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.
भयात्तस्मान्महाभाग बृहद्युद्धे बृहस्पते अनिकेता भ्रमन्त्येते शकुन्ता इव पञ्जरे
Because of him, O illustrious Bṛhaspati, in this great war, these wander homeless, like birds in a cage.
अस्माकं यान्य् अमोघानि आयुधान्य् अङ्गिरो वर तानि मोघानि जायन्ते प्रभावादमरद्विषः
O best of Aṅgiras, our infallible weapons become ineffective through the power of the enemy of the immortals.
दशवर्षसहस्राणि द्विगुणानि बृहस्पते विष्णुना योधितो युद्धे तेनापि न च सूदितः
For ten thousand years, doubled, O Bṛhaspati, Viṣṇu fought in battle, yet even he did not slay him.
यस्तेनानिर्जितो युद्धे विष्णुना प्रभविष्णुना कथमस्मद्विधस्तस्य स्थास्यते समरे ऽग्रतः
He whom even the mighty Viṣṇu could not defeat in battle—how can one such as us stand before him in combat?
एवम् उक्तस् तु शक्रेण जीवः सार्धं सुराधिपैः सहस्राक्षेण च विभुं सम्प्राप्याह कुशध्वजम्
Thus addressed by Śakra, Jīva, together with the lords of the gods and the thousand-eyed one, approached the illustrious Kuśadhvaja and spoke.
सो ऽपि तस्य मुखाच्छ्रुत्वा प्रणयात्प्रणतार्तिहा देवैरशेषैः सेन्द्रैस्तु जीवमाह पितामहः
Hearing from his mouth, out of affection and as the remover of distress, Pitāmaha spoke to Jīva in the presence of all the gods with Indra.
जाने वो ऽर्तिं सुरेन्द्राणां तथापि शृणु सांप्रतम् विनिन्द्य दक्षं या देवी सती रुद्राङ्गसंभवा
I know your suffering, O lords of the gods; yet listen now. The goddess Satī, born from Rudra's body, having rejected Dakṣa—
उमा हैमवती जज्ञे सर्वलोकनमस्कृता तस्याश्चैवेह रूपेण यूयं देवाः सुरोत्तमाः
Umā, daughter of Himavat, was born, revered by all worlds; and by her form here, you gods, O best of celestials—
विभोर्यतध्वमाक्रष्टुं रुद्रस्यास्य मनो महत् तयोर्योगेन सम्भूतः स्कन्दः शक्तिधरः प्रभुः
When the great mind of Rudra was drawn forth by Viṣṇu, through the union of the two, Skanda, the mighty bearer of power, was born.
षडास्यो द्वादशभुजः सेनानीः पावकिः प्रभुः स्वाहेयः कार्तिकेयश् च गाङ्गेयः शरधामजः
He is six-faced, twelve-armed, the commander of the army, born of fire, lordly, son of Svāhā, called Kārtikeya, son of Gaṅgā, and born in the abode of reeds.