अर्वाग्दशाहाद् यो बालस् तस्मान् मृत्युम् अवाप्स्यति तस्माद् देव न चान्येभ्यस् तत्र नीतिर् विधीयताम्
A child born after ten days from now will bring about his death; therefore, O god, let no other means be devised in this matter.
पुनर् नारायणः प्राह नाहं बलोत्कटः सुराः न मत्तो मदपत्याच् च न देवेभ्यो वधो भवेत्
Again Nārāyaṇa spoke: 'I am not exceedingly powerful, O gods; neither from me, nor from my lord, nor from the gods will his death come.'
ईश्वराद् यदि जायेत अपत्यं बहुशक्तिकम् तस्माद् वधम् अवाप्नोति तारको लोकदारुणः
If a child endowed with great power should be born from Īśvara, then that dreadful Tāraka will meet his death.
तद् गच्छामः सुराः सर्वे यतितुम् ऋषिभिः सह भार्यार्थं प्रथमो यत्नः कर्तव्यः प्रभविष्णुभिः
Therefore, let us all, O gods, go together with the sages to make effort for a wife; the foremost endeavor must be made by the mighty ones.
तथेत्य् उक्त्वा सुरगणा जग्मुस् ते च नगोत्तमम् हिमवन्तं रत्नमयं मेनां च हिमवत्प्रियाम्
Having said 'so be it,' the hosts of gods went to the excellent mountain, Himavat, adorned with jewels, and to Menā, beloved of Himavat.
इदम् ऊचुः सर्व एव सभार्यं तुहिनं गिरिम्
They all said this to the snowy mountain, together with his wife.
दाक्षायणी लोकमाता या शक्तिः संस्थिता गिरौ बुद्धिः प्रज्ञा धृतिर् मेधा लज्जा पुष्टिः सरस्वती
Dakṣā's daughter, the mother of the world, that Śakti who abides on the mountain—intellect, wisdom, fortitude, intelligence, modesty, nourishment, and Sarasvatī—
एवं त्व् अनेकधा लोके या स्थिता लोकपावनी देवानां कार्यसिद्ध्यर्थं युवयोर् गर्भम् आविशत्
Thus, in many forms in the world, she who purifies the worlds abides; for the accomplishment of the gods' purpose, she shall enter the womb of you two.
समुत्पन्ना जगन्माता शंभोः पत्नी भविष्यति अस्माकं भवतां चापि पालनी च भविष्यति
She who is born will be the mother of the world, the future wife of Śambhu; she will be the protector of us and of you as well.
हिमवान् अपि तद् वाक्यं सुराणाम् अभिनन्द्य च मेना चापि महोत्साहा अस्त्व् इत्य् एवं वचो ऽब्रवीत्
Himavat, delighted by the words of the gods, and Menā, full of great enthusiasm, both said, 'So be it.'
तदोत्पन्ना जगद्धात्री गौरी हिमवतो गृहे शिवध्यानरता नित्यं तन्निष्ठा तन्मनोगता
Thus was born Gaurī, the sustainer of the world, in the house of Himavat; ever devoted to meditation on Śiva, steadfast and absorbed in him.
तां वै प्रोचुः सुरगणा ईशार्थे तप आविश तथा हिमवतः पृष्ठे गौरी तेपे तपो महत्
To her the hosts of gods said, 'Undertake austerity for the sake of the Lord.' Thus, on the slopes of Himavat, Gaurī performed great austerity.
पुनः संमन्त्रयाम् आसुर् ईशो ध्यायति तां शिवाम् आत्मानं वा तथान्यद् वा न जानीमः कथं भवः
Again they deliberated: 'The Lord contemplates her, or himself, or something else—we do not know how Bhava thinks.'
मेनकायाः सुतायां तु चित्तं दध्यात् सुरेश्वरः तत्र नीतिर् विधातव्या ततः श्रैष्ठ्यम् अवाप्स्यथ ततः प्राह महाबुद्धिर् वाचस्पतिर् उदारधीः
Let the Lord of gods fix his mind upon Menakā's daughter; let a plan be devised for this, and then you will attain supremacy.' Then the wise and noble-minded Lord of Speech spoke.
यस् त्व् अयं मदनो धीमान् कन्दर्पः पुष्पचापधृक् स विध्यतु शिवं शान्तं बाणैः पुष्पमयैः शुभैः
This wise Madana, Kandarpa, bearer of the flowery bow—let him strike peaceful Śiva with his auspicious arrows made of flowers.
तेन विद्धस् त्रिनेत्रो ऽपि ईशायां बुद्धिम् आदधेत् परिणेष्यत्य् असौ नूनं तदा तां गिरिजां हरः
Struck by him, even the three-eyed Lord will set his mind upon the Lady; then surely Hara will marry Girijā.
जयिनः पञ्चबाणस्य न बाणाः क्वापि कुण्ठिताः तथोढायां जगद्धात्र्यां शंभोः पुत्रो भविष्यति
The arrows of the conqueror of the five-arrowed one are never blunted anywhere; thus, in the womb of the world-supporting goddess, a son of Shiva will be born.
जातः पुत्रस् त्रिनेत्रस्य तारकं स हनिष्यति वसन्तं च सहायार्थं शोभिष्ठं कुसुमाकरम्
Born as the son of the three-eyed one, he will slay Taraka, and for the sake of assistance, let the beautiful season of spring, the bringer of blossoms, be present.
आह्लादनं च मनसा कामायैनं प्रयच्छथ
And with joy in your hearts, offer this to Kāma.
तथेत्य् उक्त्वा सुरगणा मदनं कुसुमाकरम् प्रेषयाम् आसुर् अव्यग्राः शिवान्तिकम् अरिंदमाः
Having said, 'So be it,' the hosts of gods, undisturbed and subduers of enemies, sent Madana and the bringer of blossoms to Shiva.
स जगाम त्वरा कामो धृतचापो समाधवः रत्या च सहितः कामः कर्तुं कर्म सुदुष्करम्
Kāma, eager and with his bow in hand, accompanied by Rati, went to perform that exceedingly difficult task.
गृहीत्वा सशरं चापम् इदं तस्य मनो ऽभवत् मया वेध्यस् त्व् अवेध्यो वै शंभुर् लोकगुरुः प्रभुः
Taking up his bow with arrows, this thought arose in his mind: 'I can pierce all, but Shiva, the lord and teacher of the worlds, cannot be pierced by me.'
त्रैलोक्यजयिनो बाणाः शंभौ मे किं दृढा न वा तेनासौ चाग्निनेत्रेण भस्मशेषस् तदा कृतः
The arrows that conquer the three worlds—are they firm or not against Shiva? By him, with his fiery eye, Kāma was then reduced to ashes.
तद् एव कर्म सुदृढम् ईक्षितुं सुरसत्तमाः आजग्मुस् तत्र यद् वृत्तं शृणु विस्मयकारकम्
Then, O best of gods, to witness that extraordinary act, the gods assembled there; listen to what happened, which brings wonder.
शंभुं दृष्ट्वा सुरगणा यावत् पश्यन्ति मन्मथम् तावच् च भस्मसाद्भूतं कामं दृष्ट्वा भयातुराः तुष्टुवुस् त्रिदशेशानं कृताञ्जलिपुटाः सुराः
As the hosts of gods beheld Shiva, they also saw Kāma turned to ashes, and, struck with fear, they praised the lord of the gods with hands joined in reverence.
तारकाद् भयम् आपन्नं कुरु पत्नीं गिरेः सुताम्
Relieve the fear caused by Tāraka—take the daughter of the mountain as your wife.
विद्धचित्तो हरो ऽप्य् आशु मेने वाक्यं सुरोदितम् अरुन्धतीं वसिष्ठं च मां तु चक्रधरं तथा
Even Hara, whose mind was pierced, quickly accepted the words spoken by the gods, as did Arundhatī, Vasiṣṭha, myself, and also the wielder of the discus.
प्रेषयाम् आसुर् अमरा विवाहाय परस्परम् संबन्धो ऽपि तथाप्य् आसीद् धिमवल्लोकनाथयोः
The immortals sent word to each other for the marriage, and thus the alliance was established between the lords of the Himavat region.
हिमवत्पर्वते श्रेष्ठे नानारत्नविचित्रिते नानावृक्षलताकीर्णे नानाद्विजनिषेविते
On the excellent mountain Himavat, adorned with various jewels, covered with many kinds of trees and creepers, and frequented by many kinds of birds—
नदीनदसरःकूपतडागादिभिर् आवृते देवगन्धर्वयक्षादिसिद्धचारणसेविते
Surrounded by rivers, streams, lakes, wells, ponds, and the like, and attended by gods, gandharvas, yakṣas, siddhas, and cāraṇas—