प्रेषयाम् आस चेशो ऽपि श्रेष्ठां शक्तिं तदात्मनः मातृभिः सहितां देवीं मातरं लोकपालिनीम्
Then the Lord sent forth his supreme power, the goddess who is his very essence, accompanied by the Mothers, the protectress of the worlds.
ईशायुधधरा देवी ईशशक्तिसमन्विता महीगतं यत्र देहं तत्रागाद् भक्ष्यकाङ्क्षिणी
The goddess, bearing the Lord’s weapon and endowed with his power, went to the place where the body lay upon the earth, desiring to devour it.
शिरोमात्रं सुराः सर्वे मेरौ तत्रैव सान्त्वयन् देहो देव्या पुनस् तत्र युयुधे बहवः समाः
All the gods, comforting her, left only the head there on Mount Meru; the goddess’s body remained there, and she fought for many years.
राहुस् तत्र सुरान् आह भित्त्वा देहं पुरा मम अत्रास्ते रसम् उत्कृष्टं तद् आकृष्य शरीरतः
There Rahu spoke to the gods: ‘Having pierced my body before, the finest essence remains here; let it be drawn out from the body.’
पृथक्भूते रसे देहं प्रवरे ऽमृतम् उत्तमम् भस्मीभूयात् क्षणेनैव तस्मात् कुर्वन्तु तत् पुरा
If the supreme, excellent nectar is separated from the body, the body will instantly be reduced to ashes; therefore, let them do this first.
एतद् राहुवचः श्रुत्वा प्रीताः सर्वे ऽसुरारयः अभ्यषिञ्चन् ग्रहाणां त्वं ग्रहो भूया मुदान्वितः
Hearing these words of Rahu, all the enemies of the demons were pleased and anointed him, saying, ‘You shall become the planet among the planets, filled with joy.’
तद्देववचनाच् छक्तिर् ईश्वरी या निगद्यते देहं भित्त्वा दैत्यपतेः सुरशक्तिसमन्विता
Then, by the command of the gods, the goddess power, called Īśvarī, pierced the demon lord’s body, endowed with the power of the gods.
आकृष्य शीघ्रम् उत्कृष्टं प्रवरं चामृतं बहिः स्थापयित्वा तु तद् देहं भक्षयाम् आस चाम्बिका
Swiftly extracting the supreme, excellent nectar and placing it outside, Ambika then began to devour that body.
कालरात्रिर् भद्रकाली प्रोच्यते या महाबला स्थापितं रसम् उत्कृष्टं रसानां प्रवरं रसम्
She who is called Kālarātrī and Bhadrakālī, of great might, placed the supreme essence, the best of all essences, there.
व्यस्रवत् स्थापितं तत् तु प्रवरा साभवन् नदी आकृष्टम् अमृतं चैव स्थापितं साप्य् अभक्षयत्
That supreme essence, thus placed, flowed forth and became a river; the drawn-out nectar, also placed there, she did not consume.
ततः श्रेष्ठा नदी जाता प्रवरा चामृता शुभा राहुदेहसमुद्भूता रुद्रशक्तिसमन्विता
Then arose the supreme, auspicious river Amṛtā, born from Rahu’s body, endowed with Rudra’s power.
नदीनां प्रवरा रम्या चामृता प्रेरिता तहा तत्र पञ्च सहस्राणि तीर्थानि गुणवन्ति च
That lovely, supreme river Amṛtā was set in motion; there, five thousand holy places of great merit appeared.
तत्र शंभुः स्वयं तस्थौ सर्वदा सुरपूजितः तस्यै तुष्टाः सुराः सर्वे देव्यै नद्यै पृथक् पृथक्
There Śambhu himself always stood, worshipped by all the gods; all the gods, pleased, offered separate worship to the goddess and to the river.
वरान् ददुर् मुदा युक्ता यथा पूजाम् अवाप्स्यति शंभुः सुरपतिर् लोके तथा पूजाम् अवाप्स्यसि
With joyful hearts, they granted her boons: ‘As Śambhu, lord of the gods, receives worship in the world, so too shall you receive worship.’
निवासं कुरु देवि त्वं लोकानां हितकाम्यया सदा तिष्ठ रसेशानि सर्वेषां सर्वसिद्धिदा
O goddess, dwell here for the good of the worlds; always remain, O mistress of the essence, bestower of all accomplishments to all.
स्तवनात् कीर्तनाद् ध्यानात् सर्वकामप्रदायिनी त्वां नमस्यन्ति ये भक्त्या किंचिद् आपेक्ष्य सर्वदा
By praise, by recitation, by meditation, you grant all desires; those who worship you with devotion, seeking anything, always bow to you.
तेषां सर्वाणि कार्याणि भवेयुर् देवताज्ञया शिवशक्त्योर् यतस् तस्मिन् निवासो ऽभूत् सनातनः
All their undertakings succeed by the command of the goddess, for there is the eternal abode of Śiva and Śakti.
अतो वदन्ति मुनयो निवासपुरम् इत्य् अदः प्रवरायाः पुरा देवाः सुप्रीतास् ते वरान् ददुः
Therefore, the sages call that place the City of Abode; formerly, the delighted gods granted boons to the supreme goddess there.
गङ्गायाः संगमो यस् ते विख्यातः सुरवल्लभः तत्राप्लुतानां सर्वेषां भुक्तिर् वा मुक्तिर् एव च
The confluence of the Gaṅgā, renowned and beloved of the gods—whoever bathes there attains either enjoyment or indeed liberation.
यद् वापि मनसः काम्यं देवानाम् अपि दुर्लभम् स्यात् तेषां सर्वम् एवेह एवं दत्त्वा सुरा ययुः
Whatever is desired in the mind, even that which is difficult for the gods to obtain, all of it is surely granted here; having given thus, the gods departed.
ततः प्रभृति तत् तीर्थं प्रवरासंगमं विदुः प्रेरिता देवदेवेन शक्तिर् या प्रेरिता तु सा
From that time onward, that sacred place has been known as the foremost confluence, inspired by the Lord of gods, by the power that was thus set in motion.
अमृता सैव विख्याता प्रवरैवं महानदी
She herself is famed as immortal, and thus is the foremost great river.
वृद्धासंगमम् आख्यातं यत्र वृद्धेश्वरः शिवः तस्याख्यानं प्रवक्ष्यामि शृणु पापप्रणाशनम्
The confluence called Vṛddhāsaṅgama, where Vṛddheśvara Śiva abides—I shall recount its story, which destroys sin; listen.
गौतमो वृद्ध इत्य् उक्तो मुनिर् आसीन् महातपाः यदा पुराभवद् बालो गौतमस्य सुतो द्विजः
Gautama, called Vṛddha, was a sage of great austerity; once, his son was a child, a twice-born by birth.
अनासः स पुरोत्पन्नस् तस्माद् विकृतरूपधृक् स वैराग्याज् जगामाथ देशं तीर्थम् इतस् ततः
He was born without a nose, bearing a deformed appearance; out of dispassion, he wandered from place to place, to sacred sites.
उपाध्यायेन नैवासील् लज्जितस्य समागमः शिष्यैर् अन्यैः सहाध्यायो लज्जितस्य च नाभवत्
Ashamed, he did not associate with his teacher, nor did he study with other disciples.
उपनीतः कथंचिच् च पित्रा वै गौतमेन सः एतावता गौतमो ऽपि व्यगमच् चरितुं बहिः
Somehow, his father Gautama initiated him; with that, Gautama too went out to wander.
एवं बहुतिथे काले ब्रह्ममात्रा धृते द्विजे नैव चाध्ययनं तस्य संजातं गौतमस्य हि
Thus, after a long time, the twice-born Gautama was sustained only by the measure of the Veda, but did not study further.
नैव शास्त्रस्य चाभ्यासो गौतमस्याभवत् तदा अग्निकार्यं ततश् चक्रे नित्यम् एव यतव्रतः
At that time, Gautama did not practice the scriptures; then, steadfast in his vows, he performed the fire ritual daily.
गायत्र्यभ्यासमात्रेण ब्राह्मणो नामधारकः अग्न्युपासनमात्रं च गायत्र्यभ्यसनं तथा
By merely reciting the Gāyatrī, he bore the name of brāhmaṇa; his only practices were worship of the fire and recitation of the Gāyatrī.