We have taken refuge in you; do as you wish." So praising Mahesha, the gods stood before him, bowed low with joined hands, distressed. Ishvara was praised thus by Indra and the other gods, and Vishnu had done japa. Delighted, Sarvesha arrived there on his bull, got down from Nandi in a good mood and embraced Vishnu. He saw them all and, one hand resting on Nandi, cast a compassionate glance on the gods. Pleased, Hara, Parvati's consort, spoke in a deep voice to Hari.

Shiva said

Lord of the gods, I now know the gods' task. By the strength of the maya Vishnu and clever Narada used, the daityas have begun to follow adharma. Without doubt I will see to Tripura's destruction. But the great daityas are steady in mind and devoted to me. Still, I should kill them, since by deception they have abandoned excellent dharma. Since they have abandoned dharma, perhaps Vishnu or someone else can kill them. All the daityas in Tripura have also given up their devotion to me.

Sanatkumara said

All the residents of heaven heard Shambhu, and, lord among sages, even Hari was dejected. Seeing Vishnu and the gods so, Vidhatri, creator of the worlds, folded his hands before Shambhu and spoke.

Brahma said

Supreme knower of yoga, there is not the least sin in this. Paramesha is the supreme brahman and always protects the gods and rishis. It was by your command that they were sent to delude them. They have given up their own dharma and no longer worship you, and no one else can kill them. Mahadeva, so you must save the lives of the gods and rishis. To protect the virtuous, those of mleccha jatis must be killed, and a king will do it; your dharma will suffer no sin. So the virtuous and brahmanas must be saved and the thorns uprooted. In this world any king who wants to protect his kingdom will do this too. You are lord of all the worlds, so without delay save them. Lord of the gods, divinity, the Indras among sages, the sacrifices, the Vedas, the sacred texts and everyone else, Vishnu and I included, are surely your subjects. Lord, you are Sarveshvara, the universal emperor over all the gods. Hari and the whole universe surround you. You are without origin, and Hari is your heir apparent. I, Brahma, am your priest. Do the king's task. Shakra will carry out your commands. Sarvesha, all the other gods are like machines under your control, always engaged in their own tasks. This is the truth, without doubt.

Sanatkumara said

Parameshvara heard Brahma, pleased in mind, and Shankara, lord of the gods, spoke to Vidhatri.

Shiva said

Brahma, lord, if I am called emperor and king of the gods, nothing I have accepted shows it. I have no extremely divine chariot or charioteer to match. Nor have I the bow and arrows needed to win a battle. If I had a bow, arrows and a mount, I could kill the daityas in battle, strong as they are.

Sanatkumara said

Hearing the lord, Brahma, Upendra, Indra and the gods rejoiced. They bowed and said to Maheshvara that they would arrange all the equipment, a chariot and the rest; they had armed themselves for the battle. At Shiva's will all of them said this and made ready, and pleased, the gods joined their hands and spoke to him one by one.