From the eternal liṅga, the subtle and formless source, there arose the primal seed—'a'—the essence of the seed-holder Lord. This seed, placed within the cosmic womb represented by 'u', began to grow, expanding in every direction, pervading all that would come to be. In the beginning, a golden egg manifested, encasing within itself the first sacred syllable. For countless years, this divine sphere floated upon the cosmic waters, a radiant vessel of creation. After a thousand years had passed, this egg—without any origin, self-born—was split into two by the will of the Lord, the One called the First. Floating upon the waters, the egg divided: the auspicious golden shell formed the upper realm, while the lower part became the earth, possessing its fivefold qualities. From this cosmic egg emerged 'a', the four-faced one, Brahma, creator of all worlds, the Lord manifesting in three forms. Thus, the sacred sound 'om om' is uttered, as proclaimed by the foremost among the Yajur Veda. The sages of the Ṛg and Sāma Vedas, too, honored these words, recognizing their profound significance. In this manner, O Hari, O Brahman, the Vedas themselves declared the truth of the Lord of gods. Realizing the Supreme as revealed by the Vedas, the Creator praised the Great Lord with mantras born of the Vedic hymns. Pleased by these hymns of praise, the stainless Lord abided within that liṅga, accepting the adoration. Then, assuming a divine form woven of sound, the Lord stood there, smiling with grace. The letter 'a' became his head, his forehead stretched long and noble. His right eye was 'i', his left 'ī'; his right ear was 'u', and 'ū' was his left. 'ṛ' shaped his right cheek, 'ṝ' his left; his nostrils were 'ḷ' and 'ḹ'. 'e' formed his upper lip, 'ai' the lower; 'o' and 'au' were his two rows of teeth. The syllable 'am' became his palate, and the five letters beginning with 'ka' were his five right hands. In the same way, the five letters starting with 'ca' became his five left hands; his feet were formed from the five letters beginning with 'ṭa', and also those beginning with 'ta'. His abdomen was 'pa', his side 'pha', his left side 'ba', and his shoulder 'bha'. The heart of Śambhu, the great yogic Lord, was 'ma', while the sequence from 'ya' to 'sa' became the seven vital substances within him. 'ha' was his very self, and 'kṣa' represented his wrath. Beholding this wondrous form of Maheśvara, together with Umā by his side, the blessed Viṣṇu bowed deeply. He then saw, above the Oṃ mantra, another mantra radiating with five kalās (powers), shining like pure crystal, composed of thirty-two beautiful syllables—the very source of intelligence, always bringing forth righteous purposes. He beheld the mantra born of Gāyatrī, green in hue, endowed with four kalās and twenty-four syllables, unparalleled in its power to bring all things under control. Next, he saw the Atharvan mantra, black in color, with eight kalās and thirty-three auspicious syllables, potent in magical rites. He saw the Yajurveda mantra, pure white, bringing peace, composed of thirty-five auspicious syllables and eight kalās. Then he beheld the Sāma mantra, red as dawn, with thirteen kalās, the first in the world, the source of growth and dissolution, accompanied by Bālā and others. The letters of this mantra were sixty-six in total. Having thus received these five mantras, the blessed Hari recited them with devotion. Thereafter, he beheld the majestic form of the divisions of time, embodying the essence of the Ṛg, Yajur, and Sāma Vedas. The Lord, crowned as Īśāna, revealed a primeval human face, with the heart of Aghora, ever-delightful, his left side hidden, ever-auspicious Sadāśiva, whose feet were the immediate support of the Great God, adorned with the mighty serpent king. Shiva appeared, whose faces and feet are everywhere, whose eyes and hands are everywhere, the Lord of Brahma, the cause of creation, preservation, and dissolution. Once more, the devotee praised this boon-giving Lord with words born of deep longing. He offered salutations to Rudra, the One Syllable, the letter A, the embodiment of the Self, to the letter U, the primal god, whose body is knowledge itself. He bowed to the third, the letter M, to Shiva, the supreme Self, radiant with the colors of sun, fire, and moon, the one worthy of all worship. He saluted Agni in Rudra’s form, the lord of Rudras, Shiva as the very Shiva-mantra, Sadyojata, the creator. He bowed to Vama, to Vamadeva, to the giver of boons, to the immortal one; to Aghora, the exceedingly fierce; to Sadyojata, the swift. He offered salutations to Īśāna, the lord of cremation grounds, supremely swift, the swift one; to the foundation of the Vedas, to the upward-facing Liṅga, to the bearer of the Liṅga. He honored the golden Liṅga, the golden one, the water Liṅga, the watery one; to Shiva, to the Shiva Liṅga, to the all-pervading, to the sky-pervading. He saluted Vāyu, the one of wind’s speed, the all-pervading wind, the radiant one, the lord of radiances, the all-pervading radiance. He offered salutations to water, the being of water, the all-pervading water; to earth, to the midspace, to the all-pervading earth. He bowed to the one whose form is sound and touch, to taste and fragrance, to the fragrant one; to the lord of hosts, the most secret of the secret. He honored the infinite, the formless, the endless, the disease-free; the eternal, the supreme, the one whose womb is water, the supreme yogi. He saluted the one established in the midst of waters, the radiance between the two, protector, destroyer, ever-creator, and lord of dissolution. He bowed to the unconscious, the conceivable, the destroyer of consciousness; to the formless, the beautiful form, the bodiless, the destroyer of bodies. Thus, with reverence and devotion, the devotee praised the Supreme Lord in all his wondrous forms, celebrating the mystery and majesty of the One who is the source, sustenance, and dissolution of all worlds.