A magnificent chariot was constructed, a mighty bow strung, and a shining arrow prepared—all for the destruction of Tripura. With countless efforts, I, together with the hosts of gods and siddhas, strove to bring about this end, yet no result was seen without your grace. O Lord, you are the chariot, the charioteer, the supreme among the gods; you are Hari, Rudra, Indra, and the Grandfather himself. How can I, who am but a seeker, offer you praise, when you alone are all? You are never truly satisfied by mere words—only by the humble bowing of my head. You, Shiva, possess endless feet, endless arms, endless heads; you are the destroyer of all endings. Your forms are infinite. How can I satisfy you, the unsatisfiable? How can I praise one so boundless? Again and again I offer salutations to you who know all, who are called Shiva, Rudra, Sharva, and Bhava; to you who are gross, subtle, and exceedingly subtle; knower of all mysteries, and the creator. Salutations to the creator, the sustainer of gods and demons, the destroyer of worlds, the ordainer of destinies, the leader of gods and lords of demons, the giver, the ruler, and the master of all scriptures. To you who are realized through Vedanta, who are pure, ever praised by the knowers of the Vedas, who are the very essence of the Vedas, the end, the middle, and the best among all—O Bhava, I bow. To you, established as without beginning or end, who are not void, who are with form and without form, who are made of the linga and are the linga itself, the direct embodiment and source of the Vedas—I bow. To Rudra, who severs heads, to the sacrificial form of my primeval god: O Lord, when you destroyed my sacrifice, you struck the earth with the tip of your fingernail. How wondrous are your deeds, O God of gods, Lord of all gods and demons! Though you possess a body and, together with the gods, perform divine acts, your true nature is formless. You are one in the gross, one in the subtle, one in the most exceedingly subtle; you are with form and without form; one with form, one without form, one visible, one who is speech itself, one Lord, one to be meditated upon—this wondrous reality belongs to you alone. Just as an object seen in a dream cannot be grasped, so too your form, though witnessed, is beyond comprehension. Nor are you merely a form or the Lord of gods; how can that which is not seen even by the gods, despite their efforts, be seen? Where is your divine power, O Lord of gods, and where are we? Where is true devotion, and where is praise worthy of you? Yet, O Lord, forgive me—Brahma—who laments with devotion. Whoever on earth, O best of the twice-born, listens to or recites this hymn to the Lord with devotion, bowing down, is freed from the bonds of sin by devotion to the Lord of the city. Having heard this hymn and seeing Parvati, Brahma praised with devotion. Then the mighty-armed, great-souled Lord, dwelling upon Mandara’s peak, smiled and spoke. “By this hymn I am pleased, and by your devotion, O Padmaja. Choose your boons, let there be welfare for you and for the gods as you desire.” Then, having bowed to the Lord of gods, the blessed one born from the lotus, with joined hands and a delighted heart, spoke: “O Lord, Lord of gods, destroyer of Tripura, Shankara, grant me supreme devotion to you today; be gracious, O Supreme Lord. And for all the gods as well, O bestower of all aims, be gracious—always—through devotion and guidance.” Janardana too, the blessed one, having bowed to Maheshvara with joined hands, spoke to Samba and Tryambaka: “I always desire to be your vehicle, O Lord; be gracious to me. Grant me devotion to you, O Lord of gods, God of gods; salutations to you. Grant me always the ability to bear you, O Lord, and the gift of omniscience, O bestower of boons, and omnipresence, O Shankara.” Hearing their requests, the great god, the Supreme Lord, appointed Bhava to the roles of charioteer and vehicle. Having granted these boons to Brahma and Vishnu, and having burned the demons, the great-souled Lord of gods, together with the goddess, Nandin, and the hosts of spirits, caused himself to disappear. When Maheshvara departed from the battlefield with his attendants, the lords of gods, filled with wonder, bowed to Bhava and to Parvati. Freed from sorrow, the lords of gods, the lords of sages, the lords of hosts, and the radiant ones ascended to heaven in their own vehicles. This sacred account of the enemy of Tripura, composed long ago by Brahma—whoever recites it at the time of shraddha or during divine rites, O twice-born ones, Or causes it to be heard by the twice-born with devotion, attains the world of Brahma, freed from sins of mind, speech, and body. From gross, subtle, and very subtle sins, from great and minor sins, O best of twice-born, arising from great transgressions, A being is freed from sins by hearing this auspicious chapter; enemies are destroyed, and one becomes victorious in battle. He is not afflicted by any diseases, nor do misfortunes touch him; he gains incomparable wealth, lifespan, fame, learning, and power. When the god Maheshvara departed, having burned Tripura in an instant, the blessed one born from the lotus addressed the assembly of the lords of gods. Having left the Lord of gods, Maheshvara in the form of the linga, the powerful grandson of Taraka, the mighty son of Taraka, remained. Tarakaksha, the son of Diti, Kamalaksha the mighty, Vidyunmali the lord of the Daityas, and others with their kin— Having abandoned the great god Mahadeva and Lord Hari through delusion, all of them were destroyed and ruined, along with their cities and their inhabitants. Therefore, the linga form of Sadashiva must always be worshipped; as long as the gods are worshipped, so long does their existence endure. Shiva must always be worshipped with faith by the foremost of the gods; the whole world is pervaded by the linga, and all is established in the linga. Therefore, whoever desires perfection for himself should worship the linga; for all gods, asuras, and danavas attain through worship of the linga alone. Yakshas, vidyadharas, siddhas, rakshasas, flesh-eaters, ancestors, sages, pishachas, kinnaras, and others— Having worshipped the linga form, they have attained perfection—there is no doubt of this. Therefore, the linga should always be worshipped by anyone whatsoever, O gods. We, and all beings, are the subjects of that wise Lord of gods; renouncing our state as mere subjects, we become followers of Pashupati.