सर्वेषां चैव लोकानाम् आदिर् भूर्लोक उच्यते तम् अहं धारयाम्य् एकः स्वेच्छया न तवाज्ञया
Of all the worlds, the earth is said to be the foundation; I alone uphold it by my own will, not by your command.
तस्मिन् धृते सर्वलोकाः सर्वे तिष्ठन्ति शाश्वताः तस्माद् अहं वसामीह सततं न तवाज्ञया
While it is upheld, all the eternal worlds remain; therefore I dwell here always, not by your command.
ततो ऽभिव्याहृतो दक्षो रुद्रेणामिततेजसा स्वायंभुवीं तनुं त्यक्त्वा उत्पन्नो मानुषेष्व् इह
Then Daksha, summoned by Rudra of immeasurable brilliance, abandoned his Swayambhuva body and was born here among humans.
यदा गृहपतिर् दक्षो यज्ञानाम् ईश्वरः प्रभुः समस्तेनेह यज्ञेन सो ऽयजद् दैवतैः सह
When Daksha, the lord of householders and master of sacrifices, performed a great sacrifice here together with the gods, he worshipped with all rites.
अथ देवी सती यत् ते प्राप्ते वैवस्वते ऽन्तरे मेनायां ताम् उमां देवीं जनयाम् आस शैलराट्
Then, O Devi, when the Vaivasvata Manvantara arrived, Mena gave birth to that goddess Uma, daughter of the mountain king.
सा तु देवी सती पूर्वम् आसीत् पश्चाद् उमाभवत् सहव्रता भवस्यैषा नैतया मुच्यते भवः
That goddess was formerly Sati and later became Uma; she is the devoted companion of Bhava, and by her Bhava is never forsaken.
यावद् इच्छति संस्थानं प्रभुर् मन्वन्तरेष्व् इह मारीचं कश्यपं देवी यथादितिर् अनुव्रता
For as long as the Lord desires, in each Manvantara here, the goddess follows Marichi as Aditi follows Kashyapa.
सार्धं नारायणं श्रीस् तु मघवन्तं शची यथा विष्णुं कीर्तिर् उषा सूर्यं वसिष्ठं चाप्य् अरुन्धती
As Shri is with Narayana, Shachi with Maghavan, Kirti with Vishnu, Usha with Surya, and Arundhati with Vasistha.
नैतांस् तु विजहत्य् एता भर्तॄन् देव्यः कथंचन एवं प्राचेतसो दक्षो जज्ञे वै चाक्षुषे ऽन्तरे
These goddesses never abandon their husbands under any circumstance; thus, Daksha, son of Prachetas, was born in the Cakshusha Manvantara.
प्राचीनबर्हिषः पौत्रः पुत्रश् चापि प्रचेतसाम् दशभ्यस् तु प्रचेतोभ्यो मारिषायां पुनर् नृप
He was the grandson of Pracinabarhis and son of the Pracetas; from the ten Pracetas and Marisha, O king, he was again born.
जज्ञे रुद्राभिशापेन द्वितीयम् इति नः श्रुतम् भृग्वादयस् तु ते सर्वे जज्ञिरे वै महर्षयः
It is heard by us that he was born a second time by the curse of Rudra; and all those great sages like Bhrigu were also born.
आद्ये त्रेतायुगे पूर्वं मनोर् वैवस्वतस्य ह देवस्य महतो यज्ञे वारुणीं बिभ्रतस् तनुम्
In the first Treta Yuga, during the great sacrifice of Manu Vaivasvata, the god assumed the form of Varuni.
इत्य् एषो ऽनुशयो ह्य् आसीत् तयोर् जात्यन्तरे गतः प्रजापतेश् च दक्षस्य त्र्यम्बकस्य च धीमतः
Thus, this was the remorse that occurred when both entered another birth—of Prajapati Daksha and the wise Tryambaka.
तस्मान् नानुशयः कार्यो वरेष्व् इह कदाचन जात्यन्तरगतस्यापि भावितस्य शुभाशुभैः जन्तोर् न भूतये ख्यातिस् तन् न कार्यं विजानता
Therefore, one should never harbor remorse regarding choices here, for even when one has entered another birth, whether good or bad, it does not benefit the being; thus, the wise should not do so.
कथं रोषेण सा पूर्वं दक्षस्य दुहिता सती त्यक्त्वा देहं पुनर् जाता गिरिराजगृहे प्रभो
How did Sati, Daksha's daughter, formerly out of anger, abandon her body and then take birth again in the house of the mountain king, O Lord?
देहान्तरे कथं तस्याः पूर्वदेहो बभूव ह भवेन सह संयोगः संवादश् च तयोः कथम्
How did her previous body exist in another form? How did her union and conversation with Bhava take place?
स्वयंवरः कथं वृत्तस् तस्मिन् महति जन्मनि विवाहश् च जगन्नाथ सर्वाश्चर्यसमन्वितः
How did the svayamvara occur in that great birth, and the marriage, O Lord of the world, filled with all wonders?
तत् सर्वं विस्तराद् ब्रह्मन् वक्तुम् अर्हसि सांप्रतम् श्रोतुम् इच्छामहे पुण्यां कथां चातिमनोहराम्
O Brahman, you should now narrate all this in detail; we wish to hear this most auspicious and exceedingly delightful story.
शृणुध्वं मुनिशार्दूलाः कथां पापप्रणाशिनीम् उमाशंकरयोः पुण्यां सर्वकामफलप्रदाम्
Hear, O tigers among sages, the story of Uma and Shankara, which destroys sin, bestows merit, and grants all desires.
कदाचित् स्वगृहात् प्राप्तं कश्यपं द्विपदां वरम् अपृच्छद् धिमवान् वृत्तं लोके ख्यातिकरं हितम्
Once, Himavan, the best of mountains, asked Kashyapa, the best among bipeds, who had come to his house, about an event renowned and beneficial in the world.
केनाक्षयाश् च लोकाः स्युः ख्यातिश् च परमा मुने तथैव चार्चनीयत्वं सत्सु तत् कथयस्व मे
By what means, O sage, do worlds become imperishable, and supreme fame, as well as worthiness of worship among the virtuous, arise? Tell me this.
अपत्येन महाबाहो सर्वम् एतद् अवाप्यते ममाख्यातिर् अपत्येन ब्रह्मणा ऋषिभिः सह
All this is attained, O mighty-armed one, through offspring—my own fame, together with that of Brahmā and the sages, is due to offspring.
किं न पश्यसि शैलेन्द्र यतो मां परिपृच्छसि वर्तयिष्यामि यच् चापि यथादृष्टं पुराचल
Do you not see, O lord of mountains, why you question me? I shall relate to you what I have seen, O ancient mountain.
वाराणसीम् अहं गच्छन्न् अपश्यं संस्थितं दिवि विमानं सुनवं दिव्यम् अनौपम्यं महर्धिमत्
As I was going to Vārāṇasī, I saw in the sky a celestial, splendid, and incomparable palace, endowed with great majesty.
तस्याधस्ताद् आर्तनादं गर्तस्थाने शृणोम्य् अहम् तम् अहं तपसा ज्ञात्वा तत्रैवान्तर्हितः स्थितः
Beneath it, in a pit, I heard a cry of distress. By means of austerity I understood it, and remained hidden there.
अथागात् तत्र शैलेन्द्र विप्रो नियमवाञ् शुचिः तीर्थाभिषेकपूतात्मा परे तपसि संस्थितः
Then, O lord of mountains, a brāhmaṇa arrived there, disciplined and pure, his soul purified by bathing at holy places, steadfast in supreme austerity.
अथ स व्रजमानस् तु व्याघ्रेणाभीषितो द्विजः विवेश तं तदा देशं स गर्तो यत्र भूधर
As that brāhmaṇa was proceeding, threatened by a tiger, he entered that place, O mountain, where the pit was.
गर्तायां वीरणस्तम्बे लम्बमानांस् तदा मुनीन् अपश्यद् आर्तो दुःखार्तांस् तान् अपृच्छच् च स द्विजः
In the pit, on a pillar of reeds, he saw sages hanging, afflicted and distressed; that brāhmaṇa questioned them.
के यूयं वीरणस्तम्बे लम्बमाना ह्य् अधोमुखाः दुःखिताः केन मोक्षश् च युष्माकं भवितानघाः
Who are you, hanging head-down on this pillar of reeds, suffering? By what means will liberation come to you, O sinless ones?
वयं ते कृतपुण्यस्य पितरः सपितामहाः प्रपितामहाश् च क्लिश्यामस् तव दुष्टेन कर्मणा
We are your fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers, who performed meritorious deeds; we suffer because of your wicked action.