Linga Purana

प्रसीद क्षम्यतां सर्वं रोमजैः सह सुव्रत सो ऽपि भद्रः प्रभावेण ब्रह्मणः परमेष्ठिनः

'Be gracious, let all be forgiven, together with those born of hair, O steadfast one.' And Bhadra, by the power of Brahmā, the supreme lord, became calm.

शमं जगाम शनकैः शान्तस्तस्थौ तदाज्ञया देवो ऽपि तत्र भगवान् अन्तरिक्षे वृषध्वजः

Gradually, calm was restored; the Lord, Vṛṣadhvaja, also stood there peacefully in the sky by that command.

सगणः सर्वदः शर्वः सर्वलोकमहेश्वरः प्रार्थितश्चैव देवेन ब्रह्मणा भगवान् भवः

Śarva, the giver of all, the great Lord of all worlds, accompanied by his attendants, was then earnestly entreated by the god Brahmā.

हतानां च तदा तेषां प्रददौ पूर्ववत्तनुम् इन्द्रस्य च शिरस्तस्य विष्णोश्चैव महात्मनः

At that time, he restored the bodies of those who had been slain, just as before, including the head of Indra and that of the great-souled Viṣṇu.

दक्षस्य च मुनीन्द्रस्य तथान्येषां महेश्वरः वागीश्याश्चैव नासाग्रं देवमातुस्तथैव च

The great Lord likewise restored to Dakṣa, the foremost sage, and to others, as well as the tip of the nose to Vāgīśī and to the mother of the gods.

नष्टानां जीवितं चैव वराणि विविधानि च दक्षस्य ध्वस्तवक्त्रस्य शिरसा भगवान्प्रभुः

He granted life to those who had perished, and various boons as well; to Dakṣa, whose face had been destroyed, the blessed Lord bestowed a head.

कल्पयामास वै वक्त्रं लीलया च महान् भवः दक्षो ऽपि लब्धसंज्ञश् च समुत्थाय कृताञ्जलिः

By his play, the great Bhava fashioned a face for Dakṣa; Dakṣa, regaining consciousness, rose up with joined palms.

तुष्टाव देवदेवेशं शङ्करं वृषभध्वजम् स्तुतस्तेन महातेजाः प्रदाय विविधान्वरान्

He praised Śaṅkara, Lord of the gods, the Bull-bannered one; thus praised by him, the mighty Lord granted various boons.

गाणपत्यं ददौ तस्मै दक्षायाक्लिष्टकर्मणे देवाश् च सर्वे देवेशं तुष्टुवुः परमेश्वरम्

He granted to Dakṣa, whose actions were pure, the lordship of the Gaṇas; and all the gods praised the supreme Lord of gods.

नारायणश् च भगवान् तुष्टाव च कृताञ्जलिः ब्रह्मा च मुनयः सर्वे पृथक्पृथगजोद्भवम्

The blessed Nārāyaṇa, with joined palms, also praised him, as did Brahmā and all the sages, each one praising the one born from the elephant.

तुष्टुवुर् देवदेवेशं नीलकण्ठं वृषध्वजम् तान् देवान् अनुगृह्यैव भवो ऽप्यन्तरधीयत

They praised the Lord of gods, Nīlakaṇṭha, the Bull-bannered one; having shown favor to those gods, Bhava then disappeared.

कथं हिमवतः पुत्री बभूवांबा सती शुभा कथं वा देवदेवेशम् अवाप पतिमीश्वरम्

How did Satī, the auspicious daughter of Himavat, come to be, and how did she obtain the Lord of gods as her husband?

सा मेनातनुम् आश्रित्य स्वेच्छयैव वराङ्गना तदा हैमवती जज्ञे तपसा च द्विजोत्तमाः

Assuming the body of Menā by her own will, that excellent woman was then born as the daughter of Himavat, O best of twice-born, through austerity.

जातकर्मादिकाः सर्वाश् चकार च गिरीश्वरः द्वादशे च तदा वर्षे पूर्णे हैमवती शुभा

The Lord of the Mountain performed all the birth and other rites; and in her twelfth year, the auspicious daughter of Himavat—

तपस्तेपे तया सार्धम् अनुजा च शुभानना अन्या च देवी ह्यनुजा सर्वलोके नमस्कृता

Practiced austerity together with her, and her younger sister, the beautiful-faced one, and another goddess, also a younger sister, honored by all the worlds.

ऋषयश् च तदा सर्वे सर्वलोकमहेश्वरीम् तुष्टुवुस् तपसा देवीं समावृत्य समन्ततः

Then all the sages surrounded the goddess, the great Lady of all worlds, and praised her for her austerity on every side.

ज्येष्ठा ह्यपर्णा ह्यनुजा चैकपर्णा शुभानना तृतीया च वरारोहा तथा चैवैकपाटला

The eldest was Aparṇā, the younger was Ekaparṇā, the beautiful-faced one; the third was Varārohā, and also Ekapāṭalā.

तपसा च महादेव्याः पार्वत्याः परमेश्वरः वशीकृतो महादेवः सर्वभूतपतिर्भवः

By the austerity of the great goddess Pārvatī, the supreme Lord, Mahādeva, the Lord of all beings, was brought under her sway.

एतस्मिन्नेव काले तु तारको नाम दानवः तारात्मजो महातेजा बभूव दितिनन्दनः

At that very time, there was a demon named Tāraka, the mighty son of Tārā, a radiant offspring of Diti.

तस्य पुत्रास्त्रयश्चापि तारकाक्षो महासुरः विद्युन्माली च भगवान् कमलाक्षश् च वीर्यवान्

He had three sons: Tārakākṣa, the great demon; Vidyunmālī, the illustrious one; and Kamalākṣa, the mighty.

पितामहस् तथा चैषां तारो नाम महाबलः तपसा लब्धवीर्यश् च प्रसादाद्ब्रह्मणः प्रभोः

Their father was Tāra, of immense strength, who gained his power through austerity and by the grace of Brahmā, the Lord.

सो ऽपि तारो महातेजास् त्रैलोक्यं सचराचरम् विजित्य समरे पूर्वं विष्णुं च जितवान् असौ

That Tāra, radiant with great energy, conquered the three worlds, both moving and unmoving, and previously defeated Viṣṇu in battle.

तयोः समभवद्युद्धं सुघोरं रोमहर्षणम् दिव्यं वर्षसहस्रं तु दिवारात्रम् अविश्रमम्

Between the two, a fierce and hair-raising battle arose, lasting a thousand divine years, day and night without rest.

सरथं विष्णुमादाय चिक्षेप शतयोजनम् तारेण विजितः संख्ये दुद्राव गरुडध्वजः

Taking Viṣṇu along with his chariot, Tāra hurled him a hundred yojanas; conquered in battle, the bearer of the Garuḍa banner fled.

तारो वराञ्छतगुणं लब्ध्वा शतगुणं बलम् पितामहाज्जगत्सर्वम् अवाप दितिनन्दनः

Tāra, having received a boon of strength a hundredfold from the grandfather of all, gained dominion over the entire world, O son of Diti.

देवेन्द्रप्रमुखाञ्जित्वा देवान्देवेश्वरेश्वरः वारयामास तैर् देवान् सर्वलोकेषु मायया

Having defeated the gods led by Indra, the lord of the gods restrained them in all worlds by his illusion.

देवताश् च सहेन्द्रेण तारकाद्भयपीडिताः न शान्तिं लेभिरे शूराः शरणं वा भयार्दिताः

The deities, along with Indra, afflicted and terrified by Tāra, found neither peace nor refuge, overwhelmed by fear.

तदामरपतिः श्रीमान् संनिपत्यामरप्रभुः उवाचाङ्गिरसं देवो देवानामपि संनिधौ

Then the glorious lord of the immortals, gathering with the chiefs of the immortals, spoke to Aṅgiras in the presence of the gods.

भगवंस्तारको नाम तारजो दानवोत्तमः तेन संनिहता युद्धे वत्सा गोपतिना यथा

O revered one, Tāra, the son of Tāra, the foremost among demons, has confronted us in battle as a herdsman would his calves.