[Advaita-l] Selections from the Shiva-mahimna-stotram - 2

[V Subrahmanian]

तवैश्वर्यं <http://www.ms.uky.edu/%7Esohum/sanskrit/mahimna/tavai4.wma>
यत्नाद्‌ यदुपरि विरिञ्चिर्हरिरधः

परिच्छेतुं यातावनलमनलस्कन्धवपुषः।

ततो भक्तिश्रद्धा-भरगुरु-गृणद्भ्यां गिरिश यत्‌

स्वयं तस्थे ताभ्यां तव किमनुवृत्तिर्न फलति॥ १०॥
Brahma and VishhNu wanted to measure your wealth i.e.greatness*. You took
the form of Fire and your whole body was a column of fire extending over
space . While Brahma took the form of a swan and flew high to see the
top(head), VishhNu took the form of a boar and dug up downwards to see the
bottom (feet).Neither could succeed.(While VishhNu confessed the truth,
Brahma falsely claimed that he had found the top and persuaded the Ketaki
flower to bear false witness.Shiva punished Brahma by removing one of his 5
heads and ordered that henceforth the Ketaki flower should not be used for
his worship).When ultimately both praised you with full devotion and faith,
you stood before them revealing your normal form . O, mountain-dweller, does
not toeing your line always bear fruit?    (10)
* ( In another account of the story, Brahma and VishNu once quarreled
between themselves as to who was greater.  The moral of the story is:  God
is far away from those who approach Him with pride and self-conceit.  But He
is easily realized by those who are humble and prayerful.)

रथः <http://www.ms.uky.edu/%7Esohum/sanskrit/mahimna/rathaH.wma> क्षोणी
यन्ता शतधृतिरगेन्द्रो धनुरथो

रथाङ्गे चन्द्रार्कौ रथ-चरण-पाणिः शर इति।

दिधक्षोस्ते कोऽयं त्रिपुरतृणमाडम्बर-विधिः

विधेयैः क्रीडन्त्यो न खलु परतन्त्राः प्रभुधियः॥ १८॥

When you wanted to burn the three cities, you had the earth as the chariot,
Brahma as the charioteer,the Meru mountain as the bow, the sun and the moon
as the parts of the chariot and VishhNu  himself (who holds the
chariot-wheel in his hand -Sudarshan chakra?), as the arrow . Why this
demonstrative show when you as the dictator of everything, could have done
the job as a trifle? The Lord's greatness is not dependent on anybody or
anything . ( Incidentally there is a view  that the burning of the three
cities  would refer to the burning of three kinds of bodies of man i.e.
`sthUla sharIra', `sUkshma sharIra' and `kAraNa sharIra').  (18)

हरिस्ते <http://www.ms.uky.edu/%7Esohum/sanskrit/mahimna/hariste.wma>
साहस्रं कमल बलिमाधाय पदयोः

यदेकोने तस्मिन्‌ निजमुदहरन्नेत्रकमलम्‌।

गतो भक्त्युद्रेकः परिणतिमसौ चक्रवपुषः

त्रयाणां रक्षायै त्रिपुरहर  जागर्ति जगताम्‌॥ १९॥
VishhNu once brought 1000 lotuses and  was placing them at your feet; after
placing 999 flowers he found that one was missing; he plucked out one of his
own eyes and offered it as a lotus; this supreme exemplification of devotion
on his part was transformed into the wheel (sudarshana chakra) in his hand,
which he uses for protecting the world .(19)

(Another account of the story:  Vishnu would daily worship Shiva with a
thousand lotuses.  One day Shiva, in order to test the devotion of Hari,
stole away one lotus from the collection of a thousand lotuses.  At this
Vishnu plucked one of his eyes and offered that with the flowers.  Pleased
with such great devotion, Shiva gave Vishnu the discus, called Sudarshana,
with which the latter protects the three worlds.)

To be continued.