names (of Mahadeva) that Tandi said unto me for thy spiritual success.  The Grandsire had at one time recited ten thousand names that apply to Mahadeva.  In the scriptures, a thousand names occur of that illustrious deity.  These names are not known to all.  O thou that transcendest destruction, in days of yore, the Grandsire Brahma uttered these names for adoring the high-souled Deity.  Having acquired them through the grace of the Grandsire, Tandi communicated them to me!’"[87]

SECTION XVII

“Vasudeva said, ’Concentrating his mind, O Yudhishthira. the regenerate Rishi Upamanyu, with hands joined together in reverence uttered this abstract of names (applying to Mahadeva), commencing from the beginning.’

“Upamanyu said, ’I shall adore that great Deity who deserves the adorations of all creatures, by uttering those names that are celebrated over all the worlds,—­names some of which were uttered by the Grandsire Brahma, some by the Rishis, and some of which occur in the Vedas and the Vedangas.  Those names have been applied (unto the great Deity) by persons that are eminent.  Those names of him that are, again, true and fraught with success and are capable of accomplishing all the purposes which the utterer may have in view, have been applied unto Mahadeva by Tandi after calling them from the Vedic lore with the aid of his devotion.  Indeed, with those names that have been uttered by many well-known persons of righteousness and by ascetics conversant with all the spiritual principles.  I shall adore him who is the foremost, who is the first, who leads to heaven, who is ready to confer benefits upon all creatures, and who is auspicious.  Those names have been heard everywhere in the universe, having spread from the region of Brahma (where they were originally invented).  All of them are fraught with the element of Truth.  With those names I shall adore him who is Supreme Brahman, who has been declared (unto the universe) by the Vedas, and who is Eternal.  I shall now tell thee, O chief of Yacht’s race those names.  Do thou hear them with rapt attention.  Thou art a devoted worshipper of the Supreme Deity.  Do thou worship the illustrious Bhava, distinguishing him above all the deities.  And because thou art devoted to him, I shall therefore, recite those names in thy hearing.  Mahadeva is Eternal Brahman.  Persons endued with Yoga; Yoga’s achievements are unable to know in even a hundred years, the glory and puissance of the great Deity in their entirety.  Verily, the beginning, middle or end of Mahadeva cannot be apprehended by the very deities.  Indeed, when the case is such, who is there O Madhava, that can recite the attributes of Mahadeva in their entirety?  For all that, I shall through the grace of that illustrious and supreme Deity of perfect wisdom, extended to me for my devotion to him, recite his attributes as embodied in an abstract of few words and letters.  The Supreme Lord is