by the senses. He is endued with attributes and
he is divested of them. He is the lord of attributes,
for they are under his control. Even such is
the place that is Maheswara’s. He is the
cause of the maintenance and the creation (of the
universe). He is the cause of the universe and
the cause also of its destruction. He is the Past,
the Present, and the Future. He is the parent
of all things. Verily, He is the cause of every
thing. He is that which is mutable, He is the
unmanifest, He is Knowledge; He is ignorance; He is
every act, He is every omission; He is righteousness;
and He is unrighteousness. Him, O Sakra, do I
call the cause of every thing. Behold, O Indra,
in the image of Mahadeva the indications of both the
sexes. That god of gods, viz., Rudra, that
cause of both creation and destruction, displays in
his form the indications of both the sexes as the
one cause of the creation of the universe. My
mother formerly told me that he is the cause of the
universe and the one cause of everything. There
is no one that is higher than Isa, O Sakra. If
it pleases thee, do thou throw thyself on his kindness
and protection. Thou hast visible evidence, O
chief of the celestials, of the fact that the universe
has sprung from the union of the sexes (as represented
by Mahadeva). The universe, thou knowest, is the
sum of what is vested with attributes and what else
is divested of attributes and has for its immediate
cause the seeds of Brahma and others. Brahma and
Indra and Hutasana and Vishnu and all the other deities,
along with the Daityas and the Asuras, crowned with
the fruition of a thousand desires, always say that
there is none that is higher than Mahadeva.[61] Impelled
by desire, I solicit, with restrained mind, that god
known to all the mobile and immobile universe,—him,
that is, who has been spoken of as the best and highest
of all the gods, and who is auspiciousness itself,
for obtaining without delay that highest of all acquisitions,
viz., Emancipation. What necessity is there
of other reasons (for establishing) what I believe?
The supreme Mahadeva is the cause of all causes.
We have never heard that the deities have, at any
time, adored the sign of any other god than Mahadeva.
If Maheswara be not accepted, tell me, if thou hast
ever heard of it, who else is there whose sign has
been worshipped or is being worshipped by all the
deities? He whose sign is always worshipped by
Brahma, by Vishnu, by thee, O Indra, with all the other
deities, is verily the foremost of all adorable deities.
Brahma has for his sign the lotus, Vishnu has for
his the discus, Indra has for his sign the thunder-bolt.
But the creatures of the world do not bear any of the
signs that distinguish these deities. On the other
hand, all creatures bear the signs that mark Mahadeva
and his spouse. Hence, all creatures must be
regarded as belonging to Maheswara. All creatures
of the feminine sex, have sprung from Ulna’s
nature as their cause, and hence it is they bear the